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!