With so many really outstanding Australian spirits on the shelves, it sometimes seems almost impossible to know which ones are the best to stock in your home bar. Whether it be Gin or Whisky, Australian distilleries are getting a name internationally for the quality of the Spirits they are producing.
Now you realistically can’t try them all (although we’d encourage you to try), so it can be hard to know which ones should you take home. As with most things, we think it’s often best to leave it to the experts, so we recommend you do what any level headed drinker should and let the spirits competitions results lead the way.
There are a variety of different competitions both locally and overseas but this week the results of the International Wine And Spirits Awards (IWSA) come in, so we think that they are as good a placers any to start.
Founded back in 1969, by an oenologist named Anton Messel, the competition receives entries from over 80 countries and to receive a nod is considered one of the highest honours in the industry due not only to the blind tasting factor of the judging but also the technical analysis.
And this year Australia shone with 6 gold, 44 silver, 8 silver outstanding and 25 bronze medals awarded.
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As far as gold medals, Archie Rose was a standout with two gold medals: the first for their Distillers Strength Gin and the second for their Rye Malt.
Now if you’re think that Archie Rose doesn’t sell a Rye Whisky, then you’d be half right.
Archie Rose does have a Rye in the works, which is presently being aged. They sent a ‘work-in-progress’ cask sample across, a full year before its scheduled release.
With the anticipation that this award has built, The a Rye Malt Whisky is definitely one to watch out for next year – both for Whisky drinkers and collectors.
But back to the Gin. As we mentioned, the Distillers Strength Gin won gold, which is impressive but more so when you consider that it comes on the back of a Double Gold for the Gin in the SAN Francisco awards earlier this year.
It’s been an incredible year in terms of the quality and diversity of our local Gins and that shows with the four other Gold medal recipients.
Kangaroo Island Spirits (KIS) collected a gold for their Old Tom Gin. This Gin also received a gold at the Melbourne International Spirits Competition (MISC) and KIS was also named Distillery Of The Year at MISC recently.
The other gold medals went to Kalki Moon for their classic Gin, Manly Spirits Co for their Terra Firma Botanical Vodka and Poor Toms Gin for their Fools Strength.
If you want more information about IWSC or the silver and bronze results, leap across to their website.
