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World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

he ultimate guide through the world of spirits - with current ratings of the best distilleries and commercial enterprises.
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Destillerie

Company:
Destillerie Josef Hofer e.U.
Address:
Hauptplatz 32
Place:
8952 Kienach
Country:
Austria
Products:
  • Liköre
Destillerie Josef Hofer: The finest stone pine schnapps

In the Styrian Enns Valley, at the foot of Mount Grimming, lies Irdning-Donnersbachtal. The Josef Hofer family business has been on the main square since 1797, now in the eighth generation. The stone pine schnapps plays an important role in the production of spirits and liqueurs. Since 2005, the Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur has been exported to the best resorts in the United States.

A stone pine spirit in its original form only needs pure alcohol and some sugar. 35 percent alcohol by volume gives an ideal combination of flavour and sharpness. The colour is typical with light blue-violet tones. Picking the cones is a risky job, as they hang on the outermost branches. And it has to be done quickly, because, due to the exothermal fermentation processes, the resin begins to seep out, leading to a bitterness which makes the cones unusable. Production begins after visual inspection of the cones: perfect examples are red throughout when cut open. They are left in a mixture of alcohol and water, depending on temperature and maturity, for two to three weeks. Once the sugar has been added, the alcohol content is regulated and, after a short resting period, the filtration and bottling follow.

‘Zirbenz trifft Barrique’ (Zirbenz meets barrique) is matured for six months in a new barrique made of American oak. The reddish-brown colour evokes whisky, while the aroma brings together stone pine with kiln-dry notes, hints of rum, tobacco and wood. A schnapps with strong bitter aromas from the roots of yellow gentian, which are washed and set in pure alcohol for two weeks, is a rarity.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Zirbenz, as well as silver for Zirbenz trifft Barrique and Enzian (gentian).
AwardsPointsSpiritEventDetail
Gold 90Zirbenz2022Details
Silver 88.3Enzian2022Details
Silver 84Zirbenz trifft Barrique, Zirbenz meets Barrique2022Details

Destillerie

Company:
S. Fassbind AG
Address:
Poststrasse 7
Place:
6414 Oberarth
Country:
Switzerland
Products:
  • Obst-Brände
  • Obst-Geiste & Spirituosen
Fassbind – The spirit of five generations

Fassbind is the oldest distillery in Switzerland. Gottfried Fassbind I – a descendent of Dutch coopers who had immigrated to Switzerland in the 13th century – founded the ‘Alte Urschwyzer Brennerei’ distillery in the municipality of Oberarth, at the foot of the Rigi mountains in 1846. As long ago as 1856, Napoleon III, emperor of France, honoured the exceptional quality of the fruit distillates with a gold medal. The long tradition, combined with craftsmanship and innovation, is the basis of worldwide recognition.

The fruit brandies are produced by hand from Swiss fruits of the highest quality. Gently distilled, they mature in stainless steel tanks in the historic cellars, until the aroma has developed perfectly. The finest products from the most valuable fruits distilled in small quantities carry the title ‘Les Trouvailles’. The best brandies mature in wooden barrels for the ‘Les Fûts Uniques’ and ‘L’Héritage de Bois’ series. Each barrel is unique and gives the eau de vie its special character. The features such as bottle, cap, label and neck decoration come from the best manufacturers in Switzerland and Europe.

At the World Spirits Award, the Distillery won gold for Schwyzer Honig-Chrüter, Les Fûts Uniques Kirsch Port Cask, Vieille Prune Barrique, L'Héritage de Bois Poire Williams and Les Fûts Uniques Kirsch Umburana Cask. There was silver for Vieille Framboise Barrique, L'Héritage de Bois Prune and Vieille Poire Barrique.
AwardsPointsSpiritEventDetail
Gold 94.3Les Fûts Uniques Kirsch Port Cask2017Details
Gold 94Vieille Prune Barrique2017Details
Gold 93Les Fûts Uniques Kirsch Umburana Cask2017Details
Gold 92L'Héritage de Bois Poire Williams2017Details
Gold 91Schwyzer Honig-Chrüter2017Details
Silver 89L'Héritage de Bois Prune2017Details
Silver 87Vieille Framboise Barrique2017Details
Silver 86Vieille Poire Barrique2017Details

Handel

Company:
Bimmerle KG Private Distillery
Address:
Önsbacherstraße 40
Place:
77855 Achern
Country:
Germany
Products:
  • Spirituosen Wiederverkauf
  • Destillerie
Bimmerle: Know-how meets regionality and trend awareness

At the production site in the Black Forest town of Sasbach, which was opened in 2015, this family business sets innovative standards in technology, sustainability and environmental protection. For the last five decades, Bimmerle has strived for the highest quality, with focussed know-how, modern high-tech and the traditional art of distilling. This is the first distillery in Germany where all the heating requirements and power generation are covered by the burning of fruit stones combined with woodchips from the region.

In Germany and on the European market, Bimmerle is a leader in the fruit brandies sector with the Lörch brand. In order to make the ‘playground’ more interesting, the brand identity was modernised in 2024 and will be extended in 2025 by a fruit brandy range matured in wooden casks. Needle Black Forest Gin is among the top 5 most widely sold gins in Germany. The portfolio has been expanded since 2018 with WOOD STORK Spiced Rum and the EVERMANN Black Forest whiskies Theo & Wilhelm introduced in 2022. The Black Forest distillery has enriched the liqueur and aperitif market with as many as five exciting creations under the DON PASQUALE brand.

The World Class Distillery 2025 & Distillery of the Year 2025 – Bronze (Bitters & Liqueurs) received Gold for Don Pasquale Limoncello Liqueur, Zünftler Waldhimbeergeist (wild raspberry spirit), Wood Stork Spiced Rum, Lörch Waldhimbeergeist (wild raspberry spirit), Lörch Vanillekipferl Sahnelikör (vanilla cream liqueur), Needle Gin Green, Don Pasquale Aperitif Bitter Liqueur, Don Pasquale Espresso Martini Liqueur, Don Pasquale Hazelnut Liqueur and Lörch Linzertorte Sahnelikör (Linzer tart cream liqueur). Silver was awarded to Kronenhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Lörch Alte Williams Christ Birne (pear brandy), Zinselhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand (pear brandy), Lörch Altes Schwarzwälder Zwetschgenwasser (damson spirit), Needle Blackforest Distilled Dry Gin, Needle Gin Rosé, Don Pasquale Pistachio Cream Liqueur, Lörch Bratapfel Sahnelikör (baked apple cream liqueur), Zünftler Alte Williams Christ Birne (pear brandy), Lörch Williams Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (pear spirit aged in a wooden cask) and Lörch Marille Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (apricot spirit aged in a wooden cask), and Bronze to Lörch Obst Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert (fruit spirit aged in a wooden cask).
AwardsPointsSpiritEventDetail
Gold 95Don Pasquale Aperitif Bitter Likör2025Details
Gold 94Wood Stork Spiced Rum2025Details
Gold 94Lörch Linzertorte Sahnelikör2025Details
Gold 92.7Don Pasquale Espresso Martini Likör2025Details
Gold 92.3Zünftler Waldhimbeergeist2025Details
Gold 92.3Needle Gin Green2025Details
Gold 92Don Pasquale Limoncello Likör2025Details
Gold 92Don Pasquale Haselnuss Likör2025Details
Gold 90Lörch Waldhimbeergeist2025Details
Gold 90Lörch Vanillekipferl Sahnelikör2025Details
Silver 89Needle Blackforest Distilled Dry Gin2025Details
Silver 88Don Pasquale Pistazien Sahnelikör2025Details
Silver 87Zinselhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand2025Details
Silver 87Zünftler Alte Williams Christ Birne2025Details
Silver 85Lörich Bratapfel Sahnelikör2025Details
Silver 84Lörch Williams Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert2025Details
Silver 83Kronenhof Alter Williams Christ Birnenbrand2025Details
Silver 83Lörch Altes Schwarzwälder Zwetschgenwasser2025Details
Silver 83Needle Gin Rosé2025Details
Silver 82Lörch Alte Williams Christ Birne2025Details
Silver 81Lörch Marille Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert2025Details
Bronze 79Lörch Obst Spirituose im Holzfass gelagert2025Details

Handel

Company:
Luding Group
Address:
Ryabinovaya Str. 55, Building 1
Place:
121471 Москва 471
Country:
Russian Federation
Products:
  • Spirituosen Wiederverkauf
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’.
AwardsPointsSpiritEventDetail
Double-Gold 95.3TCHAIKOVSKY2022Details
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