This month marked the second edition of the ZGrappa festival, which brings together local distillers of rakija (brandy), liqueur, and gin. The festival was held in the Zagreb club Peti Kupe where more than 30 distillers from the region exhibited their drinks. In addition to the awards given by the professional jury at the festival, last week the organizers announced the audience awards on social networks. We are proud to say that the award for the best gin went to Arete Puro!

Arete Puro by Aristippus Liquors / Photo: Marko Andrijašević

“We are overjoyed that Arete Puro gin won the audience award for the best gin at this year’s ZGrappa festival! It is especially impressive that this was their first appearance at our festival, and they have already managed to win the hearts of visitors. This victory shows how an authentic approach, high quality, and passion for craft creation always find their way to the audience. We congratulate the entire Arete Puro team on this extraordinary success and look forward to their future achievements and ZGrappa 2025!”, said Marin Levaj, organizer of the ZGrappa festival.

Marin Levaj, organizer of the ZGrappa festival / Photo: Marko Andrijašević

Our Aristippus Liquors distillery is named after the famous Greek philosopher Aristippus, whose teachings were based on the principles of ethical hedonism. His only daughter Arete was his intellectual successor, who continued to teach hedonistic approaches to life and systematized his work in the Cyrene school of philosophy, and she was the inspiration for their first brand of gin, Arete Puro.

“We put a lot of effort into creating gin, and the professional evaluation is a valuable guide for us. But the biggest reward is when we win the hearts of the audience. That’s why we are extremely proud and happy that we won the title of best gin at the ZGrappa festival thanks to the audience. People’s support means a lot to us and motivates us to continue creating even better drinks”, said Martina Lekaj, director of the Aristippus Liquors distillery.

Aristippus Liquors destillery CEO, Martina Lekaj / Photo: Marko Andrijašević

Aiming to create hedonistic experiences with premium Mediterranean spiced gin, Aristippus Liquors Distillery uses a cost-effective, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly technology. Using only electricity instead of propane (LP gas), the state-of-the-art distillery technology uses up to three times less energy to distil alcoholic beverages.