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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.

Kornbrennerei H. Heydt – An awareness of tradition and trends

The medium-sized family business was founded in 1860 in Haselünne, which is in Emsland in Northern Germany, an area which lives from agriculture, grazing and forestry. The home distillery developed into an important business over the generations. Grain has always been the base, and over the years the product range has been continually improved and expanded. Wheat distillate was reinterpreted to make this forgotten kind more accessible again to consumers. The grain distillate, which is distilled in their own distillery, matures over several years in carefully selected wooden barrels. Hubert Heydt is a member of the fourth generation of the family to run the business and he has always looked ahead, just like the company’s founder: “We still have lots to do! Our barrel storage cellar has many a treasure ready for our customers.”

The portfolio includes traditional brands from the clear spirits category, herb liqueurs, light fruit spirits and vodka-based contemporary brands. The product philosophy is focused on the further development of existing products by taking over traditional brands that are well-known. The ‘Steinhäger’ is one such product. Heydt has, however, also established new trends with its own brands; the ‘light power products’ are a success story in themselves. Limited editions are marketed under the ‘Heydt Manufaktur’ label.

At the World Spirits Award, there was a haul of six gold awards and one silver.

MBG International Premium Brands – Brands with added value

“We Love Liquids.” This slogan has accompanied MBG on its worldwide path of success since it was founded in 1993 under the name P.O.S. Marketing + Vertrieb GmbH: Strong brands have been established around the world in nearly 60 countries, with innovative own brands, renowned retail brands, great ideas and a lot of energy. With over 250 employees, the MBG Group currently generates over € 200 million and, every year, more than a million hectolitres are produced. The portfolio in Germany includes 12 own brands and 6 retail brands (from non-alcoholic drinks to low proof drinks to wines & spirits) for 90,000 customers.

“Our recipe for successful brands is the mixture of passion, conviction and knowledge of the market. If all goes well, names and products become new worlds which consumers love. Success is not always predictable, which means that courage is needed above all. The right moment has to be found and hard work put in, just like with a hit single: some are one hit wonders while others become classics.” Little can be added to this definition from Managing Director Andreas W. Herb. From the MBG Group headquarters in Paderborn, a great deal of expertise makes successful brands, tailored to the respective target group and the market segment. Many brands that are well known on shop shelves and in the gastronomy sector have played a role in the history of the company.

Participation in the World Spirits Award yielded gold for Dos Mas Nasty Nuts Shot.