World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

Prevelon: Premium vodka by order of the Kremlin

Kremlin Premium Vodka was created as the official drink for all diplomatic receptions and banquets at the Kremlin and was intended as the hallmark of high-ranking events. The decision in favour of the most traditional Russian drink was unanimous. It was only produced on special order and in limited amounts. The first large batch of this ‘protocol’ vodka was ordered in February 1945 for the Yalta Conference. Kremlin Award Grand Premium came on the market in 2011 and is exported to 38 countries, and in many of them it holds the top position in the ultra-premium vodka category. Since 2016, the product range has included Kremlin Award Classic, which enjoys great popularity amongst all partners.

Two products have been added to the product range. Kremlin Award Organic is based on alcohol that is produced from the highest quality organic wheat, and on natural drinking water. The vodka passes through a multi-stage purification through pure birchwood charcoal. The alcohol for Kremlin Award Vintage is made from organic grains from the same harvest. The wheat grains are stored in a grain silo until they reach their physiological maturity in order to get a high-quality base product. The ‘luxury alcohol’ is then mixed with natural drinking water and, after purification, is granted a resting period. Production is limited to the year stated on the label.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Kremlin Award Organic and Kremlin Award Vintage.

Wyborowa and Ostoya: Polish vodka for the world

The name Wyborowa translates as ‘selected’ and stands for a product that has shown for decades how a good rye vodka should taste. The brand is deemed the oldest internationally sold vodka brand in the world. Wyborowa fulfils the requirements of the protected geographical indication ‘Polska Wódka’, according to which every production step has to take place in Poland. The production process is based on the Polish distillation tradition, which has been perfected over almost 600 years and requires Polish ingredients of the highest quality. It was first produced in 1926, has been part of Pernod Ricard since 1999 and is one of the ten best-selling vodkas in bars around the world.

The basis of the vodka is 100% Polish rye from the region. It is milled, fermented and distilled in small, local and owner-run agricultural enterprises, to produce raw alcohol, the ‘heart’ of the spirit. Distillation is threefold in traditional pot stills, then it is filtered three times through charcoal and carbon and thinned with softened and demineralised well water. It is exported to over 80 countries.

Ostoya was the first wheat vodka to be produced in Poland. The spirit is made from fine grains grown in Bieszczady, one of Poland’s most unspoilt regions. It is produced at the Pernod Ricard production plant in Zielona Góra, then distilled and charcoal-filtered for exceptional purity in rectification plants in Poznan. This premium vodka is 100 percent Polish, from the grain to the glass.

Wyborowa Vodka and Ostoya Vodka were awarded gold at the World Spirits Award.

Fabian Vögtle Distillates – Experimenting to head in new directions

Whilst some people are born with a sunny disposition, others are born with fire in their bellies. Fabian Vögtle was born with a passion for alcohol – mainly the production of it, of course. As attractive as it may sound, there are strict legal regulations for hobby distillers. For the production of spirits, you need special distilling rights. Fabian Vögtle was lucky in this respect, as schnapps production is a tradition in his family. Since he inherited his grandfather’s distilling rights in 2008, the full-time wine-grower has been distilling his own brandies and liqueurs, such as the Williams Christ pear, Mirabellenwasser (mirabelle), Zibärtle brandy, grape marc brandy from Gewürztraminer and wine brandy in oak barrels. The original craft has been retained by the distiller from Vogtsburg: distilling takes place in the old distillery, which is heated by hand with wood. The distillates mature in demijohns in wooden barrels, no cold treatment or filtration takes place. Soft spring water from the Glottertal valley is used to dilute the brandies to drinking strength.

These days, the focus is on gin, because this can be produced all year round. Fabian Vögtle’s ‘dialect’ is his own interpretation of the popular drink, which combines family tradition and innovation. It contains an exotic melange of a total of 17 natural botanicals, including juniper, aniseed and coriander, as well as orange and lemon peel. The annual highlight is a limited gin selection of 499 bottles – something special for gin lovers!

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Mundart Kaiserstuhl Dry Gin.