Great Barrier Island business Island Gin has scooped the coveted Innovation Award at the New Zealand Spirits Awards 2020.
Despite having been operating for less than a year, Island Gin has already enjoyed rermarkable cut through in the very competitive spirits industry.
The New Zealand Spirits Awards were judged over a three-day period by 17 judges. Island Gin held off competition from distinguished industry peers to take home the Innovation Award. There were 260 entries for the NZ Spirits Awards, 54 percent of which were from New Zealand, and a total of 91 gin entries in the competition.
In addition to winning the Innovation Award, Island Gin won a silver award for its Navy Strength gin (57% ABV) and a bronze award for its Original gin (43.2% ABV).
“Great Barrier Island’s ‘Island Gin’ deservedly received this year’s New Zealand Innovation Award for its copper pot distilled gin presented in a unique kīna-inspired bottle made of reclaimed glass,” says Sue James, Chair of Distilled Spirits Aotearoa. “This award recognises unique or new processes, imagery and packaging design, recipes, flavours, or products. This beautiful bottle, packaged on a solar-powered packaging line, is instantly recognisable, and invokes wonderful images of New Zealand island life, beaches and summer.”
“Winning the award has given me such boost,” says Island Gin owner and distiller Andi Ross. “I’m full of gratitude to be able to do what I love and in a sustainable way on Great Barrier Island. I am very happy that my bottle is made right here in New Zealand with Visy Glass, utilising a large proportion of recycled glass from both Great Barrier Island and wider New Zealand.”
Andi says that the success of Island Gin, with its distinctive kīna (sea urchin)-inspired bottle and its focus on utilising locally-sourced botanicals and suppliers, such as honey from Great Barrier Island, shows that products can be made in this part of the world with integrity and community at their heart.
“I encourage anyone who has an idea to produce locally, to keep going. The more innovation we have in New Zealand, the greater the benefits for our community as a whole. After nearly four years of hard work and a determination to make world-class gin that could be produced in this off-grid paradise in a sustainable way, I feel that I have finally realised my goal.”
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