World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

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.

Berentzen Group: 250 years of cultured distilled spirits

Berentzen Group is an innovative beverage company that boasts a wide portfolio and develops, produces and markets varied and fashionable drinks concepts. The portfolio includes spirits, alcohol-free beverages and fresh juices. With over 260 years of experience, they are one of the oldest national manufacturers of spirits and have a market presence in over 60 countries to date, with brands such as Berentzen and Puschkin as well as reasonably priced private label products.

In April 2023, Norden Sea Salt Gin was launched on the German market under the Doornkaat brand. It is a speciality on the gin shelf, as selected North Sea botanicals create an extraordinary and intense taste experience: juniper provides the spice, sea buckthorn and rosehip the fruity tartness. Norden Sea Salt Gin is rounded off with a pinch of sea salt. This spirit spreads the genuine nature and authenticity of the North Sea coast throughout Germany. It is versatile and can be enjoyed neat, on ice or mixed as a long drink or cocktail.

Tres Países Premium Rum combines distillates from Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic. After being stored for up to eight years in American white oak bourbon casks, they come to Europe for refinement by the master blender. The characteristics of the countries provide the taste profile: vanilla and butterscotch, elegant fruit, banana and chocolate. It is also available in a port cask finish, which is refined in aged casks for another six months.

At the World Spirits Award 2025, there was Gold for Doornkaat Norden Sea Salt Gin and Tres Países Premium Rum.

Blue Liquors – Blue Mauritius Gold

The name brings luxury to mind, as it actually refers to the legendary postage stamp which was issued in the British Crown Colony in 1847. It took 165 years for Blue Mauritius Rum to come on the market – yet rum production in the island kingdom in the middle of the Indian Ocean actually goes back even further. The first sugar cane plantations had already been set up by the French East India Company in the 18th century. Nearly 90 percent of the farmland of Mauritius is used for the cultivation of sugar cane.

Blue Mauritius Rum is produced using a basis of local sugar cane molasses, which is fermented for 36 hours before distillation. The alcohol obtained is reduced to 60 percent by volume and then stored in South African port wine barrels. Processing and blending is carried out in small quantities, filled in small batches, in striking, square bottles made of heavy French glass. A wooden stopper, with a seal in the form of an old coin and a suede strap and, of course, the ‘stamp-blue’ label round off the elegant outfit. A velvet-covered gift box is also available in this royal colour.

At the World Spirits Award, Blue Mauritius Gold received a gold medal.

Maass – Tyrolean mountain apricot and Fiss barley

In the heart of the Tyrolean mountains, surrounded by mighty three thousand metre high peaks, is one of Austria’s largest apricot plantations. At an altitude of nearly 900 metres at the entrance to the wild and idyllic Kaunertal valley, there are approximately 10,000 apricot trees. Next to an ancient Roman tower – which is where the farm name ‘Turabauer’ originates – you will find an architectural gem, the Maass open distillery in Prutz. Crystal-clear mountain air and pure spring water from the Central Alps make the fruit at Gerhard Maass’ family business ripen to the best quality.

The ‘imperial barley’ is something special, cultivated in the interwar period by Karl Röck and grown until the 1960s on the Fiss sun plateau. This variety is very productive, easy to grow and resistant to pests. In earlier times, it was exported as far as America, until it was displaced by a Bavarian barley variety and forgotten for many decades. Today it is experiencing a renaissance – the barley is certified and of the highest quality. On an area of around 40 hectares it is once again being cultivated, and a small innovative group of farmers, including Maass Distillery and the Zillertal Brewery, have developed new, regional products from it, ranging from a regional bread to beer and brandy – and what Gerhard Maass has produced from it, is absolutely fascinating.

The World Class Distillery 2017 (Distillery of the Year Gold & World Spirits Award 2017 OBB) received double gold for Gerste Imperial Holz (barley) and Single Malt Whisky – Imperial Malt Blend, gold for wild cherry, orange muscatel, apricot (wood), gentian and Gin by Maass brand.