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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.

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).

Leibwächter: Herbal bitters with 58 herbs

Leibwächter is a traditional product made in Austria. The highest quality herbs from all around the world are cold-macerated with precision and the essences from them are processed to a unique elixir with over 145 years of experience of the Mozart Distillery in Salzburg. Leibwächter contains macerates of medically valued herbs such as mallow, wormwood, lesser centaury, sloe, angelica, rosemary and many others.

In this process, the ingredients are covered in alcohol, macerated for two weeks and then distilled in a vacuum distillation process. In this way, high quality is guaranteed. Leibwächter is mostly sold in 0.04 litre bottles at supermarket checkouts and, on average, more than ten million bottles are sold per year.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Leibwächter.

Destilleum Michael Mayer – Specialities from Franconia

In Pflaumheim on the north-easterly edge of the Odenwald forest, Michael Mayer runs his Destilleum distillery with passion and a ‘burning heart’. His motto “Everything is possible, nothing is a must. Normal is for other people!” has accompanied him throughout his life. In 1995, together with a friend, he took over a vineyard in Großostheim near Aschaffenburg in Lower Franconia, but while the vines never really thrived, the berry bushes and sloes grew rampant. So the two of them decided to produce fruit wines: from blackcurrants, raspberries and sloes. Runaway sales at the local Christmas market further encouraged his passion and paved the way for liqueur production. Because Michael Mayer wanted to give his ginger liqueur more aroma, he invested in a distillation system and became a ‘part-time’ distiller – he works full-time for the Großostheim waterworks.

The ‘raw materials’ for the production thrive in his own garden: for example, chilli for the chilli-cherry liqueur, and the family helps pick and process the fruit in his orchard. On a separate plot of land, the creative distiller takes part in the Franconian ‘Mustea’ re-cultivation project, which is responsible for the preservation of old varieties of quince. He has also planted rare varieties, such as sorb, medlar and wild service. The latter requires special, elaborate harvesting, in which four people take four days, standing at least three metres off the ground, to collect 180 kilograms of berries for 4.6 litres of spirit. This also explains why Michael Mayer is well known for his specialities, including elder brandy, quince brandy, medlar brandy, Jerusalem artichoke brandy as well as ginger brandy and spirit. Anyone who wants to know more can make an appointment to view the distillery and enjoy a tasting session, as well as have the possibility to buy products in the farm shop.

At the World Spirits Award, the Destilled London Dry Gin won a bronze medal.