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Donner-Peltier Distillers – A great team from Louisiana

In 2011, Tom and Beth Donner and Henry and Jennifer Peltier opened their Donner-Peltier Distillery in the middle of a sugarcane field in Thibodaux, Louisiana, with the aim of producing the best quality from the local raw materials of sugar and rice. A wide range of knowledge and experience from chemistry, combined with a burning passion for fine spirits, made up the basis for great team work, supported by Tyson Frizzell and Brad Blackwell, who are responsible for the production.

The high quality DPD product range comprises Oryza Vodka (distilled 17 times) and Oryza Gin (from eleven plants and a citrus touch of the South), both based on 100% authentic Louisiana long grain rice. The latest product is the Whiskey La 1, the first whiskey matured in Louisiana after Prohibition. Corn provides the body, rye the flavour, barley the balance and rice the sweetness. The Rougaroux rum range takes its name from the mythical creature ‘Roo ga roo’ that is said to roam the sugarcane fields at full moon and pass sentence on evil spirits – its curse lasts 101 days. If you lay 13 pennies in front of the door, you will be safe from ‘Roo ga roo’. Since it can only count to 12, it tries again and again until sunrise, then it has to get back to its hole … The Rougaroux 13 Pennies Rum keeps the legend alive, and it is refined with roasted pecans, vanilla pods from Madagascar and sugarcane molasses from the region. The Rougaroux Full Moon Dark Rum ages in American oak, and the clear Rougaroux Sugarshine, made from molasses and sugarcane, rounds off the fiery trio.

Over recent years the achievements of this small Louisiana dream team have gained worldwide recognition and also earned well-deserved attention at the World Spirits Award, with silver for the Full Moon Dark Rum, Sugarshine, Oryza Vodka, Oryza Gin and American Whiskey.

Kiuchi Brewing and Distilling: Authentic products with a long tradition

The Kiuchi sake brewery was founded in 1823 in the city of Naka in Ibaraki Prefecture. High-quality ingredients and great craftsmanship have been used for generations. When Mikio Kiuchi took over the brewery in the 1950s, the sake industry, like the rest of the economy, was growing rapidly, flooding the market with mass-produced goods. However, Kiuchi stuck to its high-end philosophy, the trademark of the company since its foundation. The family seized the opportunity of entering the craft beer market, buying equipment from abroad and incorporating their sake brewing experience into beer production. The whiskey business was launched in 2016, and the ‘Hinomaru Whiskey’ and ‘Hinomaru Gin’ brands were created to mark the anniversary year 2023.

Traditions have been passed on and refined in the search for authentic sake brewing. An old community centre was renovated and became the new location of the brewery and distillery. This is a meeting place where people from the area gather and chat as they used to, and can now also enjoy a whiskey. In addition to a tour and a tasting corner, there is also a popular restaurant.

At the World Spirits Award, the First Class Distillery received gold for Hinomaru Gin Craft, Kiuchi rice shochu Ginka edition, silver for Kikusakari Awashizuku Sparkling Sake Vintage 2008, Hinomaru Whiskey Sakura Cask aged 6 years, Hinomaru Whiskey SAKURA blended, Hinomaru Whiskey Signature 1823, Hinomaru whisky The 1st barrels, and bronze for Hinomaru whisky sherry cask 6 years.

Schwarze & Schlichte – Brand personalities from Westphalia

The family business Schwarze & Schlichte from Westphalia has been representing the highest quality spirits for the last 345 years with a distinct range of national specialities, regional traditional brands and successful international innovations. This top quality is based on a distilling tradition acquired over centuries which has been passed down over twelve generations. Even today, distilling and maceration still take place at the company’s own distillery where plenty of time and skill are invested. The selection and processing of the best raw materials and continuous control of the production process ensure a consistently high quality. One factor for success is the ongoing brand management in accordance with the specific requirements of the various brand personalities.

Three Sixty Vodka is one of the purest and mildest vodkas in the world. A fourfold distillation process ensures tangible softness and exceptional clarity while the purity of the vodka is all down to the time-consuming “Diamond Filtration” process: the finest filters are used, set with crystals like diamond dust, to remove even the smallest of suspended particles from the distillate. Even the packaging is unique: the facet-cut bottle of pure white shiny glass sets off this premium vodka to perfection. A black velvet label completes the sophisticated design.

The Grappa Bianca from Scavi & Ray is characterised by its full-bodied balanced flavour with powerful and intense aromas of marc. This crystal-clear brandy is soft and deliciously balanced thanks to the exquisite skill of the master distillery. The intense and fruity aroma is reminiscent of the sun-soaked vineyards in Italy.

Both products received a silver medal at the World-Spirits.

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’.