Raising a glass to NZ spirits

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 light spirits and has flown in from London for the awards. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Claire Filer heads the judging for the light spirits category and has flown all the way 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."

All entries are blind-tasted. Photo / Brett Phibbs

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 up all the time," she said.

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.

There are 25 judges this year, up from 20 in 2021. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Covid was expected to have a large and negative impact on the awards. However, things turned out a little differently.

"We are delighted and happily amazed at the number of entries this year," said Dr Sue James, Distilled Spirits Aotearoa Chairwoman. "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.

485 entries across the full range of spirits are being judged. Photo / Brett Phibbs

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 blind-tasting was aided by a special menu that cleansed the palette and avoided strong flavours to enable the judges to gain the most from the drinks. Even tea and coffee were banned.

A special menu was served that avoided strong flavours. Tea and coffee were banned. Photo / Brett Phibbs

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," said Filer. "There have been some absolute standouts."