At Dan Murphy’s second annual Decoded Spirits Awards, 19 winners were chosen from more than 457 entries, with gin and agave being stand-out categories.
Dan Murphy’s spirits assistant category manager and Decoded Spirits judge Dom Patterson said this year’s awards were all about ‘ditching the jargon’ and serving the best spirits from around the world.
“We are delighted to see the Decoded Spirits Awards enter their second year, as they are an important way to continue to demystify what is an exciting, yet sometimes overwhelming category for our customers.”
“While all this year’s winning products represent exceptional value for money, it is fantastic to be able to showcase the best value options within each judging category too, so there really are options to suit all tastes and budgets,” said Patterson.
Australian Gins remain extremely popular with customers, and the category is well-represented by products from right across the country. This year saw a 50 per cent increase in the number of Australian Gins submitted for judging.
The award for the Australian gin category was taken out by Seven Seasons Green Ant Gin – a testament to the innovation of Australian distillers, using native botanicals and unique ingredients to stand out from the crowd. Tread Softly's Dry Gin was awarded as the value pick.
Seven Seasons founder and Indigenous food entrepreneur Daniel Motlop created Seven Seasons, a sustainable family business that passes down the knowledge of positive Aboriginal culture and traditional methods of harvesting.
“Our family is very honoured to win an amazing award especially within Australia. We started as a small harvesting business that wanted to help teach everyday Australians about the abundance of native foods we have right on our doorstep. Winning this award helps us showcase our amazing ingredients and our story of the seven seasons as well as the Green Ant Gin,” Motlop said.
The Australian whisky category also continues to grow, with sales up over 20 per cent on last year. The range of products submitted this year highlights the breadth of options now available to whisky enthusiasts across a range of price points. Lark Classic Cask Single Malt Australian Whiskey won the category, with 78 Degrees Australian Whiskey awarded the value pick.
The other notable category in this year’s awards was agave, won by Del Maguey Vida Mezcal. The category saw twice the number of submissions compared to last year.
“This reflects the growing number of options available across Blanco, Reposados and Anejos styles, as well as in the mezcal segment,” said Patterson.
Dan Murphy’s Decoded Wine Awards will also return this September for the fourth year in a row. A few months later than previous years, allowing judges access to newer vintages.
Dan Murphy’s managing director Agi Pfeiffer-Smith said the Decoded Awards were a key part of making options across all categories accessible for customers – and most importantly – easy for them to understand.
“As the Decoded Spirits Awards enter their second year, and the Decoded Wine Awards enter their fourth year, we are so pleased to be able to celebrate these categories, and the amazing suppliers who continue to make the drinks discovery journey exciting and enjoyable for our customers,” said Pfeiffer-Smith.
