Wednesday the 27th of October 2021 saw Scotland’s thriving Scottish Gin industry gather in Glasgow to celebrate the results of the 5th annual Scottish Gin Awards. Held at the Glasgow Double Tree by Hilton in the city centre, the black tie event brought together Scotland’s gin makers, brand owners and judges to hear the results of the judging process which covered both taste and business categories.
As judges and sponsors of High Strength Gin of The Year, we were delighted to once again be officially involved with the Scottish Gin awards, now in its 5th year. With a record number of entries from 67 Scottish Gin brands, there were 320 products judged and evaluated, which led to 178 finalist gins along with 37 brands and businesses through to the final awards for the business categories.
We were delighted to see many of our members make it through to the final awards stage in both the taste and business categories; an outstanding achievement and many congratulations to all the fantastic Scottish Gin makers and brands who made it through to the final stages of the awards process.
New for this year’s awards were a number of new taste categories including Herb & Spice Flavoured Gin, Citrus Flavoured Gin, Berry Flavoured Gin along with the existing coveted categories including London Dry Gin of the Year, Distilled Gin of The Year, High Strength Gin of The Year, Old Tom Gin of The Year and more. After the last 18 months of lockdowns, Covid, uncertainty and routes to market dramatically reduced with the restrictions placed on hospitality along with the complexities of Brexit on the Scottish Gin supply chain, it was great to see so many familiar faces and some new recognised for their achievements over the last 12 months. As always, Scottish stand-up comedian and radio presenter Des Clarke was on fine form with plenty of great banter throughout the night, especially when some of the award winners were tasked with taking part in an on-the-spot Q&A with Des.
The 2021 Scottish Gin Awards winners.
London Dry Gin sponsored by Vetroelite
Gold: Kinrara Artist Edition ‘Ginny’
Silver: Ben Lomond London Dry Gin
Bronze: Pixel Spirits Devil’s Staircase
Distilled Gin sponsored by Joseph Flach & Son
Gold: Lunun Gin
Silver: Pixel Spirits Scottish Chanterelle Gin
Bronze: Little Brown Dog Spirits LBD GIN Unlimited Edition
High Strength Gin sponsored by The Gin Cooperative
Gold: Beinn an Tuirc Tarbert Legbiter Navy Strength Gin
Silver: The Wee Farm Distillery Farmer Strength Drovers Gin
Bronze: The Biggar Gin Company Biggar Strength
Berry Flavoured Gin
Gold: Boe Raspberry & Sweet Basil Gin
Silver: Eden Mill Forager Gin
Bronze: Inspirited Summer Berries and Hibiscus
Citrus Flavoured Gin
Gold: South Loch Citrus & Lime Flower
Silver: Persie Zesty Citrus Gin
Bronze: Eden Mill Golden Lore Gin
Herb & Spice Flavoured Gin
Gold: South Loch Spiced Cranberry & Clementine
Silver: Kinrara Distiller’s Edition Rose & Cardamom
Bronze: El:gin Speyside Heather Honey
Flavoured Gin
Gold: LinGin Colours Coconut
Silver: Peebles Hydro 1881 Tiffin Gin
Bronze: Eden Mill Rosa Rosa Gin
Best Pink Gin
Gold: Perth Gin Pink
Silver: McQueen Gin Blackcurrant & Raspberry Gin
Bronze: Beinn an Tuirc Kintyre Pink Gin
Old Tom Gin
Gold: Mackintosh Pineapple & Grapefruit Old Tom Gin
Silver: Old Poison Exotic
Bronze: South Loch Rhubarb New Tom
Gin Liqueur
Gold: El:gin Moray Berry
Silver: Aldi Toradh Raspberry Gin Liqueur
Bronze: Stirling Distillery Tropical Triumph
Festive Gin sponsored by Cara Technology
Gold: Edinburgh Gin Mulled Gin Liqueur
Silver: Isle of Skye Misty Isle Mulled Christmas Gin
Bronze: El:gin Gin-gle Gin
Cask Gin
Gold: Eden Mill Distiller’s Choice: Italian Amarone Red Wine Cask Aged Gin
Silver: LinGin Cask Aged
Bronze: Glasgow Distillery Makar Oak Aged Gin
Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year sponsored by Contract Bottlers Glasgow
Isle of Harris Distillers
Best Newcomer
Dark Art Distillery
Excellence in Sustainability sponsored by Summerhall Drinks Lab
Muckle Brig Beverages (Port of Leith Distillery)
Excellence in Branding sponsored by Rankin Brothers & Sons
Isle of Harris Distillers
Best Digital Experience sponsored by Wolffe
Isle of Harris Distillers
Sales Team of the Year sponsored by Scottish Distillers Alliance
Isle of Barra Gin Distillery
Excellence in Social Media
Edinburgh Gin
Retailer of the Year
Craft 56
Product Development Team of the Year
Eden Mill
Once again, it was a brilliant evening celebrating Scotland’s fantastic Scottish Gin industry; an industry we’re proud to be part of and one we will continue to champion as a gin category that consumers should have at the top of their list to explore and discover. Thanks to everyone who took the time to chat, celebrate and catch up. It was great to see all the hard work from the team at KD Media pay off with their live event and online streaming of the evening come together under what have been very trying and unpredictable circumstances for live events. We very much look forward to seeing you all again next year and congratulations to all finalists and winners.
You can learn more about the Scottish Gin Awards by clicking the links below.
