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Hofbrennerei Oberkorb: Pure brandies exclusively

Andreas Franzl’s small farm distillery is located between Munich and Mühldorf near Dorfen. He picks wild fruits and the best fruit from the region’s meadow orchards with trees of over 100 years of age to create the basis for highly aromatic fruit brandies with a terroir character. Only pure brandies emerge from the farm distillery. They are of incomparable elegance and owe their depth and harmony to over 20 years of maturation in some cases. Flagship products include old varieties of apple and pear, European wild plum and quince, complemented by brandies made from extremely rare fruits such as danewort, guelder rose or red elderberry. The brandies are long established in the top restaurants of Bavaria and beyond.

Andreas Franzl, Master of World Spirits and brandy sommelier h.c., can draw on the tradition of a wonderful farm with over 400 years of history. He has shown courage, openness and foresight regarding the status and value of pure fruit brandies in the spirits industry. More than 800 distillers from all over Europe have now completed his distilling and sensory courses. He is an advisory board member and lecturer for sensory analysis at the Genussakademie Bayern in Kulmbach, and is heavily involved in the conception and implementation of the fine brandy sommelier qualification. With his son Georg, a budding Master of World Spirits, the next generation is already on board to lead the distillery into the future with its famed consistency of quality.

As of 2026, this will be commercially integrated into the new bonded distillery. The new barrel store also matures whiskies distilled from the farm’s own barley and honey brandies from the farm’s bees. Not to mention beer brandies and fruit brandies, some of which are aged in ash barrels from the farm’s own forest.

At the World Spirits Award, this World Class Distillery 2026 won Gold for several spirits: Roter Weinbergpfirsich (red vineyard peach), Wachauer Marille (apricot), Himbeerbrand aus Waldhimbeeren (wild raspberry), Hausapfel (apple, cuvée of old varieties), Hauszwetschke – in Johanniskreuzeiche (damson, matured in oak barrels).

Ehrenwert GmbH: One recipe – two families

One recipe – two families. Each family has its own carefully guarded secret recipe, and with the Lücke family this remained in the hands of grandfather Heinz and later his son Dieter for many decades. Long enough, thought sons Thomas and Christian. In any case, it is the ‘Felsenfeuer’ herb liqueur that once made the Lücke Distillery one of the most important in Münsterland. After the war they continued the success story which first began in the 18th century, with this herb liqueur, using the recipe that Heinz Lücke worked out. In the 1950s everyone was talking about it, but in the 1960s the era of the distillery and the herb liqueur ended. But not for good – 60 years later it celebrated its resurrection with the ‘Freudenfeuer’.

Whilst searching for a distillery, Thomas and Christian kept to family tradition, as their grandmother was a Sasse, and the Sasses’ fine distillery in Schöppingen is still well known today. Following a traditional recipe from 1947 the new liqueur is distilled in small batches and is bottled by hand after a ten-day rest period. Ready to enjoy: neat and ice cold like in the time of our grandfathers, or smoother, on ice with lightly pressed orange zest, or as a basis for a long drink with tonic water or ginger ale. To old times and new friends!

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

Aldi Ireland: Gin and whiskey in retail

Aldi Ireland has several top products in its spirit range: Boyle’s Gin from the Blackwater Distillery and Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery, in addition, Mo Chara Passionfruit & Mango Gin from the Old Carrick Mill.

The Blackwater Distillery has been an Aldi partner since 2016 and developed the private label Boyle’s Gin exclusively for the Irish and British retail market. The product volume of the Blackwater Distillery for Aldi has risen strongly in recent years, whereby 140,800 bottles of the gin series were sold in 2018. The successful gin brand is manufactured in Blackwater Valley, West Waterford, with selected imported ingredients as well as regional apples, blackcurrants and elderflower. CEO Peter Mulryan – former TV producer and author of the book ‘The Whiskeys of Ireland’ – explains, “The partnership with Aldi has helped us to increase turnover enormously, and also to have the security to invest and expand. This includes on-site bottling facilities and a visitor centre.” Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery got its name from the region in County Cork where the malted barley comes from, and is only manufactured in small batches. The business was founded in 2003 by childhood friends who started out with only two small stills they had bought in Switzerland. Now the largest distillery in the country, it currently employs over 80 staff and exports to around 70 countries.

At the World Spirits Award, there was Gold for Ardfallen 10 Year Old Whiskey and Boyle’s Gin, and Silver for Boyle’s Sloe & Damson Gin and Ardfallen Whiskey.