Close Menu
Top 10

The Gin Masters 2020 (second tasting) results

Such is the number of exciting gins being made by producers that we had to stage a second round of The Gin Masters this year. And happily, due to the sheer competition, distillers are keeping the quality standards high.

When a flurry of big investments hit a spirit category, you know you are onto a winner. A number of large firms have splashed the cash on up‐and‐coming super‐premium‐and‐above gin brands in recent years, as consumers’ proclivity for all things juniper continues to grow. These high‐profile acquisitions have been accompanied by new entrants into the seemingly unstoppable gin category.

The initial phase of The Gin Masters 2020 took place at the peak of the pandemic earlier this year. However, thanks to the clear ongoing demand for gin, The Global Spirits Masters deemed it was appropriate to offer brands a second tasting to showcase their best wares.

Assembling over Skype to judge the second tasting of The Gin Masters 2020 were: David T Smith, spirits writer and co‐founder of the Craft Distilling Expo; Bernadette Pamplin, spirits writer and judge; Ivan Dixon, independent spirits consultant; and me, Melita Kiely, editor of The Spirits Business, and chair of the event. Wine Sorted decanted and shipped every entry to each judge’s home to guarantee total anonymity throughout the competition.

A SOLID G&T

In the opening flight of Standard gins, all of which were priced under £15 (US$20) a Gold medal was awarded to Saaremaa Dry Gin, which the judges agreed would “make a solid G&T”. Two Silver medals were also awarded to London Hill Gin and London Hill Pink Gin.

As the judges progressed to the next price bracket, Premium gins, five Gold‐quality entrants were discovered: “green, leafy” Rangoni Kingfisher; “classic, bold” Concullin Irish Gin; Wimbledon Garden Gin, with “good oiliness and texture”; “complex, attractive” McCaffrey Small Batch Irish Gin; and “very traditional” Plymouth Gin. The judges also rewarded six entrants with Silver medals.

Dixon noted: “I was really impressed at the price point; if I’d tasted some of these without knowing the price, I would have thought they were more expensive than this price bracket. I was expecting the flight to be more generic, with less diversity, but its value for money was strong, and it shows you can get good gin that has personality and a point of difference at this price point.”

In the following flight of super‐premium gins, the first Master‐worthy spirits were found. The first Master went to Norrbottens Destilleri’s Mountain Dry Gin, which had a “citrusy nose with green juniper aspects”, and was described as “balanced and flavoursome in the mouth, with a bright, intense profile”.

A Master also went to Berry Bros & Rudd’s No.3 London Dry Gin in this heat, praised for its “fresh, zesty, pine” nose, which led to flavours of “dry spice, some lemon zest and fruitiness” on the palate. Dixon said this gin had a “punchy, juniper‐rich finish”. Seven Gold medallists also caught the judge’s attention in this flight, along with a trio of Silvers.

Smith said: “I would say super‐premium is where some of the best gins around are often placed, and there’s a much higher expectation for gin at this price as well. It’s an area where when it’s good, it’s sublime; but sometimes there are a couple of flops.”

In the most expensive price band of the day, Ultra Premium, a Master was also found among the entrants retailing for £36 and above. Copper Republic Distilling Co took home the top accolade for its Small Batch African Dry Gin, enjoyed for its “creamy texture”, combined with “layered spice and juniper on the palate”. Three Golds were also dished out: to “aquavit‐like” Studio Gin; Ki No Bi Sei, with its “lovely citrus finish”; and “multi‐layered and vibrant” Amass LA Dry Gin. The round was topped off with four Silver awards. “In Ultra Premium, you have greater risk but greater reward,” Dixon noted. Pamplin agreed, and added: “It can be a bit of a mixed bag this one, a bit pick ’n’ mix. But it was great to see the diversity of what’s out there and the different options available at this price point. When it’s good, it’s really good.”

A large number of London Dry gins were poured for the next flight, with three standout entries awarded Master status. First to take the Master title was Glaswegin, which was found be full of “fruity berries” on the nose, with “some earthiness and some citrus” on the palate. Fellow Master medallist Beefeater London Dry Gin 44% was celebrated for its “classic style” and for being “big and intense”. “This ticks all the boxes,” Dixon added.

Completing the Master trio was The River Test Distillery London Dry Gin, with a “hint of camomile and caramel” on the nose leading to “a more traditional rolling flavour that seems to go on and on” when sipped.

Pamplin said: “You’ve got to do London Dry well. There were some standout entries in the Masters. It’s always nice to see people adding something different, while still being loyal to the category.”

Among the 13 Gold medallists were: Siwu Gin, with “lashings of citrus” and a “long, lingering finish”; Beefeater Crown Jewel, with “nice citrus zest” on the nose and “good balance” on the palate; and Never Never Distilling Co’s Southern Strength Gin, hailed for “big intensity on the palate” with “lots of citrus”. The flight concluded with a whopping 13 Silver medallists.

“Even though it’s a very tightly regulated gin category, it does not mean there’s not space for innovation within it, and also for exploring new and innovative flavour profiles,” Smith said of the London Dry round.

LOVELY FRUITY NOSE

In the Microdistillery heat, Tokaj Gin took home the top medal for its “lovely fruity nose” and “dried fruit and baking spice” on the palate. The Master medallist was joined in this round by Gold medal winner Black Mountains Botanicals 48% Distiller’s Cut.

“This was a great flight; I get the impression there’s a lot of thought that goes into everything, the flavour profile on [Tokaj Gin] had so much going on,” noted Pamplin.

In the Old Tom category, Broken Bones Old Tom Gin scooped a Gold. The judges found this to be “lifted, juniper‐forward and pithy on the nose” with a “spicy burst on the finish with balanced sweetness”. “An unusual take on Old Tom,” noted Smith. Japanese gin Ki No Tou was awarded a Silver. “These were two atypical examples of an Old Tom,” added Dixon. “Both of them had a nice sweetness, but very different styles.”

Another Gold was enjoyed in the Organic flight: The Stillery’s Most Floral Gin. This expression was described as “complex and very nuanced” with hints of “jammy rose and violet”. Oxford Rye Organic Dry Gin won a Silver in this flight. Smith said: “It’s important to buy organic, but the good thing is you don’t have to compromise on quality because whether it’s organic or not, you can still have very good gin.”

As we moved from gin to genever, before tackling the contemporary styles, a Gold was uncovered in the form of Bobby’s Schiedam Jenever. The judges tasted flavours of “ginger and lemongrass”, and found aromas of “raisin, baked apple and cherry”.

FRESH AND LIVELY

A large selection of Contemporary gins were up next, and delivered another Master, Perfume Trees Gin, due to its “fruity, berry, jammy” nose, leading to a “fresh and lively palate” with a “persistent and powerful finish”. “This had a fruity grape aspect to it, which could unbalance the product, but actually it’s been done sympathetically,” said Smith. “There’s juniper, a thyme leafiness – quite a complicated thing to do – and nicely balanced.”

Among the 15 Gold medal winners were: “grassy and green” NIP Rare Dry Gin; “very succulent” Wild Child Gin, with a “hint of orange” on the finish; “very savoury” Maharani; and “bold and flavoursome” Blinking Owl Gin.

Twelve Silver medals completed the Contemporary round. Dixon noted that this was, at times, a “minefield” of gins, with myriad variations on the classic gin style, but added: “When you find a good one, it is so exciting. There are some really good contemporary gins out there that have good flavours.”

In the Cask‐Aged category, Filibuster Gin was deemed to be up to the Gold standard. The judges found this to be “quite gentle” on the nose, but with “some sweetness, then spice, cinnamon and woodiness” present on the palate. “This is a nice gin and retains the juniper notes,” added Pamplin.

The judges then prepped their palates for a selection of high‐ABV bottlings in the Navy Strength round, awarding a Master to Thunderflower Fire Ship 58. Tasting notes included “chai, cassia and cinnamon cookies” on the nose, with “lovely lemongrass, ginger and a hint of chocolate”. Four Gold medals and one Silver were also tasted in this flight.

“This was a very strong round, interesting with a variety of different flavour profiles,” said Pamplin. “That’s very cool because you don’t always get that with navy strength. It was really impressive how much flavour you get from each one at that high ABV. It was lovely to see people experimenting with navy strength.”

Concluding The Gin Masters 2020 (second tasting) was a large selection of Flavoured Gin. Two expressions joined the Master ranks, one of which was Never Never Distillery’s Ginache, with its “rich jammy fruit and grape notes” and “slightly tannic palate”. Welshcake Gin was also found to be deserving of a Master, enjoyed for balancing the flavour of a traditional Welsh cake with the gin “really quite well”.

Pamplin said: “When I find a good flavoured gin, I get so excited because I can just see so much potential. There are some really amazing ones out there. It’s just about taking the time to get them right. What’s worth noting is that in this flight we found some very good flavoured gins where the balance is very good throughout and the alcohol integration is very good.”

Smith was equally impressed by the flight. “It’s by no means easy to make very good flavoured gin,” he added. “It’s very difficult. If you can get it right, if you choose interesting flavour combinations, then I think you can add a real point of difference to your distillery and your brand.”

The continued level of innovation and flavour development in gin, while keeping quality in mind, was evident throughout the tasting. “There’s a lot of gin out there and you do need to go the extra mile to cut through and have a noteworthy product,” said Smith. “There are some good examples of that in this tasting and looking at price points, in super‐premium you can find some amazing ones in there. It’s very interesting to watch gin grow as an industry.”

Click through to the following page to see the results from our second Gin Masters 2020 competition.

To see the results from the first competition, click here.

Standard

Company Product Medal
Altia Eesti Saaremaa Dry Gin Gold
Ian Macleod Distillers London Hill Pink Gin Silver
Ian Macleod Distillers London Hill Gin Silver

Premium

Company Product Medal
Ca’d’Or Azienda Agricola Rangoni Kingfisher Gold
The Connacht Whiskey Company Conncullin Irish Gin Gold
Rebel Distillers Limited Wimbledon Garden Gin Gold
Parkwall Taverns McCaffrey Small Batch Irish Gin Gold
Pernod Ricard Plymouth Gin Gold
SOTL 5th Baron Black Country Gin Silver
Belfast Artisan Distillery Belfast Artisan Distillery Gin Silver
In the Welsh Wind Distillery In the Welsh Wind Signature Style Silver
Skellig Six 18 Distillery Skellig Six 18 Gin Silver
Sash & Fritz Wild Child Gin Silver
The Three Wheel Gin Company Lancaster Dry Gin Silver

Super Premium

Company Product Medal
Norrbottens Destilleri Mountain Dry Gin Master
Berry Bros & Rudd No.3 London Dry Gin Master
Copperhead Gin Copperhead Gin Black Batch Gold
Copperhead Gin Copperhead Gin Original Gold
Chapel Down Chapel Down Bacchus Gin Gold
Norrbottens Destilleri Forest Dry Gin Gold
The Vale Fox Distillery Tod & Vixen’s Dry Gin 1651 Gold
Blinking Owl Distillery Blinking Owl Gin Gold
The Oro Distilling Co Oro Gold
Filibuster Filibuster Gin Silver
R&B Distillers Isle of Raasay Gin Silver
Spirit of the Lakes Bedrock Gooseberry and Elderflower Gin Silver

Ultra Premium

Company Product Medal
Copper Republic Distilling Co Small Batch African Dry Gin Master
Signal Beer Co Studio Gin Gold
The Kyoto Distillery Ki No Bi Sei Gold
Amass Botanical Amass LA Dry Gin Gold
Wild Fox Distillery Ivy’s Signature London Dry Silver
Salcombe Distilling Co Salcombe Gin Voyager Series ‘Restless’ Silver
The Kyoto Distillery Ki No Bi Silver
Copper Republic Distilling Co Rooibos & Grapefruit Small Batch Gin Silver

 

London Dry

Company Product Medal
Glaswegin Distilling Co Glaswegin Master
Pernod Ricard UK Beefeater London Dry Gin 44% Master
The River Test Distillery The River Test Distillery London Dry Gin Master
Pernod Ricard UK Beefeater 24 Gold
De Kuyper Royal Distillers Rutte Celery Gin Gold
Otterbeck Distillery Cotton Gin Gold
Hussingtree Blends Meredith’s Malvern Gin Gold
Montbel Wines & Spirits Bold Gin Gold
Foley Wines Lighthouse Gin Original Gold
Siwu Distillery Siwu Gin Gold
Don Luchesi Destilaria & Botânicos O ́Gin Gold
Never Never Distilling Co Southern Strength Gin Gold
Brewdog Distilling Co Lonewolf Gin Gold
The Keep Spirits Co Albino Flamingo London Dry Gin Gold
Siwu Distillery Siwu Gin Hybenrose Gold
Pernod Ricard UK Beefeater Crown Jewel Gold
Gin Hude Gin Hude Silver
Loch Lomond Group Ben Lomond Gin Silver
OSS Craft Distillery Bareksten Double Gin Silver
Ian Macleod Distillers Edinburgh Gin Classic Silver
Charles Edge London London Square Silver
Georgian Bay Spirit Co Georgian Bay Gin Silver
Tanglin Gin Tanglin Orchid Gin Silver
Pernod Ricard UK Beefeater London Dry Gin 40% Silver
Never Never Distilling Co Triple Juniper Gin Silver
Nao Spirits & Beverages Greater Than Silver
Kinsale Spirit Company Kinsale Gin Silver
Tivoli Nimb London Dry Gin Silver
Black Mountains Botanicals 48% Distiller’s Cut Silver

Microdistillery

Company Product Medal
Seven Hills Distillery Tokaj Gin Master
Black Mountains Botanicals 48% Distillers Cut Gold

Old Tom

Company Product Medal
Broken Bones Broken Bones Old Tom Gin Gold
The Kyoto Distillery Ki No Tou Silver

Organic

Company Product Medal
The Stillery The Stillery’s Most Floral Gin Gold
The Oxford Artisan Distillery Oxford Rye Organic Dry Gin Silver

Genever

Company Product Medal
Bobby’s Dry Gin Company Bobby’s Schiedam Jenever Gold

Contemporary

Company Product Medal
Cheung’s Brothers Enterprises Co Perfume Trees Gin Master
Bobby’s Dry Gin Company Bobby’s Schiedam Dry Gin Gold
Distillerie Tenute Collesi Collesi Gin Gold
RHS Royal Hawaii Spirits Distillery Capt’ Cook Gin Gold
Three Wrens Distillery Three Wrens Gin Bison Grass Edition Gold
Hong Kong Craft Distilling Co NIP Rare Dry Gin Gold
Norrbottens Destilleri Forest Dry Gin Gold
Norrbottens Destilleri Mountain Dry Gin Gold
The Kyoto Distillery Ki No Tea Gold
Grills Spirits Sixling Gin Gold
Sash & Fritz Wild Child Gin Gold
Two Pine Ventures Snoday Gin Gold
Rebel City Distillery Maharani Gold
Blinking Owl Distillery Blinking Owl Gin Gold
Copper Republic Distilling Co Small Batch African Dry Gin Gold
The Ethical Spirits & Co Last Episode – Modest Gold
Inspirited Bergamot Orange and Golden Kiwi Silver
Copperhead Gin Copperhead Gin Gibson Edition Silver
Ian Macleod Distillers Edinburgh Gin 1670 Silver
Pembrokeshire Gin Co Welshcake Gin Silver
Needle and Pin Spirits Rivelland Dry Silver
Broken Bones Broken Bones London Dry Gin Silver
Salcombe Distilling Co Salcombe Gin Voyager Series ‘Restless’ Silver
Thos Birch Libations Company Birch Gin Silver
Tanglin Gin Tanglin Mandarin Chilli Gin Silver
Nao Spirits & Beverages Hapusa Himalayan Dry Gin Silver
The Stillery The Stillery’s Most Floral Gin Silver
The Ethical Spirits & Co Last Episode – Elegant Silver

Cask-Aged

Company Product Medal
Filibuster Filibuster Gin Gold

Navy Strength

Company Product Medal
Thunderflower Thunderflower Fire Ship 58 Master
Cirka Distilleries Cirka Navy Strength Gin Gold
Foley Wines Lighthouse Gin Hawthorn Edition Gold
Tanglin Gin Tanglin Black Powder Gin Gold
Never Never Distilling Co Juniper Freak Gin Gold
Inspirited Navy Strength Spiced Silver

Flavoured Gin

Company Product Medal
Never Never Distilling Co Ginache Master
Pembrokeshire Gin Co Welshcake Gin Master
Brewdog Distilling Co Lonewolf Cactus & Lime Gold
Copper Republic Distilling Co Rooibos & Grapefruit Small Batch Gin Gold
Loch Lomond Group Ben Lomond Gin Raspberry & Elderflower Gold
Loch Lomond Group Ben Lomond Gin Blackberry & Gooseberry Silver
Hussingtree Blends Hussingtree Tonka Bean Gin Silver
Altia Eesti Saaremaa CUR Gin Silver
Altia Eesti Saaremaa RHU Gin Silver
The Three Wheel Gin Company Eric’s Morecambe Gin Silver
Pernod Ricard UK Beefeater Blood Orange Silver
Pernod Ricard UK Beefeater Pink Strawberry Silver
Needle and Pin Spirits Sevílli Silver

It looks like you're in Asia, would you like to be redirected to the Drinks Business Asia edition?

Yes, take me to the Asia edition No