South Australian distilleries have shone at the Tasting Australia Spirits Awards, taking out seven of the 12 top honours, including St Agnes being named as Best Distiller.
The Premier’s Gin Award was added to the 11 existing awards at the show, and is exclusive to South Australian gin entries. The award celebrates the best local gin from the gold winning entries, with Never Never Distilling Co’s Triple Juniper Export Strength Gin named the winner.
Premier Steven Marshall said: “Congratulations to Never Never Distilling Co and all the Tasting Australia Spirit Awards entries from South Australia and beyond.
“It is wonderful to hold a national competition that celebrates the spirits industry through Tasting Australia presented by RAA Travel. The distillers have shown great innovation in their entries and the growth in the number of products entered into the awards this year is testament to the importance of these awards.”
It was also a successful awards for St Agnes, with every St Agnes brandy awarded a medal. St Agnes XO 15-Year-Old collected Gold and the Trophy for Best Brandy and St Agnes VSOP 5 Year Old also collecting Gold. Silver medals were awarded to St Agnes XO Imperial 20-Year-Old, St Agnes Bartenders Cut and St Agnes Perpetual Brandy.
All of the above culminated in St Agnes Distillery being Awarded Best Distillery. Richard Angove was on hand to collect the Awards, and he said: “This was such an amazing surprise, the Australian Spirits Industry is going from strength to strength with so many amazing distillers making such high quality products.
“To win Best Distiller is amazing, exciting and humbling. With over 100 years of distillation experience we have had just five master distillers and I am sure that my great, great Grandfather would never have thought the small St Agnes Distillery he set up in the early 1900’s would be collecting a Best Distiller Award in 2021. Amazing.”
The winners were decided through three days of intensive tasting by a panel of expert judges guided by the Spirit Awards Patron and World Whisky Award Hall of Fame inductee, Bill Lark.
“It was a privilege for me to oversee the intensive judging process for the Tasting Australia Spirit Awards 2021 and great to be back in South Australia for the awards,” said Lark.
“It is exciting to see the continuous growth of these awards and the creativity and innovation of the distillers year on year. The standard of Australian spirits has really reached a high point and everyone who entered a product this year should be very proud.”
2021 Tasting Australia Spirit Awards presented by Master Cask Award Winners:
- Premier’s Gin Award: Triple Juniper Export Strength Gin, Never Never Distilling Co, South Australia
- Best Distiller: St Agnes Distillery, St Agnes XO 15 Year Old & St Agnes VSOP, South Australia
- Best Small Batch Spirit: Overeem Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt Whisky, Overeem Whisky, Tasmania
- Best Independent Bottler: The Sparkke Change Beverage Company, Seppeltsfield Road Distillers & Jimmy Rum, South Australia
- Best Whisky: The Jabberwocky, Fleurieu Distillery, South Australia
- Best Gin: Triple Juniper Export Strength Gin, Never Never Distilling Co, South Australia
- Best Vodka: Croc Vodka, FNQ Spirits, Queensland
- Best Rum: The Aisling Riverina Rum, The Aisling Distillery, New South Wales
- Best Brandy: St Agnes XO 15 Year Old, St Agnes Distillery, South Australia
- Best Liqueur: Brix Citrus Got Real, Brix Distillers, New South Wales
- Best Alternate Spirit: Mulligan’s Clear Cane Spirit, St Mary’s Wines and Spirits, South Australia
- Best Small Cask Maturation: Overeem Sherry Cask Matured Single Malt Whisky, Overeem Whisky, Tasmania