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Bimmerle: Know-how meets regionality and trend awareness

At the production site in the Black Forest town of Sasbach, which was opened in 2015, this family business sets innovative standards in technology, sustainability and environmental protection. For the last five decades, Bimmerle has strived for the highest quality, with focussed know-how, modern high-tech and the traditional art of distilling. This is the first distillery in Germany where all the heating requirements and power generation are covered by the burning of fruit stones combined with woodchips from the region.

In Germany and on the European market, Bimmerle is a leader in the fruit brandies sector with the Lörch brand. In order to make the ‘playground’ more interesting, the brand identity was modernised in 2024 and will be extended in 2025 by a fruit brandy range matured in wooden casks. Needle Black Forest Gin is among the top 5 most widely sold gins in Germany. The portfolio has been expanded since 2018 with WOOD STORK Spiced Rum and the EVERMANN Black Forest whiskies Theo & Wilhelm introduced in 2022. The Black Forest distillery has enriched the liqueur and aperitif market with as many as five exciting creations under the DON PASQUALE brand.

The World Class Distillery 2025 & Distillery of the Year 2025 – Bronze (Bitters & Liqueurs) received Gold for Don Pasquale Limoncello Liqueur, Zünftler Waldhimbeergeist (wild raspberry spirit), Wood Stork Spiced Rum, Lörch Waldhimbeergeist (wild raspberry spirit), Lörch Vanillekipferl Sahnelikör (vanilla cream liqueur), Needle Gin Green, Don Pasquale Aperitif Bitter Liqueur, Don Pasquale Espresso Martini Liqueur, Don Pasquale Hazelnut Liqueur and Lörch Linzertorte Sahnelikör (Linzer tart cream liqueur). Silver was awarded to Kronenhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Lörch Alte Williams Christ Birne (pear brandy), Zinselhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Lörch Altes Schwarzwälder Zwetschgenwasser (damson spirit), Needle Blackforest Distilled Dry Gin, Needle Gin Rosé, Don Pasquale Pistachio Cream Liqueur, Lörch Bratapfel Sahnelikör (baked apple cream liqueur), Zünftler Alte Williams Christ Birne (pear brandy), Lörch Williams Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (pear spirit aged in a wooden cask) and Lörch Marille Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (apricot spirit aged in a wooden cask), and Bronze to Lörch Obst Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (fruit spirit aged in a wooden cask).

Jim Beam Distillery – Bourbon straight on

Knob Creek is named after a rivulet in Kentucky, the home of President Abraham Lincoln. His steadfast attitude seems to serve as an example for this straightforward bourbon. The square ‘chemist’s bottle’ suits these traditional values perfectly, as does the striking label which is reminiscent of the old tradition of wrapping bottles in newspaper. To this day, a mixture of experience and craftsmanship is the recipe for success for the bourbon from Knob Creek.

The bourbon was at the peak of its success in 1919, when the nationwide prohibition of the sale, manufacture and transport of alcohol began – lasting until 1933. Following this, a new start was impossible for many distilleries; others couldn’t finance the customary long maturing process of the bourbon. This situation motivated Booker Noe to revive the traditional bourbon style from the time before the prohibition: rich in aroma, with discreet sweetness due to year-long maturation in strongly ‘toasted’ wooden barrels from American white oak. In 1950, he joined the family business – his mother was the daughter of Jim Beam, which meant bourbon was already in his blood – and completed his training as Master Distiller. With the small series of premium bourbon he launched, the term ‘batch’ (small) was established and revolutionised the industry. His son, Fred Noe, continues with this clear strategy: “I learnt the business from scratch, listened to my father and learnt on the job. I know what it means to make perfect bourbon. Each bottle is a reflection of my family.” Since 1992, the Knob Creek brand has represented these values with the perfect combination of tradition and top quality.

A golden trio was successful at the World Spirits Award: Knob Creek Rye Whiskey Small Batch, Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon and Knob Creek Straight Bourbon.

Wilhelm Horn – Brand name spirits with a local tradition

In 1923, Wilhelm Horn opened a brandy and liqueur shop on Menckestraße in Leipzig, and following successful expansion, HORN’s Weinstuben wine lounge was opened in Südstadt in 1931. By 1933, the company had 46 branches and 75 subsidiaries, to which wine distillery and vermouth production were added. The newly constructed Wilhelm Horn Branntwein & Likörfabrik became a leading company in the German wine and spirits business, with a wide range of brand name products with the slogan “Wine and corn – always from Horn”. Following the disruption of the Second World War, the company was nationalised in 1972 and taken back into private ownership in 1991.

In 2005, Klaus Horn passed on the enormous potential of brand names and recipes in the Leipzig tradition to Wilhelm Horn Markenspirituosen GmbH, founded by Lutz Thielemann and Thomas Schneider. In the spirit of the founding family, they breathed new life into the company and moved to Bayrischer Platz. There they manufacture high proof spirits rooted in the region, such as Echter Leipziger Allasch, Leipziger Kräuter Wilhelm or Long Horn Handcrafted Lipsk Dry Gin. The juniper aroma combines with lavender, coriander and lime blossom – the latter a reverence to the many lime trees in the town of Leipzig, centuries ago known to the Slavs as Lipsk, the ‘lime place’.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for the caraway speciality Echter Leipziger Allasch, and silver for Long Horn Handcrafted Lipsk Dry Gin.

Sauerland Distillers: Regional botanicals in distinctive packaging

“The characteristic, woody and lively Sauerland botanicals distilled at Navy Strength (57.15% by vol-ume) turn the best gin we have ever produced into now also the strongest gin we have ever produced. Pure enjoyment with a strong character that lingers on the palate, refines cocktails and puts even the strongest tonic water in its place. Olaf Baumeister, TV chef and owner of Hotel Seegarten in Sundern, designed the recipe to create a balanced gin with the same botanicals, which can be enjoyed straight, as a long drink or in a cocktail.” This is how Managing Director Moritz Dimde, who is responsible for all administrative and financial matters, describes the WOODLAND project.

The artwork for the bottle design and the elaborate packaging comes from fellow partners, Till Brauckmann, Matthias Czech and Gregor Biedrzycki. Andreas Schulte and Johannes Bitter-Suermann take care of distribution and logistics, with each of them contributing their skills and professional ex-perience. Sauerland Distillers GmbH uses local, soft water for distilling. The botanicals are individually cold macerated and then mixed in, unfiltered, after distilling. To intensify the authenticity of the gin, the labels have been reduced to the essentials: a plain, high-quality typography. The gin is filled in 500 ml bottles in the no-frill style of chemist bottles.

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Woodland Sauerland Dry Gin (Spirit of the Year & World Spirits Award 2019).