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Klippenziege: New era in the world of gin

In December 2015, four friends captured the ‘spirit’ of an idea: they were thinking about gin. Nearly a year later a small batch was bottled by hand. The individuality of a gin lies in the combination of the botanicals, in this case it is the exotic selection: mate tea, goji berries, physalis and a hint of rose. The Klippenziege is a New Western Dry Gin, in which juniper plays the main role amongst the other botanicals.

It is produced in the Habbel Distillery, which guarantees excellent quality thanks to its experience – it was established in 1878 and is now in the family’s fourth generation. The former Korn distillery in Sprockhövel with adjoining farmland is now the largest fruit distillery in the Ruhr region, as a traditional manufacturer it stands out with its attention to detail. The entire manufacturing process at Klippenziege can also be observed on-site.

The bottle and the label are also special. Designer Levent Aydin drew it carefully by hand, and then digitalised it before perfecting it. First it is printed, then coated, then stamped and embossed. The elegant result stands for friendship, solidarity and love. Working together in a friendly and familiar atmosphere connects people with a passion for life who share one important belief: that the product should encourage people to slow down, allowing for mindful enjoyment.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for Mate Dry Gin.

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’.

Franz Tinnauer: Styrian superstar

The fruit distillery is a traditional, certified family business run by Franz Tinnauer along with his daughter, Monika. Margarete is the heart and soul of the residential buildings which nestle on the beautiful Mount Gamlitzberg. Following the motto “TASTEFUL. STYRIAN. STRONG”, distillation takes place entirely from the fruit itself and exclusively in a double distillation procedure to make the richest, fruit-concentrated distillates. In addition, only regional fruit varieties are processed, which mostly come from their own land – quality is, of course, the most important factor. As it is the understanding in the business that alcohol is a carrier for all aromas, all fine distillates contain over 40% alcohol by volume.

The high-proof distillate of approx. 80% alcohol by volume is stored for at least one year, and then there are five graduation levels: Classic – aromatic and very fruity as a clear distillate, at least one year old, at least 42% alcohol by volume; Reserve – at least two years old, at least 50% alcohol by volume; Reserve Zigarrenbrand cigar brandy – at least three years in French oak barrels, at least 50% alcohol by volume; Grand Reserve – special vintages, clear brandies, at least three years matured, cigar brandies stored in barrels at least five years, usually above 60% alcohol by volume. In the product range, which also includes liqueurs and spirits, there is something for every taste, be it mild, sweet or very strong.

The World Class Distillery 2022 OBB (Distillery of the Year – Silver) received double gold for Sauvignon Tresterbrand Reserve (marc brandy) and Zwetschken Zigarrenbrand Reserve (damson cigar brandy) (World Spirits Award 2022 & Spirit of the Year 2022), gold for Zwetschkenbrand (damson brandy), Roter Williamsbirnenbrand (pear brandy), Birnenquittenbrand Reserve (pear quince brandy) and Edelbitter ZITA, and silver for Wacholder Geist (juniper spirit).