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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’.

Zöchmeister = wine & brandy

A wine voyage to Bordeaux in 1989 was the trigger for a passion for wine. Christian Zöchmeister, then just 22, applied his curiosity and thirst for knowledge in his practical work from this point onwards. He attended specialist courses and presentations, undertook additional excursions and started to take the small family business (selling grapes from 4 ha of vineyards) in a new direction. He planted new varieties of grape and the quality of the wine-growing production took off – aided by the favourable climatic conditions around Lake Neusiedler See. In 1993, a new field of business was added: a schnapps distillery which developed with success over the years.
The small and select assortment comprises various fruit brandies (sour cherry, cherry, damson, apple, Williams pear, apricot and peach) as well as natural products made from grapes or pomace and home-grown wine including wine brandy (aged for many years in oak casks) and grape marc made from aromatic varieties. The consistent quality work has also paid off in this sector, securing the company a number of prizes in regional and international competitions. All of the products represent the style of the varieties, the special climatic conditions and the distinctive terroir. Their expression and individuality offer greater insight into the product origins than any words ever could.
The company was also the subject of much discussion at the World Spirits Award and was classed as a First Class Distillery 2013. There was also gold for the Birnenbrand Cuvée (pear brandy) and Weinbrand Zigarrendestillat (cigar wine brandy) and silver for the Tresterbrand Gelber Muskateller (grape marc) and Maschanzker Apfel im Holz (apple aged in wood casks).

Login Drinks: Sicilian impressions

The gin trio by Nicola Philipps was inspired by the little island of Salina, one of the Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the north coast of Sicily. It is world renowned for its caper fields bedded between high mountains and steep rocky coasts. The blossoms sleep during the day, but wake up after sunset. Reminders of this are captured in the gin with the name Caper Flowers – something special, because the hint of caper blossom brings an innovative idea into the world of gin. The second gin is dedicated to jasmine, which is in full blossom in the summer in Sicily, while the third is dedicated to juniper, which is part of the Mediterranean scene with its gentle acerbity. Everything else that goes into the gins of course remains a secret.

The botanicals from Salina were processed by the Moselle master distiller Hubertus Vallendar, who loves Italy just as much as Nicola. She compares his art of capturing nature and converting it into something magical and his fierce passion for the finest spirits with the fire of the volcano Stromboli. The elegant, transparent glass bottles with their colourful images of plants round off the fine presentation of the gin series. A real treat – whether pure, over ice or a very high-quality Mediterranean tonic water.

At the World Spirits Award, gold was awarded to LOGIN Caper Flowers and LOGIN with a hint of Jasmine, and silver to LOGIN with a taste of Juniper.