Stirling Distillery are celebrating after being awarded two prestigious Great Taste Awards recognising two of their bestselling gins. Their nettle-based classic gin and their forget-me-not infused Gin Blue Line gin were both successful in the 2022 awards.
Great Taste is the largest and most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme. It supports and promotes producers, large and small, giving buyers and food lovers reliable recommendations for great tasting food and drink. More than 14,000 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process and Stirling managed to bag two awards.
Stirling’s hand bottled and hand waxed craft gins are made in the historic ‘Old Smiddy’ distillery in the shadow of Stirling Castle. Their flagship product – Stirling’s classic nettle infused Gin – was recognised for its enticing aroma. Judges said: “It has a pleasant mix of delicate citrus and spice characters. We loved the fresh juniper and citrus notes. It’s a very smooth and delicate gin, ideal for sipping, and it opens up nicely with a tonic.”
Their most recently release gin, Gin Blue Line, was created by the distillery to raise money for police officers, both past and present, who suffer with PTSD. 20% of profits go to Police charity PTSD999. Made with thoughtfully selected botanicals including forget-me-nots, Scottish heather, sage and kaffir lime leaves, the Great Taste judges enjoyed the gin, commenting: “Floral on the nose, this is a sweet and complex gin that mixes well with tonic. The finish is hot and peppery. A good traditional, classic gin with well combined botanicals”. Speaking further about the charity gin, Great Taste said “There’s a gentle, floral character on the palate, quite distinctive. An ice cube in the glass really elevates the sage – a firm, floral, quite complex G&T.”
Cameron McCann, co-founder of the distillery said:
“We are really proud of our range of products at the distillery, created with locally sourced ingredients and celebrating Stirlingshire’s rich history. To receive a Great Taste award acknowledging the quality of our products really is the icing on the cake”.
Co-founder June McCann highlighted the value of these awards for independent businesses:
“As a small family business, recognition from Great Taste means the world to us. We hope it will encourage more people to try our range of gins and put Stirling on the map!”
Both winning products are available to buy from the Distillery shop, located in the shadow of Stirling Castle, or online at www.stirlingdistillery.com.
