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Aldi Ireland: Gin and whiskey in retail

Aldi Ireland has several top products in its spirit range: Boyle’s Gin from the Blackwater Distillery and Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery, in addition, Mo Chara Passionfruit & Mango Gin from the Old Carrick Mill.

The Blackwater Distillery has been an Aldi partner since 2016 and developed the private label Boyle’s Gin exclusively for the Irish and British retail market. The product volume of the Blackwater Distillery for Aldi has risen strongly in recent years, whereby 140,800 bottles of the gin series were sold in 2018. The successful gin brand is manufactured in Blackwater Valley, West Waterford, with selected imported ingredients as well as regional apples, blackcurrants and elderflower. CEO Peter Mulryan – former TV producer and author of the book ‘The Whiskeys of Ireland’ – explains, “The partnership with Aldi has helped us to increase turnover enormously, and also to have the security to invest and expand. This includes on-site bottling facilities and a visitor centre.” Ardfallen Whiskey from the West Cork Distillery got its name from the region in County Cork where the malted barley comes from, and is only manufactured in small batches. The business was founded in 2003 by childhood friends who started out with only two small stills they had bought in Switzerland. Now the largest distillery in the country, it currently employs over 80 staff and exports to around 70 countries.

Beim World-Spirits Award 2025 gab es Gold für Ardfallen 10 Year Old Whiskey, Dúchas Irish Whiskey, Silver für Ardfallen Triple Cask Whiskey, Boyle‘s Sloe & Damson Gin, Dolmen Honey Moonshine.

Burgunderhof – A high-flying young entrepreneur

When Julica Renn gets in her helicopter and flies over the vineyards, it is clear that the former wine princess is no cliché. Together with her parents she runs the Burgunderhof, the first certified climate-neutral and ecologically run winery and hotel on Lake Constance. Since 2016, she has been the managing director and equal partner of the winery, the distillery and the hotel, and with her unusual start-up she has ushered in the generation change to the Burgunderhof with a flourish: MILE HIGH 69® is the name of the protected brand of her exclusive gin label. The laborious batch production is worth it, the end result is a very small edition of a great product – stylishly presented in aluminium containers with lots of 1920s flair: a homage to the pioneer times of the famous Dornier flying boats, which conquered the world from Lake Constance.

These days, Julica Renn conquers the gin world and benefits from over 300 years of family tradition. The standards are high – father Heiner Renn is known for fine fruit brandies and wines. His daughter has inherited his sense of business and fine sense of taste. In the secret recipe of her gin composition you will find juniper, sweet almond, lemon balm and elderflower, as well as kumquats, pine buds, lime and inflorescence from Müller-Thurgau. In the unfiltered distillation, the ethereal components are optimally released and the aromas elegantly highlighted – 19 natural botanicals and pure Lake Constance water promise a pleasurable experience, which Julica Renn presents impeccably: online, on Facebook and in the web shop.

At the World Spirits Award, the gin flew straight to gold.

RG QUADRO SRLS: The joy of mixing – the pleasure of enjoyment

Roberto Gulino has a passion for experimentation and is the founder of La Bodega, a modern cocktail bar in Cosenza, where he has revolutionised the drinking culture. There, night after night, he conveys his beverage philosophy to his guests, bringing the classics of mixology back into focus with just a few aromatic details and refining them with typical Mediterranean flavours. Each of his cocktails is an attractive and exciting sensory experience. His extensive knowledge of the European beverage market is best described by Roberto Gulino himself, and you can read all about it in respected publications such as the Financial Times, GQ, Espresso or Bargiornale.

“I just like mixing, because it’s a synthesis of my world, my passions. It reminds me of my father, of our surname, of Gulliver and his travels. Perhaps this gave rise to the desire to travel around my country and the world, to learn from affinities and differences. I distil, I make liqueurs and I compose cocktails, I am an entrepreneur, but also a barman. I try to convey emotions that glide over the lips, occupy the palate and then burn in the chest. To appreciate a liqueur, a cocktail or a distillate means to indulge in the intoxication of the moment and forget the roar and emptiness of the surroundings as the ice clinks in the glass. To open a bottle is to prepare for the joy of sharing, of sinking preconceptions and of expanding knowledge. People who enjoy a passion for quality can discover new places and revive what they have already seen.”

Amarsud non solo Amaro and Ginsud Convivial Gin won gold at the World Spirits Award.