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Absintherie Celle à Guilloud: A legend with a past and a future

The homeland of absinthe is an area which defies borders: from Val-de-Travers in Switzerland to Pontarlier in France. A wormwood herb with an exceptional flavour grows here in the French-Swiss Jura, which gives absinthe its shared heritage – historically, industrially, socially and culturally. After being re-licensed in Switzerland and France, the region has set itself the goal of promoting the original absinthe and its origins. This has given rise to the ‘Route de l’Absinthe’ with interesting places, events and products relating to the ‘green fairy’ along the way. One such station is the small Absintherie Celle à Guilloud in Fleurier, Val-de-Travers.

For centuries, the location in the canton of Neuchâtel has been a centre of the watch-making industry and the homeland of two Nobel Prize winners. Here, the legend of the valley (formerly also a centre of absinthe distilling) lives on. Daniel Guilloud’s different versions of the mysterious, aromatic drink are far from the industrial standard – visitors can see this for themselves on a tour of the distillery. The beautifully furnished store sells absinthe in various forms, as well as limited editions, hand-blown glass bottles, accessories and much more; above all, though, riveting stories about the mysterious past of absinthe, told by Pierre-André Matthey, the successor to founder Daniel Guilloud. Both received the World Spirits Award 2025 honoris causa for their lives’ work.

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Absinthe La Guilloudtine 68°, gold for Absinthe Celle du Docteur 54° and for Absinthe Celle à Guilloud 54°.

Havana Club International

Havana Club International was founded in November 1993 by Cuba Ron and the French Pernod Ricard Group with the aim of developing the brand internationally through its powerful distribution network. In 2007, a distillery was opened in San José de Las Lajas to meet the increasing demand for matured rums. Today, Havana Club is the number three international rum brand in the world and the leader in super-premium rums. Exports are made to more than 125 countries, with the exception of the USA, where Cuban products are banned due to the trade embargo. The most important export markets in Europe are Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK, and over the Atlantic are Chile, Canada, Argentina and Mexico.

The name ‘El Ron de Cuba’ stands for Cuba’s culture, climate, geography and history. In the modern distillery, the production process is monitored by four Maestros del Ron Cubano to ensure compliance with production laws. The process includes the extraction of the sugar cane juice, the production of the molasses, fermentation and continuous distillation. The result is aguardiente that is at least two years old, filtered through charcoal for purity and only blended when the maestros have confirmed its maturity. Natural ageing in the tropical climate contributes to its unique character. In 2022, UNESCO declared the top products to be a world cultural heritage and highlighted their role in preserving the craft of Cuban rum.

At the World Spirits Award, the Master Class Distillery 2024 received gold for Havana Club Original Añejo 3 Años, Havana Club Selección de Maestros and Havana Club Añejo Especial, and silver for Havana Club Añejo 7 Años and Havana Club Añejo 15 Años.

Bimmerle: Know-how meets regionality and trend awareness

At the production site in the Black Forest town of Sasbach, which was opened in 2015, this family business sets innovative standards in technology, sustainability and environmental protection. For the last five decades, Bimmerle has strived for the highest quality, with focussed know-how, modern high-tech and the traditional art of distilling. This is the first distillery in Germany where all the heating requirements and power generation are covered by the burning of fruit stones combined with woodchips from the region.

In Germany and on the European market, Bimmerle is a leader in the fruit brandies sector with the Lörch brand. In order to make the ‘playground’ more interesting, the brand identity was modernised in 2024 and will be extended in 2025 by a fruit brandy range matured in wooden casks. Needle Black Forest Gin is among the top 5 most widely sold gins in Germany. The portfolio has been expanded since 2018 with WOOD STORK Spiced Rum and the EVERMANN Black Forest whiskies Theo & Wilhelm introduced in 2022. The Black Forest distillery has enriched the liqueur and aperitif market with as many as five exciting creations under the DON PASQUALE brand.

The World Class Distillery 2025 & Distillery of the Year 2025 – Bronze (Bitters & Liqueurs) received Gold for Don Pasquale Limoncello Liqueur, Zünftler Waldhimbeergeist (wild raspberry spirit), Wood Stork Spiced Rum, Lörch Waldhimbeergeist (wild raspberry spirit), Lörch Vanillekipferl Sahnelikör (vanilla cream liqueur), Needle Gin Green, Don Pasquale Aperitif Bitter Liqueur, Don Pasquale Espresso Martini Liqueur, Don Pasquale Hazelnut Liqueur and Lörch Linzertorte Sahnelikör (Linzer tart cream liqueur). Silver was awarded to Kronenhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Lörch Alte Williams Christ Birne (pear brandy), Zinselhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Lörch Altes Schwarzwälder Zwetschgenwasser (damson spirit), Needle Blackforest Distilled Dry Gin, Needle Gin Rosé, Don Pasquale Pistachio Cream Liqueur, Lörch Bratapfel Sahnelikör (baked apple cream liqueur), Zünftler Alte Williams Christ Birne (pear brandy), Lörch Williams Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (pear spirit aged in a wooden cask) and Lörch Marille Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (apricot spirit aged in a wooden cask), and Bronze to Lörch Obst Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (fruit spirit aged in a wooden cask).