The ‘Gin of the Year’ award has been running for a number of years and has recently been joined by the ‘Rum of the Year’ award and ‘RTD of the Year’.
Results from previous years can be found in the menu dropdown.
Any other updates can be found below.
Watch this space for announcements about 2024 Competitions
Awards
1st November 2022Awards / BlogRTD of the Year 2022Whisky Cocktail – WINNER – Cocktails By Mail – Smoked Honey SourWhisky Cocktail – Highly Commended – Cocktails By Mail – Covfefe Martini
Gin and Tonic – WINNER – Adnams Copper House Gin and TonicGin and Tonic – Highly Commended – Chew Valley Distillery – Pink Grapefruit and Rosemary Gin and Skinny TonicGin and Tonic – Highly Commended – Mothers Ruin 1751 – Cornish Blue Gin and TonicGin and Tonic – Highly Commended – Spirit of One – One G&T Crisp Apple
Mojito – WINNER – Tom Savano – Mojito
Gin Ready To Drink – WINNER – Conker – Gin & JuiceGin Ready To Drink – Highly Commended – Brighton Gin – Brighton Raspberry Crush
RTD – Highly Commended – Oyester – Maritime Hard Seltzer Tropical PunchRTD – Highly Commended – 58 & Co – Gin Hard Seltzer Pink GrapefruitRTD – Highly Commended – Michael Hunneygen-Henry & Tom Okello – The Potion by Potion Universe
Gin Cocktail Ready To Serve – WINNER – Hernö – Word!Gin Cocktail Ready To Serve – Highly Commended – Hernö – MartinezGin Cocktail Ready To Serve – Highly Commended – World of Zing – Saffron & Rose Gimlet
Mai Tai – WINNER – Distil + Fill – Mai TaiMai Tai – Highly Commended – Tom Savano – Mai Tai
RTS Margarita – WINNER – Deano Moncrieffe – Mirror MargaritaRTD Margarita – WINNER – Tom Savano – Margarita
Martini – WINNER – Puddingstone Spirits – Campfire MartiniMartini – Highly Commended – Sacred Spirits – Dry Martini
Negroni – WINNER – Sacred Spirits – Bottle Aged NegroniNegroni – Highly Commended – 137 Distillery – Navy Royal NegroniNegroni – Highly Commended – World of Zing – Bordeaux Cask Aged NegroniNegroni – Highly Commended – Atom Labs – Jaffa Cake Negroni [...]
4th July 2022Awards / Blog / CompetitionsThe Crafdi Craft Distilling Expo is excited to announce the launch of its inaugural Ready To Drink / Ready To Serve (RTD/RTS) competition, following on from the success of “Rum of the Year” and “Gin of the Year” competitions.
The competition is free to enter for UK and EU producers, although entrants will be responsible for all costs associated with shipping and customs, including all fees, duties and taxes, etc…
The competition is split into two parts:
Ready to Drink (RTD) of the Year
This is for drinks (most of which will be canned) that are designed to be consumed straight from their packaging/container. Examples include:
Hard SeltzersGin & TonicsSpirits & MixersOther cocktails and mixed drinks (typically of an ABV below 12%)
Ready to Serve (RTS) of the Year
This is for products, such as bottled cocktails, which are not designed to be consumed directly from the container, but rather need to be prepared in some way, e.g. be stirred over ice, put in the freezer, etc., before being served in a glass. Examples include:
Bottled Old Fashioned, Manhattan, SazeracPre-mixed Negroni, Dry MartiniOther cocktails (typically with an ABV over 18% ABV)
The deadline for entry and receipt of samples is Tuesday 16th August 2022.
For Ready to Drink products, a minimum of 4 are required (bottles or cans). For Ready to Serve products, a minimum of 400ml is needed.
To enter, complete the form below, which will give you full instructions. Please note. You will need to complete and send the form with your submission.
Results will be announced at The Craft Distilling Expo Live on Friday 7th October 2022.
Entry Form [...]
26th February 2022Awards / Resources / Rum of the Year / SpiritsChair of Judges Peter Holland of The Floating Rum Shack and competition organiser David T Smith discuss (and taste through) the results of the 2020 Rum of the Year and discuss their thoughts about the current state of the UK rum scene as well as what 2021 holds.
0:00 Start 3:00 Why Rum of the Year? The Categories 11:50 – Unaged Rum of the Year – Unconventional Distillery – Opus 20:30 – Aged Rum of the Year – Cotswolds 28:05 – Blended Rum of the Year – Isle of Wight Distillery – HMS Victory Rum 34:35 – Botanical Rum of the Year – English Spirit Distillery – Sir Ranulph Fiennes Great British Rum 46:00 – Spiced Rum of the Year – Portsmouth Distillery – Cinnabar 50:03 – Flavoured Rum of the Year – Loaded Spirits – Greedy Fox (Honeycomb and Caramel) 55:00 – Concluding Remarks (and a dreadful cracker joke) [...]
26th February 2022Awards / Resources / Rum of the Year / SpiritsChair of Judges Peter Holland (The Floating Rum Shack) and competition organiser David T Smith (Summerfruitcup / Rum of the Year) discuss some of the white rums entered in the competition and the white rum category in general. [...]
26th February 2022Awards / Resources / Rum of the Year / SpiritsChair of Judges Peter Holland (The Floating Rum Shack) and competition organiser David T Smith (Summerfruitcup / Rum of the Year) discuss the emerging category of Botanical rums. this was a new category for Rum of the year and six varieties entered. The talk covers questions such as “what is botanical rum?” as well as a tasting through some great examples.
0:00 Start 3:30 What is Botanical Rum 06:15 Salcombe Whitestrand 12:00 Scratch Botanical Rum 19:20 Portsmouth’s Forum Garden Rum 25:30 Brixton Distillery’s Market Row 31:08 Unconventional Distillery with Pioneer 38.17 English Spirit Distillery with Sir Ranulph Fiennes Great British Rum 45:00 Mixing with Botanical Rums and General comments about UK Rum industry [...]