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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.

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.

STIN Styrian dry Gin: Homage to Styria

Johannes Firmenich, a true southern Styrian, and Reinhard Jagerhofer, a nature lover from Hartberg, discovered their love of gin during their years at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna. Shortly before they graduated, they had the idea of STIN as a friendship project – a gin according to their taste, with ingredients from their homeland. The two most important ones grow conveniently right on their doorstep: Johannes contributed the south Styrian apples, Reinhard the east Styrian elderberries. Both of them also have a good feeling for what makes a good gin: traditional craftsmanship, careful distilling and of course what goes into it.

28 botanicals provide the diverse aromas and complexity of the Classic Proof. Besides juniper, it is above all the citrus fruits – lemon and orange – as well as south Styrian apples and east Styrian elderberry that make this gin so multifaceted. Other fine spices such as coriander, caraway, cardamom, pepper and ginger form its spicy body. In the limited Distiller’s Cut, pears from south Styrian gardens replace the apples, while the rest remains the same. The Overproof – with the ingredients of the Classic Proof – is reduced to 57 volume percent with Styrian spring water after distillation. The dash of colour in the product range is Sloeberry, macerated and distilled according to the basic recipe, then set again with sloeberries and sugar and macerated again over several weeks.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for The STIN – Distiller’s Cut, and silver for The STIN – Classic Proof, The STIN – Overproof and The STIN – Sloeberry.

Morikawaratan: Liqueur specialities from Japan

Takanori Mori, who runs a roofing company, started Goodman Kitchen, a mobile restaurant, in 2018. He travelled through Japan with it and got to know wonderful ingredients in every region. Inspired by these encounters, he founded a factory for liqueur specialities in 2022. He began producing liqueurs, for which he processed agricultural products from all over Japan. The first product, Limoncello, was launched in spring 2023, followed by Arancello, plum wine and Bankan, made from unique citrus fruits. Guided tours of the company are also available for anyone interested.

In November 2023, Limoncello was awarded a gold medal and the plum wine a silver medal at ‘The Liqueur Masters’. This is organised by ‘The Spirits Business’ trade magazine, and spirits are tasted by spirits experts in 14 separate categories. The results can also be found at www.thespiritsbusiness.com, which attracts more than 325,000 visitors from almost 150 countries every month. The products also impressed the WSA expert jury.

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Hida Craft Lemoniq (Sweet Award & SoY 2024), gold for Hida Craft Lemoniq Bitter, and bronze for Hida Craft Umeshu Den.