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Edeldestillerie Robert Oberhofer: Quality and continuity

Gleaming steel tanks, a distinctive bottle design and a wide product selection – these all form part of this sophisticated distillery which is the empire of master distiller Robert Oberhofer, senior manager at the Reschenhof country hotel in Mils. Thanks to its reliable quality, the company, which already started out in 1965, has been one of the elite distillers in Tyrol for years.

All of the fruit varieties are predominantly obtained from local and organic cultivation areas. Apricots, Williams pears, various apple and damson varieties come from their own orchards, and the greatest attention is paid to quality, degree of ripeness and a rich aroma. The wide product range already encompasses more than 40 products.

The key products are fruit and berry brandies with speciality products including Limonera, sour cherry, sloe, blackberry and blueberry. Local favourites include rowanberry and elderberry. But also exotic fruit brandies such as rum, brandies and liqueurs matured in wooden casks are aged with the finest craftsmanship. Tours of the distillery can be enjoyed with a warm or cold snack or a rustic platter of cold cuts. The premises offer room for 50 people, and for celebrations of all kinds.

Since 2015, Robert’s grandson Benjamin, the third generation of distillers, has been managing the distillery. In order to satisfy the ever-increasing quality requirements, he decided to undergo the training to become a distiller at the Fritz Henßler vocational college in the city of Dortmund.

The Master Class Distillery received gold for Limonera Pear Brandy and Spänling (wild plum), silver for Williams Alte Reserve and Damson, and bronze for Rum (matured in wooden barrels), Babayani Raki and Raspberry Brandy.

Kamill – Top spirits with a golden shine

High quality spirits have been refined at Kamill using a special method since 2009. The core products are vodka, brandy and whisky, but there is also raki and apricot brandy, to which 23 carat gold flakes are added. When it comes to bottling, imagination and creativity are also evident in the 3D label and the unusual bottle shapes. The ‘golden idea’ behind all this: “In the Middle Ages, gold was the symbol for the human heart and the power of God, which is why gold tinctures were used for healing purposes. Research has shown that the structures of this element transport medicines into the body perfectly. So why shouldn’t we also use this for more enjoyable products?”

In the ‘workshop’ at Kamill everything is done by hand. The vodka, for example, is filled into 10 litre canisters and clarified in a four-week procedure (using a special agent made from protein and edible gelatine), whereby the essential oils sink to the bottom. After being filled into other containers, the pure alcohol is brought to -20°C. This mixture is filled into yet another container, so that the remaining essential oils can be removed from the liquid. The final product from these processes is a pure, neutral-tasting vodka which can be further refined. After filtering, edible flakes of gold (E-175) are added and the shiny final product is filled into bottles. ‘Austrian Gold Savran Vodka’ gets its special flair from high quality organic Marchfeld saffron from the Schartner family’s farm.

The ‘treasures’ impressed the judges at the World Spirits Award: they won double gold for Baku, and gold for Oligarch Gold Vodka Saffron and Azerbaijan Gold Vodka.

Luding Group: Vodka Tchaikovsky as a high-spirited homage to the famous composer

At the beginning of the 1990s, the modern distillery ‘Fortuna’ was launched in a green field in the south of Russia – in the Krasnodar region, a strip of land with spa resorts and health centres. The distillery has specialised in unusual products, in a region with a particularly green fingerprint. The vodka created in honour of the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky is special. The concept for this exceptional product is comparable with one of his musical scores: the work ‘Swan Lake’ served as an inspiration. Art enthusiasts can thus immerse themselves in the history of Russian estate life in the 19th century. The traditional white and blue colours underline the purity of this vodka.

The technical particularities span a wide quality-orientated spectrum: from the selected wheat, their own well water and the special treatment of the distillate with skimmed milk powder to the crystal-clear filtration with active birch coal. With so much perfectionism and monitoring of the individual production steps, the result is an especially gentle, animating and very typical vodka based on wheat. After the diluting of alcohol and pure distillate, the production process is continued with maturation in steel tanks. The aim is to ‘wed’ both ‘waters’, resulting in an especially harmonious vodka.

At the World Spirits Award 2022, Vodka Tchaikovsky was awarded double gold and honoured as the best vodka with the title ‘Spirit of the Year’.

Kweichow Moutai: China’s ‘national schnapps’ on the rise

Baijiu is the most popular alcoholic drink in China and Moutai the most famous brand, with a similar status to vodka in Russia or tequila in Mexico. Its origins go back over 2,000 years to the time of Emperor Wu of Han. These days, the national drink is frequently served at official state banquets and is used as the official state gift. Its protected source is the village of Maotai in the Guizhou province on the banks of the Chishui, the Red River. These days, more than 30,000 tons of the 53 percent alcohol Moutai are produced. In cooperation with Camus, a limited edition was launched as an homage to the greatest poets: after Li Bai in 2013, Du Fu followed in 2018. The elegant bottle showing a painting of a poem is made from the finest porcelain.

Traditional methods are used for the distillation of regional raw materials: organic sorghum and wheat and the best water. Fermentation takes place at high temperatures. During the production process, which takes a year, fresh grain is added twice to the boilers, then several boiling and fermentation processes take place. Every batch of the distillate is separated according to age, production cycle and aroma. It then matures slowly in terracotta containers and, during the storage period of at least five years, develops a fine soya aroma. Master blenders make sure that the characteristic, full flavour is preserved. The secret lies in the humid climate, the water from the Chishui, as well as in the distillation technique and maturing period.

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Kweichou Moutai Du Fu Edition.