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Elch Edelbrände: Brandies, whisky and beers from Franconia

Georg Kugler (born in 1977) used to stand in wonder in front of his godfather’s still as a child and wanted every single step explained to him in detail. In 2002, he fulfilled his dream: he took over his godfather’s renowned restaurant, including the distillery rights, and he added a brewery. In 2013, the now father-of-three replaced the original distillery from the 1960s with a highly modern system with one of the largest stills in the country (1,000 l).

This passionate distiller has experimented with different fermentation temperatures, distilling methods and different yeasts, and developed his own line of straight brandies that are clearly defined in taste. As one of the first fine brandy sommeliers (2012) and beer sommeliers (2013), he is fascinated by the nuances of flavours, and he also combines the worlds of brewing and distilling. And so, you can find brandies maturing in wooden casks besides Williams pear, quince and cherry brandies in historic rock caverns. A few years ago, Georg Kugler began to work more intensively with whisky. He has been producing the smoky Single Malt Whisky since 2017, for which the malt is kiln-dried for the first time over German peat. The storage in sherry, bourbon and acacia wood barrels provides the Elch whisky with its special aroma.

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Fass 41, gold for Fass 1, Fass 24, Torf vom Dorf, and silver for Akazienfass Nr. 15.

WOB Destillerie Wolfram Ortner: Transition to new times

High-quality, handcrafted products are made at Wolfram Ortner’s distillery and coffee company in the Carinthian Nock-Land region. The products are available in the WOB shop there or online (www.wob.at). The ‘World Spirits’ brand has also been making waves, contributing to the improvement of international spirit culture. This involves World Spirits Academy courses to become a Master of World Spirits.

It all started in 1989 with the aim of producing perfect distillates, setting trends and leaving a recognisable WOB mark through innovation. Distillates, medicinals, coffee and cigar distillates, essences, ‘parfum de vie’ and Café dö WOB: Ortner’s mark is evident in every product. The rum boom started in 2016 with a white and a blonde light rum; in the first year, six different barrels were produced and primarily stored in barriques made of Limousin oak. On 25 November 2019, there was an explosion at the distillery, which set the course for the future even before the 60th birthday of the passionate distiller, Wolfram Ortner. The large site with the fermentation tanks suffered total destruction; a small copper still is now displayed in the distillation room in memory of better times.

At the beginning of 2000, there was a switch to smoked and not toasted Limousin oak barrels, following the bourbon model. The result of the longer storage are special creations. In 2024, the contents of the last barrels will be emptied for bottling into vintages: rum, apple, wine lees. More time will be invested in art. WOBart is highly regarded and includes lots of new sculptures and installations, as well as pictures and design items. Another focus is the project IWS.tv videos (also on YouTube) with the Inside World Spirits Shots and the formats Shorts, Fibel and Flash.

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Omega Weinhefe Holz (wine lees, wood) (Spirit of the Year 2024), gold for KGB Kräuter-Gewürz Bitter, FAP Rum XV, FAP Whisky XV, FAP Brandy XV, Omega Apfel 2014 Barrique and Omega Apfel 2000 Barrique.

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.

Ehrenwert GmbH: One recipe – two families

One recipe – two families. Each family has its own carefully guarded secret recipe, and with the Lücke family this remained in the hands of grandfather Heinz and later his son Dieter for many decades. Long enough, thought sons Thomas and Christian. In any case, it is the ‘Felsenfeuer’ herb liqueur that once made the Lücke Distillery one of the most important in Münsterland. After the war they continued the success story which first began in the 18th century, with this herb liqueur, using the recipe that Heinz Lücke worked out. In the 1950s everyone was talking about it, but in the 1960s the era of the distillery and the herb liqueur ended. But not for good – 60 years later it celebrated its resurrection with the ‘Freudenfeuer’.

Whilst searching for a distillery, Thomas and Christian kept to family tradition, as their grandmother was a Sasse, and the Sasses’ fine distillery in Schöppingen is still well known today. Following a traditional recipe from 1947 the new liqueur is distilled in small batches and is bottled by hand after a ten-day rest period. Ready to enjoy: neat and ice cold like in the time of our grandfathers, or smoother, on ice with lightly pressed orange zest, or as a basis for a long drink with tonic water or ginger ale. To old times and new friends!

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Freudenfeuer.