The gin category is positively thriving with game-changing bottlings and flavourful offerings. We highlight some of the top-quality expressions from our latest competition.

SB presents award-winning gins

The Spirits Business held its annual Gin Masters last month in a new format due to the Covid-19 crisis. Judges tasted the bottlings, which were packed and delivered anonymously by Wine Sorted, in their homes and discussed them through Skype to maintain physical distancing measures in the UK.

Looking across multiple categories, from Old Tom to flavoured gins and navy strength bottlings, a wide range of gins were awarded the top accolade of a Master medal for their exceptional quality.

The individual scores of each entrant have not been revealed, however these are 10 of the highest rated medallists from the competition, in no particular order.

Our judges have given each gin listed here the seal of approval for offering excellent quality within their respective price categories.

Click through to the following pages to view the award-winning gins from our latest competition. 

Hernö Pink Btl Gin

Price: £32.99 (US$40)

The “dry, beautifully balanced” Hernö Pink Btl Gin secured two Master medals in the London Dry and Ultra Premium flights.

The Swedish gin brand launched the pink bottling in a bid to highlight pink expressions as a “marketing gimmick”.

Launched in April 2020, Hernö Pink Btl Gin is said to contain more juniper than any of the brand’s other products. It is made with rose and strawberries as well as coriander seeds, cassia bark, black pepper, vanilla and fresh lemon peel.

Eenoo Gin

Price: £35 (US$44)

In the Microdistillery round, Master medallist Eenoo Gin was praised for its “lovely bright citrus nose” and “long finish and great complexity”.

Produced by Scotland’s Lost Loch Spirits, Eenoo Gin is distilled with Royal Deeside honey and made with botanicals including heather flowers, coriander seeds, angelica root, liquorice root, orange peel and lemon peel.

Masons Lavender Edition

Price: £34 (US$43)

Masons Lavender Edition Gin (42% ABV) received a Master for its “grassy aroma” and notes of “green apples” in the Contemporary flight.

Produced by English gin maker Masons, the Lavender Edition is recommended served over ice with tonic water and garnished with a twist of lime zest or a sprig of lavender.

Sky Wave Navy Strength Gin

Price: £46 (US$58)

In the Navy Strength subcategory, a Master medal went to the “grassy” Sky Wave Gin Navy Strength London Dry, which had flavours of “apples, pine, lemon zest” and was deemed to be “very sippable, even with the high ABV”.

Bottled at 57% ABV, the gin is made by Oxfordshire-based Sky Wave Distilling Company.

Gin Ting Passionfruit, Mango and Elderflower

Price: £35 (US$44)

In the flavoured gin round, a Master went to Gin Ting’s Passionfruit, Mango and Elderflower expression, which was said to have a “tropical, delicious aroma”.

Launched in May 2018 by Kris Hindley, the Gin Ting range also consists of a berry-flavoured expression. The brand also produces Rum Ting, a passionfruit, mango and elderflower-flavoured rum.

The bottle design for Gin Ting features a silhouette of Hindley on his paddleboard on the River Gannel in the Cornish village of Crantock.

Hernö Old Tom

Price: £35 (US$44)

A Master medal was also given to Hernö Old Tom Gin in the Old Tom category. The judges enjoyed the Swedish expression’s “superb bold juniper flavour” with a “good range of pine and resinous character”.

The gin also grabbed this year’s ‘best in class’ award. One judge said: “It has this creamy vanilla texture, very nice and smooth. What I always look for with Old Tom is to have extra intensity. It’s obviously gin, it’s juniper, piney, peppery; the producers haven’t just stuck sugar into it. It’s like every bit of gin has been dialled up.”

Harvest 2019 Poorman’s Orange Gin

Price: AU$89 (US$62)

Archie Rose Distilling’s Harvest 2019 Poorman’s Orange Gin was praised by judges for offering “strong honey” on the nose, followed by “citrus, orange blossom and pine”.

The Master medal-winning expression is the first spirit in a new vintage series from Australian producer Archie Rose that celebrates the diversity of the country’s annual harvest.

The gin is distilled with Poorman’s orange, bergamot orange peel, finger lime and lemon-scented gum.

Martin Miller’s Westbourne Gin

Price: £32 (US$40)

Martin Miller’s Westbourne Gin, with its higher ABV strength, took home a Master medal in the Super Premium contingent for its “great integration of alcohol” and “gentle lime marmalade sweetness”.

The 45.2% ABV gin was first launched in 2003 in response to requests by bartenders for a version of Martin Miller’s Gin that would give a more ‘old school’ authenticity to classic cocktails.

Spain’s Zamora Company purchased a majority stake in Martin Miller’s Gin in January 2018.

Vidda Tørr Gin

Price: £38 (US$47.80)

Vidda Tørr Gin with its “gentle sweetness of camomile and meadowsweet” secured a Master medal in the Super Premium flight.

Made by Norway’s Oslo Håndverksdestilleri, the gin is described as a Norwegian take on the traditional gin profile.

Hampstead London Dry Gin

Price: £9.99 (US$12.50)

In the Standard flight, Lidl GB’s Hampstead London Dry was bestowed with a Master medal for its “bright citrus notes” and “good potential for a gin and tonic”.

Priced at £9.99 (US$12.50), the product showed that excellent quality can be offered at an affordable price.