Whitetail delight at silver in just second year

A Scots firm is celebrating after being awarded a Silver medal in the London Gin Super Premium category at the International Spirits Challenge (ISC) 2019 – in just its second year.

Whitetail Gin were delighted, as the ISC is regarded to be the most respected and sought after in the drinks industry, due to the stringent nature of the judging process.

Whitetail Gin passed a scrupulous blind tasting by a world renowned expert panel of specialist judges to beat strong competition to win the prestigious accolade of silver in this hotly contensted and overwhelmingly subscribed category.

Whitetail Spirits, a family-owned business based on the Isle of Mull and only in its second year or trading, uses seasonal botanicals found on the Isle including kelp from the sea-loch, pine and heather, to create its distinctive strong and smooth taste – representing the power and grace of the Isle’s eagle name-sake.

Awards organiser Justin Smith said: ‘This ISC grows every year, with producers entering a diverse mix of spirits from across the globe who are looking to benchmark their spirit at the very highest level.’

Co-founder Jamie Munro says: “Winning a Silver Medal in such a commanding and high-level category such as the Super Premium London Category provides my family and I with immense pride and satisfaction.

‘Utilising and tapping into the knowledge of industry-great Charles Maxwell for the development of Whitetail Gin has been paramount to our quality of spirit. 2019 is already an exciting year for us as we open our micro-distillery here at our family home on the island which will be only the second, and the first new distillery site on Mull in over 220 years!’

Now in its 24th year, the ISC is the premier event in promoting outstanding quality spirits from across the globe.

The competition is founded on a rigorous and independent judging process, which serves to encourage the high calibre of spirits and designs entered into the competition each year. Receiving more than 1,700 entries from nearly 70 countries worldwide, the ISC is a truly global competition. It is supported by many of the world’s leading spirits producers as the international standard for quality and excellence.

For the Tasting Awards, a highly controlled operation is held over 15 days of intense blind tastings by panels f more than 50 respected and experienced industry professionals. Samples are delivered to the judging area in flights of numbered tasting glasses to ensure the accuracy of the blind tasting. Each judge assesses products according to their age, region and variety which is then determined by the entrant and verified by the chairman.

Full results have been released and published on the International Spirits Challenge (ISC) website, with the full list of medal winners to be published in the ISC annual results magazine in August.