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Luding Group: Vodka Tchaikovsky as a high-spirited homage to the famous composer

At the beginning of the 1990s, the modern distillery ‘Fortuna’ was launched in a green field in the south of Russia – in the Krasnodar region, a strip of land with spa resorts and health centres. The distillery has specialised in unusual products, in a region with a particularly green fingerprint. The vodka created in honour of the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky is special. The concept for this exceptional product is comparable with one of his musical scores: the work ‘Swan Lake’ served as an inspiration. Art enthusiasts can thus immerse themselves in the history of Russian estate life in the 19th century. The traditional white and blue colours underline the purity of this vodka.

The technical particularities span a wide quality-orientated spectrum: from the selected wheat, their own well water and the special treatment of the distillate with skimmed milk powder to the crystal-clear filtration with active birch coal. With so much perfectionism and monitoring of the individual production steps, the result is an especially gentle, animating and very typical vodka based on wheat. After the diluting of alcohol and pure distillate, the production process is continued with maturation in steel tanks. The aim is to ‘wed’ both ‘waters’, resulting in an especially harmonious vodka.

At the World Spirits Award 2022, Vodka Tchaikovsky was awarded double gold and honoured as the best vodka with the title ‘Spirit of the Year’.

Kweichow Moutai: China’s ‘national schnapps’ on the rise

Baijiu is the most popular alcoholic drink in China and Moutai the most famous brand, with a similar status to vodka in Russia or tequila in Mexico. Its origins go back over 2,000 years to the time of Emperor Wu of Han. These days, the national drink is frequently served at official state banquets and is used as the official state gift. Its protected source is the village of Maotai in the Guizhou province on the banks of the Chishui, the Red River. These days, more than 30,000 tons of the 53 percent alcohol Moutai are produced. In cooperation with Camus, a limited edition was launched as an homage to the greatest poets: after Li Bai in 2013, Du Fu followed in 2018. The elegant bottle showing a painting of a poem is made from the finest porcelain.

Traditional methods are used for the distillation of regional raw materials: organic sorghum and wheat and the best water. Fermentation takes place at high temperatures. During the production process, which takes a year, fresh grain is added twice to the boilers, then several boiling and fermentation processes take place. Every batch of the distillate is separated according to age, production cycle and aroma. It then matures slowly in terracotta containers and, during the storage period of at least five years, develops a fine soya aroma. Master blenders make sure that the characteristic, full flavour is preserved. The secret lies in the humid climate, the water from the Chishui, as well as in the distillation technique and maturing period.

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Kweichou Moutai Du Fu Edition.

Lovely Rita Spirits – With a clear concept for the future

The company Lovely Rita Spirits, based in Arizona, was founded by Ray Rita, Michael Meinerz and Bob Derks. All three have a soft spot for Latin American culture and lifestyle, run a website for the Latino community, and organise fashion shows with South American designers. So it is understandable that their focus is on the fashionable spirit, tequila. To support their activities, they have created a special brand, aimed at a predominantly progressive female audience.

The soft, balanced tequila is produced according to traditional methods in a distillery in Mexico, which has been there for 90 years. Flavoured with a touch of agave, the six times distilled vodka with a corn basis is produced and bottled in Arizona. Using the successful concept, more products will follow, such as tequila varieties with peach and orange.

In order to be able to concentrate on the further development of the brand products, they cooperate with one of the largest distributors in the USA, the Breakthru Beverage Group. In addition, the spirits are available at www.oldtowntequila.com. Brand Ambassador is the Armanetti Group – Frank Armanetti’s family was once the largest spirits dealer in Chicago.

“We as founders and our investors are convinced that, thanks to the quality of the product and the right sales channels, we have two of the three things we need. The rest is a bit of luck and a high enough turnover”, say Michael Meinerz and Bob Derks.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Lovely Rita Vodka, and silver for Lovely Rita Tequila.

Gut Schwechow - Fruit from the estate's own plantations

This manor is located 40 kilometres south-west of Schwerin, in the Mecklenburg Elbetal nature park, and has a history dating back hundreds of years. At the start of the 1990s, Gut Schwechow was taken over by beverage entrepreneur Richard Hartinger and re-gained its historic size of around 1,100 hectares through land purchasing. In addition to the agricultural activities which take place here, the site is also home to a fruit distillery, farm shop, training workshop for fruit juice technicians, a fruit must museum and much more to support the positive future development of the company.

Gourmets will find everything their heart desires at the farm shop: speciality sausages and meats from animals reared or hunted on site, freshly caught eels, trout and char from the site's own lakes, fruit jams, preserves and honey, as well as a wide selection of alcohol-free drinks, liqueurs, spirits and brandies. The crowning glory of the range are the Schwechower fruit brandies which are distilled in the first licensed distillery in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The raw materials grow here in one of the oldest fruit-growing regions of Germany. The apple brandy made from three varieties is a regional speciality that comes from the company's own plantations in the Elbtalaue region. Similarly, only the very best home-grown fruits are used for the yellow plum, cherry and prune brandies. The climate in western Mecklenburg is influenced by the Baltic Sea and is characterised by alternating cool nights and warm days which gives the fruit a striking aroma when combined with the long maturing time. Pineapple, banana and carambola from the company's own plantations in Costa Rica add a dose of exotic flavour. Premium products made from rosehip, rowanberry, service tree and wild cherry fall under the "Platinum" label and are sold in hand-blown bottles.

The apple brandies were awarded gold at the World-Spirits Award, as was the sour cherry. The pear and yellow plum brandies received silver, and likewise the blackthorn and sea buckthorn spirits.