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Müller von Kralik: Porky46 – London Dry Gin from Lake Constance

Some years ago, Alexander Müller von Kralik started to devote himself to artisanal spirits in the little town of Immenstaad at Lake Constance. He is directly descended from famous Bohemian glass manufacturers and values the purity of products. After living near London for several years, gin was not unfamiliar to him. But he found most products on the market too simple, too rough and sharp to be enjoyed pure. He therefore set himself the goal of creating a purist London Dry Gin, without adding flavouring or even sugar, absolutely clean and smooth.

‘Lola’, with which distilling is very slow, was produced by the internationally renowned coppersmith Arnold Holstein in the neighbouring village of Markdorf. A traditional London recipe is combined with rare plants from around the world. The 46 manually processed organic botanicals include juniper berries from Tuscany, coriander seeds from England, pepper from Madagascar and Asia, and blossoms and herbs from the Lake Konstanz region. Distilling takes place in small batches of around 150 bottles. After a resting time of more than four months, Porky46 is reduced to 46 volume percent with soft water from Lake Constance, infused with crystal clear alpine streams. There is no filtering before bottling. Every bottle is corked by hand and sealed with wax. Over a further two months, the full taste unfolds, before the handcrafted gin is put on the market. Connoisseurs enjoy it simply on ice with a slice of lemon – or as a traditional gin & tonic.

At the World Spirits Award, silver was awarded to Porky46.

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.

Family of Hounds – Sought and found

Andrea Frigerio and his English wife, Lina, live in Monaco with their two dogs, Spot and Magda, two wonderful additions to the family. Since they started taking the two for walks in town, they have made many new friends. Andrea and Lina used to be red wine drinkers, who spent their holidays in the wine hills of Italy and France. It was only in 2013, while visiting a country estate in England, that they discovered their love for a good G & T. This developed into a passion, and their discussions soon revolved around what it would be like to create their own gin.

They tasted intensively, discarded aromas they didn’t like, and extracted the aromas they did. Together with the master distiller in an old distillery in Piedmont, they created their recipe for the gin: juniper, lemon and orange peel, pink grapefruit, lavender, thyme, cardamom, ginger and coriander. The first three ingredients come from Italy, the rest from Asia. “The juniper is really loud, like a brightly lit disco floor, and the other botanicals dance around it. Together, they are like a lively, attention-seeking dog that can’t sit still.”

In the future, they are looking to establish a small family of spirits, from gin to vodka and from grappa to vermouth – unmistakable in taste, but accessible to everyone. The core of the philosophy is going out with good friends, enjoying a good meal and even better spirits. The first step has already been taken …

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Family of Hounds Gin.

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.