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Stock Polska – Prestige products with history

Polmos Lublin (known today as Stock Polska) was founded by the industrialist Emil Plage in Lublin in 1906 and was able to survive both world wars and the communist state leadership. The company was nationalised in 1948 and re-privatised in 2001. It traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange until 2005 and was sold in 2006. The new owners, Oaktree Capital Management, purchased the spirits division from Eckes Stock in 2007 and thereby laid the foundations for the current Stock Spirits Group. The company has its headquarters in Luxembourg, its service centre in Great Britain and its production sites in the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland.

Stock dates back to the year 1884 when Lionello Stock founded a beverages business in Trieste. He purchased a distillery in 1920 in what is currently part of the Czech Republic with the aim of tapping into new markets. This was followed by distilleries, bottling plants and warehouses in Italy, Austria, Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia. In the 1920s, Stock was one of the biggest companies of its kind in Europe.

After an absence of 70 years, Stock returned to Poland and began to manufacture at the historic site of Lublin, 150 kilometres south-east of Warsaw. Intensive investment led to the creation of the most modern distillery in Poland and a leadership position on the vodka market. Poland’s most popular flavoured vodka is produced here: Zoladkowa Gorzka.

Lots of Stock products are produced by traditional recipes. These classical brands appeal to connoisseurs all over the world. In return, work is constantly being done on innovations that correspond to modern tastes and new drinking cultures. Quality standards are constantly upheld in both areas, of course.

The quality of the products was recognised at the World Spirits Award with a gold medal for the Orkisz Spelt Vodka.

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).

Gans Feinbrand Manufaktur – Sophisticated gin from a well-established production process

In a small village in the March of Brandenburg, there is a quartet enthusiasts with a love for detail at work who want to express their passion for excellent spirits with their own products. It is here that they produce regional products with a special signature, such as GANS Gin. Exotic botanicals from far afield are not used, but twelve ‘unassuming’ local ingredients are used to compose a lively symphony, the notes of which already play a beautiful tune in the nose.

GANS Gin belongs to a young, innovative gin category, the New Western Style, where the focus is not on the juniper, and other aromas are given more room. The fresh, fruity, flowery gin is characterised by a combination of aronia berries, acacia blossom, rosehip, blackberries, oat straw, clover, lemon herbs, and daisies. The juniper unfolds its typical notes in a complex postlude of flavours on the palate.

The alcoholic base is the best farmer’s raw alcohol, produced in Germany using local products. Together with the organic botanicals, it is carefully distilled and then diluted with especially soft water. Distilled in small batches, GANS Gin is a very special boutique spirit for long drinks, cocktails and, above all, pure enjoyment – nothing unusual, just something simply unique.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for GANS Quince Liqueur.

Mamont Vodka – The spirit of adventure

The exclusive Mamont Vodka was presented in Austria for the first time at the Vienna Opera Ball in 2016. Its development was not brought about thanks to market research, but rather thanks to two spectacular adventures to the lands of eternal ice. When twelve brave men had to make an emergency landing at the South Pole in 2001, they were only able to escape their icy prison due to their irrepressible will to survive – and because they were able to warm themselves with vodka. Only a year later they attracted more attention on their next adventure. The ice of the Siberian tundra had released a massive mammoth tusk. They started an expedition immediately and, together with scientists, they were able to retrieve an 18,000-year-old mammoth. To pay homage to this symbol of Siberia they decided to produce a vodka that would remind them of the cold and beauty of this country and the magical moments in life.

The unique, curved shape of the vodka bottle represents the mammoth tusk – and the quality standards are unequalled. Mamont Vodka is manufactured in the oldest distillery in Russia, and was founded in 1868 by Konstantin Platonov and Gregoriy Badyn. The plant still stands on the banks of the river Itkul at the foot of the imposing Altai Mountains, and it is the last distillery in Russia that exclusively uses malted grains for alcohol production. Mamont Vodka is made from white winter wheat and is distilled six times. Combined with pure glacier water and filtered through charcoal from native silver birch, it achieves an exceptional silky texture and remarkable clarity. For this it was awarded clear gold at the World Spirits Award.