These two Australian distilleries won big at the 2024 Gin Masters

Victorian gin producers Four Pillars and Naught Distilling have each been awarded two Masters trophies, the top accolade available at The Spirits Business 2024 Gin Masters competition. On top of this, Four Pillars was also awarded five gold medals and Naught Distilling was awarded two, half of Australia's total gold medal tally count of 14.

Four Pillars received Masters trophies for its Olive Leaf Gin and for its Spiced Negroni Gin and Naught Distilling for its Classic Dry Gin and Overproof Gin. The first of the two, Olive Leaf, was described as being “moreish with big bursts of flavour.”

For Four Pillars, 2024 marks the third consecutive year in which it received a Masters trophy at the Gin Masters competition, which is regarded as one of the most highly esteemed spirits blind-tasting competitions annually. 

“Everyone knows my favourite drinks are Martinis and Negronis so I’m bloody thrilled these two have trumped the pack,” said Four Pillars’ Co-Founder and Head Distiller Cameron Mackenzie. 

“We always set out to make gins we love and these two are it.” 

In addition to its two Master trophies, Four Pillars also received five of Australia’s 14 gold medals for its Sticky Carpet Gin, Rare Dry Gin, Fresh Yuzu Gin, Whisky Barrel Gin and Bloody Shiraz Gin. also receiving gold medals was Archie Rose for its Signature Dry Gin and Bone Dry Gin, Naught Distilling for Australian Dry Gin and Sangiovese Gin, and supermarkets Coles Liquor and ALDI Australia for five of their own label products. This included Coles Liquor’s 1585 London Dry Gin, Pure Origin Tasmanian Gin and Pure Origin Tasmanian Pink Gin, along with ALDI Australia’s The Infusionist Creme Brûlée Flavoured Gin Liqueur and The Infusionist Chocolate and Roses Flavoured Gin Liqueur. 

The two ALDI Australia products were the only two gins in the Gin Liqueur category to receive gold medals and were described by the judges as “sweet but great fun – you can taste chocolate and roses.”

Ivy Woo, Founder of competing spirits competition the Spirits of Craft Awards (SOCraft), recently told Drinks Trade that “Australasia creates some of the most unique and diverse range of gins in the world right now.

“Distillers are especially savvy in making gins that reflect its locality: the rich cultural diversity, as well as the abundance of native ingredients across Australia, New Zealand and Asia,” she said.

It has been this tendency towards flavour innovation championing local botanicals that is underpinning the continued success of the global gin category, which grew by 4% last year.

Competitions such as the 2024 Gin Masters, which received 305 gins from 135 global producers, reflects the overall diversity of the sector. 

Drinks Trade recently caught up with Cameron Mackenzie to discuss Four Pillars’ current market positioning. The full conversation, which followed on from other recent major accolades such as receiving the top score of any gin in the world at the IWSC 2024 for its Barrel Aged Bloody Underhill Shiraz Gin, can be read in this Drinks Trade article.