Page 33 - IWSCReport2017

UK GIN PRODUCER OF THE YEAR, SPONSORED BY
THE GIN GUILD:
ATOM BRANDS
Atom Brands seems to be going from strength to strength. Flying the flag for craft spirits, Atom Brands’ primary focus is on producing drinks using the best quality ingredients.
The Tunbridge Wells-based business owns drinks brands including Ableforth’s Bathtub Gin, a bold, juniper-led expression made using the traditional method of cold compounding and sealing the bottle in a brown paper wrapper with black wax.
Another of its clever in-house creations is That Boutique-y Gin Company, which specialises in small-batch gins with bags of character, from Moonshot Gin, which is made with botanicals that have been sent into space (yes, really), chocolate-orange gin, cherry gin, and its newest addition – spit-roasted pineapple gin. Not only are the contents of the bottles intriguing, the labels are equally eye-catching. The producer picked up a slew of medals this year, including a Gold Outstanding medal for its cask-aged, navy-strength Bathtub Gin, Port Ellen Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 33YO and Swedish Rose Gin, a collaboration between Hernö and That Boutique-y Gin Company, which also took home this year’s London Dry Gin Trophy.
Also on its books is 1897 Quinine Gin, which is made using cinchona bark – the natural and traditional source of quinine, and Origin Gin, a range that explores the impact of terroir on the aroma and flavour profile of gin. Each batch comes from a different location, such as Apecchio in Italy and Pejë in Kosovo.
Part of Atom Supplies Ltd, the same company that owns online spirits store Master of Malt and spirits distributor Maverick Drinks, Atom Brands developed from Master of Malt in 2010 when the company decided to add non-whisky- based spirits to its in-house portfolio.
BRANDY PRODUCER OF THE YEAR TROPHY:
KWV
Founded in 1918, South Africa’s KWV started out as a small co- operative of growers and has since grown to become a global producer of more than 100 products spanning both wine and spirits. However, it is in the production of brandy that its reputation was first built on.
Currently, it produces nine expressions of brandy including KWV 3 years, KWV 5 years, KWV 10 years, KWV 12 years, KWV 15 years, KWV 20 years, Imoya, KWV Héritage XO Cognac and KWV Nexus, all distilled using copper pot stills and aged in French oak barrels. KWV Nexus, KWV’s top-of-the- range expression, is a 30-year-old, small-batch brandy bottled in a hand-blown glass decanter crafted by local artisans.
The producer is known for its famous Cathedral Cellar, which is one of the largest of its kind in the world. Officially opened in 1930 and restored in 2005, the cellar has a barrel-vaulted
roof and stained-glass windows with carved wooden vats lining the sides.
Last year KWV was sold to global investment group Vasari Global, who acquired a 57% majority stake from its former owner Hosken Consolidated Investments for 1.15 billion rand. Vasari, which is headed by Vivian Imerman, owns brands such as Scotch whisky producer Whyte & Mackay, Del Monte Royal Foods and Ethiopian brewer Dashen Brewery.
As well as its brandy, KWV also produces Cruxland Gin, Poncho Tequila, Republic Rum and Doubs
Absinthe, as well as wine brands including
Roodeberg, Cathedral Cellar and Pearly Bay.
Brandy Producer shortlist
 KWV
 Distilleria Marzadro Spa  Miguel Torres
 Distell
 Bodegas Fundador
 Louis Royer SA
UK Gin Producer shortlist
 Atom Brands
 Diageo Plc
 Soul Spirits
 Warner Edwards Distillery  Manchester Gin
 City of London Distillery
32 winners’ guide 2017