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United Spirits Limited – A market leader in India

Whisky, brandy, rum, gin and vodka are the flagship products of USL, the largest spirits company in the world. Its history dates back to the 19th century and the country’s British-influenced history. In addition to its 100% subsidiaries Whyte & Mackay and Bouvet Ladubay, brands such as McDowell’s, Bagpiper, Dalmore, Jura, Black Dog, Signature, Antiquity, Royal Challenge, DSP Black, Director Special, Old Tavern, Haywards, No.1 Brandy, Honey Bee, McDowell VSOP Brandy, No.1 Celebration Rum, Old Cask Rum, Pinky Vodka, Romanov Vodka, White Mischief Vodka, Vladivar Vodka and Four Seasons are also part of the comprehensive portfolio. More than a million cases from 22 of the approximately 140 brands in total are sold each year.

Over 165 awards in international competitions emphasise the high quality of the products: Mondial, International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC), International Spirits Challenge (ISC), World Beverage Competition (WBC), Monde Selections, Mundusvini, International Taste & Quality Institute (ITQI), Beverage Tasting Institute (BTI), The Scotch Masters, Vodka Masters England, etc.

USL is a true innovator, as in the case of the first ‘pre-mixed gin’. It was also a pioneer of spirits sold in cardboard cartons in India and produced the first Single Malt in Asia to be based on the Scottish tradition and the first ‘diet versions’ of whisky and vodka in India. The company’s products are exported to 37 countries across the world, and in India itself, distilleries and sales offices are distributed across the country, encompassing a team of over 7,500 people. A well-equipped Technical Centre was established in 1989 where scientists from different fields work on quality assurance and innovation – chemists, microbiologists, biotechnicians and nutritional experts. Top quality standards for the numerous production sites are also developed here.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for the White Mischief Ultra Pure Vodka.

Destillerie Freihof: Perfectly crafted Austrian spirits

Originating from the Freihof inn in Lustenau, the distillery developed into one of the leading distilleries in Austria under Gebhard Hämmerle. Currently his grandson, Johann J. Drexel, runs the family business in its fifth generation – since 1885 they have been dedicated to producing fine fruit brandies.

The basis of their success story is the knowledge of where the best fruits grow, to harvest them at the perfect moment, and then to concentrate on the best processing, fermentation, distillation and storage. Work on the quality of the distillates is carried out with passion and without any addition of flavourings and aromas to the fine brandies and schnapps.

Under the brand name Privatbrennerei Gebhard Hämmerle, selected top quality batches of each harvest year have been processed separately for over 60 years. More information can be found at: www.haemmerle.com. The products of the Freihof 1885 brand bring together honest, crafted Austrian spirits with innovative ideas and applications. More information can be found at: https://1885.freihof.com/.

The diverse product range includes the brand name spirits ‘Hauser Tradition’ – the essence of the Tyrolean mountains – and ‘Seyringer Schlossbrände’ – filled into bottles with handles following a design that is over 150 years old.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Freihof Jagertee, Hauser Tradition Enzian (gentian), Hauser Tradition Himbeer (raspberry), and silver for Hauser Tradition Williams (pear), Hauser Tradition Marille (apricot), Seyringer Schlossbrände Williams (pear) and Seyringer Schlossbrände Marille (apricot).

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’.