Sky Garden Galloway Gin 70cl – Scottish Gin by Dark Art Distillery (ABV 42%) | Premium Gin – London Dry Gin Made with 18 Botanicals | Fresh & Locally Foraged with Crisp, Citrus Flavoured Gin Notes

Product Information

Claire Fletcher, Co-Founder of Lussa Drinks Company said, “Alicia, Georgina and I are chuffed to bits to win our first gold medal from The Gin Cooperative. It means a lot more to us to win an award when the competition is properly judged by a judging panel that includes consumers, industry and community, people who are passionate about craft Scottish Gin.” The Scottish Gin Awards have revealed gin brands which have successfully achieved medal status in 2022, following the awards dinner in Glasgow this month. Situated in the 20 Fenchurch Street skyscraper, colloquially known as the walkie-talkie building, Sky Garden is not only London’s highest public garden – boasting some of the most spectacular views over the capital– it also houses some pretty awesome drinking and dining spots too.

We’re proud to present the winners of the inaugural The Gin Cooperative Awards 2022. Originally launched in May 2022, The Gin Cooperative Awards saw Scotland’s gin makers and brand owners submit their Scottish Gins for review and judging. We were delighted with the response from the Scottish Gin industry, not only in terms of entries, but also the enthusiasm and support for the unique and original judging process we created.

Meet the maker

Simon Fairclough, Co-Founder of Persie Distillery said “The revival of the Old Tom category is a joy for the gin aficionado. It provides the distiller with endless possibilities for introducing a little extra sweetness to the spirit married with robust signature botanicals. Ours leans especially on silky vanilla pods and warming root ginger. And, we are absolutely thrilled to have achieved a Gold in the inaugural TGC Awards, judged by both the best of the trade and most enthusiastic of consumers.” As the gin is so smooth, it does make a great sipping gin. However, our favourite serve is as a classic G&T with plenty of ice, a quality tonic water and a wedge of lime. In total, 63 judges made up 7 judging groups. Each judging group featured 3 industry judges, 3 consumer judges and 3 community judges. Industry judges included bartenders and venue owners from well known and respected establishments. Consumer judges were selected based on our data from our Scottish Gin subscription service and were chosen based on having some understanding of gin as a spirit and also a clear passion for the juniper spirit, with many consumer judges holding WSET (Wine & Spirit Education Trust) qualifications. Our community judges featured spirits, food and travel bloggers and content creators, all of whom were selected based on their passion for gin and spirits, with many key people in the gin community actively helping to raise the profile of gin through their social media channels and content. The ultimate award, Scottish Gin Distillery of the Year, was presented to North Uist Distillery who have created an impressive range of gins. They also collected the award for Excellent in Branding. A number of awards for 2022 were sponsored this year, something we’re proud of and grateful for; to have the support of other businesses working in the spirits supply chain. Where we can, we always seek to collaborate and work with other like-minded business and where possible work with other businesses and brands based in the UK. Being able to showcase the sponsors and share their services and products has been another upside and benefit of The Gin Cooperative Awards 2022 and we just wanted to give our thanks to all the businesses and brands who have contributed to the success of the inaugural awards.

The results are highly regarded as they are independently audited by a panel of experts and judged live in a rigorously assessed blind tasting event. Commenting on opening his distillery in the town, Clark-Hutchison said: “I believe we can attract many new visitors to Kirkcudbright and the wider Dumfries and Galloway region, which remains something of a hidden gem that many people have yet to discover.” The distillery has recruited two members of staff to host tours and gin tastings, and it is hoped that up to five new jobs will be created within a year of opening.

Subscribe to our mailing list

Winners of the Distilled Scottish Gin Award 2022 – sponsored by JFS (Joseph Flach & Sons), global botanical merchants since 1882, are: Dark Art Distillery official opened in July 2021 with the launch of its signature Sky Garden Gin. Established by Andrew Clark Hutchison in the small town of Kirkcudbright, Andrew has long family ties to the area and is the fifth generation of his family to live and work in the town. The distilling team at the distillery is led by Fiona Williamson, a graduate of Heriot-Watt University’s Institute of Brewing and Distilling. Winners of the Scottish Gin of the Year Award 2022 – sponsored by EFX, the UK’s leading trophy and awards design and manufacturing company, are:

Congratulations once again to all the finalists and winners and a big thank you to our entrants, judges, sponsors and everyone who has taken the time to be involved and support The Gin Cooperative Awards 2022. The Scottish Gin Awards is the one of the largest gin competitions in the UK and revealed its winners following a rigorous judging process involving 46 leading experts, the assessment of 63 written entries and the blind tasting of over 200 gins, all distilled in Scotland.Start up gin businesses including Fassfern Distillery and Rutland Square Gin also collected medals, with Rutland Square Gin, made under contract at Summerhall Distillery, collecting the Gold Medal for Best Flavoured Gin.

Sky Garden is made using a total of 18 different botanicals some of which are locally foraged by the team. There are 3 secret botanicals which only bloom or scent at night time. Industry. Consumer. Community. The three key areas we see as being a large part of gin’s growth and success. We wanted to ensure a balanced judging panel that captured and represented these three key groups. We give our thanks to our fantastic judging panel who gave their time and put in the work to review and score this year’s entries. Some people will say judging spirits is a dream job. And yes, it is amazing to nose, taste and discover the qualities in a spirit that elevates it to an award-winning spirit, but without a doubt, it takes a lot of time and patience to work through any judging process to ensure each sample is given the time and care it deserves.Michael Stewart, Founder of Foghouse Spirits said, “We can’t believe we managed to win four awards! The inaugural The Gin Cooperative Awards have been fantastic and we’ve loved the way that they have been run and obviously their judges have great taste! It is great for us as a new gin company to be recognised by such a diverse range of people. It is truly a massive result for us.” Having quit a job in finance to follow his passion for working in the drinks industry, Andrew Clark-Hutchison has opened Dark Art Distillery in Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway, where his family have lived for generations. Clark-Hutchison has also bottled his first batch of gin, Sky Garden, inspired by the exceptional clear evening skies of nearby Galloway Forest Park.