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Ruedi Käser - Triumph of the lord of the castle

"We produce 12 different whiskeys including special varieties - some even for Hapag-Lloyd which are served on the cruise ships MS Europa, MS Hanseatic and MS Bremen. We are also very active in Switzerland, for example as a trend producer for Betty Bossi, a cooking show and marketing range of the Coop company. In September, we are opening our first flagship store in Zurich and our products are already present at the "House of Switzerland" in Peking.

Ruedi Käser and his "Whisky Castle" always cause a stir. From the outside, the building makes a very traditional impression, in the style of an American farm distillery, but the interior is surprising: The distillery on the ground floor resembles an art gallery. The production line consists of the fruit distilling system of the distillery, the pre-stage, and the copper pot still as the core element of whisky production. What follows on after a visit there is the theatre-cum-bistro with terrace. From the top floor, a wonderful view of the vineyards opens up, but visitors can also direct their eyes to the attractive round bar where they can choose the "noble brew" they would like to taste.
A rich diversity in pleasures and a variety of settings - that's the motto that Ruedi and Franziska Käser follow in all their activities on the idyllic farm estate in the Aargau Fricktal valley that invites adventurous visitors to enjoy highly spiritual and culinary experiences. Nature, with its variety of ingredients, yields numerous inspirations. Vineyards, orchards and vegetable patches supply the basic ingredients for spirits, wines, seasonal dishes and delicatessen.
Ruedi Käser's single variety spirits give sensual pleasure, impressions of fragrance and taste with unmistakable aromas. Trial and error was and is the motto here, and the imaginative distiller will certainly not run out of ideas soon.

This year's successes at the World-Spirits Award included a 10th place ranking and title of Master-Class Distillery with gold for the blackthorn and Williams pear and silver for the two cherry brandies and a beer distillate.

Vittorio Capovilla: Perfection of quality

Vittorio Capovilla typifies Italian distillation culture – with elegant fruit brandies and perfect grappa. Only the fresh marc of different grape varieties is used for the excellent grappa range and the raw materials for the fruit brandies are selected. Only 100% distillates (no gin or spirits) were produced until 15 years ago, when he began to distil rum. In the year 2018, Capovilla received the WSA‘s lifetime achievement award.

At the foot of Monte Grappa in the Venetian Maritime Alps, in the historical cellars of Villa Dolfin in Rosà near Bassano, stands the modern distillery of a quality fanatic – constructed according to a perfectionist’s design.

The number one Italian distiller is also an international star. Whilst still managing to keep his feet on the ground, ‘Gianni’ is still the same kind and charming, decent, nature-loving person who is full of passion and zest for life. In his philosophy, he is uncompromising and persistent, from the search for raw materials to the design of the bottles. The highest quality is still paramount where grappa and fruit distillates are concerned, which are always produced without ‘sugar refining’, and which have established a new understanding of quality in the phrase ‘Spirits made in Italy’.

The World Class Distillery 2022 OBB and World Class Distillery 2022 GRAPPA received gold for Grappa Amarone legno, Distillato di Amarene di Montagna, Distillato Bierbrand legno, Grappa Barolo, Grappa Traminer, Grappa Moscato Giallo, Grappa Moscato Rosa, Distillato di Vino Diesel Farm and Distillato di Mele Cotogne. Silver was awarded to Distillato Prunus Aurum, Distillato di Sorbo dell’Uccellatore, Grappa Bassano Centenario and Distillato di Vino Parusso.

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.