World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now
he ultimate guide through the world of spirits - with current ratings of the best distilleries and commercial enterprises.
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Destillerie
Company:
Summerhall Distillery Ltd
Address:
Summerhall Distillery Ltd, 1 Summerhall
Place:
Edinburgh EH9 1PL
Country:
United Kingdom
Homepage:
Products:
- Gin
Summerhall Distillery – Pickering’s Gin based on a family recipe
The Summerhall Distillery is located on the grounds of an old veterinary clinic, which used to be part of a veterinary college known as ‘Dick Vet’. Summerhall itself is a creative, artistic centre with plenty of room for studios and workshops. Right in the middle is the ‘The Royal Dick’ pub, directly next to the gin distillery – the first in Edinburgh for over 150 years. This explains how gin can be served here directly ‘from the barrel’ via a pipeline.
Production started on 27th March 2014, and since then, Pickering’s Gin has been manufactured following an original recipe from Bombay. Written by hand on a piece of paper dated 17th July 1947, the ‘family secret’ was rediscovered in 2013, as Marcus Pickering and Matthew Gammell set up the distillery. They observed the trend to gin for over five years before developing the idea of their brand and this discovery was the ‘juniper cherry on the cake’, so to speak.
The old recipe was refined and perfected, and the balance of the nine botanicals was adapted to suit contemporary tastes. Juniper, cardamom, coriander, angelica, fennel, aniseed, lemon, lime and cloves are carefully measured out and added to the grain spirit, which awaits the refining process in a 500 litre copper container – nicknamed ‘Gert’. A custom-made water bath heater provides the gentle heat which extracts the subtle aromas from the ingredients.
At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Pickering’s Gin, Pickering’s Navy Strength Gin, gold for Pickering’s 1947 Gin, and silver for Pickering’s Tattoo Edition Gin.
The Summerhall Distillery is located on the grounds of an old veterinary clinic, which used to be part of a veterinary college known as ‘Dick Vet’. Summerhall itself is a creative, artistic centre with plenty of room for studios and workshops. Right in the middle is the ‘The Royal Dick’ pub, directly next to the gin distillery – the first in Edinburgh for over 150 years. This explains how gin can be served here directly ‘from the barrel’ via a pipeline.
Production started on 27th March 2014, and since then, Pickering’s Gin has been manufactured following an original recipe from Bombay. Written by hand on a piece of paper dated 17th July 1947, the ‘family secret’ was rediscovered in 2013, as Marcus Pickering and Matthew Gammell set up the distillery. They observed the trend to gin for over five years before developing the idea of their brand and this discovery was the ‘juniper cherry on the cake’, so to speak.
The old recipe was refined and perfected, and the balance of the nine botanicals was adapted to suit contemporary tastes. Juniper, cardamom, coriander, angelica, fennel, aniseed, lemon, lime and cloves are carefully measured out and added to the grain spirit, which awaits the refining process in a 500 litre copper container – nicknamed ‘Gert’. A custom-made water bath heater provides the gentle heat which extracts the subtle aromas from the ingredients.
At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Pickering’s Gin, Pickering’s Navy Strength Gin, gold for Pickering’s 1947 Gin, and silver for Pickering’s Tattoo Edition Gin.
| Awards | Points | Spirit | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Double-Gold | 95.7 | Pickering's Navy Strength Gin | 2018 | Details |
| Double-Gold | 95.3 | Pickering's Gin | 2018 | Details |
| Gold | 95 | Pickering's 1947 Gin | 2018 | Details |
| Silver | 88 | Pickering's Tatoo Edition Gin | 2018 | Details |
Destillerie
Company:
Pirker GmbH
Address:
Grazer Straße 10
Place:
8630 Mariazell
Country:
Austria
Homepage:
Products:
- Obst-Brände
- Obst-Geiste & Spirituosen
- Korn
- Liköre
Brennerei Pirker: Masterpieces from Mariazell
Austrian gingerbread and mead production and candle dipping each have a long-standing tradition dating back over 300 years in Mariazell. The Pirker family still practise, preserve and bring to life these fascinating crafts today. Katharina Pirker and Georg Rippel-Pirker run this Upper Styrian model business with lots of enthusiasm and creativity, earning them the Styrian coat of arms. In addition to traditional and local fruit varieties, special fruits are also distilled into organic orange brandy, honey brandy and rice brandy which is sold as far afield as Japan.
At Pirker’s, tradition is combined with zeitgeist: brandies, mead, original Mariazell herb bitter (from local herbs, with no added sugar) and gingerbread liqueur are carefully produced and impressively presented. The company has won numerous awards, confirming its high quality standards – only the very best pure monovarietal fruits, herbs, honey and hand-selected spices are processed and distilled. Pirker’s entire product range is made up of more than 400 homemade specialities, ranging from exquisite brandies, liqueurs and Mariazell honey gingerbread to mead, handmade beeswax candles and high-quality vinegars from their own vinegar production facility.
At the World Spirits Award, the Master Class Distillery 2024 was awarded gold for Gingerbread Liqueur, Blackcurrant, Egg Liqueur, Swiss Pine Spirit, Herb Bitter, Cornel Cherry, Damson and Green Williams Pear, and silver for Orange, Raspberry, Bird Cherry and Rowanberry.
Austrian gingerbread and mead production and candle dipping each have a long-standing tradition dating back over 300 years in Mariazell. The Pirker family still practise, preserve and bring to life these fascinating crafts today. Katharina Pirker and Georg Rippel-Pirker run this Upper Styrian model business with lots of enthusiasm and creativity, earning them the Styrian coat of arms. In addition to traditional and local fruit varieties, special fruits are also distilled into organic orange brandy, honey brandy and rice brandy which is sold as far afield as Japan.
At Pirker’s, tradition is combined with zeitgeist: brandies, mead, original Mariazell herb bitter (from local herbs, with no added sugar) and gingerbread liqueur are carefully produced and impressively presented. The company has won numerous awards, confirming its high quality standards – only the very best pure monovarietal fruits, herbs, honey and hand-selected spices are processed and distilled. Pirker’s entire product range is made up of more than 400 homemade specialities, ranging from exquisite brandies, liqueurs and Mariazell honey gingerbread to mead, handmade beeswax candles and high-quality vinegars from their own vinegar production facility.
At the World Spirits Award, the Master Class Distillery 2024 was awarded gold for Gingerbread Liqueur, Blackcurrant, Egg Liqueur, Swiss Pine Spirit, Herb Bitter, Cornel Cherry, Damson and Green Williams Pear, and silver for Orange, Raspberry, Bird Cherry and Rowanberry.
| Awards | Points | Spirit | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 94.7 | Kräuterbitter | 2024 | Details |
| Gold | 94 | Kornelkirsche | 2024 | Details |
| Gold | 93 | Zirbengeist | 2024 | Details |
| Gold | 93 | Zwetschke | 2024 | Details |
| Gold | 92.7 | Lebkuchenlikör | 2024 | Details |
| Gold | 92.7 | Eierlikör | 2024 | Details |
| Gold | 91.3 | Grüne Williams | 2024 | Details |
| Gold | 90.3 | Schwarze Johannisbeere | 2024 | Details |
| Silver | 88 | Orange | 2024 | Details |
| Silver | 85 | Himbeere | 2024 | Details |
| Silver | 80 | Vogelbeere | 2024 | Details |
| Silver | 80 | Traubenkirsche | 2024 | Details |
Handel
Company:
Familie Lücke GmbH & Co. KG
Address:
Heiliggeistplatz 1a
Place:
48431 Rheine
Country:
Germany
Homepage:
Products:
- Spirituosen Wiederverkauf
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.
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.
| Awards | Points | Spirit | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 92.3 | Freudenfeuer | 2023 | Details |
Handel
Company:
Stock Poland
Address:
Ul. Goraszewska 6
Place:
02-910 Warszawa
Country:
Poland
Homepage:
Products:
- Spirituosen Wiederverkauf
- Destillerie
Stock Polska – Prestige products with history
Polmos Lublin (known today as Stock Polska) was founded by the industrialist Emil Plage in Lublin in 1906 and was able to survive both world wars and the communist state leadership. The company was nationalised in 1948 and re-privatised in 2001. It traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange until 2005 and was sold in 2006. The new owners, Oaktree Capital Management, purchased the spirits division from Eckes Stock in 2007 and thereby laid the foundations for the current Stock Spirits Group. The company has its headquarters in Luxembourg, its service centre in Great Britain and its production sites in the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland.
Stock dates back to the year 1884 when Lionello Stock founded a beverages business in Trieste. He purchased a distillery in 1920 in what is currently part of the Czech Republic with the aim of tapping into new markets. This was followed by distilleries, bottling plants and warehouses in Italy, Austria, Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia. In the 1920s, Stock was one of the biggest companies of its kind in Europe.
After an absence of 70 years, Stock returned to Poland and began to manufacture at the historic site of Lublin, 150 kilometres south-east of Warsaw. Intensive investment led to the creation of the most modern distillery in Poland and a leadership position on the vodka market. Poland’s most popular flavoured vodka is produced here: Zoladkowa Gorzka.
Lots of Stock products are produced by traditional recipes. These classical brands appeal to connoisseurs all over the world. In return, work is constantly being done on innovations that correspond to modern tastes and new drinking cultures. Quality standards are constantly upheld in both areas, of course.
The quality of the products was recognised at the World Spirits Award with a gold medal for the Orkisz Spelt Vodka.
Polmos Lublin (known today as Stock Polska) was founded by the industrialist Emil Plage in Lublin in 1906 and was able to survive both world wars and the communist state leadership. The company was nationalised in 1948 and re-privatised in 2001. It traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange until 2005 and was sold in 2006. The new owners, Oaktree Capital Management, purchased the spirits division from Eckes Stock in 2007 and thereby laid the foundations for the current Stock Spirits Group. The company has its headquarters in Luxembourg, its service centre in Great Britain and its production sites in the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland.
Stock dates back to the year 1884 when Lionello Stock founded a beverages business in Trieste. He purchased a distillery in 1920 in what is currently part of the Czech Republic with the aim of tapping into new markets. This was followed by distilleries, bottling plants and warehouses in Italy, Austria, Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia. In the 1920s, Stock was one of the biggest companies of its kind in Europe.
After an absence of 70 years, Stock returned to Poland and began to manufacture at the historic site of Lublin, 150 kilometres south-east of Warsaw. Intensive investment led to the creation of the most modern distillery in Poland and a leadership position on the vodka market. Poland’s most popular flavoured vodka is produced here: Zoladkowa Gorzka.
Lots of Stock products are produced by traditional recipes. These classical brands appeal to connoisseurs all over the world. In return, work is constantly being done on innovations that correspond to modern tastes and new drinking cultures. Quality standards are constantly upheld in both areas, of course.
The quality of the products was recognised at the World Spirits Award with a gold medal for the Orkisz Spelt Vodka.
| Awards | Points | Spirit | Event | Detail |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 93 | ORKISZ Spelt Vodka | 2014 | Details |