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Distillery Krauss: Delicious spirits from the Koralpe

At the foot of Koralpe in St. Martin im Sulmtal lies Distillery Krauss. What started in 2007 in a small garage in Schwanberg developed into an international spirits producer from 2018 at the new location, now with five employees. It has made a name for itself globally especially for gin, marking Austria on the gin world map. In addition, other top products such as rum, whisky, apple brandy and aniseed spirit have been awarded worldwide, rounding the product range off perfectly.

Amongst everything that is undertaken in the successful enterprise, some ‘cornerstones’ have emerged over the years as the most important values: a wide product range, concentration on the essentials, enjoyable moments, expertise and quality. For the fine brandies, there is an emphasis on single barrel filling at barrel strength. Despite the size of the company, individual gin productions are nevertheless still made according to customer wishes. The pot still at the old location is available for this, which is otherwise used for testing purposes and new developments – such as the first Austrian BIO Hard Seltzer.

The World Class Distillery 2022 OBB (Distillery of the Year – Gold & World Spirits Award 2022), World Class Distillery 2022 GIWO (Distillery of the Year – Gold & World Spirits Award 2022) and First Class Distillery 2022 BILI collected, alongside double gold for Saffron infused Dry Gin (Spirit of the Year 2022) and Zwetschkenbrand (damson brandy) (World Spirits Award 2022 & Spirit of the Year 2022), a further nine gold medals and four times silver.

Hödl Hof: Quality for generations since 1542

Alfred Dunst has been running the family business since 1993. His greatest passion is product development. “For me, the skill of distillation is an art form when it is carried out with experience and love. Inspiration is offered by nature that surrounds us. We see it as our duty to only produce our specialities with natural, high-quality ingredients that are carefully selected. We want to provide our customers with the same pleasure in drinking it as we have in making it,” he says.

45 hectares of organically farmed orchards and woodlands provide the raw materials for distillation, wood for heating, as well as for some of the storage barrels and, in addition, ingredients for the products, such as fir tips, wild fruit, mushrooms, roots, etc. Soft water with a low mineral content comes from their own spring in the protected area of the Rabenwaldkogel. Double distillation is carried out in copper vats following an old Styrian tradition. Only the ‘heart’ is extracted and matured in wood, glass or stainless steel.

As a special customer service, the product range is also available in 20 ml bottles. So it is possible to get an idea of the whole range or organise a tasting at home. For over 25 years, an informative schnapps trail has led through the orchards and woodlands, informing visitors about the various fruits, and the manufacture and storage of the products.

The World Class Distillery 2021 (Distillery of the Year 2021 – Bronze) received double gold for Stone Vodka (Spirit of the Year 2021), gold for Stone Red, The Original 1542 Old Classic, Troad Single Cask, Blended Single Malt Whisky and Stone Oak Vodka, and silver for The Original 1542 London Dry Gin Old Oak and Hödl Hof Feuerholz.

Rhumerie de Chamarel - Rhumerie de Chamarel – A newcomer with vision

This high-quality rum from the island of Mauritius is produced in line with ecological guidelines. The products are distributed in Austria by the company Wind GmbH, based in Traiskirchen (www.wind-plast.at).

The road leads through extensive pineapple plantations and fields of sugar cane up to the distillery at an altitude of 300 m in the South-West of the island. Designed by a renowned architect, the building is elegant and authentic and a fine example of modern construction with its natural materials such as wood, stone and water. The comprehensive concept also incorporates the L’Alchimiste restaurant where up to 80 guests can savour the sophisticated regional cuisine. At the “Sugar Cane Spirit” boutique, various types of rum are on offer (White Rum, Le Coeur de Chauffe (fine brandy), Rum Paille (stored in wooden casks), Rum Arrange (flavoured with fruits and spices) as well as an exclusive clothing range, hand-made products and a small jewellery collection.

The location and climate of the fertile valley promote the growth and quality of the sugarcane. The sugarcane is harvested by hand in the early hours of the morning and processed at the mill within four hours. The fields are not normally burnt, as is usually the case, to make harvesting easier. Even when distilling at the highest modern levels of technology, nothing is wasted: the bagasse – the fibrous remnants of the sugar production process – is burnt to obtain energy. The chimney contains the very latest smoke filters and the ash is used to fertilise the fields.

The company yet again impressed at the World-Spirits Award, with one gold and four silvers.