World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

Donner-Peltier Distillers – A great team from Louisiana

In 2011, Tom and Beth Donner and Henry and Jennifer Peltier opened their Donner-Peltier Distillery in the middle of a sugarcane field in Thibodaux, Louisiana, with the aim of producing the best quality from the local raw materials of sugar and rice. A wide range of knowledge and experience from chemistry, combined with a burning passion for fine spirits, made up the basis for great team work, supported by Tyson Frizzell and Brad Blackwell, who are responsible for the production.

The high quality DPD product range comprises Oryza Vodka (distilled 17 times) and Oryza Gin (from eleven plants and a citrus touch of the South), both based on 100% authentic Louisiana long grain rice. The latest product is the Whiskey La 1, the first whiskey matured in Louisiana after Prohibition. Corn provides the body, rye the flavour, barley the balance and rice the sweetness. The Rougaroux rum range takes its name from the mythical creature ‘Roo ga roo’ that is said to roam the sugarcane fields at full moon and pass sentence on evil spirits – its curse lasts 101 days. If you lay 13 pennies in front of the door, you will be safe from ‘Roo ga roo’. Since it can only count to 12, it tries again and again until sunrise, then it has to get back to its hole … The Rougaroux 13 Pennies Rum keeps the legend alive, and it is refined with roasted pecans, vanilla pods from Madagascar and sugarcane molasses from the region. The Rougaroux Full Moon Dark Rum ages in American oak, and the clear Rougaroux Sugarshine, made from molasses and sugarcane, rounds off the fiery trio.

Over recent years the achievements of this small Louisiana dream team have gained worldwide recognition and also earned well-deserved attention at the World Spirits Award, with silver for the Full Moon Dark Rum, Sugarshine, Oryza Vodka, Oryza Gin and American Whiskey.

Hammer & Son - A new generation of gin

Geranium Gin had been the subject of much fine-tuning before it was presented to the public for the first time at the Bar Convent Berlin in September 2009 - and was well-received by leading bar specialists. The man behind the product is Danish citizen Henrik Hammer, an accomplished expert and judge who developed the new gin together with his late father, a chemist.

Their vision was to develop a special gin: specially suited to mixing cocktails, compatible with tonic and vermouth and adaptable to various fruit components. The unique character of the gin is based on the combination of fresh and dried plant components including juniper and a special species of geranium.

"I've worked intensively with gin for many years and sampled hundreds of products, but the taste spectrum is always fairly similar. So I saw it as a challenge to push the boundaries. The smell of geranium leaves always reminds me of gin and tonic, and the plant has been used for its healing properties over centuries as well as to clear the air and fragrance foods. To extract the oils contained in the plant as a basis for gin, we developed a special distillation process."

To ensure the authenticity of the label "London Dry Gin" as a Danish producer, a British expert was consulted to finalise the recipe. The result of the intensive efforts: a successful product which secured itself gold at the World-Spirits Award with high marks.

Limomacher: Regionally produced – socially labelled

Limomacher is a young Bregenz enterprise, according to their own definition “excellent in graphics, design, customer service, lemonade production, social involvement and coffee drinking”. However, a look at the brief biographies of the four-person team reveals quite a bit about their wide-ranging qualifications. All lemonades are produced regionally in Vorarlberg according to their own recipes. Short pathways right up until labelling – also labels for private customers and companies on request – reinforce sustainability, along with filling exclusively in glass bottles. The labelling, as well as the whole warehousing, are handled by Lebenshilfe Vorarlberg, a support organisation for people with disabilities. This is an indication that social thinking has been of great importance from the beginning.

At the beginning of 2018, the ‘Franz von Durst’ brand started in Spar shops, followed by the start-up shelf at Metro. The company developed a gin along with a tonic water for this purpose, as the first manufacturer in retailing that offers both as a one-stop shop. The gin that is also regionally produced goes perfectly with the tonic water and its animating and aromatic concept offers an exceptionally fruity drinking experience. Aside from the juniper base, five further botanicals play a role: angelica root provides a slight tanginess and supports the homogenous taste; orange peel is characterised by a range of aromatic substances and a fine hint of citrus; liquorice provides a complex sweetness with a slightly earthy note; elderberry has an intensive and refreshing taste; and hops gives it a special something.

“We are delighted that the Vorarlberg locals have received our gin so well and that we can expand step by step also into other provinces,” say the two young entrepreneurs.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was achieved by Franz von Durst Gin, and silver by Franz von Durst Dry Gin Wild.