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Aldi Ireland: Gin and whiskey in retail

Aldi Ireland has several top products in its spirit range: Boyle’s Gin from the Blackwater Distillery and Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery, in addition, Mo Chara Passionfruit & Mango Gin from the Old Carrick Mill.

The Blackwater Distillery has been an Aldi partner since 2016 and developed the private label Boyle’s Gin exclusively for the Irish and British retail market. The product volume of the Blackwater Distillery for Aldi has risen strongly in recent years, whereby 140,800 bottles of the gin series were sold in 2018. The successful gin brand is manufactured in Blackwater Valley, West Waterford, with selected imported ingredients as well as regional apples, blackcurrants and elderflower. CEO Peter Mulryan – former TV producer and author of the book ‘The Whiskeys of Ireland’ – explains, “The partnership with Aldi has helped us to increase turnover enormously, and also to have the security to invest and expand. This includes on-site bottling facilities and a visitor centre.” Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery got its name from the region in County Cork where the malted barley comes from, and is only manufactured in small batches. The business was founded in 2003 by childhood friends who started out with only two small stills they had bought in Switzerland. Now the largest distillery in the country, it currently employs over 80 staff and exports to around 70 countries.

Beim World-Spirits Award 2025 gab es Gold für Ardfallen 10 Year Old Whiskey, Dúchas Irish Whiskey, Silver für Ardfallen Triple Cask Whiskey, Boyle‘s Sloe & Damson Gin, Dolmen Honey Moonshine.

Ehrenwert GmbH: One recipe – two families

One recipe – two families. Each family has its own carefully guarded secret recipe, and with the Lücke family this remained in the hands of grandfather Heinz and later his son Dieter for many decades. Long enough, thought sons Thomas and Christian. In any case, it is the ‘Felsenfeuer’ herb liqueur that once made the Lücke Distillery one of the most important in Münsterland. After the war they continued the success story which first began in the 18th century, with this herb liqueur, using the recipe that Heinz Lücke worked out. In the 1950s everyone was talking about it, but in the 1960s the era of the distillery and the herb liqueur ended. But not for good – 60 years later it celebrated its resurrection with the ‘Freudenfeuer’.

Whilst searching for a distillery, Thomas and Christian kept to family tradition, as their grandmother was a Sasse, and the Sasses’ fine distillery in Schöppingen is still well known today. Following a traditional recipe from 1947 the new liqueur is distilled in small batches and is bottled by hand after a ten-day rest period. Ready to enjoy: neat and ice cold like in the time of our grandfathers, or smoother, on ice with lightly pressed orange zest, or as a basis for a long drink with tonic water or ginger ale. To old times and new friends!

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Freudenfeuer.

Breaks Premium Dry Gin – Extraordinary recipe

Breaks Premium Dry Gin is manufactured in a small distillery in Karlsruhe in the traditional London Dry style. By hand, in many single stages, from the careful inspection of the hand-picked ingredients to the bottling and numbering of the elegant bottles. The naturally secret recipe is extraordinary: as well as juniper berries, there is also fennel, camomile, cardamom, coriander, cubeb pepper, lavender, larch needles, orange blossoms, liquorice, cinnamon flowers and lemon peel. All botanicals come from controlled organic farming and are macerated in organic agricultural alcohol.

The ‘man behind the distillate’, Harald Reinholz, began his first distilling efforts in 2014 – his grandfather was a passionate distiller. After a year of experimenting, he settled on a final recipe: a harmonious composition of herbs, fruits and spices, fresh and fruity, gentle and mild. How you drink Breaks Gin, whether neat, on ice, with tonic or in a cocktail (recipes on the website!), is your own personal decision – either way, it’s grounds for a small timeout under the slogan ‘Take Your Break’. Anyone wanting to enjoy a ‘holistic’ gin experience, will also find glasses, mugs, T-shirts, caps and other accessories as well as aromatic liquid soaps in the Online Shop.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Breaks Reserve Dry Gin, and silver for Breaks Reserve (barrel-matured) Dry Gin.

Neuzeller Klosterbrennerei: A renaissance of old distilling traditions

Distillation has a long history and tradition in Neuzelle, Brandenburg. The splendid Cistercian monastery once also included the ‘Newe Krug vorm Closter’ tavern where brandy was produced. This tradition of distilling was revived in 1997 in the form of the newly founded monastery distillery, Neuzeller Klosterbrennerei, rekindling 400 years of history.

Various liqueurs, as well as specialities such as absinthe, are produced here by hand alongside classic brandies and spirits made from stone fruits and berries. When the circumstances and quality allow it, regional fruits and raw materials are used. For example, the famous Neuzeller Klosterbräu is exclusively used for all their beer spirits. With the extension of the baroque monastery garden, new possibilities open up for the distillery because in future the herbs for Kräutzeller and Rosa Thyminest can be sourced directly from Neuzelle.

Herb liqueurs have a high standing in the area and are an important part of the product range. The beer brandy has become a typical regional delicacy known beyond Germany’s borders. Classic brandies and spirits round off the distillery’s portfolio. With the motto ‘Preserve traditions, break conventions’, the distiller Nico Petri guarantees consistent quality and is constantly working on new creations.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Kräutzeller and Rosa Thyminest, and silver for NimmDry.