Australia has long been highly regarded for gin production, so it’s not much of a surprise seeing some of the best local distilleries pop up in this year’s World Gin Awards results. From McLaren Vale to North Jindong, the country regularly pumps out some fascinating expressions using various – often native – botanicals, making that authoritative nod from Gin Magazine a nice swing of recognition for a tireless industry that has been going from strength to strength over the past few years.
While Four Pillars is still the dominant name when it comes to Australian gin, it’s clear global recognition is starting to highlight many other corners of the country. Never Never Distilling Co., based out of South Australia, is fast emerging as an awards favourite, with Tim Boast being named Master Distiller of the Year, beating out another Aussie – Dave Withers of Archie Rose coming in as Highly Commended.
Cape Byron Distillery, based out of McLeods Shoot, was named Highly Commended when it came to the Sustainable Distillery of the Year award, just missing the nod to Vietnam’s Brewstillery which made headlines last year for using upcycled craft beer to create a new kind of gin.
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Moving into the specifically gin-focused categories, Australia managed to take our two of the ‘world’s best’ titles, with Never Never Distilling Co’s Triple Juniper Gin Export Strength named the World’s Best London Dry Gin, and Devils Thumb Distillery’s Navy Strength Gin taking out the top spot for World’s Best Navy Gin. The latter is particularly interesting, seeing as it’s Four Pillars who are usually referenced when it comes to navy gin in Australia.
Speaking of Four Pillars, the emblematic Yarra Valley distillery once again dominated, with both Brand Innovator of the Year and Distiller of the Year.
The Gin Magazine Awards were announced virtually for the second consecutive year, due to obvious reasons, and were live streamed via the publication’s social media channels last year. The long-running program has been a reference point for gin fans for years, mostly because it shifts through an incredibly bloated industry and gives drinkers a bit of a hit list for the year.
This year’s hit list is as follows.
World Gin Awards Winners [2022]
Communicator of the Year
Emma Stokes, Gin Monkey
Visitor Attractor of the Year
Shed 1 Distillery [UK]
Master Distiller of the Year
Winner: Tim Boast, Never Never Distilling Co. [Australia]
Highly Commended: Dave Withers, Archie Rose Distilling Co. [Australia]
Own Brand Supermarket of the Year
Lidl [Ireland]
Design Agency of the Year
Knockout
Brand Innovator of the Year
Winner: Four Pillars Gin [Australia]
Highly Commended: O’Gin [Australia]
Sustainable Distillery of the Year
Winner: Brewstillery [Vietnam]
Highly Commended: Cape Byron Distillery [Australia]
Hotel Bar of the Year
Gin & Juice at No. 131 Cheltenham [UK]
Distiller of the Year
Winner: Four Pillars Gin [Australia]
Highly Commended: O’Gin [Australia]
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World’s Best Classic Gin
Awildian Coromandel Dry Gin [New Zealand]
World’s Best Compound Gin
The Three Brothers, Bathtub Gin [Lebanon]
World’s Best Contemporary Style Gin
Bosque Alta, Montaña [Argentina]
World’s Best Flavoured Gin
Jaffa Cake Gin [England]
World’s Best Genever
Houblonesse Hopscheutenjenever [Belgium]
World’s Best London Dry Gin
Never Never Distilling Co., Triple Juniper Gin Export Strength [Australia]
World’s Best Matured Gin
Lydén Distillery, Cask Gin [Sweden]
World’s Best Navy Gin
Devils Thumb Distillery, Navy Strength Gin [Australia]
World’s Best Old Tom Gin
Broken Bones Gin, Old Tom Gin [Slovenia]
World’s Best Signature Botanical
Hayman’s, Exotic Citrus Gin [England]
World’s Best Sloe Gin
Maral, Sloe Gin [Belgium]
Gin Magazine Hall of Fame Inductees 2022
Nicholas Cook, Director General, The Gin Guild
Joanne Moore, Master Distiller, G&J Distillers
Philip Moore, Founder and Distiller, Distillery Botanica
Carolus Nolet Sr, Chairman and Owner, Nolet Distillery
More of a whisky fan? Check out our round-up for the best Australian whiskies for your collection.
