2019 revelation award for the Serbian apricot rakia by Hubert 1924
The Serbian Apricot Brandy garnered one of the ten 2019 revelation awards from the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles. Mile Duric explains the impact of this distinction on the image of the distillery.|
This brandy by Hubert 1924 is apricot rakia produced from carefully selected fruit from the region of Vojvodina, Serbia. It is produced in a traditional way in a pot still without a distillation column.
Were you expecting this award? What does it mean to you?
Honestly, no. We know that we have exceptional quality of our products, but we did not expect such a great award. Spirit Selection is world class and the competition is huge. This award is a great recognition of our decades of work. It is a great award not only for our distillery, but also for Serbia and Serbian brandy
Have you already seen an impact if this award on your distillery’s image (e.g. in publicity) or on the sales of the Hubertova Rakija Kajsija?
Оf course. In Serbia, everything was covered by the media. Interest in all our products has really increased over the last few months. We have been invited by the Government of the Republic of Serbia to be in the presidency of the Federation of Serbian brandy producers. It is a great honor for us. After receiving the award, we found a new distributor for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus. We are also in talks with a Romanian distributor.
What makes this fruit rakija so special?
Hubert Apricot brandy is an authentic local product. The brandy was obtained from the fruit of the Potisje region. We pay great attention to the quality of the fruit, its processing and fermentation. Double distillation is done in the traditional way in copper stills. This provides a clear, clean and pronounced aroma, as well as a taste that must not be masked by any other foreign taste that is not specific to apricot.
2019 is your first participation to the Spirits Selection ? (if I am not wrong). Why is the competition important to you?
Yes, it is our first participation. We have received many quality awards in Serbia and in the region. The big challenge for us was to compete with the best spirits in the world. This competition gave us the opportunity to show the world what potential Serbian brandy has.
Have you been selling more rakija recently?
It’s hard to say. It’s only been a few months. We see a steady increase in sales year by year. Certainly, a grand gold medal from Spirit Selection is affecting sales growth, but it requires an in-depth analysis. The interest is really great and it is extremely important.
Which is your distillery’s best-selling spirit?
Hubertova rakija Kajsija, of course.
Where can one purchase the revelation 2019?
Оur products can generally be purchased at restaurants and hotels with high level of service. that’s our target. Apart from Serbia, our brandies can be bought in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Cyprus, USA and Australia.
Fruit eaux-de-vie have long been produced in European countries. Unfortunately, these spirits have failed to capture a younger generation of drinkers, more attracted to products such as gin, rum, vodka, as well as cocktails. What would be your recommendations to keep its rich tradition alive and stop the declining of the sales or to boost them?
It is true that the younger generations are more attracted to drinks such as rum, vodka, gin and so on. I think they need education for spirits. Most of these drinks are made on the basis of ethyl alcohol and the process itself is very short. Brandy is a drink that requires a long process of production and is something that real drink connoisseurs can appreciate.
What are your distillery’s projects for the future?
Apart from the constant increase in capacity, we have been working for several years to offer brandies that have aged in oak barrels for ten years or more. It is something that is in demand and very rare in the market.
Producer’s contact :
destilerijahubert1924@gmail.com
+381600192400
