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Säly Edelbrände & Gin: Voralberg newcomer with a passion

Patrick Säly, born in 1971, lives in Tschagguns in Montafon. The professional photographer started distilling in the autumn of 2020 as a COVID-19 project and has been working with gin since March 2021. As a newcomer, he works hard on perfection through perseverance. He does everything himself, from planting the trees to labelling the bottles. “My aim is to offer a clean, tasty and chemical-free product with a clear conscience. I myself am also a critical consumer and would like to pass this on as a producer!”

Priority is given to the regionality of the raw materials. His working principles are thoroughness, accuracy and cleanliness. Almost 100 percent of the fruit comes from the region, some of it from his own young trees, but most of it collected from mainly old, rare varieties. In 2022, over five tons of fruit were harvested by hand. The gin also contains many botanicals from the region, some from higher altitudes, such as wild rowan berries, Swiss stone pine cones, larch needles, gentian roots, cranberries, blueberries and more. Around 25 brandies, spirits, liqueurs and gin are produced in small quantities. Distillation takes place in a 76-litre column with water bath and agitator, operated with 12 kW of electricity. The company supplies the region’s top restaurants and has seven sales outlets in addition to the farm shop.

At the World Spirits Award 2025, Gold was awarded to Montafoner Zwetschkenbrand (damson brandy), Rote Pichlbirne (red pear), Roter Enzian (red gentian), Montafoner Obst- und Gemüsebrand (fruit and vegetable brandy) and Schindla Gin. Silver went to Montafoner Kirschbrand (cherry brandy), Montafoner Kräuterlikör (herb liqueur), Montafoner Dörrzwetschken Likör (prune liqueur), Heubluama Gin (hay flower gin), Montafoner Zirben Likör (arolla pine liqueur) and Montafoner Latschenlikör (dwarf pine liqueur).

St. Lucia Distillers – The Gold Standard for Rum

“St. Lucia Distillers is small, innovative and focussed on quality”, explains company director Michael Speakman. “Producing premium rum is the core focus of our corporate philosophy, and closely related with it are all other market activities. The members of our team are not afraid of taking risks and we innovate. We like to experiment with the production process and are delighted if this results in the creation of world class products.”

The company was founded in 1972 based on two long-established firms: the Barnard Family Estate in Dennery and Geest in the Roseau Valley, which is now the current site. Back then, the company was a mass producer of basic rum. Over the years, it has developed to become a specialist in premium rum with a comprehensive selection on offer today. Visitors to the St. Lucia Distillers are taken on a journey into the world of rum – ideally as part of a tour. The cultural heritage of this Caribbean island and its traditional rum production are brought to life. From the vats of molasses, which are full of the liquid, aromatic raw material, to the shiny copper tanks and oak casks (Bourbon to Port) to the storage and maturation of the rum.

The World Class Distillery 2018 (Distillery of the Year 2018 – Gold) won double gold for 1931 Sixth Edition (World Spirits Award 2018 & Spirit of the Year 2018), gold for Chairman’s Reserve The Forgotten Cask, Admiral Rodney, Chairman’s Reserve Spiced and Chairman’s Reserve Original Gold.

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.