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Mürli GmbH: Regional liqueurs from Mecklenburg

Angelika Wagner-Schnurrbusch and Jörg Schnurrbusch fell in love with the Müritz region in their earliest years. Childhood boat holidays in the lake district eventually led to their new home, where they chose to retire. But this was not enough for the two ‘vibrant, enthusiastic and enthusing elective Müritz locals’. They composed a herb liqueur as a showpiece for the whole region.

Every exciting day in the lake district tends to end with a good dinner, rounded off with a herb liqueur. Standard herb schnapps did not always meet expectations, thus the idea of a high-quality regional product was born. Over two years, recipes were tried out and tested with the help of a distilling master. The aim was a herb liqueur that represents the region, its particularities and diversity. The result is Mürli, where a variety of botanicals – from angelica and gentian, mugwort and vermouth, cinnamon and cloves, along with bitter orange – allow their soothing effect to unfold. The label – black and lime green with a stylised herb fairy – adorns the striking triangular bottles. Marketed from the lake district to the Baltic region, Mürli is appreciated by customers in gastronomy and retailing, as well as their guests and customers. As an alternative to the typical sea buckthorn products, an egg liqueur was also created as a tribute to the region.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was awarded to Mürli Premium Herb Liqueur, and silver to Mürli Premium Egg Liqueur.

Diageo – From London to the whole world

Approximately 33,000 employees are employed worldwide at Diageo, the market leader in premium spirits, with Smirnoff (vodka), Johnnie Walker (whiskey), J&B (Scotch whiskey), Baileys (liqueur), Captain Morgan (rum), Cuervo (tequila) and Tanqueray (gin), Guinness beer and branded wines. Production takes place all around the world: from Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Spain and Africa, to the USA, Canada, Latin America, Australia, India and the Caribbean. The global corporation emerged in 1997 from the merger between Guinness and GrandMet. 180 markets around the world are handled from its London headquarters.

A lot of work and lots of attention to detail go into creating the in-depth product descriptions on Diageo’s website. Information and analysis is provided about issues ranging from detailed descriptions of the production down to the most minute ingredients. Finally, they are aware of the size of their company and also of their responsibilities as a supplier of alcoholic products. The name Diageo was also deliberately chosen – it represents their agenda. Put together from ‘dia’ (the Latin word for ‘day’) and ‘geo’ (the Greek word for ‘world’), it means that every day people are celebrating all over the world with products from their company. These products open up possibilities never dreamed of for special days and nights, marking special life events and even making the smaller things in life feel magical.

Participation in the World Spirits Award was magical: there was double gold for Tanqueray No. 10 (Spirit of the Year 2016), gold for Gordon’s London Dry Gin and Tanqueray London Dry Gin, as well as silver for Tanqueray Rangpur.