CALGARY — Three Alberta craft distilleries have won Best in Country at the World Gin Awards in back-to-back years and have received more awards than any other Canadian province. Last Best Brewing & Distilling, Gnu Craft Spirits and Anohka Distillery each earned several awards in 2023, dominating Canada’s prestigious London Dry category and taking home Best in Country awards in the Contemporary and London Dry categories.
The World Gin Awards are blind tasted and scored on aroma, flavour, finish and other elements. More than 30 countries are represented, with the top winner from each earning a chance at the title of World’s Best Gin in their respective categories.
The complete list of World Gin Awards includes:
Last Best Brewing & Distilling
- Afterglow – Contemporary Style Gin, country winner and gold winner 2023, country winner 2022
- First Love – London Dry, silver 2023, gold 2022
- Fortunella – Classic Gin, bronze 2023, 2022
Gnu Craft Spirits
- The Gnu Normal – London Dry, country winner and gold 2023, bronze 2022
Anohka Distillery
- Tempest Dry Gin – London Dry, silver 2023, country winner and gold 2022
- Timeless Dry Gin – Contemporary Style Gin, silver 2023
“Recognition at the World Gin Awards, especially sweeping the London Dry category, shows the high quality of talent within Alberta. This sets the stage for a promising local industry,” says Gurpreet Ranu, owner and master distiller of Anohka Distillery.
“Lots of hard work before we even arrived in the Alberta craft spirits sector made it possible for the little guys like us to succeed. So many great products are coming out now and it’s exciting to be recognized as one of the best,” says Darren Scott, co-founder of Gnu Craft Spirits.
“Making great gin is not easy. Creativity allows the distiller to think big and be expressive, but balancing all the flavours takes skill and restraint,” says Last Best Brewing & Distilling’s master distiller, Bryce Parsons. “With the rise in cocktails over the past decade, gin shines. It’s a versatile spirit where each gin adds its own unique influence to any cocktail.”
