Four Pillars in Yarra Valley named world’s best international gin producer
A Yarra Valley distillery has been crowned the world’s best gin producer at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition in London overnight.
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A Yarra Valley gin distillery has been crowned the world’s best.
Healesville’s Four Pillars has been named the 2019 International Gin Producer of the Year at the prestigious International Wine and Spirit Competition.
Co-founder and distiller Cam Mackenzie received the award at a gala ceremony held in London overnight.
“To win this award, on the eve of our sixth birthday is really, truly, bloody incredible,” Mackenzie said.
“When we started making test batches of gin back in 2012 we never in our maddest, wildest dreams thought this could happen so quickly. To say that I am in a state of disbelief would be vastly understating the true state of my disbelief.”
The IWSC is the world’s largest and most prestigious international competition for spirits with more than 3000 entries annually.
Four Pillars is the first Australian distillery to win the award, which is in recognition of the distillery’s leading role in the world of gin.
“This award is not for a single one of our gins but for the whole of our gin business and that’s what makes it so incredibly special,” Mackenzie said.
Founded in 2013 by Mackenzie, drinks industry veteran Stuart Gregor and creative brand strategist Matt Jones who remain at the helm of the business, Japanese drinks giant Lion (a subsidiary of Kirin) acquired a 50 per cent partnership in Four Pillars in April this year.
Four Pillars now produces around 600,000 bottles of gin annually from its Healesville distillery, which are sold in more than 30 markets around the world.
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