World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

Herman Jansen Beverages: A global player for genever, gin, and more

Genever, a predecessor of gin, has been produced for centuries in the southern Dutch city of Schiedam near Rotterdam. This is where Peter Jansen founded his distillery in 1777. Following an eventful history and several mergers, the business has grown into a global network. Today, the family company is run by Diederik Jansen in its seventh generation. Craftsmanship, quality and innovation still set trends. The master distiller, two product developers and three beverage manufacturers make up the core team who together have more than a hundred years of experience.

Herman Jansen is an expert in the development and production of spirits and related products and uses his know-how to offer custom solutions. Sustainable partnerships are pursued, whereby in business to business the full-service approach pays off – both sides benefit from the 240 years of experience in distillation and years of knowledge of the market. The wide selection of modern products ranges from local specialities like Dutch genever, Friesian bitters and liqueurs to international rums and a wide range of vodka and gin brands.

As a representative of the cult drink genever, which can hold its own against the popular gin wave through constant effort and striving for a contemporary adaptation, the company received the World Spirits Award 2022 for lifetime achievement. Gold was awarded to Herman Jansen Master Distiller's Choice 2013.

Euphoria: Rediscovery of an inspiring drink

After being hidden for more than a century, a very old recipe has once again come to light: Artista has been reborn. The unusual story behind it starts in a dark attic, with a yellowed sheet of paper as the guardian of a secret: a bitter drink with an old-fashioned taste, referred to as the ‘quintessence of creativity’. The legend tells of painters, musicians and poets from the old continent, who enjoyed a mysterious, amber-coloured elixir in Livorno that was able to bring their most inspired works to life – somewhere between a meeting at a literary café and a walk along the famous coast of this exceptional town. Freed from taxes and other duties, it was populated by merchants, artists and seafarers of various cultures and origins. It was a port of people and goods, and a crossroads for ideas in particular, which was able to inspire many – even if they were just passing through.

Selected according to the old original recipe, the ingredients were rediscovered and reworked in the search for an elegant and enticing taste. 33 herbs, spices and extracts are traditionally processed to create an exclusive and absolutely timeless bitter. The result is an amber-coloured liqueur boasting a hint of aromatic lemon and a sweet and delicate lasting taste.

Amaro Artista achieved gold at the World Spirits Award.

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.