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Aldi Ireland: Gin and whiskey in retail

Aldi Ireland has several top products in its spirit range: Boyle’s Gin from the Blackwater Distillery and Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery, in addition, Mo Chara Passionfruit & Mango Gin from the Old Carrick Mill.

The Blackwater Distillery has been an Aldi partner since 2016 and developed the private label Boyle’s Gin exclusively for the Irish and British retail market. The product volume of the Blackwater Distillery for Aldi has risen strongly in recent years, whereby 140,800 bottles of the gin series were sold in 2018. The successful gin brand is manufactured in Blackwater Valley, West Waterford, with selected imported ingredients as well as regional apples, blackcurrants and elderflower. CEO Peter Mulryan – former TV producer and author of the book ‘The Whiskeys of Ireland’ – explains, “The partnership with Aldi has helped us to increase turnover enormously, and also to have the security to invest and expand. This includes on-site bottling facilities and a visitor centre.” Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery got its name from the region in County Cork where the malted barley comes from, and is only manufactured in small batches. The business was founded in 2003 by childhood friends who started out with only two small stills they had bought in Switzerland. Now the largest distillery in the country, it currently employs over 80 staff and exports to around 70 countries.

Beim World-Spirits Award 2025 gab es Gold für Ardfallen 10 Year Old Whiskey, Dúchas Irish Whiskey, Silver für Ardfallen Triple Cask Whiskey, Boyle‘s Sloe & Damson Gin, Dolmen Honey Moonshine.

Fuchshof – Product diversity from Lake Constance

Fruit is cultivated in the third generation at the Fuchshof Farm on the shores of Lake Constance near Constance, these days on around 25 hectares. The fruity diversity includes apples, pears, cherries, damsons, strawberries, blackcurrants, raspberries and gooseberries. Recent test plantings with apricots, peaches and nectarines are also of excellent quality. Fresh fruit is sold in the farm shop on site, but also processed in many ways: the range includes more than 20 different jams, fruit spreads and jellies, juices and ciders, cakes and gateaux from the farm cake shop – and, of course, brandies, spirits and liqueurs.

One focal point of production are the classic fruit brandies of the region, such as Obstler (fruits), Williams Christ (pear) or Apfelbrand (apple brandy); the specialities include pear brandy made exclusively from the fruit from the surrounding orchards, as well as a wooden barrel aged apple brandy made with the Rubinette variety. Brand-new in the wide range of products is the Dry Fox Gin, with herbs from the region and fruits from the farm. This gin was Benjamin Fuchs’ final project in his training as fine brandy sommelier. His brother Florian and father Heinrich are also trained fine brandy sommeliers.

The farm has had distilling rights since 1928. Originally, they were dedicated to agriculture and dairy farming, but since 1978 the traditional farm ceased to exist and made room for fruit growing. The first strawberries were planted and, in 1984, the first orchard was planted. And, since the end of the 1980s, the farm shop with its wide range is an attractive address for connoisseurs.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for the new product, Dry Fox Gin.

Rum Enterprise: A new era of Cuban rum

Towards the end of 2020, the French spirits company Moët Hennessy announced the market launch of Eminente Reserva. The rum was developed with César Martí, Maestro Ronero of the Cuban state enterprise Cuba Ron. He experiments with different degrees of maturation of aguardientes, especially aromatic and complex sugar cane distillates, in different surroundings and barrels. Eminente Reserva represents a combination of the two Cuban rum types, the intensive-dry Occidente and the fruity-mild Oriente, inspired by the 19th century, enriched by a mix of different sugar cane distillates that have been stored for years in whisky barrels made of white oak. The proportion of 70 percent by volume aguardientes is one of the highest in the country and sets new benchmarks. Eminente Gran Reserva, a ten-year-old rum that received a three-month finish in French oak barrels, matured in a cellar where water evaporates faster than alcohol, hence the above-average alcohol content.

César Martí grew up amidst large sugar cane plantations. During his chemistry studies, he completed an internship at the central distillery where his interest in the production process started. Later, with the knowledge he gained, he carried out projects and research, developed improvements on his way to being a Master of Rum, and designed new products. In particular, he learned to love rum as an authentic expression of the local culture. In 2009, he was awarded the prestigious accolade of the youngest Maestro Ronero in the country by the management of the Cuba Ron Corporation.

At the World Spirits Award 2025, there was Gold for Eminente Ámbar Claro, and Silver for Eminente Reserva.