Good news for Aberdeen…

The City of Aberdeen Distillery & Gin School is delighted to announce that five of their Aberdeen distilled gins have been selected to become finalists in the prestigious Scottish Gin Awards in the category of London Dry Gin of the Year.

In addition, the distillery has also been shortlisted in two business categories; Excellence in Branding and Best Brand Experience.

One of the finalist gins was the boutique gin created in collaboration with The Wandering Bartender who designed his gin to be the ideal cocktail gin, aptly named The Wandering Gin.

The highly coveted category of Gin of the Year award is sought by all those who have entered and now Aberdeen is in the running to win big.

Tough competition

The distillery, which is owned and run by two friends, opened its doors just before Christmas 2019 and was presented not only with the challenges of being a start-up but then shortly afterwards, faced the added struggle of a worldwide pandemic.

Despite the rocky road we are humbled to receive the support of our customers who have taken “shop local” to heart. We are proud to be representing Aberdeen and competing alongside huge names in the gin industry such as Edinburgh Gin, McQueen, Eden Mill, and Isle of Harris.

What are the Scottish Gin Awards?

The Scottish Gin Awards was founded in 2016 and is run for the benefit of the Scottish Gin sector, with the objective of celebrating and promoting the growing range of high-quality gins made in Scotland. This is the 4th annual Scottish Gin Awards and the most competitive involving 71 companies.

The judging panel of 26 tasters blind tasted and graded every sample under strict technical conditions that were moderated in supervised sessions.

Chair of the judging panel, Adam Hardie says:

“To make it to the final stage of the Scottish Gin Awards is a huge achievement so congratulations must go to all these businesses who are operating at the top of their game in Scottish gin. For the consumer, this list is important as it is a comprehensive study for any gin fan looking for high quality Scottish products which taste great. They have all achieved the rating of a highly regarded panel of independent experts in gin production from across the UK. We look forward to celebrating the news of the winners when we gather as an industry next week in a digital celebration.”

The awards will be broadcast on Thursday 12th November from the DoubleTree by Hilton Glasgow, hosted by comedian Des Clarke.

What makes the Scottish Gin Awards special?

Only gins that are distilled in Scotland are permitted to enter the Scottish Gin Awards.

The Scottish Gin Awards have a strong focus on celebrating and promoting true Scottish Gin. Each of the gins are blind tasted, to ensure impartial judging, by a range of experienced industry experts. Awards are made based on flavour and quality of the spirit rather than on entry fee.

Representing Aberdeen City

The City of Aberdeen Distillery is the first distillery in Aberdeen for 80 years. We design the recipes for our gins in our railway arch distillery near Union Square.

All of ours gins are distilled and bottled in the heart of Aberdeen. Even our branding was developed in the city with the help of Aberdeen based FortyTwo agency.

We are proud & excited to represent Aberdeen in the Scottish Gin Awards and while we warmly wish all entrants the best of luck - we hope to bring this one home for Aberdeen. 😉