This PH Gin Got ‘Best’ and ‘Gold’ in World Gin Awards 2019’s First Round of Winners  

The World Gin Awards is a global award-giving body that selects the best in all internationally recognized styles of gin. Every year various gins from all over the globe send in their entries with hopes of getting a prestigious title in any of the different gin style categories.

Each gin sent to World Gin Awards is categorized and tasted in its relevant style to identify and select the style winners. The Taste categories include Classic Gin, Compound Gin, Contemporary Style Gin, Flavoured Gin, Genever, London Dry Gin, Matured Gin, Navy Gin, Old Tom Gin, and Signature Botanical. There’s also another category geared towards design and packaging.

This year World Gin Awards received over 400 gin entries from 31 different countries. The taste judging is held in three rounds. During the first round in London, all these bottles were blindly tasted by 12 international judges which included leading journalists, specialist drinks retailers, and industry experts. Awards are graded into gold, silver, and bronze honors. Brands that received the highest points were awarded ‘Best’ in their category and then accorded their country designation.

Last January 10, 2019, World Gin Awards announced the first round of country winners and Philippine’s Archipelago Botanical Gin or ARC, the flagship product of Laguna-based Full Circle Craft Distillers Co., bagged ‘Best’ under Contemporary Style Gin category while its aged Archipelago Barrel Reserve Gin got the ‘Gold’ honor in the Matured Gin category. These PH gins will then move on to the second round of the judging competing against Australia, Belgium, Canada, Brazil, UK, and Spain among others.

Handcrafted artisanal ARC Gin is the brainchild of Full Circle Distillers’ co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Matthew Westfall. Their distillery in Calamba, Laguna boasts of its custom-crafted CARL copper pot still from Germany used by many of the world’s most renowned gin distillers. ARC Botanical Gin uses 28 exotic botanicals, 22 of which are a blend of exotic botanicals foraged from across the Philippines. The Archipelago Barrel Reserve uses the original flagship gin aged in 225-liter medium long toasted American Oak barrels.

ARC Gin launched in the Philippines middle part of 2018, and it has been slowly getting traction and recognition in the local and international cocktail industry. Last November 2018, Full Circle Distillers bagged the title “Philippines Distillery of the Year,” and awarded a Silver Medal for ARC Botanical Gin, at the prestigious Asia International Spirits Competition in Hong Kong.

On February 21, World Gin Awards will announce the ‘Best’ gin in each category including the winner of the 2019 World’s Best Gin at the Gin Magazine Awards Dinner in London. Catch the announcement in www.worldginawards.com. View the full list of the country winners on this link.

ARC Gins are available locally at www.winedepot.com.ph.