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Aura Proizvodi: Delicacies from Croatia

This family business invests a great deal of handicraft and devotion into every product. Aside from jams made of figs, plums, dandelion, cornel cherries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cherries, apricots, oranges and cinnamon, they offer 29 brandies made from fruits and herbs, as well as four gins. The basis of all these is homemade brandy from pomace, pears or apples. This is used for Biska (mistletoe brandy), Medenica (honey brandy) and Teranino (red wine liqueur), spirits made of figs, carob, cornel cherries, almonds, olives, peppermint, plums, rose blossom, sage, forest fruits, wild apples, wild pears and even more besides. The product range also includes a herb liqueur with wormwood, Millefrutti (made of macerated wild fruits), Biska extra (made of white mistletoe), Limoncello, Orancello, Fernet Amaro 78, the first Croatian aperitif Ora d’Oro and the new Premium Pelinkovac Victoris. The product range is headed by Premium Gin Karbun (made of wheat distillate, juniper berries and 20 spices). The gin is filtered through active carbon that is also offered when serving. The products are sold at wine shops, delicatessens, hotels, restaurants and airports. They have their own shops in Hum, the smallest town in the world, in Buzet, the town of truffles, in Novigrad, in Grožnjanu, the artists’ village, in Porec, Motovun, Rovinj and Pula. They also supply to Rijeka, Split, Vrbnik on the island of Krk and the island of Cres. Starting in 2024, they have opened shops in Slovenia as well.

At the World Spirits Award, this Master Class Distillery 2026 won Gold for Aura Premium Pelinkovac Victoris, Aura Limoncello and Aura Teranino, and Silver for Aura Fernet Amaro 78, Aura Gin Karbun and Orancello.

Son Tinh – Tradition with a future

In 1993, ethnology student Markus Madeja travelled to Vietnam as a tourist – and he stayed. He went on to become a successful entrepreneur – with no start-up capital or bank loan, simply a convincing business idea. Today he has seven restaurants and a large distillery with more than 200 employees and a sales volume of 2 million dollars. Tradition is very important to him as are the Swiss virtues of quality and continuity.
His distilling started out on a small scale with 2 litre containers. His home was his production site. Following the opening of his first and second bars, the products began to gain in popularity and he decided to shift to a bigger scale. Today, the company has a modern distillery on the edge of Hanoi with a European level of technology. The secret to the schnapps: time to mature. They are produced according to Vietnamese recipes but marketed with western concepts and an innovative look: “The glass contains the soul of the schnapps but a pretty face sells it better!” The offer includes traditional herb schnapps with ginseng and other herbs and roots, sweet fruit liqueurs based on rice wine and a premium range with fruit distillates. The latter range will be expanded further in the future.
These schnapps varieties are unaffordable for the majority of the local population; a bottle costs around one tenth of the average monthly salary. However, the affluent young elite are benefiting from the economic boom and buying luxury goods. This luxury has brought about a renaissance for Madeja. He is now working with the farmers to further develop the traditional cultivation methods for the raw materials (e.g. rose apples) and the image of the products.
The World Spirits Award brought success for these exotic products: three golds for N?p Phú L?c (Phu Loc Sticky Rice Liquor), Minh Mang and B? Sa Pa.

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.

At the World Spirits Award, there was Gold for Ardfallen 10 Year Old Whiskey and Boyle’s Gin, and Silver for Boyle’s Sloe & Damson Gin and Ardfallen Whiskey.

Tradition Mexico – Tequila without compromises

The friends behind Padre azul, the new tequila in the premium segment, stand united on one matter: their passion for Mexico. “We appreciate high quality tequila, and with Padre azul we are bringing an exclusive product to Europe. We searched for the perfect distillery for a long time. At Tres Mujeres in Jalisco in the highlands of Mexico we found what we were looking for.” 100% Mexico – 100% handcraft – 100% agave.

These requirements and quality criteria apply to the whole production process, which is why each bottle also wears the sought-after quality seal from the Mexican authorities, “Consejo Regulador del Tequila” (CRT). There were no compromises when it came to the design of the bottles: they are made by hand and adorned with a 270g skull which represents the skull culture of Mexico.

Padre azul is available in three grades of maturity, depending on the length of storage. The Añejo usually spends eighteen months in French oak barrels to achieve a mature, full-bodied taste. The Reposado needs at least eight months in barrels for its subtle vanilla tone. The Blanco is a clear tequila which is bottled straight after distillation – it is soft and mild in taste. None of the three need salt or lemon – you can enjoy them neat. True to the motto: no compromises.

At the World Spirits Award, the trio was very successful: there was double gold for Super Premium Tequila Padre azul anejo, gold for Super Premium Tequila Padre azul reposado, and silver for Super Premium Tequila Padre azul blanco.