Huge!
Anther Spirits, home at Anther Distillery in North Geelong, has brought home silver and bronze in the 2021 International Wine and Spirits Competition awards, which has grown to become the largest wine and spirits competition in the world.
The key takeaways
- Anther Spirits win at IWSC
- The 2021 IWSC were judged in Soho, UK, by 80 spirits experts
- This was the distillers first time entering the global compeition
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The 2021 IWSC were judged in Soho, UK, by 80 spirits experts. Over 4,000 spirits samples were judged, 1,000 of these were gin. Anther Spirits, previously awarded Champions of the Australian Distilled Spirit Awards (2018 and 2019), are over the moon to highlight Geelong on the international spirits stage.
Spirits are evaluated on a 100-point scale and awards are given out for Gold Outstanding (98-100 points), Gold (95-97 points), Silver (90-94 points) and Bronze (85-89 points).
In what is a huge success for a Geelong business, Anther Spirits were awarded 92 points (silver) for their Anther Charismatica Gin, 91 points (silver) for their Anther Australian Dry Gin and bronze for their Anther Goddess Strength Gin.
“To have our gins awarded highly in the IWSC among so many other great Aussie distilleries is a massive achievement. To bring and share this award in our hometown of Geelong is absolutely wonderful,” says Dervilla McGowan, owner/distiller at Anther Spirits, who also holds a PhD in microbiology and has a love of the rich distilling history in Geelong’s Corio Distillery.
“It’s a privilege to be continuing Geelong’s famous distilling history, I’m sure the Corio distillers would be proud to see the story of spirit making continue in our great region.”
The team at Anther Spirits are not shy to experiment with local flavours and ingredients and their passion for using native ingredients has impressed the judges of the IWSC.
Dervilla McGowan says, “The industry is growing rapidly and the interest from locals about Australian spirits and our magnificent native botanicals is too! Our native flora is diverse and very delicious! It’s no surprise we’re kicking goals on the world spirits stage!”
Anther Spirits was born out of curiosity and a love of handmade craft spirits, and championed by Dervilla and her husband Sebastian Reaburn’s desire to experiment and collaborate. With a cumulative 45+ years in the Australian and world-wide hospitality industry between them, and having been awarded Australia’s Best Gin in 2018, the Geelong distillery became a labour of love for the duo.
Located at the Powerhouse site at Federals Mills in North Geelong, the Melbourne-based small-batch gin company swung open their cellar door for retail and distillery tastings and tours back in November last year, and they’ve been a hit ever since.
Now earning themselves recognition on a global scale, we’re beyond excited to see what the future brings.
Anther Distillery is located at PH3 Federal Mills, 33 Mackey St North Geelong. The Distillery Cellar door open hours are from Wednesday and Thursday 12pm-5:30pm. Friday 12pm-8pm, Anther Distillery bar and tastings open Fridays 3pm-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 12pm-6pm.
