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Family of Hounds – Sought and found

Andrea Frigerio and his English wife, Lina, live in Monaco with their two dogs, Spot and Magda, two wonderful additions to the family. Since they started taking the two for walks in town, they have made many new friends. Andrea and Lina used to be red wine drinkers, who spent their holidays in the wine hills of Italy and France. It was only in 2013, while visiting a country estate in England, that they discovered their love for a good G & T. This developed into a passion, and their discussions soon revolved around what it would be like to create their own gin.

They tasted intensively, discarded aromas they didn’t like, and extracted the aromas they did. Together with the master distiller in an old distillery in Piedmont, they created their recipe for the gin: juniper, lemon and orange peel, pink grapefruit, lavender, thyme, cardamom, ginger and coriander. The first three ingredients come from Italy, the rest from Asia. “The juniper is really loud, like a brightly lit disco floor, and the other botanicals dance around it. Together, they are like a lively, attention-seeking dog that can’t sit still.”

In the future, they are looking to establish a small family of spirits, from gin to vodka and from grappa to vermouth – unmistakable in taste, but accessible to everyone. The core of the philosophy is going out with good friends, enjoying a good meal and even better spirits. The first step has already been taken …

At the World Spirits Award, there was double gold for Family of Hounds Gin.

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.

Soul Surfer: Deep Dry Gin

Soul Surfer Gin is a premium dry gin that is distilled and bottled in Germany. The powerful alcohol content of 52 per cent by volume guarantees a high degree of purity and leads to a ‘harmonisation and soothing of the alcoholic sharpness’. This leads to a mild taste sensation: classic, yet modern and refined. The aromas of selected botanicals such as lime, rosemary and mint are a fresh counterpart to the aromatic juniper note.

Soul Surfer Gin was already available on the German market in a similar form for a few months in 2017 and was marketed by an acquaintance. Their preference for gin moved Christopher and Franz-Josef Severin to take over the business themselves. From mid-2018 on, Soul Surfer Gin was overhauled with the help of the Brauweiler fine fruit distillery and (re)entry onto the market was made in mid-2019 – with success, as can be seen and tasted.

At the World Spirits Award, Soul Surfer Gin was awarded gold.

Kapruner Edelbrände: Hiking with a high-spirited reward

Not far from the Kaprunerhof, on the Maiskogel mountain, lies the cosy Unteraigen inn. Homemade delicacies and home-distilled schnapps are served here, accompanied by the wonderful panoramic views over Lake Zeller See and the surrounding mountains. The establishment is run by the Rattens-berger family with charisma and warmth and is a popular place to stop for people on hikes or to take a break from skiing. You can visit the distillery, if you like.

In 1995, Albert Rattensberger had the facility designed and built, and in 2001, he founded the Kaprun-er Edelbrände company. In 2014, Anton ‘Toni’ Rattensberger took over the distillery, which produces fine fruit distillates with love and experience. “In schnapps you will only find what the fruit has to give, sometimes with a little yeast to improve fermentation. Basically, we keep to the motto: good fruit = good fermentation = good schnapps,” says Toni.

Distillation takes place all year round, but the main season is between September and December. When the distillation plan is drawn up, the fruit is delivered. Depending on demand, between 500 and 1,500 litres of schnapps are distilled every year. In total, there are 13 varieties, including apple, rasp-berry, cherry, apricot, quince, Williams from Styrian pears and rowanberry from the Polish field ro-wan. Upon request – with a week’s delivery time – there is also gentian, sour cherry, cherry honey and egg liqueur.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for Apple from oak barrels.