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Fairytale Distillery: Gin as an affair of the heart

Thomas Gottwald and his team founded their Fairytale Distillery in 2018 in Ardelve, in the North West Highlands of Scotland, overlooking the lochs in the shadow of the mountains of the Isle of Skye. The heart of the distillery, the copper still, is located in a small witch’s cottage on an island in a pond.

Thomas’ collaboration with German botanists Martin and Stephan was to prove fruitful: within two years, the distillery achieved world-class status in 2020 for its handcrafted, exclusive gins that combine traditional ingredients with a subtle blend of locally available botanicals and herbs. An important component of the process is the use of spring water from the Brand Allt Mor na Dornie mountain stream. The combination of Martin and Stephan’s botanical expertise, Hans-Peter Schmidt’s copper still, Thomas’ attention to detail with the spring water is used to create the filtered and unfiltered gins that continue the success.

Some of the original gins were upgraded to Navy Strength versions; the higher alcohol content significantly improved both the taste and the aroma. Other versions have also been created, such as Classic, Oriental, Floral and Herbal Navy Strength. Two absinthe variants were added to the growing number of gins: the traditional La Fee Verte (green fairy) with an unconventional concept, and the La Fee Noire (black fairy), based on a wonderful recipe from the late 18th century.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was awarded to Red Fairy – Highland Red Absinthe and Highland Gin No. 57 Fine Cut.

Roust Hungary: Affordable luxury on the spirits market

Roust was founded in 1992 by the Russian businessman Roustam Tariko and quickly developed into a leading business group in the sale of premium spirits brands. One of the world’s leading vodka producers, the company is present in more than 80 countries. Roust owns production plants and distribution centres in Hungary, Russia and Italy. The comprehensive portfolio includes the flagship vodka brands of Russian Standard, Green Mark, Parliament and Zhuravli.

Thanks to its extensive knowledge in sales and marketing and its commitment to responsible alcohol consumption, Roust Hungary has become the leading supplier on the domestic spirits market. The largest premium spirits company in Hungary also sells the Royal, Zubrówka, Russian Standard, Gancia, Grants, Jägermeister and Metaxa brands.

For years, Royal Vodka has maintained its position as the most popular and well-known vodka brand in Hungary, and also remains market leader in terms of volume and turnover. Royal Vodka is produced using natural ingredients, from the grain to the well water, which contributes to its mild taste.

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Royal Original Vodka, and bronze for Royal Raspberry Liqueur.

Georg Hemmeter – XUXU, Escorial, SILLA EL FUERTE

Georg Hemmeter – strawberry drinks with exceptional flavour guaranteed

The name Georg Hemmeter – a company of the Underberg Group – stands for innovative spirits, in particular the XUXU range. The fresh and fruity strawberry drink contains 66 percent fruit plus crystal-clear vodka, rounded off with a dash of lime. The harmony between the sweetness of the fruit and just 15% alcohol by volume is created using a special production method. XUXU Ten, the little luxury in a 250 ml aluminium bottle with only 10% alcohol by volume, is dressed to party – it is still relatively new to the market, yet is already at home in all the world’s top party venues.
XUXU can be served in so many different ways: chilled, neat, on crushed ice, as a dessert topping, with sparkling wine or with other mixers – XUXU tastes heavenly and offers fresh and fruity pleasure. Welcome to Berrydise!

Initially the absolute top star in Greece, XUXU is now also number 1 in Russia, and extremely popular in Turkey and Italy too.


XUXU Strawberry & Vodka Drink and XUXU Ten won Gold at the World Spirits Award 2014.