World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

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.

Raunikar - Popular for generations

In the past, digging out roots in the forests and on Alpine pastures was a business of wood cutters, former miners and charcoal burners. The gentian root was particularly sought after, as it was considered a universal panacea - and served, of course, as the raw material for brandy. The "Wurzelgraber" by Raunikar is resinous-spicy liqueur made from mountain herbs, fully in line with the company's tradition.

If you are talking spirits and schnapps in Carinthia and Eastern Tyrol, Raunikar immediately comes to mind. What began three generations ago in Feldkirchen, carries on in this tradition into the present and it is now combined with modern know-how. This is reflected in the popularity of the products from fruit, herbs and roots among customers in retail and the hospitality trade.

They work using traditional methods in order to produce outstanding spirits. Raw ingredients of a high quality, a controlled fermenting process, maturation in steel tanks and continuous quality control are some of the factors that single out a good distillery. After all, distillers need to meet the demands of quality-conscious customers who appreciate a good traditional Austrian schnapps.

In addition, the "Raunikar method" has a unique feature: the raw spirits, the result of the first distillation, are already subjected to storage and consequently undergo maturation and characterisation at this early stage. Only after this phase of rest does the fine distilling take place, which particularly brings out the essence of the fruit. This elaborate procedure was deliberately chosen, for this is the only way to obtain products which guarantee a symbiosis between the naturalness and sophistication.

At this year's World Spirits Award, "Wurzelgraber" won silver and the gin gold.