World-Spirits Online Guide Abo – order now

Ehrenwert GmbH: One recipe – two families

One recipe – two families. Each family has its own carefully guarded secret recipe, and with the Lücke family this remained in the hands of grandfather Heinz and later his son Dieter for many decades. Long enough, thought sons Thomas and Christian. In any case, it is the ‘Felsenfeuer’ herb liqueur that once made the Lücke Distillery one of the most important in Münsterland. After the war they continued the success story which first began in the 18th century, with this herb liqueur, using the recipe that Heinz Lücke worked out. In the 1950s everyone was talking about it, but in the 1960s the era of the distillery and the herb liqueur ended. But not for good – 60 years later it celebrated its resurrection with the ‘Freudenfeuer’.

Whilst searching for a distillery, Thomas and Christian kept to family tradition, as their grandmother was a Sasse, and the Sasses’ fine distillery in Schöppingen is still well known today. Following a traditional recipe from 1947 the new liqueur is distilled in small batches and is bottled by hand after a ten-day rest period. Ready to enjoy: neat and ice cold like in the time of our grandfathers, or smoother, on ice with lightly pressed orange zest, or as a basis for a long drink with tonic water or ginger ale. To old times and new friends!

At the World Spirits Award, there was gold for Freudenfeuer.

Hödl Hof: Quality for generations since 1542

Alfred Dunst has been running the family business since 1993. His greatest passion is product development. “For me, the skill of distillation is an art form when it is carried out with experience and love. Inspiration is offered by nature that surrounds us. We see it as our duty to only produce our specialities with natural, high-quality ingredients that are carefully selected. We want to provide our customers with the same pleasure in drinking it as we have in making it,” he says.

45 hectares of organically farmed orchards and woodlands provide the raw materials for distillation, wood for heating, as well as for some of the storage barrels and, in addition, ingredients for the products, such as fir tips, wild fruit, mushrooms, roots, etc. Soft water with a low mineral content comes from their own spring in the protected area of the Rabenwaldkogel. Double distillation is carried out in copper vats following an old Styrian tradition. Only the ‘heart’ is extracted and matured in wood, glass or stainless steel.

As a special customer service, the product range is also available in 20 ml bottles. So it is possible to get an idea of the whole range or organise a tasting at home. For over 25 years, an informative schnapps trail has led through the orchards and woodlands, informing visitors about the various fruits, and the manufacture and storage of the products.

The World Class Distillery 2021 (Distillery of the Year 2021 – Bronze) received double gold for Stone Vodka (Spirit of the Year 2021), gold for Stone Red, The Original 1542 Old Classic, Troad Single Cask, Blended Single Malt Whisky and Stone Oak Vodka, and silver for The Original 1542 London Dry Gin Old Oak and Hödl Hof Feuerholz.

Nannoni Grappe: Top distillates from Tuscany

Master distiller and owner Priscilla Occhipinti has continually improved the company’s international reputation over the years with the same enthusiasm and sensitivity as her mentor, Gioacchino Nannoni. She has been personally responsible for these top-quality products for almost 25 years, and as one of the few women working in this industry, she is responsible for the entire journey of the product from the vineyard to the bottle.

Gioacchino Nannoni came up with the idea for the first ‘Grappa di Fattoria’ in the 1970s. This ‘farm grappa’ has been certified to indicate that it is distilled using its own fresh pomace from the respective grape producers. Since 2011, the company has been producing its own ranges under the brand name ‘Nannoni Grappe’, which is, however, limited to elite markets due to the very limited availability of top-quality pomace. Only fresh materials are used and processed within 48 hours. Distilling takes place just 60 days a year; gin, whisky and amaro are produced in the remaining months. “It’s an incredible amount of work for two months, day and night, but it’s also sort of a game,” says Priscilla, who is not only proud of the numerous awards (more than 165 international gold medals in ten years), but also the many visitors who come from all over the world.

At the World Spirits Award, there was silver for Gingillo Rosa, Gin Capricorno and Grappa d’Oro Riserva, and bronze for L’Estate and Acquavite Bacco per Venere.