Smuggling Our Way To The Top At The Scottish Gin Awards
The Scottish Gin Awards have announced the best gins in Scotland in the form of their 2022 finalists and Smugglers Spirits are ecstatic to have made the list in 5 competitive categories!
Our flagship gin – Smugglers Gin – is nominated for Best London Dry Gin, while our Navy Strength Gin – Old Sins – is in the running for Best New Product Of The Year.
Furthermore, our Winter Gin is a finalist in the Best Festive Gin category while Smugglers Spirits is also a contender in the business categories of Excellence In Branding and Excellence In Packaging.
Our Marketing Manager Rory is pretty excited to hear the news!
The news is made all the more exciting since we will be joining 56 Scottish Gin Producers at the awards ceremony in November, celebrating the versatile, aromatic liquid we are all so passionate about.
Smugglers Spirits was established in Edinburgh in 2020 (a crazy time to create a brand we know) with the aim of smuggling small batch, hand crafted spirits perfect for versatile and unique homemade cocktail creations. Inspired by the Edinburgh spirit smugglers of old, we are a spirit brand inspired by the past, but looking towards the future with sustainability a key focus throughout the business, from supply chain to production to packaging.
Our range has recently expanded out from our fresh, citrusy London Dry – which gets its flavour from natural botanicals grown at the foot of the Pentland Hills, including lemon verbena and lemon balm, to include a Navy Strength, a festive gin, 3 flavoured gins and a vodka.
Our powerful and effervescent Navy Strength gin – Old Sins – is made with opium poppy seeds – a nod to those old spirit smugglers that inspire us and their “sins”. We have also brought 3 flavoured gins to the market – Strawberry, Orange and Raspberry – as well as our pure Scottish Vodka in the past few months.
Our partnership with Festival Village: Waverley, a popular bar on the rooftop of Edinburgh Waverley Station has helped Smugglers Spirits to become a more recognised brand in the city, all of which has led towards our gins’ recognition at the Scottish Gin Awards 2022.
The winners will be announced at a gourmet, gin-themed dinner on Thursday 10 November 2022 at the Glasgow Doubletree by Hilton Hotel. Our team are all extremely excited to be attending alongside some of the best gin brands in Scotland.
About the Scottish Gin Awards, which is in its 6th year, chairman of the awards and Head of Food and Drink at Johnston Carmicheal Adam Hardie said,
“The Scottish Gin Awards 2022 is a great opportunity to celebrate the many accomplishments of our industry over the last 12 months. To be named a finalist is a massive achievement, especially given the challenges of the last 2 and a half years and shows the true resilience and innovation of our industry. We look forward to welcoming you all to the Scottish Gin Awards dinner in Glasgow in November - the best party ever in the awards calendar!”
Smugglers Spirits Director Simon Keane is thrilled with the news, commenting:
“It is an honour and such a fantastic feeling to be recognised as finalists in such an esteemed competition as the Scottish Gin Awards, alongside some true giants of gin. It’s great to know that the judges not only enjoyed the taste of our gins, but also appreciated the time and thought we put into our packaging and branding. Especially since we are a relatively new brand, the recognition that comes with being Scottish Gin Awards finalists is invaluable to us, and we are looking forward to where we take Smugglers Spirits in the future.”
The Scottish Gin Awards is one of the UK’s most comprehensive and highly regarded gin competitions as it assesses both taste and business performance. A 41-strong judging panel consists of some of the UK’s foremost experts in gin distilling and running gin businesses.
Find out what all the fuss is about and head to our shop to check out our delicious lemony London Dry, or get ready for Christmas early with a bottle of our spicy Winter Gin - one of the best Christmas gins in Scotland!