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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.

Original Habeshawit Coffee: Ethiopian coffee culture in Upper Austria

The coffee roastery specialises in the processing of coffee beans from Ethiopia, the ‘cradle’ of coffee, where the traditional coffee ceremony is part of social and cultural life. Participation is considered a sign of friendship, respect and hospitality. The family enterprise with direct roots in the land of coffee culture brings this to Austria. Aside from fine coffees made of highland beans, the finest coffee liqueur is also produced at their own liqueur production facility.

Reichersberg is the commercial centre where coffee is roasted on site for customers. It is in a strategically convenient location, with good access to major transport routes in Austria and Germany. They also offer contract roasting, which enables companies and organisations to offer their ‘own’ coffee. Raw materials, equipment and know-how are provided in order to develop a unique taste profile.

9 BEAN Coffee Liquor is also unique. A specific kind of raw beans is selected and imported, and forms the basis, roasted using a special procedure. After a few days to settle, they are processed further according to an in-house recipe. Refined with high-quality, partly organic products, the harmonious composition of coffee, sugar and vanilla unfolds as a warm and full-bodied aroma. The liqueur is given ample time so that the various aromas can ‘come together’, supervised by inspections and sampling for quality assurance. The name does not stand for the nine beans in the logo, instead the 9 represents ‘accomplishment’. Each bottle is 100% manual work, from the roasting to the filling.

At the World Spirits Award, silver was awarded to Ethiopian Coffee Liquor.

Leibwächter: Herbal bitters with 58 herbs

Leibwächter is a traditional product made in Austria. The highest quality herbs from all around the world are cold-macerated with precision and the essences from them are processed to a unique elixir with over 145 years of experience of the Mozart Distillery in Salzburg. Leibwächter contains macerates of medically valued herbs such as mallow, wormwood, lesser centaury, sloe, angelica, rosemary and many others.

In this process, the ingredients are covered in alcohol, macerated for two weeks and then distilled in a vacuum distillation process. In this way, high quality is guaranteed. Leibwächter is mostly sold in 0.04 litre bottles at supermarket checkouts and, on average, more than ten million bottles are sold per year.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Leibwächter.