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Diageo – From London to the whole world

Approximately 33,000 employees are employed worldwide at Diageo, the market leader in premium spirits, with Smirnoff (vodka), Johnnie Walker (whiskey), J&B (Scotch whiskey), Baileys (liqueur), Captain Morgan (rum), Cuervo (tequila) and Tanqueray (gin), Guinness beer and branded wines. Production takes place all around the world: from Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Spain and Africa, to the USA, Canada, Latin America, Australia, India and the Caribbean. The global corporation emerged in 1997 from the merger between Guinness and GrandMet. 180 markets around the world are handled from its London headquarters.

A lot of work and lots of attention to detail go into creating the in-depth product descriptions on Diageo’s website. Information and analysis is provided about issues ranging from detailed descriptions of the production down to the most minute ingredients. Finally, they are aware of the size of their company and also of their responsibilities as a supplier of alcoholic products. The name Diageo was also deliberately chosen – it represents their agenda. Put together from ‘dia’ (the Latin word for ‘day’) and ‘geo’ (the Greek word for ‘world’), it means that every day people are celebrating all over the world with products from their company. These products open up possibilities never dreamed of for special days and nights, marking special life events and even making the smaller things in life feel magical.

Participation in the World Spirits Award was magical: there was double gold for Tanqueray No. 10 (Spirit of the Year 2016), gold for Gordon’s London Dry Gin and Tanqueray London Dry Gin, as well as silver for Tanqueray Rangpur.

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’.

Antonino Riggio - The Wonderful World of Plants

Antonino Riggio founded his company only in 2005; the business grew out of an extensive passion for lupins. The plant with its large, colourful flowers grows wild in Central Europe and elsewhere in the world, and they make a favourite meal for bees. Gardeners employ lupins to improve the soil, cattle farmers know them to be valuable fodder plants. The cultivated species are referred to as sweet lupins; they contain fewer alkaloids than their wild counterparts. The seeds, which contain almost 50% protein, would seem to provide a successful alternative to soy. Clinical studies have shown other positive medicinal effects; substances derived from lupins can protect cells and counteract cancer, as well as help control cholesterol levels.

Plant amateur Riggio followed this up with another innovative idea in 2006. He developed a bitter named "Ginseno", processed from ginseng, aromatic herbs and medicinal plants. Ginseno is available in different flavours; Naturale, Amabile, Alla Menta, and Alla Manna. The latter contains a sap extract from the Manna Ash (Fraxinus ornus), which grows in Madonie, a nature reserve near Castelbuono. The dried sap contains mannite, a sugar substitute also used in pharmacology.

In future, Riggio plans further Ginseno variants, flavoured with Agrumi di Sicilia (oranges and mandarins), almonds and cactus fruit. All products are labelled "APLCEFALU" which refers to their origin: the town of Cefalù on the Northern coast of Sicily.

The trip to Carinthia to the World Spirits Award paid off: the bitter Ginseno alla Manna received a gold medal.

Aumaxum: Fruity variety produced in Hungary

“It’s more than just a brandy. I see it as my mission to present and promote a culture of quality consumption,” says Anita Zámbó, managing director of Aumaxum, where spirits are produced under the brand name Gong. The family business is located in the town of Deszk near Szeged. In 2017, following more than 20 years’ work in public administration of the district, she founded the distillery together with her husband. “It was a great change and challenge. I want to show that I can survive as a businesswoman! Feedback is important to us, which is why we like to take part in competitions,” she says.

When purchasing raw materials it is important that the fruit comes from the region, so that the local character of the products is reinforced. The fruit comes from their own orchards, gardens and woodland, and also from small farms in the surrounding area. Currently about 20 brandies are produced, including specialities from berries and wild fruits. But special attention is also paid to the distillates made from grapes and grape pomace from Tokaj. Visitors can follow the distilling process in the open distillery, and professional tastings and team-building events for companies with specially prepared dishes are also organised.

The First Class Distillery received gold for Hárslevel?u szo?lo? pálinka, Zéta szo?lo? pálinka and Gong Hunor Gin, and silver for Birs pálinka, Vadcseresznye pálinka, Cserszegi f?uszeres szo?lo? pálinka, Furmint szo?lo? pálinka, Aszúsepr?u párlat, Gong Gin 21 and Muskotály szo?lo? pálinka.