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2B Hemp Gin: Styrian gin experience

Two visionaries, Armin Breinl (doctor, drink creator, musician) and Wolfgang Thomann (gin maker), have created a completely new gin experience with real hemp powder: 2B HEMP GIN (inspired by AEIJST). On 17th November 2018, the two invited guests to the first tasting of 2B HEMP GIN in the AEIJST GIN distillery in St. Nikolai in the Sausal Valley.

Made from organic juniper berries, this innovative gin has an impressive, mild and fruity taste and a typical hemp note. Due to its unique aroma, it not only tastes good neat, but also creates a ‘wow’ effect in cocktails – as proven in the long drink Styrian Pale Gin AEIJST refined with 2B HEMP.

For thousands of years, hemp has been grown as a valuable plant, be it for rope, fabric, paper or as an active ingredient in ointments and tinctures. Hemp has always been highly valued for its medicinal properties, yet recently has been demonised as an addictive drug and has suffered under its ensuing prohibition, originating in the USA. These days hemp is regaining importance and is being used more as a luxury food as well as in medicine as a therapeutic agent.

The Lifestyle Trading company, run by Armin Breinl, is an innovative beverage producer, which is already known amongst trade professionals for its sugar-free ‘func- tional fruit drinks’. The drinks have a high fruit content (more than 50 per cent) and additional natural, vital substances and have an energising, relaxing and regenerative effect.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for 2B HEMP GIN.

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’.

APQ-Spirits – Fine products in a fine design

APQ-Spirits was founded in 2016 by Werner Krauss, the master distiller of Feindestillerie Krauss. The aim of the small, friendly company is to produce spirits with the addition of essences. Thus a clear distinction is made to the parent company, in which only 100% distillates and spirits are manufactured. The abbreviation APQ stands for ‘Austrian Premium Quality’ – and that is what the produced spirits should be. The focus lies on the development and implementation of new product ideas, for the in-house label as well as for other brands.

The first APQ product was a Dry Gin, which, following distillation, was spiked with essence of rose – like Hendrick’s Gin – to ‘materialise’ the wonderful scent of roses. This clear, fresh gin carries the name Rose Garden, and the special label was put to canvas by painter Herbert Forstner from Lower Austria using the techniques of old masters and then digitalised. A hazelnut spirit is the starting point of their own line of spirits with well-known and new flavours.

At the World Spirits Award, the premiere was awarded two gold medals: one for APQ Hazelnut, and one for Rose Garden Dry Gin.

Aromahopping: Botanical spirit from the Odenwald forest

The “Inge & der Honigbär” gin brand is produced by Aromahopping GmbH in Mosbach (Baden-Württemberg). Behind the concept is trained chef Eric Kletti, who has been working in the region since 2017 and develops his distillates according to culinary principles. The recipes are based on combinations of flavours familiar to the kitchen. The range currently comprises nine London Dry Gin varieties, which are produced in small batches. The products are numbered.

The foundation is a grain-based alcohol in combination with spring water. Characteristic to these distillates are unusual blends of botanicals, including mandarin and rosemary, vanilla and cherry or tomato and lemon. The botanicals are handpicked and undergo sensory testing before processing. After several days of maceration, they are processed in its own small distillery. The distillates are then matured in steel tanks before being bottled at 43% alcohol by volume. Around 120 bottles are produced per batch. Labelling and packaging are also done by hand. Sale is through specialist retailers, restaurants, catering businesses and hotels, as well as selected retail partners in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Tasting boxes and limited special editions are also available.

At the World Spirits Award, Silver was awarded to Inge & der Honigbär Gin NO. 03 – Amalfi lemon, Inge & der Honigbär Gin NO. 04 – sage blossom & orange, Inge & der Honigbär Gin NO. 05 – mandarin & rosemary, Inge & der Honigbär Gin NO. 06 – vanilla & cherry, Inge & der Honigbär Gin NO. 07 – Kaffir lime & cinnamon and Inge & der Honigbär Gin NO. 09 – tomato & lemon.