The Gin Cooperative, a Scottish business that was established in 2017 to help gin drinkers discover, explore and learn more about Scottish Gin, has just launched a new Scottish Gin industry awards programme.
The Gin Cooperative Awards will bring together judges from across the spirits and hospitality industry, along with consumers and writers and bloggers from the gin community, to judge Scotland’s exciting and diverse gin industry.
With a minimum of 60 judges - 20 industry, 20 consumer and 20 gin community, each entry into the competition will be judged by a minimum of 9 judges, looking at taste neat, taste as a gin and tonic and packaging.
Natalie Reid, co-founder of The Gin Cooperative said, “As a business, we’ve continued to look at ways of how we can connect consumers with Scotland’s gin makers and brands through our website and content.
"The Gin Cooperative Awards is another format for us to showcase the Scottish Gin industry with a carefully considered judging process that not only looks at how gin tastes neat but how it works with tonic and how it’s presented in the bottle.
"We want our awards programme to really reflect how gin is purchased and consumed - most consumers buy with their eyes initially and drink the spirit with tonic."
The judging panel brings together award-winning mixologists including Max Hayward from Lab 22 in Cardiff, which was recently voted number one in the UK’s Top 50 Cocktail bars list and Cameron Attfield, Diageo Reserve's World Class Bartender of the Year 2019.
Other judges include Eleonora Biason, who is head bartender for the gin bar at the prestigious The Holburn Dining Room, London.
Joining her is Tony Pert is the GM at The Jolly Botanist in Edinburgh along with GM for the PG Taverns group of venues, and Chris Jarrett, Bar Ops Manager for Pollocks Pub Co.
Martin Reid, Co-Founder of The Gin Cooperative said, “We’ve set out to create an awards programme for Scottish Gin based on years of discussions with gin producers, consumers and others across the world of Scottish spirits.
"We’ve always seen value and championed the likes of The Scottish Gin Awards and The Gin Guide Awards, both excellent awards programmes that add value to the brands taking part and see how awards programmes can help gin producers.
"We believe The Gin Cooperative Awards will add value to the brands who enter and provide a platform for celebrating and showcasing the entries, connecting consumers and industry, and creating unique opportunities to highlight the winners.”
With a new awards section on The Gin Cooperative website, brands wishing to enter can do so through the online entry form, with a closing date of 12 noon on the 17th of June 2022.
