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Organic Juniper: Purism for true gin lovers

Sometimes it seems as though many distillers have forgotten what gin is all about. Why else would we have all these complicated aromas that don’t just sing, but shout? This is the view at Juni Gin Lab in Nottingham, the place to be for dedicated gin fans – an exclusive location with a carefully stocked bar. As well as their own Juni gins, there are innovative cocktails, wines, beers, ciders and alcohol-free drinks to choose from.

The ‘lab’ can tell you about the history of gin, about Juni 93 and its home in Serbia, as well as offering an insight into distillation techniques, mixing and harmonising botanicals for home recipes that can be produced in traditional copper stills. Of course, there are also tastings and even a Cocktail Master Class.

With Juni 93, Alyasir Mendly, Sales Manager at Organic Juniper, together with the Master Distiller, Tom Masters, has put an original London Dry made entirely with natural ingredients on the market. Made with hand-selected, Serbian organic juniper berries from their own land in the highlands of Pest at nearly 5,000 feet above sea level. And, instead of transporting the berries all the way to England, they have settled in Serbia to meet the locals and to get involved in all the work, from picking to sorting to distilling.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for Juni 93 London Dry Gin and Juni 93 Cask-Aged Gin.

Hartingowe Brennerei: Gin, with a difference

When Nico and Marco Martinato opened the doors to their gin distillery in 2020, they had no intention of bringing ‘just another gin’ onto the market. The idea was to create a memorable gin with a distinctly alternative character that would awaken and stimulate all the senses.

The secret of a good gin lies in the selection of the best ingredients, which account for at least 80 percent of the finished quality. In addition to the recipe, aroma-preserving distillation and maturation play an important role, but an outstanding end product is based on the uncompromising selection of the highest quality botanicals. Besides juniper from Piedmont, these include coriander from Morocco, cubeb pepper from Java, allspice from Jamaica, cloves from Madagascar, calamus from India, oranges from Sicily, lemons from the Amalfi Coast, rock roses from Portugal, and sloes, herbs and spruce buds from the mountains and foothills of Harz. Moreover, the quality of the water used plays an enormously important and often overlooked role. The distillery is located on the edge of the Harz Mountains and is blessed by nature with pure and very soft water directly from the mountain springs: ‘made by the Harz Mountains’.

In addition to London Dry Gin and other gin variations, the family distillery produces other fine spirits made from wild fruits and exclusive herbs. A classic absinthe verte made from home-grown wormwood is also part of the repertoire of the passionate uncle and nephew team.

At the World Spirits Award, Hartingowe Sloe Gin won gold and Hartingowe Dry Gin silver.

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).

Rhumerie de Chamarel - Rhumerie de Chamarel – A newcomer with vision

This high-quality rum from the island of Mauritius is produced in line with ecological guidelines. The products are distributed in Austria by the company Wind GmbH, based in Traiskirchen (www.wind-plast.at).

The road leads through extensive pineapple plantations and fields of sugar cane up to the distillery at an altitude of 300 m in the South-West of the island. Designed by a renowned architect, the building is elegant and authentic and a fine example of modern construction with its natural materials such as wood, stone and water. The comprehensive concept also incorporates the L’Alchimiste restaurant where up to 80 guests can savour the sophisticated regional cuisine. At the “Sugar Cane Spirit” boutique, various types of rum are on offer (White Rum, Le Coeur de Chauffe (fine brandy), Rum Paille (stored in wooden casks), Rum Arrange (flavoured with fruits and spices) as well as an exclusive clothing range, hand-made products and a small jewellery collection.

The location and climate of the fertile valley promote the growth and quality of the sugarcane. The sugarcane is harvested by hand in the early hours of the morning and processed at the mill within four hours. The fields are not normally burnt, as is usually the case, to make harvesting easier. Even when distilling at the highest modern levels of technology, nothing is wasted: the bagasse – the fibrous remnants of the sugar production process – is burnt to obtain energy. The chimney contains the very latest smoke filters and the ash is used to fertilise the fields.

The company yet again impressed at the World-Spirits Award, with one gold and four silvers.