World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

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.

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).

Garagenbrenner Wöhrer – Expertise and continuity

Some 35 years ago, Manfred Wöhrer started out as an amateur schnapps distiller, using rented equipment. Today, this ‘garage distiller’ and quality fanatic is one of the great masters of the distillery scene. In the past, he has applied his profound expertise to producing high-quality brandies in national and international tasting sessions as a former taster and valued member of the jury.

Manfred Wöhrer pursued his career as a master builder until 2010 when he handed over the construction firm to his son, Christoph. Now retired, he has more time to dedicate to distilling – and with growing success! Based on a secure foundation, he has built up a wide range of expressive distillates which are typical of their varieties and all bear his unique signature. No nonsense but classy, free from fancy names or marketing gimmicks.

Master distiller Manfred Wöhrer monitors all of the work processes in person, supported by family and friends: from the selection of the fruits and identification of the right time to harvest, to the selective determination of the distillery process, filling and packing. Annual production totals approx. 4,000 bottles, distributed across 16 to 18 different products. Particular emphasis is placed on the quality increase of the traditional brandies: apple, Williams pear, apricot, damson and cherry. Manfred Wöhrer has been working at a new distillery since 2005 – a bright room for working, tasting and shopping, where visitors can acquire first-hand knowledge at distilling demonstrations and tasting seminars.

Classified as a World Class Distillery 2018, there was double gold für Zwetschke 48 Reserva fassgelagert (barrel-aged damson) (Spirit of the Year 2018), gold for apricot and damson, and silver for yellow Williams pear, red Williams pear and sour cherry.

Breaks Premium Dry Gin – Extraordinary recipe

Breaks Premium Dry Gin is manufactured in a small distillery in Karlsruhe in the traditional London Dry style. By hand, in many single stages, from the careful inspection of the hand-picked ingredients to the bottling and numbering of the elegant bottles. The naturally secret recipe is extraordinary: as well as juniper berries, there is also fennel, camomile, cardamom, coriander, cubeb pepper, lavender, larch needles, orange blossoms, liquorice, cinnamon flowers and lemon peel. All botanicals come from controlled organic farming and are macerated in organic agricultural alcohol.

The ‘man behind the distillate’, Harald Reinholz, began his first distilling efforts in 2014 – his grandfather was a passionate distiller. After a year of experimenting, he settled on a final recipe: a harmonious composition of herbs, fruits and spices, fresh and fruity, gentle and mild. How you drink Breaks Gin, whether neat, on ice, with tonic or in a cocktail (recipes on the website!), is your own personal decision – either way, it’s grounds for a small timeout under the slogan ‘Take Your Break’. Anyone wanting to enjoy a ‘holistic’ gin experience, will also find glasses, mugs, T-shirts, caps and other accessories as well as aromatic liquid soaps in the Online Shop.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Breaks Reserve Dry Gin, and silver for Breaks Reserve (barrel-matured) Dry Gin.