We are over the moon to announce that Orkney Distilling Ltd has made the finals in two categories of this year’s Scottish Gin Awards!
Our Storm Strength Arkh-Angell gin has been shortlisted within the Navy Strength Gin of the Year category of the prestigious awards, while the Orkney Gin Festival 2018 – organised by Orkney Distilling in partnership with The Old Library – is in the running for the Scottish Gin Event of the Year accolade.
The shortlisting is no mean feat: one hundred and sixteen gins (all distilled in Scotland) were assessed. This is a 52% increase in the number of gins entered last year.
46 producers and 80 gins have progressed to the final stage of the national competition, which, for the second year running, celebrates Scotland’s booming gin industry.
Covering 18 categories, the awards assess taste and business performance and were judged earlier this month in two sessions by one of the most experienced gin tasting panels ever assembled in the UK.
Twenty-two tasters including Master Distillers from some of the UK’s biggest gin brands and the UK’s leading professors in distilling blind tasted and graded every sample under strict technical conditions. The taste tests were adjudicated by sensory management experts, Cara Technology.
The news is the cherry on the cake of a very exciting time for us here at the distillery, as we prepare to open our new distillery and visitor centre in the heart of Kirkwall. (Tickets for tours are bookable now).
Our managing director Stephen Kemp said: “This is fantastic news for our business, following on from the success we enjoyed last year when our signature Kirkjuvagr Gin took home a bronze medal from the inaugural Scottish Gin Awards. We’re particularly delighted to see our Storm Strength Arkh-Angell gin in the running for an accolade this year and thrilled to see our very successful Orkney Gin Festival recognised too.”
Stephen added: “We’re now very close to opening our brand-new distillery and visitor centre in Kirkwall, so news of our success in reaching the finals of this year’s Scottish Gin Awards is a major boost for everyone within the team.”
