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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.

Stroh – The Spirit of Austria

The traditional Stroh brand is a symbol of the Austrian attitude to life. Sebastian Stroh laid the foundation for the company’s success story in 1832 when he began the commercial production of liqueurs and rosolios. By 1926, 100 different specialities and 1.2 million bottles were already being produced. In 1969, Hanno Maurer-Stroh took over as the fifth generation manager of the family business at the age of 21 and redesigned it to suit the requirements of the modern market. In 1994, Stroh was the leading spirits brand in Austria and the brand is also sold in over 30 countries across the world. Following the merger with Stock and other changes, Harold Burstein, Managing Director of Stock Austria, took over the company management in August 2008 as part of a 100% management buyout. Stroh rum has been 100% produced in Austria since spring 2009 and is still refined using the finest essences and flavours.

The novelty STROH Fire is a liqueur based on a recipe from the 19th century that was believed lost. The combination of the distinctive STROH flavour and an infusion of the Hot Bird’s Eye chilli, which is also produced in the factory, has the potential of becoming the hot shot of the catering and bar scene. STROH Fire tastes good as an ice-cold shot or as a basis for spicy long drinks. It goes well with intensive soft drinks such as ginger beer or Almdudler.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Stroh Fire Chili Spiced Liqueur.

Gebhard Hämmerle Privatbrennerei – Every drop is a treasure

More than 130 years ago, Gebhard Hämmerle laid the foundation stone for the Vorarlberg fine distillation dynasty with the foundation of the Freihof Distillery. In 1952, his grandson and successor decided to produce limited vintage brandies, made from the best fruit of each harvest. Since then, the Gebhard Hämmerle Distillery has been producing crystal-clear delicacies of this brand. “Making good fruit brandies is a solid handcraft; to capture the finest nuances of the aroma and flavour of a fruit in a distillate, is an art.” The traditional distillation processes have been perfected in accordance with this principle for over 50 years. An uncompromising selection process over many stages of production ensures that only the best (‘Vom ganz Guten’) comes into the conical bottles.

Every single harvest batch is processed separately. All bottles display the year, the bottling date and the batch number. Thus the development of the distillates can be followed over the years, which ensures the basis for top class distillates. The best cultivation methods and the best varieties can be chosen over the years of searching for the ideal fruit with a typical aroma and an optimal degree of maturity. Apart from pure pome, drupe, and berry brandies, a gentian distillate compliments the standard range as an Alpine rarity. Great vintage years as well as choice wild fruits are offered in limited batches as ‘Herzstück’ (‘core’ elements). This term is only used for fruit brandy rarities which reach the personal ideals of exceptional quality. Gebhard Hämmerle has fulfilled a dream with this.

The World Class Distillery 2016 was in the spotlight with a great haul: there was double gold for Herzstück Brombeere (blackberry) (World Spirits Award 2016), gold for Vom ganz Guten Vogelbeere (rowanberry), Herzstück Traubenkirsch (black cherry), Vom ganz Guten Enzian (gentian), Herzstück Mispel (medlar) and Vom ganz Guten Williams (Williams pear), silver for Herzstück Himbeere (raspberry), Herzstück Quitte (quince) and Vom ganz Guten Holunder (elderberry).