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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.

Aldi Ireland: Gin and whiskey in retail

Aldi Ireland has several top products in its spirit range: Boyle’s Gin from the Blackwater Distillery and Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery, in addition, Mo Chara Passionfruit & Mango Gin from the Old Carrick Mill.

The Blackwater Distillery has been an Aldi partner since 2016 and developed the private label Boyle’s Gin exclusively for the Irish and British retail market. The product volume of the Blackwater Distillery for Aldi has risen strongly in recent years, whereby 140,800 bottles of the gin series were sold in 2018. The successful gin brand is manufactured in Blackwater Valley, West Waterford, with selected imported ingredients as well as regional apples, blackcurrants and elderflower. CEO Peter Mulryan – former TV producer and author of the book ‘The Whiskeys of Ireland’ – explains, “The partnership with Aldi has helped us to increase turnover enormously, and also to have the security to invest and expand. This includes on-site bottling facilities and a visitor centre.” Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery got its name from the region in County Cork where the malted barley comes from, and is only manufactured in small batches. The business was founded in 2003 by childhood friends who started out with only two small stills they had bought in Switzerland. Now the largest distillery in the country, it currently employs over 80 staff and exports to around 70 countries.

Beim World-Spirits Award 2025 gab es Gold für Ardfallen 10 Year Old Whiskey, Dúchas Irish Whiskey, Silver für Ardfallen Triple Cask Whiskey, Boyle‘s Sloe & Damson Gin, Dolmen Honey Moonshine.

Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery: A pioneer in farm-to-flask distilling

Okanagan Spirits Craft Distillery is an original craft distillery in British Columbia (BC) in Western Canada and is run by the Dyck family, who have been at home in the Okanagan Valley for five generations. The distillery was born from the idea of using 100% locally grown fruit and grain to produce world-class spirits, just a tractor ride away from the orchards and fields where the base ingredients grow. BC’s original farm-to-flask distillery now offers a selection of more than 50 internationally award-winning spirits, from single malts, BRBN bourbon-style, BC hopped and BC rye whiskies to gins, vodkas, fruit liqueurs, brandies, aquavit and even Taboo Genuine Absinthe.

Okanagan Spirits is led by Tyler Dyck, CEO of the Dyck family company, and Melissa Duncan, COO. When they’re not making world-class spirits, they spend their time modernising spirits policy in Canada. Their aim is to honour and support authenticity and terroir in everything they do – from farm to bottle. The passion, skill and creativity of master distillers Chris Burke and Francois Joubert are behind the successful variety of products and the absolute commitment to capturing the essence of the Okanagan Valley in every bottle. A visit to one of the distilleries is an unmissable experience when visiting the Okanagan Valley.

The World Class Distillery 2025 received Gold for Okanagan Cherry Liqueur, Okanagan Spirits Haskap Liqueur, Blackcurrant Liqueur 100% Craft, various single malt whiskies (1-MALT Barrelhouse Reserve, Laird of Fintry Rum Barrel Finish, Laird of Fintry Fortified Foch Finish, Laird of Fintry Fortified Foch Finish Cask Strength, Orchard Saison Whisky), Proof Whisky Collective Pear Brandy Barrel Aged, Bartlett Pear Brandy (Poire Williams), Proof Whisky Collective Pioneer Country Process and the cigar whisky Product of Okanagan Valley, Canada. Silver was awarded to Okanagan Spirits Raspberry Liqueur, Road’s End (a double-wood Pinot Noir finished bourbon-style whisky), Rye Whisky (finished in Maple-Brûlée casks), Amaro Classico 100% Craft and Cabin Gin (Green Label) 100% Craft.

Waldemar Behn: Unique spirits brands

The slogan ‘Kennen Sie den? Der ist von BEHN!’ (Do you know this one? It’s from BEHN!) is what made this family company from Eckernförde famous. In 1892, Waldemar Behn, son of a Hamburg beer brewer, established a retail store for beverages in Schleswig-Holstein. He initially supplied beer to workers building the Kaiser-Wilhelm Canal, the present-day Kiel Canal. The product range was later extended to include non-alcoholic drinks and spirits of his own production for the catering trade. In 1906, Waldemar Behn bought the Eckernförder Dampfbierbrauerei brewery so that this Baltic resort of Eckernförde became the company headquarters, which it still is today.

After the Second World War, alongside running a specialised beverage wholesale trade, the company concentrated on producing branded items in the spirits sector, including typical products of the region, such as Germany’s most popular anise spirit ‘Küstennebel’, ‘Fischergeist’ and ‘Original Friesengeist’. Starting from the Northern Germany region, the Behn family company developed into a national and international provider with the brand ‘Kleiner Feigling’. With one of the world’s highest awarded cream liqueurs, ‘Dooley’s Original Toffee Liqueur’, the company finally achieved its international breakthrough which was solidified with the purchase of the brand ‘DANZKA Vodka’ in 2013. Today, Behn’s range of products consists of award-winning spirits brands that are available almost everywhere in the world.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Andalö Sea Buckthorn Liqueur, the aperitif of the northern summer.