This year’s competition sees the number of international entries rise from 13 to 30 entries since 2018, while entries in the local gin category increased from 74 to 80 in 2019.
It was down to the panel of judges comprised of Louis Janse van Rensburg (aka The Bearded Gin Guy), Msizi James (5FM radio presenter), Amanda du Pont (actress, model, TV presenter), and Tiso Blackstar’s magazine supplement publisher, Aspasia Karras, to decide which four products in each category would be shortlisted for public tasting.
• Beefeater (James Burrough Ltd)
• Drumshanbo Gunpowder Irish Gin (The Shed Distillery)
• No 3 London Dry Gin (Berry Bros & Rudd)
• Roku Japanese Gin (Osaka Distillery)
• Geometric Gin (Geometric Drinks)
• Ginifer Joburg Dry Gin (Angel Heart Distillery)
• Monks Mysterium (Monks Distillery)
• The Prospector (Unit 34 Distilling Company)
The shortlisted finalists will be showcased at blind-tasting events to be held at the following Makro stores on Saturday, 26 October 2019, where consumers can taste and vote for their favourites:
• Woodmead Makro
• Strubensvalley Makro
• Silver Lakes Makro
• Cornubia Makro
• Montague Gardens Makro
The winner in each category will be awarded a winner’s trophy, along with R250,000 worth of advertising space in the Sunday Times, ST Lifestyle, and Sowetan – reaching more than 2,1 million South African readers. All the finalists will be invited to an Awards event that will be held in Cape Town on 8 November 2019.
