PRESS RELEASE Neustadt, 7 July 2020 Gin trend continues // German whisky triumphs "Spirits of the Year" awarded at a virtual awards ceremony The Spirits of the Year 2020 were presented today during a live virtual award ceremony. A total of 314 spirits were honoured by the jury of the 17th Meininger's International Spirits Award ISW competition, held in Germany. The gin category was once again strongly represented, with almost 200 products tasted and rated. As in previous years, this category shows that gin – a universal drink which can be used both pure and in long drink or cocktail variants – is characterised by a wide range of taste interpretations. The two best gins of 2020 are the "Broker's Dry Gin" (Gin of the Year 2020 international) and the "Playboy Gin" (Gin of the Year 2020 national), which is produced exclusively by the finch® Whisky Distillery. German whisky is one of the winners of this year's spirits competition, with a total of 16 whiskies from Germany winning one of the coveted medals. The special award "German Whisky of the Year 2020" goes to the Ayrer's Alligator of the Hausbrauerei Altstadthof, which was also the only whisky in the competition to be awarded the highest distinction "Grand Gold". "More whisky is not possible," was the brief but clear verdict of the jury. Among the Spirits of the Year are well-known spirits such as "Linie Aquavit Double Cask Port" (Aquavit of the Year 2020), "Broker's Dry Gin" (Gin of the Year 2020 international) and "Asbach Selection 21 Years Aged" (German Brandy of the Year 2020), along with a large number of new discoveries such as "Luk Handcrafted Vintage Korn" from the Birkenhof distillery (Korn of the Year 2020) or the "CINECANE Popcorn Rum Gold" from Tastillery (Spirits Innovation of the Year 2020). The "Spirit of the Year 2020" award for the best spirit in the whole competition, goes this year to France to the Domaine Tariquet for the "Pure Folle Blanche 15 ans". The best distilleries of this year's competition are the Italian Distilleria Sibona (Distiller of the Year 2020 international) with 10 Gold and 4 Silver medals and Lantenhammer (Distiller of the Year 2020 national) with 1 Grand Gold, 7 Gold and 2 Silver. The top 5 countries: Germany (8 Grand Gold, 81 Gold and 46 Silver); Italy (1 Grand Gold, 41 Gold, 12 Silver); France (1 Grand Gold, 16 Gold, 3 Silver); Great Britain (14 Gold, 5 Silver), and Switzerland (10 Gold, 1 Silver). "Over four days this year, our almost 50 spirits experts tasted their way through the great and diverse world of spirits to award only the best with a medal. Each category, be it fine fruit spirits, peaty whisk(e)ys, aged brandies, herbal and fruit liqueurs or the wide and diverse world of gin, which has been around for years, was incredibly well represented," said Christian Wolf, the Tasting Director. A virtual award ceremony was held this year, moderated by Tasting Director Christian Wolf and Meininger Verlag’s spirits expert, Alexander Thürer. Although the ceremony was mostly virtual, the awards for the "Spirits of the Year 2020" were given to the master distillers, who were present in person. The fact that the competition could take place at all in times of a global pandemic is due to the great hygiene efforts made by the organisers. Thus, this year's award could offer a worthy platform for the best spirits. All special awards as well as all results of the ISW 2020 can be found on MEININGER ONLINE as well as in the magazine "BRANNT - magazine for iconic spirits" (www.meininger.de/de/brannt) which will be published at the end of September. All special awards at a glance Spirit of the year 2020 Domaine Tariquet Pure Folle Blanche 15 ans Château du Tariquet Brand spirit of the year 2020 Malteserkreuz Aquavit Arcus Denmark Distiller of the year 2020 international Distilleria Sibona 10 Gold, 4 Silver Distiller of the year 2020 national Lantenhammer Distillery 1 Grand Gold, 7 Gold, 2 Silver Whisky of the year 2020 international Bowmore 19 Years Beam Suntory Germany German whisky of the year 2020 Ayrer's Alligator Hausbrauerei Altstadthof Rum of the year 2020 Rhum Savanna Traditionnel Le Must Distillery de Savanna Gin of the year 2020 international Broker's Dry Gin McCormick Distilling Int. Ltd. - Broker's Gin of the year 2020 national Playboy Gin finch® Whisky distillery Aquavit of the year 2020 Line Aquavit Double Cask Port Arcus Norway Fruit liqueur of the year 2020 international Crème de Pamplemousse rose (Pink grapefruit liqueur) Giffard Fruit liqueur of the year 2020 national Williams Liqueur 0,5l 25% vol. Lantenhammer Distillery Fruit spirit of the year 2020 Caldiff Privat Roner AG Distilleries, South Tyrol Spice liqueur of the year 2020 AH Riise Lakrids Shot Danish liquorice liqueur A.H. Riise Spirits Grappa of the year 2020 La Grappa di Nebbiolo Distilleria Sibona SpA Vermouth of the year 2020 Gamondi Vermouth di Torino Superiore Rosso Toso SpA Vodka of the year 2020 KINETIC Single Estate German Vodka Hardenberg-Wilthen AG Spirits Innovation of the year 2020 CINECANE Popcorn Rum Gold Tastillery GmbH Bitter spirit of the year 2020 Underberg Diversa Spezialitäten GmbH German brandy of the year 2020 Asbach Selection 21 years matured Asbach GmbH Korn of the year 2020 Luk Handcrafted Vintage Grain Birkenhof Distillery GmbH Liqueur of the year 2020 Coffee liqueur 0,5l 25% vol. Lantenhammer Distillery GmbH Egg liqueur of the year 2020 Egg liqueur with a shot of rum 15% vol. Rola Weinbrennerei- und Likörfabrik GmbH & Co.KG About Meininger’s International Spirits Award ISW The international spirits competition was launched 17 years ago by the Meininger publishing house. Once a year, spirits experts from all over the world gather in Neustadt, Germany, to taste and evaluate spirits of all kinds from all over the world. Founded in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse in 1903, Meininger Verlag is one of the oldest German specialist publishing houses. The company specialises in the wine and spirits industry. Internationally, Meininger Verlag has made a successful name for itself with the MUNDUS VINI Grand International Wine Award. In addition to well-known trade journals, the media company organises trade fairs, industry events and specialist congresses. Meininger Verlag's portfolio 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 Phone: +49 6321 89 08 94 E-Mail: [email protected] Internet: www.spirits-award.com .