No8 Distillery has received medals from a panel of high-profile spirits industry judges. The Absinthe and Horopito gins both won gold, and the distillery’s Moka gin scored highly to gain the silver medal. The gins had to rank high in three different categories - Quality, Value and Packaging - in order to take home a medal in the competition.
Winning a medal at the USA Spirits Ratings Competition is not only an ultimate seal of approval. Still, it has also shown that No8 Distillery produces high-quality spirits with a broad consumer appeal.
One of the guiding principles of the USA Spirits Ratings competition is that all spirits that receive medals in the competition should be those that consumers actually want to buy, whether it is shopping for a spirit at a retail liquor store or ordering a spirit from a bar menu. As a result, the USA Spirits Ratings competition has created an entirely new 100-point rating system that considers three different criteria (Quality, Value and Packaging) rather than just spirit-making technique or overall taste.
In order to receive an Absinthe of the Year title and gold medal at the USA Spirits Ratings competition, a spirit needs to score 96 points. No8 Distillery’s Horopito Gin scored 90 points, and the Moka Gin scored 86 points.
Owner and distiller, Julien Delavoie, said that it was an extremely exciting achievement.
“It is important to us, especially because of our French family, that the Absinthe scored so highly on the various factors that determine the drinkability of a spirit. We really put a lot of emphasis on creating a spirit with broad consumer appeal and one that spirit drinkers would enjoy for a variety of different occasions. This award is really a validation of our spirit-making expertise.”
CEO and Founder of Beverage Trade Network, Sid Patel, emphasised the importance of finding spirits that score highly across all three categories rather than just one.
"We feel that it offers a broad, comprehensive approach to evaluating spirits the same way that consumers and trade buyers do,” said Patel.
"Increasingly, consumers are thinking of spirits as brands, just like they would of any other product they find in the supermarket. That's why it was so important to include Packaging and Presentation as key judging criteria - it means that the spirit is being created with a specific type of customer or demographic in mind."
The judging panel included spirits industry professionals with commercial buying expertise. It also included professionals from leading retail chains, wholesalers, distributors, specialty retailers and casual and fine dining establishments.
The inclusion of so many high-profile judges ensured that spirits that were awarded medals in the competition were those with a high degree of commercial appeal.
