"When it comes to spirits, Switzerland has a lot to offer," says Beatrice Rüttimann, Managing Director of DistiSuisse. She is not only talking about the traditional fruit brandies, vieille products and absinthes, but increasingly also trendy spirits such as whisky, rum, gin and vodka.
It is particularly pleasing that not only the number of submitted spirits increased at this fifth national spirits award, but also the quality of these distillates was convincing, which was reflected in the number of award-winning products.
Of the 622 spirits entered, 20 percent were awarded a gold medal and 52 percent a silver medal. 16 percent of the products entered missed out on an award and 11 percent were disqualified - figures that roughly correspond to those of the last award.
The creativity displayed in the bottle design was also noteworthy: A walk through the full DistiSuisse spirits cellar is a feast for the eyes!
The brochure "Distisuisse 2019/2020" can be ordered free of charge in the BAR-NEWS webshop.
Those who succeed at DistiSuisse are undoubtedly among the best distillers. The DistiSuisse awards are among the most demanding in the world. Only the most outstanding products are awarded prizes. This is guaranteed by professional training of the jury by Agroscope.
In a tasting marathon lasting three days, the 36-member expert jury evaluated the spirits according to appearance, smell, taste and overall impression. In addition, all samples were analytically examined, which is hardly ever the case with other awards.
Modern spirits from Swiss distillers convince
Swiss distillers are increasingly proving themselves to be skilful producers of alcoholic beverages of foreign origin such as rum, gin, whisky, vodka and the like. The local products do not have to shy away from comparison with the established foreign products.
It is striking that the rolling "gin wave" is still continuing. In 2017, 23 gins were submitted, this year there were 61 and 11 percent of them won gold. This means that not only the quantity has increased, but also the quality is convincing.
This year, due to a high number of samples submitted, two new categories were created: Vodka and rum, two spirits that are in vogue with consumers.
Nine "Burners of the Year
The Distiller of the Year award requires that products from at least four different categories win a gold medal. Spirits with the highest number of points received were awarded as category winners.
91 - 100 points were enough for gold, 81 - 90 points received silver. Only the most outstanding products are awarded gold and silver diplomas.
The following distillers have received the "Distiller of the Year" award:
| Distillery | Gold |
| Z'Graggen Distillerie AG, Lauerz SZ | 9 |
| Humbel Speciality Distillery, Stetten AG | 7 |
| Distillerie Studer & Co AG, Eschholzmatt LU | 6 |
| Absintissimo, Plan-les-Ouates GE | 5 |
| Streulis Private Distillery, Horgen ZH | 5 |
| Röllin Farm Distillery, Baar ZG | 4 |
| Gunzwil Distillates Urs Hecht AG, Gunzwil LU | 4 |
| Speciality distillery Zürcher, Port BE | 4 |
| Wirz fruit growing and distillery, Reigoldswil BL | 4 |
DistiSuisse - National Spirits Award, Zug
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