ISW February Tasting: Liqueurs

New format is excellently accepted / Best liqueurs awarded / Lantenhammer distillery awarded two special prizes / Coffee and mint liqueurs gain relevance

The new, monthly tasting mode of Meininger's International Spirits Award (ISW) is very well received in the industry and brought the renowned competition around 200 entries at the second themed tasting of the year. On the agenda this time was the world of herbal, bitter, cream and spiced liqueurs, to which the jury awarded a total of 64 medals, 48 of which were gold and 16 silver. In addition, four products were awarded special prizes for their outstanding quality.

As usual, the jury consisted of spirits experts, distillers, bar professionals and other experts from research and academia, who tasted the distillates with a high level of expertise according to the special ISW scheme, in which the products are not only evaluated but also described in a decidedly sensory way.

One of the big winners of the February ISW tasting was the Lantenhammer Distillery from Hausham am Schliersee, which won two special prizes. The spirits experts chose the Lantenhammer Coffee Liqueur as the "Liqueur of the Year 2021". The best ingredients, a great balance and a nuanced aroma already brought this top product this special prize in 2020, which it was now able to defend in the manner of a real champion.

The award for the "Egg Liqueur of the Year 2021" also goes to Schliersee. The Raritas egg liqueur refined with orange spirit from Lantenhammer was convincing all along the line, repeating its gold medal from the previous year, and with this additional recognition now finally enters the ISW Hall of Fame.

The special prize "Bitter Liqueur of the Year 2021" was won by the Silvio Carta distillery from Sardinia with its Bitteroma Assoluto. The distillery has already attracted attention at ISW with its vermouths and bitter liqueurs and is now entering its Olympus for the first time with the Bitteroma Assoluto. This pearl in the style of a classic Italian bitters convinces with a wonderful orangy-citrus fruitiness in the nose and a strong, tart bitterness on the palate and inspires all along the line.

Rossbacher also has another reason to celebrate in Vienna, where Rossbacher - Der Starke Kräuter won the title of "Herbal Liqueur of the Year 2021" - for the second time after 2019. The classic from Austria thus impressively demonstrates its consistently high quality and is emblematic of continuity, tradition and class. Spicy and herbaceous, discreetly sweet and slightly berry-like, but tart and strong at the heart, these attributes also impressed this year's jury. 

"With the new format of the monthly tasting, we dedicated ourselves entirely to the world of liqueurs in February. Both the producers and the tasters are enthusiastic, and the qualitative examination of the individual spirits has become even more intensive," tasting manager Christian Wolf sums up the second themed tasting of the year as thoroughly positive. Alexander Thürer, board member of the Spirits Awards and spirits editor of the renowned gastro magazine Fizzz, adds: "The variety of entries was once again gigantic and the bar was accordingly very high. Products that prevailed in this field therefore truly deserve the highest respect. In addition, it is particularly exciting to see how trends we identified early on, such as those towards coffee or mint liqueurs, are now gaining relevance across the board."

The next themed tasting will take place in mid-March. Then the world of fruit brandies, fruit spirits and fruit liqueurs will be on the agenda.

An overview of all medal winners of the "Herbs, bitter, cream and spiced liqueurs" tasting can be found here: www.meininger.de/en/verkostungen/ergebnisse/isw-february-tasting-liqueurs

 

About Meininger's International Spirits Award ISW
The international spirits competition was launched 18 years ago by Meininger Verlag. Until 2020, spirits experts from all over the world gathered once a year in Neustadt an der Weinstraße to taste and evaluate spirits of all kinds from all over the world. With the new orientation towards a monthly, theme-specific tasting format, the competition guarantees an even more detailed tasting and assessment of the submitted spirits by a proven jury of experts, now focusing specifically on special spirits categories.

Meininger's International Spirits Award ISW is one of the most important spirits competitions in the world today. With its tasting methodology, the competition sets new standards in the field of spirits evaluation. Based on the international 100-point scheme, the spirits are not evaluated comparatively, but individually according to appearance, smell and taste by a jury of experts without knowledge of the producer. In addition, the competition describes each tasted spirit sensorially in terms of the aromas and attributes typical of the respective competition category. From this, an aroma diagram is created that is comprehensible and understandable for distillers and consumers and gives a first impression of the flavour of the spirit.

Founded in 1903 in Neustadt an der Weinstraße, Meininger Verlag is one of the oldest German specialist publishers. The company specialises in particular in the wine and spirits sector. Internationally, Meininger Verlag has made a successful name for itself with the MUNDUS VINI Grand International Wine Award. In addition to well-known trade magazines, the media company organises trade fairs, industry events and trade congresses. The portfolio of Meininger Verlag also includes FINEST SPIRITS in Munich, the trade fair for premium spirits with an international festival character.

 

Press contact:
Nicole Zeisset
Meininger Verlag GmbH
Maximilianstr. 7-17
67433 Neustadt
Tel.: 06321 89 08 94
E-Mail: [email protected]
Internet: www.spirits-award.com

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