All in good spirits at tasting table
It’s a tough job, but 25 top tasters from across New Zealand and beyond our shores have gathered in Auckland this week to judge the New Zealand Spirits Awards.
Now in its fourth year, the competition has grown by 36 per cent from 2021 with 485 entries across 15 categories.
Claire Filer heads the judging for the light spirits category and has flown from London, where she is pursuing a career in opera, and where she learned to love gin.
“For me gin is a biome: it encapsulates the environment using the botanicals in the spirit,” she said.
“When you’re drinking a gin, you really are tasting a different country or a different environment and that’s why it’s such an interesting spirit.”
Filer has 245 gins to taste, with 185 from local distilleries.
“New Zealand is experiencing a gin boom at the moment with plenty of new distilleries opening all the time.”
A good gin has an enticing nose, a lovely texture or mouth-feel, a complex yet balanced botanical profile and a great finish, Filer said.
Covid was expected to have a large and negative impact on the awards.
But Distilled Spirits Aotearoa chairwoman Dr Sue James said, “We are delighted and happily amazed at the number of entries this year.
“With the impact of Covid on business and the wider sector we had tempered our expectations a little but I guess this shows the resilience — and the continued growth — of the spirits industry in New Zealand.”
Since 2017, gin production has increased 83 per cent, with 250,511 litres flowing from local distilleries.
But it’s not all about gin. Whisky, vodka, cognac and rum have all been sipped, swilled and spat out by the master distillers, bloggers, scientists, and hospitality operators who make up the judging panels. The blindtasting was aided by a special menu that cleansed the palate and avoided strong flavours to enable the judges to gain the most from the drinks.
The medal winners will be announced on May 12 and the trophies for the best spirits will be awarded at a gala dinner on June 10.
“We’ve tasted a wide range of gins today,” Filer said.
“There have been some absolute standouts.”