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Limomacher: Regionally produced – socially labelled

Limomacher is a young Bregenz enterprise, according to their own definition “excellent in graphics, design, customer service, lemonade production, social involvement and coffee drinking”. However, a look at the brief biographies of the four-person team reveals quite a bit about their wide-ranging qualifications. All lemonades are produced regionally in Vorarlberg according to their own recipes. Short pathways right up until labelling – also labels for private customers and companies on request – reinforce sustainability, along with filling exclusively in glass bottles. The labelling, as well as the whole warehousing, are handled by Lebenshilfe Vorarlberg, a support organisation for people with disabilities. This is an indication that social thinking has been of great importance from the beginning.

At the beginning of 2018, the ‘Franz von Durst’ brand started in Spar shops, followed by the start-up shelf at Metro. The company developed a gin along with a tonic water for this purpose, as the first manufacturer in retailing that offers both as a one-stop shop. The gin that is also regionally produced goes perfectly with the tonic water and its animating and aromatic concept offers an exceptionally fruity drinking experience. Aside from the juniper base, five further botanicals play a role: angelica root provides a slight tanginess and supports the homogenous taste; orange peel is characterised by a range of aromatic substances and a fine hint of citrus; liquorice provides a complex sweetness with a slightly earthy note; elderberry has an intensive and refreshing taste; and hops gives it a special something.

“We are delighted that the Vorarlberg locals have received our gin so well and that we can expand step by step also into other provinces,” say the two young entrepreneurs.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was achieved by Franz von Durst Gin, and silver by Franz von Durst Dry Gin Wild.

Berentzen Group: 260 years of cultured distilled spirits

Berentzen Group is an innovative beverage company that boasts a wide portfolio and develops, produces and markets varied and fashionable drinks concepts. The portfolio includes spirits, alcohol-free beverages and fresh juices. With over 260 years of experience, they are one of the oldest national manufacturers of spirits and have a market presence in over 60 countries to date, with brands such as Berentzen and Puschkin as well as reasonably priced private label products.

In April 2023, Norden Sea Salt Gin was launched on the German market under the Doornkaat brand. It is a speciality on the gin shelf, as selected North Sea botanicals create an extraordinary and intense taste experience: juniper provides the spice, sea buckthorn and rosehip the fruity tartness. Norden Sea Salt Gin is rounded off with a pinch of sea salt. This spirit spreads the genuine nature and authenticity of the North Sea coast throughout Germany. It is versatile and can be enjoyed neat, on ice or mixed as a long drink or cocktail.

Tres Países Premium Rum combines distillates from Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic. After being stored for up to eight years in American white oak bourbon casks, they come to Europe for refinement by the master blender. The characteristics of the countries provide the taste profile: vanilla and butterscotch, elegant fruit, banana and chocolate. It is also available in a port cask finish, which is refined in aged casks for another six months.

At the World Spirits Award 2026, there was Gold for Tres Países Premium Rum and Silver for Doornkaat Norden Sea Salt Gin.

Magi – Rivo Gin: Magic in a bottle

The mountains, the wind, deep blue water, sparkling waves – the essence of all this is captured in each bottle of Rivo Gin and it conveys the magic of this location. You can feel yourself transported to a sunny spring day on Lake Como. A light breeze brings fresh fragrances of the herbal flowers, which grow on the mountainsides. Over centuries, they have been gathered by the women in the area to make traditional medicines, some even say they have magical healing properties. ‘Foreaging’ – the art of gathering wild herbs in ‘the wilderness’ – provides a connection to nature. The special combination of plants, which have never before been joined together in a gin, resulted in the ‘aroma bouquet’ of the Rivo as a unique imprint of the natural beauty of the region.

The twelve botanicals include thyme, aniseed and lemon balm, combined with juniper, coriander, cardamom and angelica. The aromatic herbs are harvested three times a year. A lot of time and skill is needed, but it is deeply satisfying manual work. Only the finest Italian corn brandy is used, and each ingredient is separately macerated and distilled. The botanicals are used when fresh, to intensify the aroma. Magic as a theme also inspires the packaging and labelling of Rivo Gin. Geometric lines combine to form abstract elements, which are symbolic of the mountains and the waves of the lake.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for RIVO Lake Como Foraged Gin.

Fallstein Destillerie: Modern traditionalists

“The sustainable handling of our resources and products is more than an alternative attitude to life – it is the pure spirit of the times that our family has been practising for nearly 200 years.” The organic enterprise on a listed farm in Rohrsheim in the Harzvorland region farms around 40 hectares of land in a variety of ways in accordance with natural land principles. Apart from crops and a five-hectare walnut plantation, there are also valuable meadow orchards with old fruit trees and bushes, whose harvest is especially suitable for being processed to distillates. The crops and fruit benefit from favourable climatic conditions and rolling slopes, as well as from the soil quality on the heat-retaining rock and minerals of the elevations between Elm and Harz. The homemade basic ingredients are used for high-quality delicatessen products such as various fruit spreads and edible oils, extracted by means of careful cold pressing – along with a variety of spirits.

Apart from the self-cultivated wheat, the clear water of the Harz springs is a significant component for an excellent mash. The ecologically cultivated botanicals, hand-picked according to family tradition, give the gin its special character during the distillation in a small batch procedure. When finding a name for organic quality whisky, Korn (grain schnapps) and gin, family tradition comes into play: they bear the first names of the founding father Carl Polland through to the youngest offspring Luca, Theo and Tom.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was awarded to TOMMYS Dry Gin (30 Botanicals), and silver to TOMMYS Barille New Western Dry Gin (32 Botanicals) and TOMMYS Craft Gin.