The Island of Endless July
If you want to enjoy a piece of this unique island nature, enjoy Endless July in your cocktail glass anywhere in the world.
Hello 2022 - The Year of Juniper!
In 2022 we will see juniper becoming an increasingly crucial part of the drinks menu, whether in cocktails with alcohol or without alcohol. At Lahhentagge, we offer a solution for both tastes.
The starting point is logical; gin is a perfect component in cocktails. In addition to classical gin and tonic, gin is an essential ingredient for several classic cocktails.
Furthermore, gin is one of the most widely drunk spirits globally. The reason is simple: it is relatively cheap, tastes good, and goes well with just about everything.
Drinking habits around the world are changing. More and more people are discovering new taste sensations and are getting adventurous when trying something new.
This explains why gin has become the number one selling spirit in Europe and America. Americans love experimenting with new foods, but they also love discovering new drinks that give them a "taste sensation," which becomes an exciting part of their lives.
Furthermore, according to the Distilled Spirits Council, "Americans now drink more gin than any other spirit, averaging nearly 3 gallons per person per year." That is 13.6 litres -- quite a shocking number!
So why, the year of juniper? Juniper is the main ingredient for making gin. Juniper berries are used to flavour gin and give it its distinctive taste. There are different types of gins, but all of them have some juniper in them.
There are different species of juniper berries commonly used in gin production. The most widely used one is Common Juniper, or European Juniper, which grows throughout Europe and Asia Minor.
In addition to that, several exciting juniper species are used around the world. In California, Armenia, Greece, China, and Thailand, there are local species of juniper that have their distinctive tastes and are used for flavouring gin.
We would recommend checking out Aleppo juniper, which grows around the town of Aleppo in Syria, is highly intense with a strong, camphor-like aroma.
On the island of Saaremaa, our juniper trees are Juniperus Communis, but with distinctive soil and sunshine come with their unique taste.
Algab #UitajaHetk fotokonkurss
Septembrikuus korraldame fotovõistluse uitamise olemuse tabamiseks - on see siis maitsete maailmas, vabas looduses või urbanistliku maailma tänavatel nagu 19. sajandil Prantsuse filosoofid flaneurismi algselt defineerisid.
Osalemiseks postita vähemalt 3 fotot septembri jooksul tägiga #UitajaHetk ja iga postitusega kutsu osalema üks sõber kellega tahaks koos uitada (või kes järsku peaks hoopis osalema #SeptembrisEiJoo kampaanias).
Ootame konkursile fotosid uitamisest – nii maailma tänavatel, looduses ja miks mitte ka maitsete maailmas. Fotode esitamise tähtaeg on 30. september 2021. Võitjad kuulutakse välja oktoobris.
OSALEMISE TINGIMUSED:
Võistlusel osalevad kõik #UitajaHetk tägiga fotod, v.a konkursi korraldamisega seotud isikud.
Konkursil osalemiseks tuleb esitada vähemalt 3 fotot.
Lubatud on piltide järeltöötlus, ka elementide lisamine või nende eemaldamine.
Fotokonkursil osalemisega annab võidufoto autor nõusoleku kasutada fotot konkursi ja selle tulemuste tutvustamisel. Foto kasutamisel viidatakse foto autorile ja võimalusel autori poolt lisatud pildiallkirjale.
FOTODE HINDAMINE:
Fotokonkursile esitatud fotode puhul hinnatakse nende atraktiivsust ja kunstilisust. Tähtis on fotol kujutatu selge ja üheselt mõistetava seose olemasolu uitamise olemusega.
Žürii eeldab, et fotograaf on pildistamisel pidanud kinni headest tavadest ja piirangutest, käitunud lugupidavalt pildistatavaga ning esitanud ausalt foto saamise loo.
Võitjad valib välja žürii mille moodustavad joogi Flâneur looja, kunstnik Maarit Pöör; fotograaf Temuri Khvingia ja laulja Teele Viira.
AUHINNAD:
TERVISLIK NÄDALAVAHETUS KAHELE – võitja, kelle 3 pilti uitamise olemust kõige paremini tabavad – lennutame koos kaaslasega päikesesaarele, öö Kuressaares spaas ja Lahhentagge Flâneuri tootmine koos tiimiga.
FOTONÄITUS ja FLANEUR – järgmised 10 parimat pilti valitakse fotonäitusele mis toimub Lahhentagge keskuses Saaremaal, ja autasustatakse Flâneuri pudelitega.
foto autor: Tiina Pitk
New home!
The year 2021 marks a new era for us at Lahhentagge.
We (finally) have a home and can welcome you at our own premises.
In 2020 we acquired a former municipal house in the village of Lümanda and since then we have been preparing it for a move. The building, which has served for decades also people of Lahhentagge, is from the 1890s and our first visitors came last week with appropriate cars, honouring the history.
On the sunny Monday of this week, we moved also our still “Gottlieb,” taking it for a drive through some of the most picturesque roads of Saaremaa.
Maarit named the still of course after Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, the explorer who was born in Lahhentagge.
Our new Address is: Vallamaja, 93301 Lümanda, Saaremaa
And former Courtroom looks like this now — we are open during weekends.
Upcycling Christmas trees: Year 3
For the third year in a row, we are recycling Kuressaare city Christmas tree into EstonicSoda tonic water.
The recycling tradition started in early 2019 when Lahhentagge turned Kuressaare tree into tonic water which won several awards over 2019, among them the most prominent Estonian food industry award and is on sale in five countries.
In 2020 Helsinki and Loviisa of Finland became the first foreign towns to recycle their Christmas trees into tonic soda after their short stints on the main squares of the cities.
Silver at IWSC for our Flâneur!
Lahhentagge Flâneur with IWSC Silver medal
Flâneur won a silver medal in the International Wine & Spirit Competition in London this week.
The competition jury gave Lahhentagge’s Flâneur 90 points out of 100 and described its taste: “" An enticing cardamon, clove and menthol aroma profile with warm ginger notes. The palate is earthy, savoury and complex with floral and cedar undertones."
Lahhentagge launched Flâneur at Estonian Drinks Festival in late 2020.
“Spirits have been successfully distilled in Estonia throughout history. We just separated alcohol from this model, ”said Maarit Pöör, the creator of the drink.
“It is a powerful feeling how the unique tastes of Saaremaa charm even far from home. So powerful that it gives you the courage to bring new products to the market in the near future. The revolution of non-alcoholic distilled beverages, which started in the world with great momentum, is gaining more and more supporters, "Pöör said.
The IWSC sets the international benchmark for quality, standing out in the crowded world of drinks awards with hundreds of global experts – including buyers, producers, distillers, sommeliers, distributors and influencers – judging wines and spirits throughout the year.
“This silver medal is a kind of quality stamp for us, also confirming to the world that we create drinks that are among the top in the world here on the island of Saaremaa,” said Pöör.
The silver received from the IWSC is not the first international recognition that Flâneur has brought to Lahhentagge - in the spring, Estonia's top bartender Kristo Tomingas won the international cocktail competition in New York with his non-alcoholic cocktail based on Flâneur.
Can there be non-alco gin?
Like with so many other things in life, “It depends” or “Yes and no” would be the best answer.
The EU Spirit Drink Regulations from 2008 defines gin as predominantly juniper flavoured spirit with minimum retail strength of 37.5 % alc/vol. Also, in the US and Britain, the minimum strength is part of the legal description. So, de jure, no, gin cannot be non-alcoholic.
At the same time when someone walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, he’s a duck. If the distilled drink functions as a gin, minus headaches after excessive consumption, why wouldn’t you call it a gin?
Not all distilled spirits are gins though. For example, Seedlip, which has created this market, says it is not a gin because it does not contain any juniper or other traditional gin botanicals.
With this logic, Flâneur is definitely a non-alcoholic gin as it contains many classical ingredients of gin, including juniper. Hence, it also works well as a gin substitute in many cocktails or mocktails.
Born to Flâneur!
Whenever I am in a new city and have some spare time at hand, I go for a walk. Usually, I don’t even look where the sights are, I step on the street and turn right or left and walk.
I look at people, lives around me, delving into the local world often without even understanding the local language. These expeditions, diversions to another world, can last for hours.
In a new city, of course, I check that the phone’s battery is charged or at least that I have a paper map. Still, in many cases, I choose the direction and don’t worry too much.
For example, strolling in Barcelona is simple - the sea is on one side and the mountains in the other. The Diagonal passes through the grid of city streets - which I have been crisscrossing over the years.
Or take Manhattan where on my first trip years ago I ended up on the wrong end of 125th Street at two o’clock at night without a map and at that time also without a phone. The solution was simple - you walk from one end to the other, and you’re there.
At a time when Nokia invested billions in mobile maps to save people from getting lost, I asked one of their directors whether this could be a sad moment. I suggested there was something beautiful about wandering and getting lost. The Finnish engineer could not understand my way of thinking at all.
The thought of wandering is in stark contrast to our capitalist world.
That makes it even nicer to bring to market a product called flâneur, a wanderer.
Flâneurism is a subject of many books, and over the last century philosophers and writers have discussed its meaning and content at length.
French poet Charles Baudelaire identified the flâneur in his essay The Painter of Modern Life (1863) as the dilettante observer. The flâneur carried a set of rich associations: the man of leisure, the idler, the urban explorer, the connoisseur of the street.
In the year of isolation, we can often only dream of the opportunity to wander in foreign cities. I am sure we will appreciate this opportunity in the coming years even more than before.
Fortunately, flâneurism is not limited to foreign cultures - for a true flâneur; there are massive opportunities for discovery and experience in his hometown.
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If you agree that wandering should be raised to greater glory in our fast money-centric century, share the post and your own wandering experiences!
Lahhentagge Flâneur in New York City
Uitaja avastamisrõõm
Alati kui ma uude linna satun ja veidi vaba aega on, lähen uitama. Tavaliselt ei otsi ma vaatamisväärsusi, lihtsalt astun tänavale ja pööran paremale või vasakule ja uitan sihitult.
Vaatan inimesi, elusid minu ümber, süvenen kohalikku maailma tihtilugu isegi mõistmata nende keelt. Need uitretked, põiked teise maailma, võivad kesta tunde.
Täiesti uues linnas kontrollin muidugi, et telefoni aku on laetud või vähemalt paberkaart on kaasas, aga paljudel juhtudel, olen lihtsalt suuna üle vaadanud ja ei muretse liigselt.
Näiteks Barcelonas uitamine on lihtsamast lihtsam - ühes suunas on meri, teises mäed. Läbi linnatänavate ruudustiku - mis on aastate jooksul ristipõiki läbi uitatud - läheb Diagonaal.
Sarnaselt tore koht uitamiseks on Manhattan, kus sattusin kaardita ja telefonita oma esimesel reisil aastate eest 125nda tänava valesse otsa kella kahe ajal öösel — jalutad ühest otsast teise ja oledki kohal.
Kümmekond aastat tagasi, kui Nokia investeeris miljardeid mobiilikaartidesse, et inimesed kunagi ei eksiks enam, üritasin ühelt nende direktorilt pärida, kas mitte ekslemises ei ole midagi äärmiselt ilusat? Kuid too insener ei suutnud kuidagi mu mõttekäiku mõista.
Uitamine on midagi, mis läheb meie kapitalismiajastu mõttemaailmaga teravalt vastuollu.
Seda toredam on tuua turule toode mille nimeks on uitaja, rahvusvahelisemalt flaneur või päris korrektse kirjapildiga lisades a peale katuse - flâneur.
Flâneurism on teema millest on kirjutatud raamatuid ja juba üle-eelmisel sajandil on filosoofid ja kirjanikud arutlenud pikemalt selle tähenduse ja sisu üle.
“Flâneur uitab-kolab ringi linnas, vaatleb, kaeb, mõtiskleb, naudib arhitektuuri ja kunsti pisidetaile, filosofeerib, ei sekku tegelikkuse sotsiaalsesse ega ideoloogilisse kulgu, ent sellegipoolest võtab tundlikult vastu kõik selle, mida urbaanne,kodanlik keskkond ta silmadele-kõrvadele, muudelegi meeltele pakub, eeskätt moodsa kultuuri objekte, aga muidugi nende teravamaks eristamiseks vajalikku olgu looduslikku või ajaloolist tausta,” nende sõnadega kirjeldas Jüri Talvet uitaja olemust Sirbis 2011.
Eraldatuse kevadel võisime vaid unistada võimalusest uidata võõrastes linnades ja eks seetõttu hindame seda võimalust lähiaastatel rohkem kui varem. Õnneks ei piirdu flâneurism võõra kultuuriruumiga — tõelisele uitajale leidub kamaluga avastamist ja kogemist ka tema kodulinnas.
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Tänud et jõudsid nii kaugele! Kui sa oled nõus et uitamine tuleks suuremasse ausse tõsta meie rahakesksel ajastul, siis jaga postitust ja oma uitamiskogemusi!
Estonian non-alcoholic cocktail wins New York competition
Kristo Tomingas won the international competition Battle of the Modern Bartender at the New York Restoran Show on March 8 with an alcohol-free cocktail based on the Flâneur, an alcohol-free distilled spirit from Lahhentagge.
Estonia’s first non-alcoholic distilled beverage, Lahhentagge Flâneur, is distilled in Kuressaare from the juniper berries of Saaremaa.
“Since Flâneur’s taste is the closest to the taste of gin, I used it in the competition for a new type of cocktail, something suitable for those who can’t or don’t want to drink alcohol,” said Kristo Tomingas of Cocktail Catering OÜ.
“Everybody was mesmerized - you are really competing with a non-alcoholic cocktail? They all wanted to get a glimpse of alco-free gin, and they really liked it,” added Tomingas.
Given the global trend and the market potential of non-alcoholic beverages in, for example, Islamic countries, Lahhentagge is also crowdfunding on Fundwise to expand its production and exports. The minimum target of 100,000 euros was reached within two days, and it lasts until March 24 if the maximum goal 200,000 euros is not reached earlier.
“Non-alcoholic cocktails are gaining popularity around the world. Hence we decided to create a gin-like non-alcoholic drink,” said Lahhentagge founder Maarit Pöör.
“We occasionally hear from the older people - often men - who wonder for what do you need alcohol-free gin for? However, such issues do not arise with younger clients, especially in foreign markets. Young people all over the world are increasingly looking for exciting taste experiences, rather than just booze,” said Pöör.
Kristo Tomingas, winning cocktail competition in new york with Flâneur
Lahhentagge Crowdfunding_ Q&A
Our crowdfunding roadshow has taken us so far to Tallinn, Tartu and Riga. Here are the key questions investors have been asking us:
Why does your 2023 roadmap have 12 products?
We plan to come out with new products for new seasons in each category - spirits, non-alcoholic distilled drinks, and tonic sodas. At the same time, we are keeping close control of our portfolio management and will be vicious also in dropping non-performing products from our portfolio.
What gives you a reason to believe in accelerating growth after slower 2019?
There are a few key drivers for growth this year:
1) its the first time Lahhentagge has professional salespeople in the team, this is helping us to grow our reach significantly on the home market, and it will help to grow further on the export markets where we have already established beachheads
2) the first non-alcoholic gin Flâneur and our upcoming alcoholic drink have got raving reviews. Many bartenders believe Flâneur can be the flagship product to grow Lahhentagge in the growing non-alcoholic trend
3) we expect to see first fruits of long-term work on export markets, with the most explicit volume opportunity being in Finland, where we picked up two cities Christmas trees to roll out localised versions of our Spruce&Cardamom tonic soda
4) we have started own production and will have it fully up early months of 2020 – enabling us to be more flexible and respond to the growing demand
Related to slower 2019 growth — we lacked sales resource in the team, our distilling equipment arrived only in the second half of the year, and the first product from this was launched only for Christmas.
In January 2020 our drinks reached Antarctica.
How did you reach the company valuation? Where does it come from?
We took into account the valuation of similar stage Estonian drink companies when they have raised money - positioned ourselves just above the average there based on the broad international reach of our products. At the same time, we took into account also EV/sales valuation of roughly 5x in the wider drinks industry, putting our valuation roughly on par with larger peers which have fewer risks, but also fewer growth opportunities.
What drives down your own costs?
Growing scale and moving production to Saaremaa will be the key drivers for lowering the cost base.
What people will you need to hire next?
Most likely they would be the second salesperson, a full-stack marketing person and production help. We have good people in our Lahhentagge network who could likely fill most, if not all, of the positions.
You mention 1,300 POS target, how do you manage that with just two salespersons?
We see that the majority of the point of sales will be part of different retail chains, which lowers significantly the potential number of contacts for one salesperson to handle.
Why did you rebrand tonic waters?
We initially launched them for adult Estonian market under Lahjentagge brand which worked for that demographic well, but we saw two developments which caused rebranding 1) an increasing amount of children started to buy and consume the drink 2) it started to get early traction on some export markets. There were ethical and language reasons behind rebranding them to Estonic Soda, but we would not rule out introducing Lahhentagge tonics for an adult audience.
You also plan to have white label production, what would that be?
We have already several requests from Estonian brands to produce their drinks.
Lahhentagge Quote from Latvia
In local alcohol-free gin market, who do you compete with?
In the Estonian market, the only meaningful rival is Diageo’s Seedlip.
For a perfect G&T or F&T as you say your Flaneur asks for a sweeter tonic than Estonic. Do you plan to make them?
We would not rule that out.
What’s the exit plan?
We are building the company for creating additional value, to develop ever-lasting brands. All large alcohol producers, in the region and globally, are buying up exciting brands, so if we are successful, there will inevitably be possibilities on the market.
"One Christmas tree at a time"
“Taking into account the minerals and the vitamins you can find in a spruce tree, and the number of spruce trees that are cut every Christmas, this is a massive opportunity to change the world – one Christmas tree at a time.”
Saaremaa Joogitööstuse Oskusteabe kasvatamine
Projekt: Saaremaa Joogitööstuse Oskusteabe suurendamine
Lühikirjeldus: Oskusteabe siirdamine. Ettevõtte tootmisjuht omandab destilleerijasertifikaadi Edinburgh´i Heriot-Watti ülikoolis, mis on maailma tunnustatuim destilleerijate koolituskeskus. Lisaks sertifikaadi omandamisele toetab projekt kahe maailmatasemel spetsialisti visiiti praktiliste koolituste läbiviimiseks Saaremaal kõigile teemast huvitatuile.
Toetus: SKK Leader meetme raames 7,540 euro ulatuses.
LAB, best cocktail bar in Kuressaare, Saaremaa
