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Georg Hemmeter – XUXU, Escorial, SILLA EL FUERTE

Georg Hemmeter – strawberry drinks with exceptional flavour guaranteed

The name Georg Hemmeter – a company of the Underberg Group – stands for innovative spirits, in particular the XUXU range. The fresh and fruity strawberry drink contains 66 percent fruit plus crystal-clear vodka, rounded off with a dash of lime. The harmony between the sweetness of the fruit and just 15% alcohol by volume is created using a special production method. XUXU Ten, the little luxury in a 250 ml aluminium bottle with only 10% alcohol by volume, is dressed to party – it is still relatively new to the market, yet is already at home in all the world’s top party venues.
XUXU can be served in so many different ways: chilled, neat, on crushed ice, as a dessert topping, with sparkling wine or with other mixers – XUXU tastes heavenly and offers fresh and fruity pleasure. Welcome to Berrydise!

Initially the absolute top star in Greece, XUXU is now also number 1 in Russia, and extremely popular in Turkey and Italy too.


XUXU Strawberry & Vodka Drink and XUXU Ten won Gold at the World Spirits Award 2014.

Schwarzwaldbrennerei Markus Kalmbach: Ode to the Black Forest

This small, fine distillery is located in Baiersbronn, the largest forest municipality in Germany. The family business was founded by Fritz Kalmbach in 1963 and is now run in its third generation by Markus Kalmbach. The full-time banker runs the distillery at weekends, which has long since become a sideline. The family is now the sixth generation to live in the farmhouse built back in 1880. Tasting takes place in the tasting room in the former stables with a view of the distillery. Groups of ten or more can combine the tour with a taste of the local cuisine. In fine weather, there is a panoramic terrace from which you can enjoy the view of the Sankenbach Valley. The products are also available chilled in fresh spring water at the schnapps fountain on the edge of the village, which is open all year round. It is located in an idyllic spot under fir trees, with a bench and an inviting view of Baiersbronn.

They favour tradition with zeitgeist and class over mass production. Quality not quantity is the motto which they live by. Decades of experience with the ever-developing art of distilling infuse the diverse products made from fruit, herbs and grain. They range from Black Forest kirsch to herbal and bloodroot schnapps to gin and whisky. Aside from the malt mash from rye, wheat, spelt and emmer, the distillery’s own soft spring water and the fir wood from its own forest for the distillation process, time is perhaps the greatest ingredient in the whisky. It matures over years in the various wooden barrels in the vaulted cellar of the former farmhouse. In 2023, the grain brandy made from emmer, spelt and einkorn was awarded gold by the Association of Small Distillers and Fruit Distillers at the regional award ceremony.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for Kornbrand Emmer-Dinkel-Einkorn.