Our Northwest Passage Expedition Gin has won a gold award in the ultra-premium category at The Spirits Business’ 2021 Gin Masters awards.

This year’s competition recorded 472 entries from 233 companies – making it the biggest competition in The Global Spirits Masters series to date.

Each spirit was judged in a two-day blind tasting event in London, chaired by The Spirits Business and a panel of leading spirits specialists.

Launched late last year as a collaboration between Orkney Distilling and the Northwest Passage Expedition team, the gin’s unique flavours are drawn from Sugar Kelp, Angelica Archangelica, Ramanas Rose, and Burnet Rose.

Orkney boasts a strong connection to the history of Arctic exploration, water used during distillation sourced from the same well that early explorers - such as Captain’s Sir James Cook and Sir John Franklin - used to stock their ships in Orkney.

The Northwest Passage Expedition itself is an attempt to be the first to the row the 3,700km arctic route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

Jack Hopkins, one of the eight crew members embarking on the expedition, was delighted to learn of the gin’s success: "To see Northwest Passage Expedition Gin win Gold in the The Spirits Business "Gin Master” is amazing. We have had so many great comments about our gin since it was launched and to be recognised by this award is really exciting.

We hope the award will help us market the gin to a wider audience and in doing so help us raise the funds needed for the expedition as well as help us with our goal of supporting Big Blue Ocean Cleanup, the marine conservation organisation.

We have to thank Stephen Kemp and the team at Orkney Distillery for all the support we have received and making this all possible.”

The gold award is the first formal recognition for Northwest Passage Expedition Gin, and the third award picked up by The Orkney Distillery in 2021 after both Beyla and Kirkjuvagr tasted success earlier this year.

If you’re ready to be transported back to the Age of Discovery, Northwest Passage Expedition Gin is available online now!

Later this month a crew from the Northwest Passage Expedition team will be rowing from Newcastle upon Tyne to Kirkwall as part of their training for next year’s world-first row along the Arctic’s Northwest Passage.

The expedition teamed up with The Orkney Distillery last year to launch Northwest Passage Expedition Gin to help fund the arctic expedition and support the team’s marine conservation partners, Big Blue Ocean Cleanup.

The gin’s recipe includes botanicals from the shores of both Orkney and Canada’s Hudson Bay, including Sugar Kelp which was hand-collected by Orkney Distilling’s Managing Director, Stephen Kemp, and local expedition crew member, Davie Flett.

Orkney-based Davie is one of eight crew members taking part in the expedition, with the crew aiming to become the first to the row the 3,700km arctic route between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The team are set to leave Newcastle on 19th July and are expected to complete the 350-mile journey to Kirkwall in 7-10 days. Eyemouth, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen have been identified as weather-permitting stop off points along the route.

The crew will be training in Avalon - a 44ft, eight crew rowing boat – and will be visible from the Scottish coast for most of the journey. Their progress throughout can be tracked via Marine Traffic’s website or app – just search the boat’s Automatic Identification System callsign, ‘Avalon’.

Speaking ahead of the trip north, expedition Leader Leven Brown said: "We are delighted to start our offshore training with a row from Newcastle upon Tyne to Kirkwall. Each of the crew have been training on their own under covid restrictions and with those gradually being lifted now is a chance to bring the team together.

The row to Orkney is a challenge in its own right and will help with team bonding and developing the appropriate skills required for the arctic expedition. The 44ft Avalon is a beast of a rowing boat, designed with the Northwest Passage in mind, and I am looking forward to seeing how the crew work together.

Hopefully the conditions will be fair but being prepared for the unexpected is part of our training. We are also excited about visiting the Orkney Distillery in Kirkwall, who are supporting us by producing our Northwest Passage Expedition Gin, that should make for a great night.”

For those looking to taste the gin and unlock their spirit of adventure, Northwest Passage Expedition Gin is available through our shop here!