St Agnes Distillery takes out Champion Australian Distiller at 2024 Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards
02 Aug 2024 / Spirits, Melbourne Royal News
Victoria Angove, Joint Managing Director, Angove Family Winemakers, St Agnes Distillery - Champion Australian Distiller
St Agnes Distillery takes out Champion Australian Distiller, whilst Backwoods Co Distillery claims Champion Victorian Distiller at 2024 Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards.
The 2024 Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards celebrated Australia's best spirits and distilleries, recognising their distilling excellence at the iconic Victoria Pavilion at Melbourne Showgrounds on Thursday, 1 August.
Celebrating 10 years in 2024, the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards is Australia’s first and largest national spirits competition highlighting the innovation and excellence of Australian-manufactured spirits, liqueurs, aromatics, vermouths and ready-to-serves.
With over 860 entries from over 220 exhibitors, a total of 50 expert judges deliberated on over 1,000 litres of exhibits from every state in the country.
Key trophy winners include South Australia’s St Agnes Distillery which won the prestigious title of Champion Australian Distiller, and Best Brandy. Yackandandah’s Backwoods Distilling Co clinched the title of Champion Victorian Distiller presented by Vic Grown, whilst Champion Victorian Gin presented by Agriculture Victoria was awarded to Macedon’s Travelling While Standing Still for their Australian Dry Gin, which also took out the trophy for Best London Dry Gin presented by StrangeLove.
The Awards’ newest category, Ready to Serve Cocktail or Pre-Mix welcomed over 50 entries, with the trophy awarded to Victoria’s Reed & Co Distillery for their Yuzu Chu-Hai.
As Australia’s leading national spirits competition, the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards offers exhibitors an unparalleled opportunity to benchmark products against industry standards through access to a critique and overview of their product from the best judges in the business.
Leigh Attwood & Bree Atwood, Co Founders, Backwoods Co Distillery - Champion Victoria Distiller
“The Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards was a fantastic success with distillers from all over the nation showcasing their passion and precision for crafting some of Australia’s best spirits,” said Darren Keating, Melbourne Royal Executive General Manager, Agriculture.
“We are grateful for the extraordinary support from the spirits industry and thank all distillers, judges, stewards, sponsors, and event staff for ensuring this prestigious event remains at the highest level.
“Winning a trophy or medal at the coveted Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards opens many commercial doors and inspires consumer trends, and I extend my congratulations to all winners of medals and trophies.”
To view the winners results online, visit melbourneroyal.com.au/spirits
Keith Smith, Co Founder, Travelling While Standing Still - Champion Victorian Gin