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Ruedi Käser - Triumph of the lord of the castle

"We produce 12 different whiskeys including special varieties - some even for Hapag-Lloyd which are served on the cruise ships MS Europa, MS Hanseatic and MS Bremen. We are also very active in Switzerland, for example as a trend producer for Betty Bossi, a cooking show and marketing range of the Coop company. In September, we are opening our first flagship store in Zurich and our products are already present at the "House of Switzerland" in Peking.

Ruedi Käser and his "Whisky Castle" always cause a stir. From the outside, the building makes a very traditional impression, in the style of an American farm distillery, but the interior is surprising: The distillery on the ground floor resembles an art gallery. The production line consists of the fruit distilling system of the distillery, the pre-stage, and the copper pot still as the core element of whisky production. What follows on after a visit there is the theatre-cum-bistro with terrace. From the top floor, a wonderful view of the vineyards opens up, but visitors can also direct their eyes to the attractive round bar where they can choose the "noble brew" they would like to taste.
A rich diversity in pleasures and a variety of settings - that's the motto that Ruedi and Franziska Käser follow in all their activities on the idyllic farm estate in the Aargau Fricktal valley that invites adventurous visitors to enjoy highly spiritual and culinary experiences. Nature, with its variety of ingredients, yields numerous inspirations. Vineyards, orchards and vegetable patches supply the basic ingredients for spirits, wines, seasonal dishes and delicatessen.
Ruedi Käser's single variety spirits give sensual pleasure, impressions of fragrance and taste with unmistakable aromas. Trial and error was and is the motto here, and the imaginative distiller will certainly not run out of ideas soon.

This year's successes at the World-Spirits Award included a 10th place ranking and title of Master-Class Distillery with gold for the blackthorn and Williams pear and silver for the two cherry brandies and a beer distillate.

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.

Bimmerle: Know-how meets regionality and trend awareness

At the production site in the Black Forest town of Sasbach, which was opened in 2015, this family business sets innovative standards in technology, sustainability and environmental protection. For the last five decades, Bimmerle has strived for the highest quality, with focussed know-how, modern high-tech and the traditional art of distilling. This is the first distillery in Germany where all the heating requirements and power generation are covered by the burning of fruit stones combined with woodchips from the region.

In Germany and on the European market, Bimmerle is a leader in the fruit brandies sector with the Lörch brand. In order to make the ‘playground’ more interesting, the brand identity was modernised in 2024 and will be extended in 2025 by a fruit brandy range matured in wooden casks. Needle Black Forest Gin is among the top 5 most widely sold gins in Germany. The portfolio has been expanded since 2018 with WOOD STORK Spiced Rum and the EVERMANN Black Forest whiskies Theo & Wilhelm introduced in 2022. The Black Forest distillery has enriched the liqueur and aperitif market with as many as five exciting creations under the DON PASQUALE brand.

The World Class Distillery 2025 & Distillery of the Year 2025 – Bronze (Bitters & Liqueurs) received Gold for Don Pasquale Limoncello Liqueur, Zünftler Waldhimbeergeist (wild raspberry spirit), Wood Stork Spiced Rum, Lörch Waldhimbeergeist (wild raspberry spirit), Lörch Vanillekipferl Sahnelikör (vanilla cream liqueur), Needle Gin Green, Don Pasquale Aperitif Bitter Liqueur, Don Pasquale Espresso Martini Liqueur, Don Pasquale Hazelnut Liqueur and Lörch Linzertorte Sahnelikör (Linzer tart cream liqueur). Silver was awarded to Kronenhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Lörch Alte Williams Christ Birne (pear brandy), Zinselhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Lörch Altes Schwarzwälder Zwetschgenwasser (damson spirit), Needle Blackforest Distilled Dry Gin, Needle Gin Rosé, Don Pasquale Pistachio Cream Liqueur, Lörch Bratapfel Sahnelikör (baked apple cream liqueur), Zünftler Alte Williams Christ Birne (pear brandy), Lörch Williams Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (pear spirit aged in a wooden cask) and Lörch Marille Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (apricot spirit aged in a wooden cask), and Bronze to Lörch Obst Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (fruit spirit aged in a wooden cask).

Georg Hemmeter – XUXU, Escorial, SILLA EL FUERTE

Georg Hemmeter – strawberry drinks with exceptional flavour guaranteed

The name Georg Hemmeter – a company of the Underberg Group – stands for innovative spirits, in particular the XUXU range. The fresh and fruity strawberry drink contains 66 percent fruit plus crystal-clear vodka, rounded off with a dash of lime. The harmony between the sweetness of the fruit and just 15% alcohol by volume is created using a special production method. XUXU Ten, the little luxury in a 250 ml aluminium bottle with only 10% alcohol by volume, is dressed to party – it is still relatively new to the market, yet is already at home in all the world’s top party venues.
XUXU can be served in so many different ways: chilled, neat, on crushed ice, as a dessert topping, with sparkling wine or with other mixers – XUXU tastes heavenly and offers fresh and fruity pleasure. Welcome to Berrydise!

Initially the absolute top star in Greece, XUXU is now also number 1 in Russia, and extremely popular in Turkey and Italy too.


XUXU Strawberry & Vodka Drink and XUXU Ten won Gold at the World Spirits Award 2014.