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Prevelon: Premium vodka by order of the Kremlin

Kremlin Premium Vodka was created as the official drink for all diplomatic receptions and banquets at the Kremlin and was intended as the hallmark of high-ranking events. The decision in favour of the most traditional Russian drink was unanimous. It was only produced on special order and in limited amounts. The first large batch of this ‘protocol’ vodka was ordered in February 1945 for the Yalta Conference. Kremlin Award Grand Premium came on the market in 2011 and is exported to 38 countries, and in many of them it holds the top position in the ultra-premium vodka category. Since 2016, the product range has included Kremlin Award Classic, which enjoys great popularity amongst all partners.

Two products have been added to the product range. Kremlin Award Organic is based on alcohol that is produced from the highest quality organic wheat, and on natural drinking water. The vodka passes through a multi-stage purification through pure birchwood charcoal. The alcohol for Kremlin Award Vintage is made from organic grains from the same harvest. The wheat grains are stored in a grain silo until they reach their physiological maturity in order to get a high-quality base product. The ‘luxury alcohol’ is then mixed with natural drinking water and, after purification, is granted a resting period. Production is limited to the year stated on the label.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Kremlin Award Organic and Kremlin Award Vintage.

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’.

Halewood Artisanal Spirits: Networked global presence

The manufacturer of artisanal spirits based in Great Britain boasts a highly awarded product range and is one of the leading independent distillers in the country, with over 950 employees. The brands are still family-owned and have a global presence, sold in 75 countries. The key markets are South Africa, Russia, Canada, Australia, China and Germany. The company develops, acquires and expands high-quality spirits brands worldwide, showing great competence in distillation, sales, marketing, traditional retailing and e-commerce.

Halewood owns and manages eleven main distilleries and a craft brewery, ten bars and an e-commerce enterprise, The Drop Store, present in Great Britain, Germany, Russia, Australia, South Africa and the USA. Halewood Artisanal Spirits owns distilleries for whisky, gin, vodka and rum, as well as a brewery. Customers include high-end luxury hotels, drinks wholesalers, supermarkets and food retailers. A wide international sales team is present on the markets, also external from the company.

The First Class Distillery 2022 received gold for Dead Man’s Fingers Spiced Rum 37.5%, Dead Man’s Fingers Black Rum 40%, JJ Whitley Vodka Artisanal Vodka, JJ Whitley Vodka Artisanal Gold Vodka and Whitley Neill Connoisseur’s Cut Gin. Silver was awarded to Whitley Neill London Dry Gin, Whitley Neill Blood Orange Gin, Whitley Neill Raspberry Gin, Whitley Neill Rhubarb & Ginger, JJ Whitley Vodka Blue Raspberry, Crabbie’s Yardhead Single Malt Whisky, Samuel Gelston’s Blended Irish Whiskey, Samuel Gelston’s Single Malt Irish Whiskey and Samuel Gelston’s Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey.

Grabnerhof – Healthy and enjoyable products from the Gastein valley

Sepp and Lisi Höhenwarter run a mountain farm with idyllic views of the Gastein valley at 1,100 metres above sea level just outside of Bad Hofgastein. In Dorfgastein they farm the Grabneralm at 1,717 metres altitude in summer and in winter. It is at the Fulseck, to the east of Dorfgastein in front of the magnificent panorama of the Gastein mountains. The popular destination is also well known for its tasty regional culinary delicacies and hearty snacks. The products are organically produced on their own farm. The farm also includes the ‘Adlerhorst’, a traditional self-catering cabin with comfortable furnishings.

The speciality of the house is a hay bath with alpine medicinal herbs. During the gradual warming process, the active ingredients are set free and access the body through the skin and airways. What has been forgotten in many places can still be enjoyed by guests: relaxation and regeneration, embedded in fragrant mountain hay which has gathered natural strength on the high alpine meadows above the Gastein valley. If you know the importance of Mother Nature, you will also value the power of the roots which grow from approximately 1,600 metres and upwards. They are mashed with fruit and usually distilled in November. The schnapps is only sold at the Grabneralm. There are also home-distilled brandies from rowanberry or elderberry and fruits.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for gentian and roseroot, silver for masterwort.