Bitter sweet victory
STANTHORPE’S Cedric Millar is, by no stretch of the imagination, the “king” of distilled spirits and liqueurs.
Now, his newest accolade proves his reign stretches past his Granite Belt Distillery, Castle Glen, to the rest of the country, having taken out a national gold medal for his Aromatic Vitters at the Australian Distilled Spirits Awards.
Mr Millar has built his business from the ground up, from constructing the castle himself to crafting his own range of liqueurs, beers, ciders and wines.
Castle Glen is one of the Granite Belt’s most “unique” attraction, and has now gained national recognition for its outstanding work.
The distillery’s new steam driven still is one of the largest in Queensland and reduces the time it takes to produce a 200 litre drum of spirit from five days to five hours.
They aren’t new to the awards scene, according to co-owner and director Carol-Anne Millar.
“We first entered in the ADSA in 2015 and we proved the excellence of our products right from the beginning when we took out the highest award, Gold Medal and Champion Liqueur for our ‘Pecan & Hazelnut Liqueur’, and we were even named a Finalist in the Distiller of the Year Award,” Mrs Millar said.
“In 2016 Castle Glen we again scored a big win with a Gold Medal and Champion Liqueur for our ‘Golden Knight’ – Peppermint Schnapps with 23kt Gold Flakes”.
Mrs Millar said 10 out of the 12 products they submitted in the competition were award.
The doors are open to visitors to Castle Glen Australia seven days a week.