Last night, winners at the 2024 Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards were announced in a ceremony at the Victoria Pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds.
Now in their 10th year, the awards celebrate the distilling excellence of Australian-made spirits, liqueurs, aromatics, vermouths and ready-to-serves.
South Australia’s St Agnes Distillery celebrated the biggest achievement of the night, scooping the prestigious title of Champion Australian Distiller.
St Agnes Distillery also took home a Consistency of Excellence medal and the Best Brandy trophy, a category that the Renmark distillery continues to dominate year-on-year, and multiple medals for its Blind Tiger Organic Gin and Camborne Single Malt Australian Whisky.
Richard Angove, fifth-generation family proprietor, commented on the achievement: “We are immensely proud to receive these awards.
“The Australian spirits category has gone from strength to strength in recent years and it has been an exciting time to be part of this industry.
“We are Australia’s oldest family-owned distillery and our proud history is hugely important to us in how we approach our spirits.
He added: “For 99 years, we’ve strived to create spirits that honour our heritage while also challenging traditions. It is a testament to the patience, perseverance and craft of our entire team, including current head distiller, Ben Horley and his late predecessor John Norman, that these efforts continue to be recognised by the industry.
“Many hands have carefully crafted these amazing spirits that sit comfortably as exceptional on a world stage.”
Other key trophy winners include Backwoods Distilling Co from Yackandandah, which was presented the award for Champion Victorian Distiller, while Madecon’s Travelling While Standing Still clinched the title of Champion Victorian Gin and Best London Dry Gin for its Australian Dry Gin.
The newest Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards category is Ready To Serve Cocktail or Pre-Mix, which welcomed more than 50 entries. In the first year for the category, Reed & Co Distillery collected the award for its Yuzu Chu-Hai.
More than 860 entries were received from over 220 exhibitors at the 2024 Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards, and the panel of judges tasted and scored more than 1000 litres of exhibits from each state.
Darren Keating, Melbourne Royal Executive General Manager, Agriculture, said: “The Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards was a fantastic success with distillers from all over the nation showcasing their passion and precision for crafting some of Australia’s best spirits.
“We are grateful for the extraordinary support from the spirits industry and thank all distillers, judges, stewards, sponsors, and event staff for ensuring this prestigious event remains at the highest level.
“Winning a trophy or medal at the coveted Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards opens many commercial doors and inspires consumer trends, and I extend my congratulations to all winners of medals and trophies.”