The results of the 2022 London Spirits Competition have been announced.
Two gins from Norway came out on top with Bareksten Navy Strength Gin named Best Spirits of the Year overall. It also won best by quality while Samuel Gelston’s Single Malt Irish Whiskey from Ireland was named best by value.
The top scoring Australian spirits scored 93 points and all received a gold medal. They are:
- Big Dry Gin, Ambleside Distillers
- Dasher + Fisher Ocean Gin, Southern Wild Distilleries
- Earp Distilling Co No 8 Dry Gin
- Starward Octave Barrels, New World Whisky Distillery
- Newtown Strength Gin, Young Henrys
- Single Malt Whisky: Muscat Cask, Headlands Distilling Company
- Starward Solera, New World Whisky Distillery
A record number of entries were received this year vying for the much-coveted bronze, silver, and gold medals, with about 2500 spirits brands from more than 80 countries, about 50 per cent more compared to last year.
The 2022 Competition saw 447 entries from the United Kingdom as the top entrant country, followed by 323 products from Australia and 160 from the United States. 771 Gin’s made Gin the top category entrant followed by Whiskey and Rum.
This is competition judges spirits consumers, rating them with three main criteria in mind: quality, value and packaging. To be a medal winner, Spirits must show a rating in all the three factors with the emphasis on quality.
The panel of judges (pictured below) is comprised of some of the world’s leading figures from the hospitality sector, including experts from The the Ritz, Le Manoir, Gleneagles, the Goring, the Connaught, and Claridges. Top bartenders and spirits buyers gathered from Tuesday, 23-25 March at St Mary’s Church in London’s Marylebone, sniffing, swirling, and spitting their way through a vast array of gins, vodkas, and whiskies as well as a range of more obscure spirits.
The top winners at the 2022 London Spirits Competition are:
2022 London Spirits Competition Winner “ Bareksten Navy Strength Gin”.
2022 London Spirits Competition Winners:
- Best Spirits of The Year 2022: Bareksten Navy Strength Gin, Norway
- Best Spirits of The Year (by Quality): Bareksten Navy Strength Gin, Norway
- Best Spirits of The Year (by Value): Samuel Gelston’s Single Malt Irish Whiskey, Ireland
- Best Spirits of The Year (by Package): Bareksten Navy Strength Gin, Norway
- Best Vodka of The Year 2022: Vestal Vodka, Poland
- Best Rum of The Year 2022: Rum Nation Panama 21 Aged Years, Panama
- Best Tequila of The Year 2022: Tequila Don Fulano Imperial, Mexico
- Best Gin of The Year 2022: Bareksten Navy Strength Gin, Norway
- Best Whisky of The Year 2022: Spirit Hound Straight Malt Whiskey, United States
- Best Brandy of The Year 2022: Grappa Riserva Invecchiata in Botti da Whiskey, Italy
- Best Liqueur of The Year 2022: Amaro San Marco, Italy
- Best Cognac of The Year 2022: Ferrand Cognac 1840 Original Formula, France
