A winner in three categories, Young Henry’s Australian Gin and Tonic has won Best Spirit by Quality, Best in Show by Country and RTD of the Year at the London Spirits Competition.
With an impressive 97 points overall, the RTD impressed the judges who were rating medal winners according to their product’s quality, value and packaging.
Other notable Australian Gold Medal winners include Tamborine Mountain Distillery’s Apricot Brandy coming in with 96 points, Archie Rose Distilling Co’s White Cane Rum and Ester Spirits’ Dry Gin with 94 points each.
A record number of entrants from 80 countries were judged by an expert panel consisting of leading industry figures, including independent drinks brand consultant and spirits buyer Ivan Dixon, Harvey Nichols spirits and beer buyer Bryan Rodriguez, bar owner and industry consultant Salvatore Calabrese, Director of Mixology at the Donovan bar Federico Pavan, Soho House’s Diana Aladzic and Duke’s Hotel head bartender Enrico Chaippini, to name a few.
Australia was the highest-represented nation with 367 entries, followed by the United Kingdom and the United States. With 695 entries, gin was by far the top category entrant, followed by rum and whiskey.
“The London Spirits Competition is becoming more widely known in the trade with each passing year, and as a result, we are receiving an increased number of entries,” said Sid Patel, CEO of Beverage Trade Network, which owns and manages the event.
“I am pleasantly surprised at the increased number of entries this year as the pandemic resulted in many drinks companies putting their NPD on hold and focusing on their core operations instead.
“This is just testament to the increasingly good reputation of the competition as word spreads in the industry that we offer something a bit different from other events,” said Patel.
The judges were impressed by the standard of entrants, with Enrico Chiappini of Duke’s Hotel noting the quality of spirits was “high compared to last year.”
On top of good quality spirits, the judges were happy with the updated criteria used to judge the competition, which now includes packaging, design and overall commercial viability.
“These factors are really important,” said Tyriq Pitts of Coral Bar at the Bloomsbury Hotel. “It’s easy to just focus on the taste and flavour, but at the end of the day, if it doesn’t appeal to consumers and doesn’t sell, it’s pointless.”
View the complete list of winners at londonspiritscompetition.com
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