Four WA distilleries win big at the world’s most prestigious awards
Feeling thirsty? Not one but four WA distilleries have just taken home huge prizes at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
With over 5,500 entries from around the world, the annual competition is not only considered the largest and longest-running of its type, but the most prestigious.
Subiaco-based distillery Spirit of Little Things took out the gold medal with their signature Botanical Gin, which features hand-picked native thyme, strawberry gum and lemon myrtle.
“It’s a completely unique aromatic profile,” said Spirit of Little Things head distiller, Tom Martin. “Our vision when we started was to create gins with a very Australian identity and native botanicals form the foundation of all our products.”
“It’s incredibly satisfying to see the best judges in the world appreciate its distinctive flavour and acknowledge our dedication to the craft.”
In only their first year of operation, Banks and Bloom Distillery + Lab have taken home a prestigious Double Gold, winning for their Ice Vodka. The vodka is distilled using a unique cold vacuum technique, infusing it with a delicate combination of botanicals including blood lime, saltbush and samphire.
Subscribe to our free newsletter!
Bayswater-based Lisandras Distillery also took home the gold for their whisky barrel aged gin, alongside two silver medals within the Australian Single Malt Whiskey category.
The cheekily-named Billy Stitch Distillery also dominated in the gin category with six medals – including two Double Golds for their Dry Gin and Berry Mojito Gin.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough, the recent American Distillers Institute Awards saw the Republic of Fremantle named Best in Class in the International Vodka category.
“Making vodka from wine is challenging and further developing our process has significantly improved my skills as a distiller, to have this recognised in this international competition is hugely rewarding and the feedback is a testament to the complexities you get using wine as the base,” said Republic of Fremantle Head Distiller Tom Hutchings.
Image Credits: Supplied