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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).

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’.

Radeberger Distillation & Liqueur Factory – Herbal spirits with tradition

In 1877, Wilhelm Richter founded the ‘Goldene Sonne steam distillation and liqueur factory’ and, according to old records, his ‘first class medicinal bitters’ landed in the Royal Saxon Court as a ‘gastric tonic’ in the late 19th century. The royal endorsement encouraged Wilhelm Richter to present his herbal liqueur at the large exhibitions at the turn of the century. Numerous gold medals confirmed this early quality marketing as well as letters of appreciation from many customers. The heirs of the company founder managed to run the small liqueur manufacture as a private company through the chaos of war and the Iron Curtain. Still in family hands, today the lovingly restored main building of Radeberg in the picturesque main street has plenty of historical charm.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Original Radeberger Kräuterlikör (herb liqueur).

OKEN: First fine brandy made from acorns

OKEN is a true original. The first fine brandy made from acorns is a finely filtered, regional spirit made with 100% natural ingredients without additives. It was three friends from the Ostetal Valley in Sittensen in Lower Saxony who came up with the idea. Their fascination with the topic of how many fruits and plants can be used to make alcohol gave rise to the exciting question: “How about oak? The characteristic tree of the northern German landscape. In the past, coffee and bread were made from acorns, so why not a fine spirit today?”

It took the three inventors Niklas Haller, Michael Frankenbach and Leonard Spreckels three years. What started in a little pot in grandma’s kitchen improved constantly over time, until they were sure they had found the right recipe. But this was where the actual work started before launching the first acorn schnapps on the market in summer 2020. Sales began as a crowdfunding campaign on the start-up platform Startnext and was immediately well-received. In the meantime, OKEN is available in selected regional shops and gastronomic establishments in northern Germany.

100% natural ingredients and authentic manual work give OKEN its individual character: hints of fruit from sweet Mirabelle plums and a grainy taste evocative of light wood, a pleasantly warm sensation in the mouth, accompanied by a gentle pinch of peppermint. Served at room temperature, it is a fine digestif. OKEN is also available in a small 10 cl bottle for sampling.

At the World Spirits Award, silver was awarded to the spirit made from acorns.