The Aura Distillery’s impressive results in the 2024 London Spirits Competition included three awards or its Aura Teranino Liqueur, including gold in the Liqueur category, silver in the Liqueur of the Year and silver for Best in Show, by Country.
Its Aura Gin Karbun won gold in the Spirits category and its Aura Fernet Amaro 78 Liqueur took silver in the same category. Its Aura Aperitivo Car D’Oro was awarded silver in the Bitters & Mixers category and Aura Premium London Dry Gin took silver on the Spirits category.
Anna Pernic, head of marketing, gives her take on taking part in the competition.
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.
Aura Premium gin - one of 25 products the Aura Distillery makes
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, seriously dedicated to the business, developing the company, branding, modernising the technological process, with the top quality of our products as the priority. From initial production for our own needs till nowadays, with a clear vision and persistent work, we have created our family business.
Aura Distillery produces 25 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.
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.
What was your awareness of the London Spirits competition before entering?
Aura's Teranino was declared Liqueur of the Year 2024
We send samples of our products to numerous world competitions in the evaluation of alcoholic beverages and so far our products have won a total of 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 really 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?
Events like the London Spirits Competition are a great basis for upgrading the brand, giving us greater visibility, greater presence in the media and it certainly increases the sale of the products themselves.
Therefore, it is very important for us to participate in competitions, and if we are successful, to then communicate with customers in the best possible way.
How do you best do that?
We published the news about the award on our social networks (Facebook and Instagram), on our website and on 15 internet portals that follow the food and beverage industry and three print media. The news about the award was also broadcast by two Croatian radio stations.
What is the overall impression of this competition compared to others that you may have considered or previously entered?
The London Spirits Challenge 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.
Which export markets are you most keen to raise 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 own web shop, which we also open to foreign markets, so our emphasis is now on marketing products in European countries.
How to enter 2024 London Competitions
To take advantage of the super early bird pricing that ends on August 31 go to the individual websites for the three competitions and follow the entry process:
Fee schedule
London Wine and London Beer Competition
£90 Super Early Bird - May 1 2024 to August 31 2024
£120 Early Bird - September 1 2024 to 30 November 30 2024
£140 Regular - December 1 2024 to 28 February 28 2025
London Spirits Competition
£110 Super Early Bird - May 1 2024 to August 31 2024
£140 Early Bird - September 1 2024 to November 30 2024
£180 Regular - December 1 2024 to February 28 2025
