Trophy for NZ’s Vicar’s Son at Australian Gin Awards
New Zealand boutique gin distiller The Vicar’s Son has won the Trophy for Best Contemporary Gin at the Australian Gin Awards 2023.
It is the first time a New Zealand distillery has won a Trophy in this competition, which is run by the Australian Gin Distillers Association and is in its sixth year.
The award went to The Vicar’s Son ‘Good Place’ Gin, which beat around 200 other entries in the Contemporary Class - the largest class in the competition.
The winning gin was created by Lucie Hrdina and distilled by her partner, Stewart Martel. They co-founded the distillery three years ago, which is still located in their garage in Point Chevalier, Auckland.
Vicar’s Son Gin is believed to be the smallest grain to glass distillery in the world. Each batch is made from scratch from barley and then distilled to a maximum of nine bottles. The couple says their goal is to be considered by their customers to be one of the best distilleries in New Zealand.
“Australian Gins are considered to be amongst the world’s best,” said Stewart Martel, “so to be acknowledged in Australia with this Trophy is a dream come true.”
Their winning “Good Place” gin features cocoa and mandarin. It scored a total of 48 out of a maximum 50 points. The judges noted it had: “Bold and well balanced juniper. This gin presents a great mix of botanicals in a contemporary fashion.”
The Vicar’s Son gins are available direct through the distillery.