At the 2024 London Spirits Competition, this Croatian family distillery picked up seven awards for their products, including Aura Teranino Liqueur, which won three awards (gold, in the Liqueur category; silver in the Liqueur of the Year, and silver for Best in Show, by Country).

Aura Gin Karbun won gold in the Spirits category; Aura Fernet Amaro 78 Liqueur took silver in the same category; Aura Aperitivo Car D’Oro was awarded silver in the Bitters & Mixers category and Aura Premium London Dry Gin took silver in the Spirits category.

The head of marketing at the company, Anna Pernic, was interviewed to get her views on the London Spirits Competition, and here is her detailed feedback. 

What is your company’s journey and brand story?

In the early 2000s, many visitors to Istria [the triangular peninsula, which is part of Croatia and Slovenia] were searching for biska, a traditional brandy made from grape pomace and white mistletoe.

Of all the biskas from this area, the most famous is from the town of Hum. At that time, our family was running an art gallery and souvenir shop in Hum and in response to tourists' requests for authentic local products, like biska, we decided to produce a small quantity exclusively for tastings and sales in the gallery.

After returning from college, Mišel Sirotić, owner of Aura Distillery, was seriously dedicated to the business, developing the company, branding, and modernizing the technological process, with the top quality of our products as the priority. From initial production for our own needs till now, with a clear vision and persistent work, we have created our family business.

Aura Distillery produces twenty-five different types of brandies and liqueurs, four types of gin, nine types of jams, as well as extra virgin olive oil, elderberry fruit vinegar, and wild apple vinegar. 

In addition to traditional biska and medenica, we also produce Teranino, our most famous product, a liqueur made from black wine Teran and ten spices. 

We produce brandies and liqueurs made from wild pear, sage, wild apple, olive and almond, dried figs, cornelian cherry, rose petals, wild fruits, mint, plum, carob, as well as Limoncello, Orancello, Fernet Amaro 78, Travarica, Bianca, Moscato, Bitter Pelinkovac, and two premium brandies - Millefrutti barrique and Biska extra. 

In addition to the previously mentioned brandies and liqueurs, we have also produced the first Croatian aperitif Ora d'Oro. A special place in our production is occupied by Karbun Gin made from grain distillate, juniper, and 20 spices, as well as Karbun Navy Strength Gin and Karbun Limited Sea Edition.

Image: Distilleria Aura

What was your awareness of the competition before entering?

We send samples of our products to numerous world competitions to evaluate alcoholic beverages and so far our products have won 92 gold medals. We have been sending samples to the London Spirits Competition since 2020. 

We follow the results and successes of the other distilleries, and it is a special recognition to win such a large number of points and gold medals at such a respectable competition.

What were your reasons for entering the competition?

Awards at competitions like the London Spirits Competition are a great basis for upgrading the brand, greater visibility, greater presence in the media, and certainly increase the sale of the product itself. 

Therefore, it is very important for us to participate in competitions, and if the participation is successful, to communicate with customers in the best possible way.

What has been the impact on your company and specific products having won these awards?

Winning the award enables better positioning of the company on the market, increases visibility, and increases sales of the awarded product.

Image: London Spirits Competition 2024 Winners from Left to Right: Aura Teranino, Aura Gin Karbun, Aura Fernet Amaro 78, and Aura Aperitivo Ora D'oro.

How have you communicated the award to your customers (web/social media/email marketing/print adverts/etc)?

We published the news about the award on our social networks (Facebook and Instagram), on our website, and on fifteen internet portals that follow the food and beverage industry and three print media. The news about the award was also broadcast by two radio stations.

What is the overall impression of this competition compared to others that you may have considered or previously entered?

The London Spirits Competition is a competition we are especially fond of because it was at this competition in 2020 that we won our first gold medal. 

In that competition, we won a total of 12 awards for our products. And certainly, the most significant award is for our Teranino, which was declared Liqueur of the Year 2024. 

The competition has very comprehensible written rules and the entire procedure is user friendly, which we will surely register our products in the future.

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Finally, which markets would you like to increase awareness and distribution?

We export our products to many countries, but in addition to Croatia, the entire European market is important to us, including countries that are not members of the EU. 

We have our webshop, which we also open to foreign markets, so our emphasis is now on marketing products in European countries.