Numerous firms from the Courier region have been named winners in this year’s Scottish Gin Awards.
Seven gin brands from across Tayside, Angus and Fife are raising a glass to their success having won accolades at the Scottish Gin Awards 2020.
Taking place virtually, the annual celebration, which has been running for four years, crowned Angus based distiller’s Mackintosh Gin’s pineapple and grapefruit Old Tom Gin as the Gin of the Year.
We are absolutely delighted at Mackintosh HQ to announce that we have won gin of the year at the @ScotGinAwards 2020 for our Old Tom gin! The think that the judges scored this as the best gin in Scotland is an amazing accolade for us! #ginpals #ginawards20 #oldtom #ginoftheyear pic.twitter.com/9vM1Tjg8Jy
— Mackintosh Gin (@mackintoshgin) November 12, 2020
As well as bagging Scotland’s Gin of the Year, the distillers also took home Old Tom Gin of the Year which they were awarded gold for the pineapple and grapefruit gin, and received a silver in the High Strength Gin of the Year (50% ABV and over) category for their Mackintosh Mariner Strength Gin.
St Andrews’ Eden Mill distillers were also on a high, bagging three business awards across the event. They won Best Brand Experience for their “Stay Home and Chill” campaign, and also received the Excellence in Marketing and Produce Development Team of the Year titles.
We are so pleased to have won the Excellence in Branding award at @ScotGinAwards for our ‘Stay Home and Chill’ campaign😬 https://t.co/wllK7CjDGY
— Eden Mill St Andrews (@EdenMill) November 12, 2020
Chiara Kelly, marketing manager at Eden Mill said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have won three awards at last night’s Scottish Gin Awards.
“It means so much to us that our virtual gin tastings, which reached over 4,000 gin enthusiasts have been recognised by the awards. It is a great example of the talent and versatility of our team, particularly during a stressful time at the beginning of lockdown when everyone was working from home. And it really was a true team effort to bring the experiences to people across the UK, from our small unit taking precautions to ensure safe packaging in the warehouse, to our marketing team and of course the squad of ambassadors who delivered the experience over Zoom. It was brilliant just to be shortlisted, but to win has been very special.
We’re also very proud to have the brand recognised by the awards. At the heart of everything we do is a passion for our craft and our future and the customer’s enjoyment of our product. It is an outstanding achievement and honour for us to receive these awards among such a rich list of distilleries in the running.”
Celebrating the best in the industry, The Scottish Gin Awards is the largest gin competition in the UK and highlights those distilleries leading the way in Scotland.
The judging process involved 38 leading experts assessing 85 written entries who also blind tasted 194 gins, all distilled in Scotland. The gins were analysed on a five-point scoring system with judges rewarding for aroma, appearance, taste, and an overall score.
Fife gin brand Darnley’s Gin, which boasts its own gin school, also won on the night, bagging Scottish Gin Destination of the Year. It was also recognised in the London Dry Gin of the Year taste category, receiving highly commended for its original gin alongside Ben Lomond Gin.
In the Distilled Gin of the Year category Isle of Bute’s Gorse Gin was awarded gold while Tayport Distillery’s Wild Rose Gin took the bronze medal.
In Arbroath, Toll House Spirits, the firm behind Redcastle Gin, received a bronze award for its raspberry and pomegranate gin liqueur in the Gin Liqueur of the Year category.
Chair of the judging panel, Adam Hardie, head of food and drink for Johnston Carmichael, said: “Congratulations to all our Scottish gin businesses for their achievements in this most challenging of years. Despite the head winds, the Scottish Gin industry has demonstrated its creativity, resilience, and determination to succeed, while maintaining our status as creators of some of the best gin in the world.
“Winning a Scottish Gin Awards medal is a significant achievement and provides a huge opportunity to promote Scottish gin both at home and abroad. I hope that this year’s winners will take the opportunity to promote their successes and increase their sales, in what was the largest and toughest competition to date.”
The winners were announced at a live digital event broadcast from Glasgow’s Doubletree by Hilton Hotel by comedian Des Clarke and more than 250 guests from across the country logged on to participate in the digital event.
List of winners:
Gin of the Year
Winner: Mackintosh pineapple and grapefruit Old Tom Gin by Mackintosh Gin
Best Brand Experience
Winner: Eden Mill
Excellence in Branding
Winner: Eden Mill
Product Development Team of the Year
Winner: Eden Mill
Scottish Gin Destination of the Year
Winner: Darnley’s Gin
Taste Categories:
London Dry Gin of the Year
Highly commended: Ben Lomond Gin and Darnley’s Original Gin
Distilled Gin of the Year
Gold: Isle of Bute Gorse Gin by Isle of Bute Gin and bronze: Wild Rose Gin by Tayport Distillery
High Strength Gin of the Year (50% ABV and over)
SILVER: Mackintosh Mariner Strength Gin by Mackintosh Gin
Gin Liqueur of the Year
BRONZE: Redcastle raspberry and pomegranate gin liqueur by Toll House Spirits
Old Tom Gin of the Year
GOLD: Mackintosh pineapple and grapefruit Old Tom Gin by Mackintosh Gin
