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Diageo – From London to the whole world

Approximately 33,000 employees are employed worldwide at Diageo, the market leader in premium spirits, with Smirnoff (vodka), Johnnie Walker (whiskey), J&B (Scotch whiskey), Baileys (liqueur), Captain Morgan (rum), Cuervo (tequila) and Tanqueray (gin), Guinness beer and branded wines. Production takes place all around the world: from Great Britain and Ireland, Italy, Spain and Africa, to the USA, Canada, Latin America, Australia, India and the Caribbean. The global corporation emerged in 1997 from the merger between Guinness and GrandMet. 180 markets around the world are handled from its London headquarters.

A lot of work and lots of attention to detail go into creating the in-depth product descriptions on Diageo’s website. Information and analysis is provided about issues ranging from detailed descriptions of the production down to the most minute ingredients. Finally, they are aware of the size of their company and also of their responsibilities as a supplier of alcoholic products. The name Diageo was also deliberately chosen – it represents their agenda. Put together from ‘dia’ (the Latin word for ‘day’) and ‘geo’ (the Greek word for ‘world’), it means that every day people are celebrating all over the world with products from their company. These products open up possibilities never dreamed of for special days and nights, marking special life events and even making the smaller things in life feel magical.

Participation in the World Spirits Award was magical: there was double gold for Tanqueray No. 10 (Spirit of the Year 2016), gold for Gordon’s London Dry Gin and Tanqueray London Dry Gin, as well as silver for Tanqueray Rangpur.

Gebhard Hämmerle Privatbrennerei – Every drop is a treasure

More than 130 years ago, Gebhard Hämmerle laid the foundation stone for the Vorarlberg fine distillation dynasty with the foundation of the Freihof Distillery. In 1952, his grandson and successor decided to produce limited vintage brandies, made from the best fruit of each harvest. Since then, the Gebhard Hämmerle Distillery has been producing crystal-clear delicacies of this brand. “Making good fruit brandies is a solid handcraft; to capture the finest nuances of the aroma and flavour of a fruit in a distillate, is an art.” The traditional distillation processes have been perfected in accordance with this principle for over 50 years. An uncompromising selection process over many stages of production ensures that only the best (‘Vom ganz Guten’) comes into the conical bottles.

Every single harvest batch is processed separately. All bottles display the year, the bottling date and the batch number. Thus the development of the distillates can be followed over the years, which ensures the basis for top class distillates. The best cultivation methods and the best varieties can be chosen over the years of searching for the ideal fruit with a typical aroma and an optimal degree of maturity. Apart from pure pome, drupe, and berry brandies, a gentian distillate compliments the standard range as an Alpine rarity. Great vintage years as well as choice wild fruits are offered in limited batches as ‘Herzstück’ (‘core’ elements). This term is only used for fruit brandy rarities which reach the personal ideals of exceptional quality. Gebhard Hämmerle has fulfilled a dream with this.

The World Class Distillery 2016 was in the spotlight with a great haul: there was double gold for Herzstück Brombeere (blackberry) (World Spirits Award 2016), gold for Vom ganz Guten Vogelbeere (rowanberry), Herzstück Traubenkirsch (black cherry), Vom ganz Guten Enzian (gentian), Herzstück Mispel (medlar) and Vom ganz Guten Williams (Williams pear), silver for Herzstück Himbeere (raspberry), Herzstück Quitte (quince) and Vom ganz Guten Holunder (elderberry).