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Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery: The American Dream exemplified

For Andy and Charlie Nelson, a small town in Tennessee became their destiny in 2006. When they mentioned their family’s historic whiskey business in a butcher shop on Distillery Road, they were referred to the local historian. He proudly presented them with two perfectly preserved bottles of Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey, made by their great-great-great-grandfather Charles. Having found out that he was one of the most successful whiskey distillers in America before Prohibition, they decided to revive the family business.

The brothers have always had a lot in common. Both studied humanities, are history buffs, true Southern gentlemen and proud of their family roots. When they set out to revive the distillery, which had been founded around 1800, they embarked on a great journey not just to make and sell whiskey, but to rebuild a company that had helped to popularise the term Tennessee whiskey in America and Europe. By researching, sourcing capital and producing brands in small quantities according to original recipes, they are prime examples of the ‘American Dream’.

If you like stories about sunken ships, lost gold, a woman who ran a distillery before women were allowed to vote and the rebirth of a business, you would be in your element on a tour of the company. From Tennessee whiskey made according to the original recipe to new creations such as high-rye bourbons, the portfolio is constantly growing, but always based on their great tradition.

Nelson’s Green Brier Tennessee Whiskey – Hand Made Sour Mash won gold at the World Spirits Award.

Prenzel - An enjoyable and ingenious diversity

In 1989, Robert Wuest, from a family of distillers in Alsace, visited Hugh and Chris Steadman at their cherry orchard on the edge of the city of Blenheim - and came up with a brilliant idea. Soon after, the first fruit distillery in New Zealand was founded: The Alsace New Zealand Distilling Company. There is no long-standing tradition of fruit brandies here and as such there was no market for the products, despite the fantastic cultivation conditions. The company focuses on the use of alternative products for the bakery and food industry and as such, a golden pretzel was chosen as the logo, the emblem displayed by every bakery in Alsace. "Pretzel" then became "Prenzel" with the "n" standing for New Zealand.

The product range has been consistently extended to include foodstuffs such as vinaigrette, mustard, spicy sauces, vinegar and food oils. At present, only 40% of the company's sales come from alcoholic drinks, of which 10% is from pure distillates including small quantities of traditional fruit brandies, more than 20 liqueurs and brandy, gin and vodka.

The company's sales strategy is unconventional: there are no classic advertisements and instead, sales are based on word-of-mouth in the form of presentations at private households. Over the years, a network of franchise companies has developed which will be extended to the European network in future. Hidden costs play a big part in the introduction of new products: as such, consumers are invited to compare the Prenzel products with those of the market leaders. Only if 80% of them prefer the Prenzel products are the recipes pushed ahead and finalised.

The company was awarded a silver at the World-Spirits Award for its liqueur based on the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety.

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’.