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Aura Proizvodi: Delicacies from Croatia

The top brand of this family enterprise has been widely recognised. A great deal of work and devotion is invested into every product, according to the motto: “Tested by hand, prepared with dedication.” Aside from jams made of figs, plums, dandelion, cornel cherries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries, they produce fine brandies that are filtered up to six times to remove the sediment. The basis of all the spirits is homemade brandy from pomace, pears or apples. This is used for Biska (mistletoe brandy), Medenica (honey brandy) and Teranino (red wine liqueur), spirits made of figs, rosehip, carob, cornel cherries, almonds, olives, peppermint, plums, rose blossom, sage, forest fruits, wild apples, wild pears and even more besides. The product range also includes a herb brandy, Medimela (honey and mistletoe leaves in an apple distillate), a herb liqueur with wormwood, Millefrutti (made of macerated wild fruits, distilled twice and matured for three years in the barrique), Biska extra (made of white mistletoe) and Karbun gin (made of wheat distillate, juniper berries and 20 spices). The gin is filtered through active carbon that is also offered when serving. The products are available at wine shops, delicatessens, hotels, restaurants and airports. They have their own shops in Hum, the smallest town in the world, in Buzet, the town of truffles, in Novigrad, in Grožnjanu, the artists’ village, in Poreč, Motovun and Rovinj. They also supply to Rijeka, Split and Vrbnik on the island of Krk.

At the World Spirits Award, double gold was awarded to Aura Limoncello (Spirits of the Year 2023), gold to Aura Gin Navy Strength, Aura Gin Karbun Limited Sea Edition and Aura Ora d'Oro, and silver to Aura Gin Karbun, Aura Teranino and Aura Fernet Amaro 78.

RhochzweiLiquids: Two master brewers from Ulm with gin in their sights

Korbinian Rau and Dominik Russ met in 2013 in the master school in Ulm. They then each went their own way, workwise, but in 2017 they found themselves working together in the same brewery. As a hobby they started to experiment with a small, homemade pot still. The results were sampled by friends and found to be rather drinkable. Their main profession as master brewers enabled the two of them to improve their distillates with creativity and passion, and so they decided to start up their own small company in February 2018.

RhochzweiLiquids Gbr was the beginning of turning their hobby into a side business. The sales figures are still small but are growing healthily – and the first product, Ulmer Ginger Gin, has received posi-tive feedback in the region. The gin stands out amongst the huge range because some of the ingredi-ents they use are ones you would expect to find in a brewery, and this appeals to the whole Ulm bar scene. Their aim is not to grow quickly, but rather to keep the hobby as such and to consistently guar-antee the highest quality with regional ingredients and passion.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for Ulmer Ginger Gin and Ulmer Ginger Gin Winter Edition.