Australian Gin Awards 2026

Australia’s best
gin for 2026

Blackwattle Distilling Co. Dry Sydney Gin has been crowned Best in Show at the 2026 Australian Gin Distillers Association Gin Awards.
Scroll down to see all results.

Presentation night at ESTER

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2026 Australian Gin Awards Results

Chairman’s Report

It was a great pleasure to Chair another Australian Gin Awards season.

We had a team of six judges including myself this year. We have introduced some new judges from diverse backgrounds to add more depth and knowledge into the competition. it’s great to keep it evolving and have fresh minds and palettes.

Many thanks to our judges Charles Casben (Gin Events Ambassador), Alana House (Drinks Digest), Silvia Segato (Archie Rose), Scott Fitzsimons (Whisky Club), and Ally Ayres (Karu Distillery). We nosed, blind tasted, deliberated and commented on every entry into the competition over the week

Over the years since the competition, we’ve noticed that the quality and balance of Gins have become exponentially better, and this year was no exception. The entries were of a consistent standard across all categories from Classic, Contemporary, Old Tom, Matured, Navy strength, Flavoured and liqueurs with a gin base.

Overall, it was 138 medals awarded across the Gins presented (50 Bronze, 64 Silver, 24 Gold). All entries were assessed, marked and the best in category was chosen. Once this process is completed, we have a round table discussion with all judges and a tasting of the best in categories to determine the ‘Best in Show’. This is tough decision time because the gins are such high quality at this stage of elimination. There can only be one ‘Best in Show’ and it was so close this year between the final 7 Gins. It gives me great joy to announce that it was an Classic style Gin that was named ‘Best in Show” for 2026

Thank you to all who entered this year, and I hope you find the comments valuable to the point where you will enter again in 2027 with added enthusiasm.

Mikey Enright
Chairman, Australian Gin Awards 2026.

The Trophy Winners

BEST IN SHOW

Blackwattle Distilling Co.

Dry Sydney Gin

Rozelle, NSW

THE JUDGES WROTE:

Elegant nose, punchy juniper notes, silky mouthfeel possessing a long finish.

CLASS 1 – CLASSIC DRY GIN

BEST IN CLASS

Blackwattle Distilling Co.

Dry Sydney Gin

Rozelle, NSW

THE JUDGES WROTE:
Elegant nose, punchy juniper notes, silky mouthfeel possessing a long finish.

CLASS 2 – CONTEMPORARY STYLE GIN

BEST IN CLASS

Prohibition Liquor Co.

Original Gin

Adelaide, SA

THE JUDGES WROTE:
Great array of botanicals with a strong presence and direction. Well balanced gin from start to finish.

CLASS 3 – MATURED GIN

BEST IN CLASS

Willing Distillery

Port Barrel Rested Gin

Darwin, NT

THE JUDGES WROTE:
A forest of botanical complexity, of which oak plays a leading role. A near epitome of oak influenced gin, balancing perfumed sweetness, brightness and spice and being true to its category – rather than imitating another.

CLASS 5 – OVER-PROOF GIN

BEST IN CLASS

Never Never Distilling Co.

Southern Strength Gin

McLaren Vale, SA

THE JUDGES WROTE:
Very well-poised juniper, powerful and structured. Long finish, oily and balanced.

CLASS 6 – TRADITIONAL GIN LIQUERS

BEST IN CLASS

Sin Gin Distillery

Sloe Gin

Herne Hill, WA

THE JUDGES WROTE:
An elegant sloe gin. An excellent example of the class, worthy of a trophy.

CLASS 7 – FLAVOURED GIN

BEST IN CLASS

Never Never Distilling Co.

Ginache

McLaren Vale, SA

THE JUDGES WROTE:
Enjoyable layers of berry and cellar notes on the nose, with ABV and sweetness balanced well against botanical brightness. Good breadth of flavours in what’s a quintessential flavoured category gin.

Congratulations to all the trophy winners of the 2026 Australian Gin Awards

The Medal Winners

All medal winners are listed here in alphabetical order. Toggle to open.
Results and comments are mailed out at the end of September.

CLASS 1 - Classic Dry Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	STATE	MEDAL
Blackwattle Distilling Co.	Dry Sydney Gin	NSW	Trophy
Buderim Distilling Co	1862 London Dry	QLD	Gold
Bunker Distillery	Traditional Dry	NSW	Gold
Imperial Measures Distilling	Ounce Gin Bold	SA	Gold
Western Tiers Distillery	Dry’s Bluff Gin	TAS	Gold
Willing Distillery	Darwin Dry Gin	NT	Gold
BackDoor Distillery	Ocean Breeze Gin	NSW	Silver
Daylesford Spirit Distillery	Australian Dry Gin	VIC	Silver
Herbit Liquor	herbit G!N New Black	VIC	Silver
Herbit Liquor	herbit G!N Red Lantern	VIC	Silver
Sandymount Distillery	Lovers Leap Dry Gin	NZ	Silver
Sin Gin Distillery	Greed	WA	Silver
Tonalicious Spirit Co	Lucky 13	SA	Silver
4 Bars Distillery LTD	Gin Clear Day	NZ	Bronze
Bright Night Gin	Bright Night Wild Tasmanian Gin	VIC	Bronze
Hang 10 Distillery	Surfer’s Signature Gin	NSW	Bronze
Hold Fast Distillery	Dogs Watch	NSW	Bronze
Karu Distillery	Pourtrait Gin	NSW	Bronze
KC Distillery	Aussie Dry Gin	SA	Bronze
Lily Fields Distilling Co	Juniper Dry Gin	NSW	Bronze
Lizard Dragon Distillers	Utopia	WA	Bronze
Magnetic island Distillery	Wild Island Gin	QLD	Bronze
Majella Wines	A Simple Gin by Majella	SA	Bronze
Noosa Heads Distillery	Peter Phillips Gin	QLD	Bronze
Old Young’s	1829 Gin	WA	Bronze
Old Young’s	Gingin Gin	WA	Bronze
Prohibition Liquor Co.	Juniperus Gin	SA	Bronze
The Bluff Distillery	Bluff Distillery London Dry Gin	NZ	Bronze
Waterfalls Distillery	Workhorse Gin	NSW	Bronze

CLASS 2 - Contemporary Style Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	STATE	MEDAL
Prohibition Liquor Co.	Original Gin	SA	Trophy
Brunswick Aces	The Arborist No. 1 Myrtle Gin	VIC	Gold
Bunker Distillery	Zesty Bear Gin	NSW	Gold
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Citrus Dry	QLD	Gold
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Oriental Gin	QLD	Gold
Lizard Dragon Distillers	Old Man Salt Bush	WA	Gold
Never Never Distilling Co.	Oyster Shell Gin	SA	Gold
Phoenix Distilling Co.	Fine Gin	NSW	Gold
Willing Distillery	Kakadu Plum & Quandong Gin	NT	Gold
BackDoor Distillery	Any Time Gin	NSW	Silver
Banks and Bloom	Flux Gin	WA	Silver
Banks and Bloom	Signature Gin	WA	Silver
Blackmans Bay	Coastal Gin	TAS	Silver
Blackwattle Distilling Co.	Imperial Dry Gin	NSW	Silver
Blackwattle Distilling Co.	Resplendent Gin	NSW	Silver
Buderim Distilling Co	Seriously Citrus	QLD	Silver
Bunker Distillery	Rosie Fox Gin	NSW	Silver
Dacelo Distilling	The Gatherer	QLD	Silver
Falls Creek Distillery	Falls Creek Original Gin	VIC	Silver
Hang 10 Distillery	Baker’s Dozen Gin	NSW	Silver
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Lavender and Mountain Pepperberry	QLD	Silver
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Mango Gin	QLD	Silver
Imperial Measures Distilling	Ounce Gin Bright	SA	Silver
Juno Spirits	Juno Extra Fine Gin	NZ	Silver
Karu Distillery	Affinity Gin	NSW	Silver
Little Blessings Brewing	Blessed Blend Gin	SA	Silver
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Cairo	WA	Silver
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Colombo	WA	Silver
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Wild	WA	Silver
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Chai	WA	Silver
Old Young’s	Juniper Society F*ckEmAll	WA	Silver
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Naked	WA	Silver
Prohibition Liquor Co.	Adelaide Festival 2026	SA	Silver
Rakiura Distilling Company	Third Island Gin	NZ	Silver
Saint Juniper	Mediterranean Gin	NSW	Silver
Saint Juniper	Original Dry Gin	NSW	Silver
Saint Juniper	Red Lime Gin	NSW	Silver
Sinkhole Gin Pty Ltd	Blue Lake Contemporary Australian Gin	SA	Silver
Southern Wild Distillery	Dasher+Fisher Ocean Gin	TAS	Silver
The Rare Orchid Distilling Co.	Why Knot	QLD	Silver
The Rare Orchid Distilling Co.	Silent Nod	QLD	Silver
Western Tiers Distillery	Nells Bluff Gin	TAS	Silver
Wharf St. Distillery	Citrus Gin	NSW	Silver
Willing Distillery	Desert Lime Gin	NT	Silver
Blackwattle Distilling Co.	Chaperone Negroni Gin	NSW	Bronze
Bright Night Gin	Bright Night Wild Tasmanian Gin	VIC	Bronze
Budō Spirits	Budō Gin	NZ	Bronze
Coast Distillery	Latitude 16 Organic Gin	NSW	Bronze
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Apple and Raspberry Gin	QLD	Bronze
Imperial Measures Distilling	Ounce Gin Signature	SA	Bronze
Lily Fields Distilling Co	Sydney Dry Gin	NSW	Bronze
Never Never Distilling Co.	Coffee & Cacao Gin	SA	Bronze
Old Young’s	Six Seasons Gin	WA	Bronze
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Dubrovnik	WA	Bronze
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Nonsense	WA	Bronze
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Paris	WA	Bronze
Old Young’s	Juniper Society Zanzibar	WA	Bronze
Sinkhole Gin Pty Ltd	Sinkhole Contemporary Australian Gin	SA	Bronze
Tonalicious Spirit Co	Poolside	SA	Bronze
Tonalicious Spirit Co	Q	SA	Bronze
Willing Distillery	Darwin Festival Gin	NT	Bronze

CLASS 3 - Matured Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	STATE	MEDAL
Willing Distillery	Port Barrel Rested Gin	NT	Trophy
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Jolly Bold and Barrelled	QLD	Gold
Bright Night Gin	Bright Night Barrel Aged Gin	VIC	Silver
Cut Hill Wall Distillery (Lost Phoenix Spirits)	Lost Phoenix Spirits – Barrel-Aged Apple Gin	SA	Silver
Ester Spirits	Barrel Aged Gin #1	NSW	Silver
Hold Fast Distillery	Light House – Barrel Aged Gin	NSW	Silver
Lizard Dragon Distillers	Ormiston	WA	Silver
Southern Wild Distillery	Dasher+Fisher Whisky Barrel Gin	TAS	Silver
Ester Spirits	Barrel Aged Gin #2	NSW	Bronze
Wharf St. Distillery	Barrel Aged Gin	NSW	Bronze

CLASS 4 - Old Tom Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	STATE	MEDAL
Ester Spirits	The Old Tom	NSW	Silver

CLASS 5 - Over-Proof Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	STATE	MEDAL
Never Never Distilling Co.	Southern Strength Gin	SA	Trophy
Old Young’s	Common Gin	WA	Gold
Buderim Distilling Co	Twin Screws Navy Strength	QLD	Silver
Daylesford Spirit Distillery	Miners’ Gin	VIC	Silver
Ester Spirits	The Strong	NSW	Silver
Karu Distillery	Lightning Gin	NSW	Silver
Prohibition Liquor Co.	Coastal Citrus Gin	SA	Silver
Rakiura Distilling Company	Third Island Gin – Navy Strength	NZ	Silver
Webb Spirit Co.	Sirius	SA	Silver
Willing Distillery	Sweetheart’s Navy Strength Gin	NT	Silver
Blackwattle Distilling Co.	O.P. Sydney Gin	NSW	Bronze
Hold Fast Distillery	Man O’ War	NSW	Bronze
Lizard Dragon Distillers	Tanami	WA	Bronze
Never Never Distilling Co.	Juniper Freak Gin	SA	Bronze
Sandymount Distillery	Ladybird	NZ	Bronze
The Prime Ginister	Ginister for Defence	ACT	Bronze

CLASS 6 - Traditional Gin Liqueurs

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	STATE	MEDAL
Sin Gin Distillery	Sloe Gin	WA	Trophy
Metcalf Distilleries	Scandalous Sloe Gin	TAS	Gold
Southern Wild Distillery	Dasher+Fisher Raspberry Gin	TAS	Gold
Hold Fast Distillery	Sloe Gin	NSW	Silver
Imperial Measures Distilling	Ounce Gin Shiraz	SA	Silver
Southern Wild Distillery	Dasher+Fisher Blackberry Gin	TAS	Bronze
Southern Wild Distillery	Dasher+Fisher Sloe Gin	TAS	Bronze
Strait Brands	Strait Tasmanian Waggledance Sloe Gin	TAS	Bronze
Strait Brands	Strait Tasmanian Sloe Gin	TAS	Bronze
Western Tiers Distillery	Quamby Bluff Sloe Gin	TAS	Bronze

CLASS 7 - Flavoured Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	STATE	MEDAL
Never Never Distilling Co.	Ginache	SA	Trophy
KC Distillery	Christmas Gin	SA	Gold
Contours Distilling	Summit – Ridge	NSW	Silver
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Rhubarb and Ginger Gin	QLD	Silver
Lizard Dragon Distillers	Mulkali Shiraz Native Gin	WA	Silver
Phoenix Distilling Co.	Scarlet Nights Gin	NSW	Silver
Prohibition Liquor Co.	Field Blend Shiraz Gin	SA	Silver
Daylesford Spirit Distillery	The Hedonist Gin (Choc Blood Orange)	VIC	Bronze
FAR Distilling	Hunter Valley Semillon Slammer Gin	NSW	Bronze
The Rare Orchid Distilling Co.	Orchid Bloom	QLD	Bronze
Western Tiers Distillery	Iris Tin Mine Hut	TAS	Bronze

The Regional Winners

Digital copies of the medals are available. Contact sabina@ginevents.com.au

CLASS 1 - Classic Dry Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	BEST IN
Blackwattle Distilling Co.	Dry Sydney Gin	NSW
Willing Distillery	Darwin Dry Gin	NT
Sandymount Distillery	Lovers Leap Dry Gin	NZ
Buderim Distilling Co	1862 London Dry	QLD
Imperial Measures Distilling	Ounce Gin Bold	SA
Western Tiers Distillery	Dry’s Bluff Gin	TAS
Daylesford Spirit Distillery	Australian Dry Gin	VIC
Sin Gin Distillery	Greed	WA

CLASS 2 - Contemporary Style Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	BEST IN
Bunker Distillery	Zesty Bear Gin	NSW
Willing Distillery	Kakadu Plum & Quandong Gin	NT
Rakiura Distilling Company	Third Island Gin	NZ
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Citrus Dry	QLD
Prohibition Liquor Co.	Original Gin	SA
Western Tiers Distillery	Nells Bluff Gin	TAS
Brunswick Aces	The Arborist No. 1 Myrtle Gin	VIC
Lizard Dragon Distillers	Old Man Salt Bush	WA

CLASS 3 - Matured Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	BEST IN
Hold Fast Distillery	Light House – Barrel Aged Gin	NSW
Willing Distillery	Port Barrel Rested Gin	NT
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Jolly Bold and Barrelled	QLD
Cut Hill Wall Distillery (Lost Phoenix Spirits)	Lost Phoenix Spirits – Barrel-Aged Apple Gin	SA
Southern Wild Distillery	Dasher+Fisher Whisky Barrel Gin	TAS
Bright Night Gin	Bright Night Barrel Aged Gin	VIC
Lizard Dragon Distillers	Ormiston	WA

CLASS 4 - Old Tom Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	BEST IN
Ester Spirits	The Old Tom	NSW

CLASS 5 - Over-Proof Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	BEST IN
The Prime Ginister	Ginister for Defence	ACT
Ester Spirits	The Strong	NSW
Willing Distillery	Sweetheart’s Navy Strength Gin	NT
Rakiura Distilling Company	Third Island Gin – Navy Strength	NZ
Buderim Distilling Co	Twin Screws Navy Strength	QLD
Never Never Distilling Co.	Southern Strength Gin	SA
Daylesford Spirit Distillery	Miners’ Gin	VIC
Old Young’s	Common Gin	WA

CLASS 6 - Traditional Gin Liqueurs

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	BEST IN
Hold Fast Distillery	Sloe Gin	NSW
Imperial Measures Distilling	Ounce Gin Shiraz	SA
Metcalf Distilleries	Scandalous Sloe Gin	TAS
Sin Gin Distillery	Sloe Gin	WA

CLASS 7 - Flavoured Gin

COMPANY NAME	PRODUCT NAME	BEST IN
Phoenix Distilling Co.	Scarlet Nights Gin	NSW
Hunchy Hills Distillery	Rhubarb and Ginger Gin	QLD
Never Never Distilling Co.	Ginache	SA
Western Tiers Distillery	Iris Tin Mine Hut	TAS
Daylesford Spirit Distillery	The Hedonist Gin (Choc Blood Orange)	VIC
Lizard Dragon Distillers	Mulkali Shiraz Native Gin	WA

2026 Gin Judging Team

Mikey Enright
Barrelhouse Group

Charles Casben
AGDA Ambassador

Ally Ayres
Karu Distillery

Scott Fitzimmons
The Whisky Club

Silvia Segato
Archie Rose

Alana House
Drinks Digest

The Australian Gin Packaging Awards Results

It was a pleasure to chair the packaging judging again for the 2026 Australian Gin Awards.

The panel this year had some long-standing judges joined by some new faces. I’d like to thank Dan Parritt (Studio Molasses), Cassie Meyer (Venues NSW), Kate Meyer (AGDA Chair), Kym Middleton and Sabina Tom (Gin Events) and Alex King (Marketing Executive and Festivals Manager) for joining me in judging this year’s entrants. I would also like to thank Jade Angelopoulos (Schibello Coffee) and Graeme Offord (Denomination Design), who joined the judging panel virtually.

The criteria for the packaging awards go well beyond a striking bottle or label. The best designs also score highly on the less glamorous criteria, which carry just as much weight: how the legally required information is handled, and how the story, serve suggestions and the rest of the copy work alongside it. We also pay close attention to how a bottle (or range) presents in different sales environments. What looks great on a back bar may not be practical to ship, or hold its own on a crowded retail shelf, and vice versa. In my experience, it’s often these factors that take a score from good to great.

With that in mind, it’s great to see how the field of entrants has changed over the years: new producers coming into the market, and long-time producers refining their packaging. More distillers are bringing a cohesive design to the table: bottles that marry unique customisations with well-presented legalities, story and serve suggestions. The ranges showed more thought about a ‘family’ of bottles that works on its own and as a full set. At least one entry had a genuinely original feature none of us had seen before. It grabbed the panel’s attention.

Congratulations to this year’s winners. The judges were unanimous that both were well deserved.

Thank you to the Australian Gin Distillers Association for organising the awards, and to everyone who took the time to enter. As judges we have the luxury of turning up with the logistics already taken care of, knowing all the same how much work the awards take for everyone involved.

Lindsay Silcox

Packaging Chairman, Australian Gin Awards 2026.

AGA PACKAGING AWARDS

BEST BOTTLE

Coast Distillery

Latitude 16 Organic Gin

AGA PACKAGING AWARDS

BEST BOTTLE SERIES

Prohibition Liquor Co.
Gin Range

2026 Packaging Judging Team

Lindsay Silcox
Australian Gin Packaging Awards Chairman

Dan Parritt
Studio Molasses

Cassie Meyer
Venues NSW
Partnership Manager

Jade Angelopoulos
Schibello Coffee

Graeme Offord
Denomination

Kate Meyer
AGDA
Chair

Kym Middleton
Gin Events
General Manager

Alex King
Gin Events
Festivals Executive

Sabina Tom
Gin Events
Designer

Order your GIN Medal Stickers here

Medal stickers are printed and dispatched by CCL Label Australia, and payment will also be handled by CCL Label Australia
Orders will be dispatched on the 3rd of October.