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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.

b.gin: Puristic gin from the Traisental valley

It all started at a birthday celebration where the gift was a 2-litre table distiller – and two childhood friends decided to create a gin: anything other than classic, but rather charming and devoted to their homeland. Many botanicals come from the region: freshly plucked rosemary, lemons from their own trees, rosehips picked at temperatures below zero, lavender and much more from the family gardens. A week after the first starter, the mini distillery was put into operation. At the time, the two of them were in a COVID lockdown, so they tinkered and sampled in the cellar of the house. They soon found a name to suit the cause: Bernhard & Bernhard = b.gin.

Things then moved quickly. The table distiller was swapped for an 80-litre still and b.gin was presented on 1 May 2021. Pure enjoyment for every occasion, carefully distilled, unfiltered, filled by hand, matured in a clay bottle: b.gin – the classic, b.fresh – the fruity one, b.arrel gin – the unique one. Since then, the product range has been extended with additional gins and tonics. There is a big focus on the finalisation: high-quality labels, tags, ties, seals, attaching the cocktail umbrella, sealing wax. Sales are from the farm, in the online shop and in wine shops. Their home base is the Steyrer vineyard in Kuffern. The vintner Bernhard is the troubleshooter, as well as the attachment professional and distilling master, while Bernhard Dockner is the finder of ideas, printing master, refinement professional and also distilling master. They have pooled their creativity and know-how to create gins that are really fun.

At the World Spirits Award, double gold (World-Spirits Award 2023 & Spirit of the Year 2023) was awarded to b.gin Traisental, gold to b.gin fresh and silver to b.arrel gin.

Eagles Mountain Distillery: Ostalpen in the Mürzer Oberland nature reserve

For quite some years, Werner and Angela Ultsch have been dedicating themselves to the development of innovative alpine drinks, whereby they attach great importance to protecting nature and supporting the region. Werner Ultsch, a pioneer of Austrian natural cuisine, has many decades of experience not only as a chef in fine gastronomy, but also as a hotelier and project developer in the areas of health and tourism. His culinary understanding has always been closely associated with local agriculture.

In 2022 with the takeover of a traditional distillery in Upper Styria, a further alpine site was added for the brands Alperitif® and Alperitivo®. The basis for their production are medicinal herb cultures in the Tyrolean Wipptal valley, where at 1,350 metres above sea level many thousands of masterwort and angelica plants provide the valuable main raw ingredients for both the alcoholic and alcohol-free drinks. In cooperation with organic farmers, a sustainable and regional raw material supply is ensured.

Experiences from the southern Alpine arc (Alpes-Maritimes) provided the inspiration for supplementing the Alperitif® gin liqueur with the Alperitif® Maritim. In 2023, the product range was widened with the novelty Eagles Bready, whereby the alcohol was distilled from ‘yesterday’s bread’ and refined to a wholesome liqueur for hot drinks with alpine herbs, roots and berry juices stored for many months. In addition, there is the Alperitif® ALPINE GIN cum Imperatoria – a strong masterwort gin with a volume percent of 48.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was awarded to Alperitif® Maritim and Alperitif® ALPINE GIN cum Imperatoria, and silver to Eagles Bready.