New award-winning German gin now in UK

Windspiel Premium Dry Gin is now available in the UK together with the Windspiel tonic water especially developed to complement the gin.

The gin has made a name for itself at home in Germany and abroad thanks to the many coveted awards it has won. The Windspiel team, consisting of Sandra Wimmeler, Denis Lönnendonker, Rebecca Mertes, Tobias Schwoll and master distiller Holger Borchers, produces the raw alcohol from potatoes grown on their farm in the Volcanic Eifel region of Germany. After harvesting the potatoes in the autumn, they produce the particularly mild alcohol for their traditional London Dry Gin from a selected mixture in three distillations. This is then perfected with the addition of 10 classic gin botanicals such as juniper, lemon zest, cinnamon bark, coriander, and lavender.

“We wanted to develop a down-to-earth, classic yet exclusive London Dry Gin,” explains Sandra Wimmeler, managing director of Windspiel. “Besides the ingredients, traditional craftsmanship was particularly important to us. For example, we produce all the raw alcohol ourselves, seal our bottles by hand and stick the labels on ourselves. It is important to us that every product passes through our hands at least once before it goes to market. This is the only way for us to ensure the quality we are looking for.”

In line with this principle, the four team members set off to find a suitable tonic water and immediately decided to develop their own. “We have very good mineral springs here in the Eifel. So we had the idea of producing a tonic with natural mineral water and natural carbonic acid from the Eifel that perfectly complements our gin,” explains Sandra Wimmeler. Both tonic and gin harmonise perfectly thanks to the common citrus notes and make an ideal match.

The Windspiel brand has been successful on the German market for one and a half years now. Besides the gin and tonic, there is also a chocolate gin delight to try: the Windspiel Premium Gin Truffle. And for the spirits, they have also had a really outstanding idea. In addition to the limited edition of barrel-aged gin, they are now offering the first potato vodka to be matured in ash barrels in Germany: the Windspiel Barrel-Aged Potato Vodka. For this product, a special potato variety is used and a different variety will be used every year. “We want to reveal the different facets of the potato,” says Sandra Wimmeler. “That is why we are planting a different variety every year. For the 2016 vintage, we are using potatoes of the Pirol variety. They have a particularly high starch content and give the vodka a very special flavour.” After distillation, the vodka is then stored in ash barrels for several months.

Exclusively available to members of the Craft Gin Club

Members of the Craft Gin Club will be able to sample the entire Windspiel combination set in their May box. In addition to the gin and tonic, the last miniature bottlings of the limited edition barrel-aged Windspiel Premium Dry Gin Reserve will be included exclusively for members of the Craft Gin Club. The connoisseurs will also be able to sample the hand-crafted gin truffles and the new Windspiel Barrel-Aged Potato Vodka.

“We are delighted to be able to deliver a complete connoisseur package to our customers with the Windspiel products,” explains John Burke, founder of the Craft Gin Club. “Windspiel is our first German gin and we were immediately impressed with the quality. The particularly delicate flavour, the classic elegance it radiates, the matching tonic and their own truffles. The whole package is just perfect. What is particularly good of course, is that two special editions are also included."

Besides the Craft Gin Club boxes, from mid-may Windspiel branded products are also available online at Master of Malt.

About Windspiel

The Windspiel brand was born in August 2014 by Eifelion and its uses the potato as a common base for all its products. The brand is dedicated to the man who discovered the potato, Frederick the Great, and to his second great passion - the greyhound, or in German ‘windspiel’ – hence the logo design.

14 May 2016 - Felicity Murray The Drinks Report, editor