3rd Annual Scottish Gin Awards Opens for Entry
The national awards programme for Scottish Gin has launched its third annual competition with a promise to work with the Scottish Gin sector to promote its growing range of high-quality gins at home and abroad.
Now open for entry, the 2019 competition has made several improvements following the growing success of the competition. Three new categories and 10 new expert judges join the line-up. The panel is now preparing to assess talented teams and businesses, while looking forward to tasting the vast range of high-quality gin distilled in Scotland in May of this year.
The popular blind tasting competition which last year doubled its entry numbers with 116 gins assessed, includes categories for traditionally defined gins such as London Dry and Old Tom alongside the fast-growing flavoured gins and gin liqueur categories.
The 28-strong judging panel will be chaired for a second year by Alex Bruce, Managing Director of Adelphi Distillery. He commented;
“I am thrilled to return as the chair of the Scottish Gin Awards judging panel for a second year and pleased to welcome so many new judges to the panel. We all look forward to reviewing and assessing the written entries from the many gin businesses and of course to tasting the wide range of gin products now available on the market.
“There seems to be no slowing the growth of this sector of the drinks industry, but the ongoing success can also make it harder for emerging distillers to make their mark. I hope that in presenting these awards we can help these businesses and continue to promote the quality and desirability of Scottish gins across the UK and abroad.”
Full details including the category line-up, entry guide, terms and conditions and the online entry process are available on the Scottish Gin Awards website. Entering companies should speak to the awards team at KDMedia for support and advice prior to submitting their entry. There are no entry fees for gin samples submitted but for the first time, each business wishing to enter will be charged a one off registration fee of £55 + VAT.
The competition has welcomed back several sponsors in 2019 including Vetroelite, Aldi, Wolffe and Scotland Food and Drink who support the competition throughout its seven-month programme. This culminates with the Scottish Gin Awards glittering black tie celebration and dinner which will be held on Thursday 10 October 2019 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Glasgow. Last year the event welcomed a record crowd of 640 guests.