Today, 24 awards were presented at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia to Serbian brandy producers, which they won at the international strong alcoholic beverage evaluation “CMB Spirits Selection – Brussels 2025,” held this year in Mexico.
In the evaluation, 140 international judges assessed 2,600 samples of alcoholic beverages from 70 countries, and Serbian brandies won three grand gold, 12 gold, and nine silver recognitions.
The director of “CMB Spirits Selection – Brussels,” Ulrich Nijs, pointed out that there were 73 applications for Serbian brandy, which was, as he said, 100 percent more than in 2024.
“Serbia is on a growth path in the brandy market. Without Serbian energy, ambition, and consistency, brandy in Serbia would not be at the level it is today. Serbia now has the opportunity to position itself with brandy, just as Mexico positioned tequila 20 years ago,” Nijs said at the PKS.
He stated that 2026 will be a challenging and difficult year because global consumption is slowing down, consumers are increasingly selective, consumer behavior is changing, and because of the large number of pressures coming from all sides.
“Certain countries around the world are anticipating all these changes and preparing for them, for example, Mexico, which constantly invests millions of euros in a new brand,” he said.
He added that Serbia has all the necessary ingredients, that it has a strong technical tradition in plum production, exceptional raw material quality, and a cultural product with a clear identity.
“But the full value of brandy will only be realized when all producers in the industry decide to speak with one voice. Your progress encourages us to develop as well. Brandy is becoming one of our most dynamic products and requires the same precision that we apply to other products. To show full respect for brandy, we will include two categories of brandy in our selection—Travarica and Klekovalča as a separate category,” Nijs emphasized.
An average of about 26 million liters of fruit brandy is produced annually in Serbia, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture.
The most represented fruit brandy in production is plum brandy, accounting for about 65 percent, followed by pear brandy with 10 to 12 percent, quince brandy with six to eight percent, grape brandy seven percent, apricot brandy five percent, and other fruit brandies with three to five percent.
The export of brandy from Serbia for nine months this year amounted to 10.7 million euros, which was 13.7 percent more than last year at the same time.
The awarded distilleries are Mali podrum Vukojčić, Podrum Pevac, Destilerija Tim, Destilerija “RB Global” – Stara sokolova brand, Destilerija Rtanjska, Destilerija Zarić, Destilerija “Zavet”, Destilerija Gorda, Destilerija Mladenović, Destilerija Hubert 1924, Podrum Korušac, and Destilerija Zekić.
The director of the “RB Global” company – Stara sokolova, Ivan Bogdanović, said that they have been participating in the evaluation for two years and won two awards this year—gold and silver.
He assessed that this year was challenging for all brandy producers because the fruit fared poorly, and raw materials were scarce, the quality mediocre, and the prices very high.
“The brandy market is at a very high level. Many more consumers recognize quality brandies. In the previous period, the state met a large number of producers’ requests. There is always room for improvement,” he said.
As noted, “CMB Spirit Selection” is one of the most recognized evaluations of strong alcoholic beverages in the world, bringing together experts from more than 30 countries.
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Source: N1; Photo: Pixabay