Set against the picturesque landscape of Riegersburg in Styria, Alois Gölles is the third generation to run his family’s long-established fruit-growing business. After graduating from the renowned Federal College of Viticulture and Fruit Growing in Klosterneuburg, he devoted himself to refining his parents’ harvest of apples, pears, plums and peaches. He began distilling fine spirits in 1979, followed by the establishment of his own production facility for high-quality vinegar in 1984. Today, the range comprises around twenty fine spirits and just as many varieties of vinegar, all of which regularly receive accolades.

Ruotker’s RUEDIGER II matures in five different casks and is composed of a blend of five cereal varieties: maize, rye, barley, spelt and wheat. The whisky is produced in Styria, Austria, near the historic Riegersburg, which was built on an extinct volcano. The grain used to make the whisky also comes from this region. The name RUEDIGER refers to Rüdiger von Hohenberg, who established a stronghold at Riegersburg in 1122 to protect the local population.