World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

Rheinbrand: Exciting project and influential people

The initiator, Raphael Wyniger, is a passionate restaurateur and the first Swiss ‘Hotelier of the Year’. The company Rheinbrand Spirits GmbH complements his businesses in the Wyniger Group. The second member of the team is the wine academic Adrian Baumgartner. This wine and spirits expert had already been involved in the development of a gin. Production takes place following London Dry Gin procedures in the canton of Aargau, under the watchful eye of Ruedi Käser. He is one of the leading Swiss distillers, and his credo is to work by hand. Only small batches of 500 bottles are distilled at a time and are hand-bottled after the necessary resting period.

The ingredients are carefully selected, whereby regions along the River Rhine are integrated with their products – a perfect basis for spirits and an homage to the myths of the river. The water comes from the Rhine spring at Lake Tomasee in Grisons, the juniper and mountain herbs also come from Grisons, the cherries from the Basel region, the elderflowers from Alsace, the Riesling from Rheingau, and the sea salt from the region around Rotterdam. It is refined with lemon and lemongrass. The result is a gin with character and personality, and with harmonious botanicals thanks to great craftsmanship.

CBD hemp from Allschwil in the region is added to the distillate for Rheinbrand Gin Hemp Edition. This is available legally, has no effect on the nervous system and is not intoxicating, but rather has a calming effect. Meticulous tests and lots of patience were necessary, as finding the right mixture was a challenge. The light grassiness makes the gin an exciting element in the art of mixing and is an inspiration for new creations.

At the World Spirits Award 2025, there was Gold for Rheinbrand Dry Gin and Rheinbrand Dry Gin Hemp Edition.

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.