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Klippenziege: New era in the world of gin

In December 2015, four friends captured the ‘spirit’ of an idea: they were thinking about gin. Nearly a year later a small batch was bottled by hand. The individuality of a gin lies in the combination of the botanicals, in this case it is the exotic selection: mate tea, goji berries, physalis and a hint of rose. The Klippenziege is a New Western Dry Gin, in which juniper plays the main role amongst the other botanicals.

It is produced in the Habbel Distillery, which guarantees excellent quality thanks to its experience – it was established in 1878 and is now in the family’s fourth generation. The former Korn distillery in Sprockhövel with adjoining farmland is now the largest fruit distillery in the Ruhr region, as a traditional manufacturer it stands out with its attention to detail. The entire manufacturing process at Klippenziege can also be observed on-site.

The bottle and the label are also special. Designer Levent Aydin drew it carefully by hand, and then digitalised it before perfecting it. First it is printed, then coated, then stamped and embossed. The elegant result stands for friendship, solidarity and love. Working together in a friendly and familiar atmosphere connects people with a passion for life who share one important belief: that the product should encourage people to slow down, allowing for mindful enjoyment.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for Mate Dry Gin.

Luding Group: Vodka Tchaikovsky as a high-spirited homage to the famous composer

At the beginning of the 1990s, the modern distillery ‘Fortuna’ was launched in a green field in the south of Russia – in the Krasnodar region, a strip of land with spa resorts and health centres. The distillery has specialised in unusual products, in a region with a particularly green fingerprint. The vodka created in honour of the great Russian composer Tchaikovsky is special. The concept for this exceptional product is comparable with one of his musical scores: the work ‘Swan Lake’ served as an inspiration. Art enthusiasts can thus immerse themselves in the history of Russian estate life in the 19th century. The traditional white and blue colours underline the purity of this vodka.

The technical particularities span a wide quality-orientated spectrum: from the selected wheat, their own well water and the special treatment of the distillate with skimmed milk powder to the crystal-clear filtration with active birch coal. With so much perfectionism and monitoring of the individual production steps, the result is an especially gentle, animating and very typical vodka based on wheat. After the diluting of alcohol and pure distillate, the production process is continued with maturation in steel tanks. The aim is to ‘wed’ both ‘waters’, resulting in an especially harmonious vodka.

At the World Spirits Award 2022, Vodka Tchaikovsky was awarded double gold and honoured as the best vodka with the title ‘Spirit of the Year’.

Zöchmeister = wine & brandy

A wine voyage to Bordeaux in 1989 was the trigger for a passion for wine. Christian Zöchmeister, then just 22, applied his curiosity and thirst for knowledge in his practical work from this point onwards. He attended specialist courses and presentations, undertook additional excursions and started to take the small family business (selling grapes from 4 ha of vineyards) in a new direction. He planted new varieties of grape and the quality of the wine-growing production took off – aided by the favourable climatic conditions around Lake Neusiedler See. In 1993, a new field of business was added: a schnapps distillery which developed with success over the years.
The small and select assortment comprises various fruit brandies (sour cherry, cherry, damson, apple, Williams pear, apricot and peach) as well as natural products made from grapes or pomace and home-grown wine including wine brandy (aged for many years in oak casks) and grape marc made from aromatic varieties. The consistent quality work has also paid off in this sector, securing the company a number of prizes in regional and international competitions. All of the products represent the style of the varieties, the special climatic conditions and the distinctive terroir. Their expression and individuality offer greater insight into the product origins than any words ever could.
The company was also the subject of much discussion at the World Spirits Award and was classed as a First Class Distillery 2013. There was also gold for the Birnenbrand Cuvée (pear brandy) and Weinbrand Zigarrendestillat (cigar wine brandy) and silver for the Tresterbrand Gelber Muskateller (grape marc) and Maschanzker Apfel im Holz (apple aged in wood casks).