LESS than a year after launching Magpie Distilling, boutique gin makers Geoff and Nikki Drummond have taken home two silver medals at the annual London Spirits Competition.
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The craft distillery nestled in the Upper Hunter at Murrurundi was launched in May last year, and offers a variety of spirits, including their flagship gin, the Murrurundi Dry Gin, which won a silver at the leading international spirits competition held in London on March 17.
Their Songbird Gin, with notes of pomegranate and cinnamon, also scored a silver medal.
Magpie Distilling's Nikki Drummond said their gins scored highly in the three judging aspects of quality, value and packaging.
"The extremely qualified judges, the chance to compete against thousands of excellent spirits from around the world and the stringent judging criteria of quality, value and packaging makes an award from the London Spirits Competition one to be coveted," she said.
"We are absolutely delighted that two of our gin products performed so well at the competition.
"These silver medals demonstrate that the spirits we are producing are of the quality that bar managers and mixologists want to stock, and more importantly, that our customers enjoy drinking."
Judged by leading spirits industry professionals, the spirits are scored on a 100-point scale. Spirits that scored 90 or more points are awarded gold medals, while spirits that scored 76 to 89 points are awarded silver medals. Bronze medals are awarded to spirits that score between 65 and 75.
In Magpie Distilling's opening year, they were awarded gold and bronze medals at the Australian Gin Awards.
Former Sydney-siders Nikki and Geoff have made Murrurndi home, and described the "inspiring" Upper Hunter as the perfect launching pad for their first attempt at commercial gin making.