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Feldfrucht Agrar: Controlled quality from an old entailed estate

Werner, Christine, Franz and Eva Lehner live and work on an old entailed estate. They know from documents that both the building and the family history go back to 1620. Presumably it has been in existence for much longer, although there is no written record. The thinking in terms of generations and the demand for sustainability also determine the type of land usage, which is environmentally friendly, suited to the location and in harmony with nature. Tradition, a close bond with the earth, as well as the courage to innovate have made the vegetable farm a strong partner for gastronomy and food retailing. The enterprise is a member of the “Wasserbauern” association, in order to set targeted measures for preserving water quality.

Production is according to the EUREP-GAP programme. On the one hand it is more costly, on the other it guarantees the best and most reliable food quality. This should be an incentive for the consumer to buy Austrian products. The products flourish on the deep, fruitful earth at the heart of Leonding in Upper Austria. The main products are sweetcorn (since 1986) and pumpkin (since 1999). In addition, there is a wholesale business with all kinds of vegetables, developed from over 50 years of successful cultivation. A trademark of the enterprise has always been specialities and novelties first in vegetable cultivation and later also in trade. The customers include gastronomy, homes and hospitals, where the controlled quality is valued.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was awarded to Roots Sweet Potato Vodka.

Hijos de Pablo Esparza: Regional specialities from Navarra

This family business in the north of Spain is located just 80 kilometres from the French border. Present in the market for over 145 years, the business is now run by the fifth generation. Some of the 27 employees have been working with the family for over 40 years. The oldest product is Anís Las Cadenas, which already won awards in Paris in 1909.

As Spanish spirits are not as well-known as whisky, vodka, rum or tequila, customers are usually found in countries with Spanish inhabitants or descendants of Spanish immigrants. As a small business with no international branches, the contact with business partners is paramount, and they need to be well-supplied with information on the products.

One particular speciality of the region is Pacharán, an aniseed and sloe liqueur, which has been popular in Navarra since the Middle Ages. The name is derived from Basaran, a Basque word for sloe. In the 1950s it became more well-known with the aid of commercial production and marketing. Originally, wild sloes were used, but these days they are grown on plantations to meet the increasing demand. As a means of dealing with inferior imitations, a supervisory board for production was set up in 1988, which also awards the seal of quality and origin Denominación de Origen del Pacharán.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Licor de Endrinas Basarana 20, silver for Pacharán Basarana Etiqueta Negra and Anís Las Cadenas, and bronze for Licor de Hierbas Las Cadenas.

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.

Stock Polska – Prestige products with history

Polmos Lublin (known today as Stock Polska) was founded by the industrialist Emil Plage in Lublin in 1906 and was able to survive both world wars and the communist state leadership. The company was nationalised in 1948 and re-privatised in 2001. It traded on the Warsaw Stock Exchange until 2005 and was sold in 2006. The new owners, Oaktree Capital Management, purchased the spirits division from Eckes Stock in 2007 and thereby laid the foundations for the current Stock Spirits Group. The company has its headquarters in Luxembourg, its service centre in Great Britain and its production sites in the Czech Republic, Italy and Poland.

Stock dates back to the year 1884 when Lionello Stock founded a beverages business in Trieste. He purchased a distillery in 1920 in what is currently part of the Czech Republic with the aim of tapping into new markets. This was followed by distilleries, bottling plants and warehouses in Italy, Austria, Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia. In the 1920s, Stock was one of the biggest companies of its kind in Europe.

After an absence of 70 years, Stock returned to Poland and began to manufacture at the historic site of Lublin, 150 kilometres south-east of Warsaw. Intensive investment led to the creation of the most modern distillery in Poland and a leadership position on the vodka market. Poland’s most popular flavoured vodka is produced here: Zoladkowa Gorzka.

Lots of Stock products are produced by traditional recipes. These classical brands appeal to connoisseurs all over the world. In return, work is constantly being done on innovations that correspond to modern tastes and new drinking cultures. Quality standards are constantly upheld in both areas, of course.

The quality of the products was recognised at the World Spirits Award with a gold medal for the Orkisz Spelt Vodka.