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Distillery Krauss: Delicious spirits from the Koralpe

At the foot of Koralpe in St. Martin im Sulmtal lies Distillery Krauss. What started in 2007 in a small garage in Schwanberg developed into an international spirits producer from 2018 at the new location, now with five employees. It has made a name for itself globally especially for gin, marking Austria on the gin world map. In addition, other top products such as rum, whisky, apple brandy and aniseed spirit have been awarded worldwide, rounding the product range off perfectly.

Amongst everything that is undertaken in the successful enterprise, some ‘cornerstones’ have emerged over the years as the most important values: a wide product range, concentration on the essentials, enjoyable moments, expertise and quality. For the fine brandies, there is an emphasis on single barrel filling at barrel strength. Despite the size of the company, individual gin productions are nevertheless still made according to customer wishes. The pot still at the old location is available for this, which is otherwise used for testing purposes and new developments – such as the first Austrian BIO Hard Seltzer.

The World Class Distillery 2022 OBB (Distillery of the Year – Gold & World Spirits Award 2022), World Class Distillery 2022 GIWO (Distillery of the Year – Gold & World Spirits Award 2022) and First Class Distillery 2022 BILI collected, alongside double gold for Saffron infused Dry Gin (Spirit of the Year 2022) and Zwetschkenbrand (damson brandy) (World Spirits Award 2022 & Spirit of the Year 2022), a further nine gold medals and four times silver.

Destillerie Freihof: Perfectly crafted Austrian spirits

Originating from the Freihof inn in Lustenau, Destillerie Freihof 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 – already 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, harvesting them at the perfect moment, and then concentrating on the processing, fermentation, distillation and storage for the best results. Work on the quality of the distillates is carried out with dedication 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. Further information can be found at: HYPERLINK „http://www.haemmerle.com“ www.haemmerle.com. The products of the Freihof 1885 brand bring together authentic, crafted Austrian spirits with innovative ideas and applications. Further information is available at: https://1885.freihof.com/. All spirits and liqueurs are made from purely natural raw materials and have stood out with their unadulterated taste for decades.

The First Class Distillery received gold for Hämmerle Subirer and Ivanov Pure Vodka, silver for Edelweiss Vodka, Hämmerle Enzian (gentian), Hämmerle Vogelbeere (rowanberry), Hämmerle Williams (pear) and Hämmerle Mirabelle.

Roust Hungary: Affordable luxury on the spirits market

Roust was founded in 1992 by the Russian businessman Roustam Tariko and quickly developed into a leading business group in the sale of premium spirits brands. One of the world’s leading vodka producers, the company is present in more than 80 countries. Roust owns production plants and distribution centres in Hungary, Russia and Italy. The comprehensive portfolio includes the flagship vodka brands of Russian Standard, Green Mark, Parliament and Zhuravli.

Thanks to its extensive knowledge in sales and marketing and its commitment to responsible alcohol consumption, Roust Hungary has become the leading supplier on the domestic spirits market. The largest premium spirits company in Hungary also sells the Royal, Zubrówka, Russian Standard, Gancia, Grants, Jägermeister and Metaxa brands.

For years, Royal Vodka has maintained its position as the most popular and well-known vodka brand in Hungary, and also remains market leader in terms of volume and turnover. Royal Vodka is produced using natural ingredients, from the grain to the well water, which contributes to its mild taste.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Royal Original Vodka, and bronze for Royal Raspberry 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.