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Skiclub Kampen: Purism from the North Sea

In 1989, Pius Regli and Jörg Hinck founded the Kampen ski club whilst enjoying an excellent, home-distilled vodka on the island of Sylt. From then on they competed against each other every year in a ski race in Zer-matt, and the winner became the club president for the following year. In 2012, Ulrich Graf, a businessman from Dortmund and manager of Skiclub Kampen GmbH, developed the spirits and designed the unique bot-tle for North Sea, the premium brand name for gin, vodka and vodka-based drinks. The demands are high, the handcrafted alcohol comes from Germany. The basis for all the spirits is the vodka, five-times distilled and filtered extremely slowly through a silver dust filter.

After intensive observation of the market, Ulrich Graf only saw the chance to make their mark amongst the global players and established brands with a unique bottle: “The bottle should be recognisable from 15 to 20 m distance in a club.” The bottle design of a French manufacturer convinced them: it underscores the purity of the content with its purist form – inspired by the clear countryside of the North Sea and the Wadden Sea. After six months’ development, an all-over coating was found which felt warm and soft, and from which con-densed water rolled off. Every flavour has its own colour which corresponds to the colour of the drink (for example, a bright, strong red for blood orange with vodka), sending out a clear message.

The Master Class Distillery 2019 received gold for North Sea Vodka, North Sea Fire, North Sea Sun, and silver for North Sea Gin, North Sea Water and North Sea Sand.

Schloss Fels – Shelves of variety

For the last 30 years, Weingut Schloss Fels has been amongst the top vineyards and spirit producers. Today, nearly 90 hectares of own vineyards are cultivated in Fels and Rohrendorf near Krems, making this one of the largest winegrowing estates in Austria.

The vineyard’s home-grown wines are marketed under the brand name ‘Weingut Schloss Fels’. Grapes from contracted winegrowers are also processed and used in the company, but only where they meet the strict quality criteria.

Managing director Klaus Klein clearly defines the company’s standards: “Schloss Fels stands for regional products, traditional methods, the latest technology and uncompromising quality control.”

Apart from wine, spirits are also produced, which are sold under the brand names ‘Felser’ (clear schnapps, rum and speciality blends), TAIGA Wódka, Silver Crown Gin, Golden Dew Scotch Whisky, Barbossa light Rum and ‘Desirée’ (a mild brandy matured in oak casks). The motto is: high quality at entry-level prices. All products are available in Austria exclusively via the distribution channels of SPAR Österreichische Warenhandels AG: SPAR-Markt, EUROSPAR and INTERSPAR, and some are also available at METRO.

Classified as a First Class Distillery 2016, the business won a whole row of medals at the World Spirits Award: gold for Felser Williams schnapps, Felser hazelnut spirit, Felser raspberry spirit, Silver Crown Special Dry Gin, Felser herb bitter, Felser advocaat and Barbossa Superior Rum, silver for Felser Selection apricot brandy, Felser apricot schnapps, cranberry liqueur and Barbossa Spiced Gold, as well as bronze for Felser Selection Williams brandy.

Diageo – From London to the whole world

Approximately 33,000 employees are employed worldwide at Diageo, the market leader in premium spirits, with Smirnoff (vodka), Johnnie Walker (whiskey), J&B (Scotch whiskey), Baileys (liqueur), Captain Morgan (rum), Cuervo (tequila) and Tanqueray (gin), Guinness beer and branded wines. Production takes place all around the world: from Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Spain and Africa, to the USA, Canada, Latin America, Australia, India and the Caribbean. The global corporation emerged in 1997 from the merger between Guinness and GrandMet. 180 markets around the world are handled from its London headquarters.

A lot of work and lots of attention to detail go into creating the in-depth product descriptions on Diageo’s website. Information and analysis is provided about issues ranging from detailed descriptions of the production down to the most minute ingredients. Finally, they are aware of the size of their company and also of their responsibilities as a supplier of alcoholic products. The name Diageo was also deliberately chosen – it represents their agenda. Put together from ‘dia’ (the Latin word for ‘day’) and ‘geo’ (the Greek word for ‘world’), it means that every day people are celebrating all over the world with products from their company. These products open up possibilities never dreamed of for special days and nights, marking special life events and even making the smaller things in life feel magical.

Participation in the World Spirits Award was magical: there was double gold for Tanqueray No. 10 (Spirit of the Year 2016), gold for Gordon’s London Dry Gin and Tanqueray London Dry Gin, as well as silver for Tanqueray Rangpur.

Lambay Irish Whiskey Company – Welcome to the whiskey world

Two modern entrepreneurs from renowned families got together to create a brand-new product: their vision was an innovative Irish whiskey, inspired by the island of Lambay (Alexander Baring, 7th Baron of Revelstoke’s ancestral seat), rounded off with the technologies and the expertise of Maison Camus. This is the ancestral seat of Cyril Camus, the 5th generation of the French family, famous worldwide for its cognac.

The partnership between Camus Wines & Spirits and the Baring Revelstoke Trust was presented at the TFWA World Exhibition in Cannes in 2017 – a ‘global showcase’ for premium brands. LIWC Managing Director, Jean-David Costerg, is confident of future success, because the partnership of both companies can reach a new generation of whiskey consumers who are looking for exclusive, authentic, handmade products, positioned in the premium price category: Lambay Small Batch Blend, the flagship brand, and Lambay Whiskey Single Malt.

Lambay Small Batch Blend and Single malt are both finished in carefully selected Cognac Oak cask from the Camus cellar, wehereas the Lambay Single Malt is then taken to the island of Lambay – a natural paradise off the coast of Dublin, which has belonged to the Baring family since 1904 – and once there, are left to the fresh sea air in ‘The Sea Cask Room’ to bring maritime notes to the whiskey. The whiskeys are rounded off with the island’s Trinity Well water.

At the World Spirits Award, both products received gold: Lambay Whiskey Small Batch Blend and Lambay Whiskey Single Malt.