The West Winds Gin Triumphant in New York

The West Winds Gin has taken a coveted Double Gold Medal in New York World Wine and Spirits competition, announced in New York overnight.

The win, for The West Winds Gin’s ‘The Broadside’ is further recognition of the unashamedly different and uniquely Australian gins being produced by the Tailor Made Spirits Company, based in Western Australia.

Released on World Gin Day in June 2014, this naval strength gin boasts a flavour profile that is a tribute to the region and the provenance of its ingredients. A combination of Margaret River sea salt, sea parsley and lemon myrtle is added to traditional botanicals to create a product for Australia’s sophisticated gin lovers that also honours the Margaret River area.

Paul White, distiller and CEO of the Tailor Made Spirits Company said of the win, “We have seen our other gins with double gold in San Francisco in 2011 and 2013, and now a win for our next gin in New York in 2014 is a fantastic result. This win tells us we are making gin that is world class, distinctive and beautiful, and it recognizes our approach to creating innovative and eciting flavour profiles that reflect our commitment to the Margaret River region and to the provenance of our products”.

Jason Chan, the palate behind The West Winds Gins said, “the double gold is validation of why we set out to make gin in the first place- to create artisanal gin that is individual, original and speaks to the bounty of produce available to us that represents the Margaret River region, and Australia more broadly. To see so many international awards and judges acknowledge the quality of our work is a wonderful result”.

The Broadside will be released under a new name for the Australian market late in 2014, a name that captures the essence of its Australian and Margaret River heritage.

The Broadside was the ultimate naval offensive tactic. Whilst the West Winds Gin folk don’t wish to be offensive, they did want to assert their flavours on the palate-salty, savoury and citrus notes all based on a naval strength gin. Navy-strength gins must be greater than or equal to 57% alcohol as the Royal British Navy stipulated that gunpowder could still be fired if 57% gin was accidently spilled on it. This was the same era when sir Thomas Desmond Gimlette, a Royal Navy doctor, invented the gimlet so sailors could mix gin with their daily lime ration to prevent scurvy.

About the New York World Wine and Spirits Competition
The New York World Wine and Spirits Competition is part of the Triple Crown of Wine and Spirits Competitions (the triple crown includes The San Francisco International Wine Competition and The San Francisco World Spirits Competition). It is one of the largest trade events for the food and beverage industry and has been running for 12 years attracting thousands of professionals from restaurants, bars and clubs, food and beverage buyers and professionals from throughout the United States and the world.

About the West Winds Gin
The West Winds Gin story began back in 2009 when James Clarke, and his mate, Paul ‘The Doctor’ White, hatched a plan over a long dinner to utilise the 150 litre pot still Paul had imported from Germany to make an Australian gin. Paul and James then teamed up with spirit industry identifies Jeremy Spencer (ex Brown Foreman and formerly of Woodford Reserve and Appleton Estate Rum)and his partner in crime Jason Chan (ex 42BELOW world cup champion and partner in Seamstress and the Greenhouse) and created The Tailor Made Spirits Company. Just a month after launching, they entered the 2011 San Francisco International Spirit Awards and won Double Gold for the West Winds Gin The Sabre- a feat that has placed them at the head of an emerging group of artisanal distillers from across both the old and new worlds. In 2003 they repeated their success in San Francisco, affirming their reputation as trailblazers in the world gin arena.

For Further information about the win, or to arrange images or interviews, please contact Pete Dillon, [email protected]

To read the full article please download the document below.