Australian Distilling Co. has been awarded Best In Class – Platinum Award at the 2024 international SIP Awards for its Geelong Gin, beating more than 60 gins from the UK, USA, Australia, France, Canada, New Zealand, Brazil and Mexico.
Enlisting anonymous consumers as judges, the SIP Awards are regarded as some of the most competitive gin awards globally, and this marks the second time Australian Distilling Co. has taken home the Best In Class – Platinum Award, after its Adelaide Gin won big in 2022.
At this year’s awards, Geelong Gin topped the likes of Archie Rose, along with Highclere Castle, Brockman’s and No. 3 London Dry Gin from the UK and Martin Miller’s in the US.
Michael Hickinbotham, Founder of Australian Distilling Co., whose father and grandparents were born in Geelong, says: “With Geelong Gin joining our Adelaide Gin as winners of the world’s best gin, we are proud to be recognised as makers of the world’s best gin, and Australia’s most awarded distillery with more than 300 global awards.”
Back in the 1880s, Hickinbotham’s great grandfather was a pivotal player in the Geelong Cats premiership sides, which led him to enlist the help of the late Frank Costa, former Geelong Football Club president, when designing the label for Geelong Gin.
“I presented five short-listed designs for the label to Frank, a legend of Geelong, and he took great delight in choosing the final one. Frank was a great friend to my father and my family, so having that connection is nice.
“Given my family’s roots and connections to Geelong, I’m thrilled our gin dedicated to this fantastic city and region has been recognised as the best in the world,” added Hickinbotham.
With a portfolio comprising eight city spirits, four destination spirits and six national spirits, each championing local ingredients and the iconic locations that inspired them, Hickinbotham says: “We have a footprint of distilleries in every mainland state, and our range is proudly parochial.”
Along with the Best In Class award for Geelong Gin, the distillery took home Platinum awards for its Navy Gin and Fremantle Gin, in addition to Double Gold for Tasmanian Gin, Blood Orange Gin and ADCo Vodka.
Speaking about the exceptional quality demonstrated at the awards, SIP Awards Founder Pouya Hashemi said: “We are thrilled to celebrate the exceptional spirits recognised in this year’s competition. The diverse entries and insightful feedback from our consumer judges underscore the quality and innovation present in the industry today. We congratulate all the winners for their dedication to crafting outstanding spirits.”