More good news this week, as the Spirits Business Gin Masters 2021 medal winners were announced. After the superb results from the IWSC, Australian Gin Distillers have excelled again, receiving 4 Masters (+3 from 2020), 16 Gold Medals (+2) and 9 Silver Medals (+4)!
Launched by Spirits Business Magazine in 2008, the Gin Masters is one of the only competitions to have a price category, as well as the traditional London Dry, Contemporary, Navy Strength and Aged. The judges come from a wide range of backgrounds, and include bartenders, spirits buyers, journalists and spirits experts.
London Dry was the largest category this year and the judges noted the increased level of skill and expertise shown by distillers in producing this style of gin.
The number of entries has grown to such a degree that the competition has been split into two parts this year, with the second occurring in October.
The following Australians distilleries performed exceptionally well.
Four Pillars
Four Pillars is THE brand that put Australian gins on the global map. Awarded International Gin Producer of the Year by the IWSC in 2019 AND 2020, available in 15+ countries, and out-performing Hendrick’s gin* in Australia, Four Pillars are riding high!
With lots of collaborations and limited editions regularly coming to market, it is easy to forget just how good the core Four Pillars range is. The judges at Spirits Business Gin Masters awarded Four Pillars 3 Masters medals for their Modern Australian, Rare Dry and Navy Strength gins. This is the sixth time in seven years that the Navy Strength gin has received this accolade.
Olive Leaf, Spice Trade, Spiced Negroni and Single Barrel S31 release (now sold out) all picked up Gold medals, bringing Four Pillars medal tally to 7.
Forty Spotted Gin
After their rebranding at the end of 2020, Forty Spotted also widened their range of gins. Their Pinot Noir gin caught the judges eye and they awarded it a Masters in the Flavoured gin category.
They picked up two Gold medals for their Original and Wild Rose gins.
Never Never Distilling Co.
Never Never Distilling Co. launched in 2017 to create a ‘juniper revolution’, a brave move at a time when other brands were focusing heavily on native botanicals. Luckily, gin fans came along for the ride and they’ve been become renowned for their juniper forward gins.
They received 4 Gold Medals for; Triple Juniper, Mediterranean, Juniper Freak and Argo gins (release date tbc.), and 2 Silver medals for their Southern Strength and Ginache gins, bringing their total medal tally to six.
Seppeltsfield Road Distillers
In the heart of the Barossa, Nicole Durdin creates gins inspired by stint living in London, where she first caught the gin bug.
Created with husband Jon, Seppeltsfield Road Distillers is a huge draw for tourists, and was named 2019 Best New Tourism Business at the South Australian Tourism Awards.
They received two Gold medals for their House and Barossa Shiraz gins, and two Silver medals for Savoury Allsorts and Barossa Dry, bringing their medal tally to four.
Spirits Business: Gin Masters Australian Medal results.
(Only Masters, Gold and Silver Medals are awarded in this competition)
MASTER
Forty Spotted Pinot Noir ~ (Flavoured)
Four Pillars Modern Australian Gin ~ (Contemporary)
Four Pillars Rare Dry Gin ~(Contemporary)
GOLD
Forty Spotted Classic ~ (Contemporary)
Forty Spotted Wild Rose Gin~ (Pink)
Four Pillars Olive Leaf Gin ~ (Contemporary)
Four Pillars Spice Trade Gin ~ (Contemporary)
Four Pillars Spiced Negroni Gin ~(Contemporary)
Four Pillars Single Barrel S31 ~ (Cask Aged)
Karu Distillery Affinity Gin ~ (Contemporary)
Never Never Distilling Co. Mediterranean Gin ~ (Contemporary)
Never Never Distilling Co. Triple Juniper Gin ~ (London Dry)
Never Never Distilling Co. Argo Gin (release date TBC)
Seppeltsfield Road Distillers House Gin ~ (Contemporary)
Seppeltsfield Road Distillers 2020 Barossa Shiraz Gin ~ (Flavoured)
Twenty Third Street Distillery Violet Gin ~ (Contemporary)
SILVER
- Big River Distilling Co. Dry Gin ~ (London Dry)
- Karu Distillery Lightning Gin ~ (Navy Strength)
- Never Never Distilling Co. Southern Strength Gin ~ (London Dry)
- Never Never Distilling Co. Ginache Gin ~ (Flavoured)
- Seppeltsfield Road Distillers Savoury Allsorts ~ (Contemporary)
- Seppeltsfield Road Distillers Barossa Dry ~ (London Dry)
- The Melbourne Gin Company Dry Gin ~ (Ultra Premium)
- Wolf Lane Distillery Davidson Plum Gin ~ (Flavoured)
- Wolf Lane Distillery Tropical Gin ~ (Contemporary)
You must be logged in to post a comment.