Distillers know hospitality. On a cold winter night, Melbourne Royal hosted a heart-warming affair at the Melbourne Showgrounds: the 2024 Australian Distilled Spirit Awards.
It’s no secret we’re big supporters of the craft industry here at the Plus Ones, and we were delighted to toast home-grown excellence at an event catered to hospitality pros.
Trays of espresso martinis, negronis, and sparkling wine greeted us upon arrival. The cocktail ingredients were a mystery, but we knew the spirits were contenders in the 2024 Awards. 
The ASDA is Australia’s largest spirits competition. Judged by industry experts, the competition showcases excellence and innovation in Australian distilling. With a bounty of home-grown natural botanicals, Aussie distillers are crafting truly special and unique beverages.
Standouts featuring native flora included Beachtree Distilling’s Native Plum & Sloe Gin. This Queensland brewery had stiff competition in the best liqueur category, beating out other sweet treats including Canberra’s cacao spirit and Billson’s lamington liqueur. Penni Ave’s Barrel Aged Wattleseed and Burnt Honey Vodka was another notable winner. 
Locally, we felt a whole lotta pride for Bellarine Distillery’s Kestral whisky taking out top honours for best single malt. This drop was unbelievably smooth, especially considering it pours at 50% abv.
Also bursting with home town pride was the Parliamentary secretary for Agriculture, Michaela Settle. She noted Victoria is home to 180 distillers (more than other state). From paddock to bottle, she praised local distilleries as part of the fabric of our communities.
Ready to serve drinks were a new category this year, marking ever evolving drinking habits. Out of 53 entries, Victoria’s Reed & Co Distillery claimed the trophy, with Yuzu Chu-Hai — a balanced not too sweet, not too tart canned cocktail. 
Whilst Ready to Serve was a new category, industry legends also featured prominently on the awards stage. If you’re the gambling type, betting on St Agnes Distillery taking home an award is a sure win. They’ve picked up trophies for their brandy five years in a row. But that wasn’t the only accolade of the night. In addition to Best Brandy, they also won a Consistency of Excellent award, and the most prestigious award of the night: Champion Australian Distiller. 
St Agnes is Australia’s oldest continually run Australian distillery. Founded 99 years ago in the roaring twenties, their acceptance speech included a tribute to the foresight of the family’s father, grandfather, and great, great grandfather who put down parcels of brandy for future generations to enjoy. (Next year St Agnes celebrates their 100th birthday and we heard a rumour of a fifty year-old release.)
After the official awards ceremony, it was time to really get down to business. Namely, tasting all the winners.
Dedicated bars poured nips of the champion spirits and gold medal contenders. 
We sampled Victoria’s champion Australian Dry Gin from Traveling While Standing Still and Naught Distilling’s delicious Sangiovese Gin. Aussies are spoilt for choice when it comes to award winning gins. The ADSA categories include Fruit/Wine gin, Navy Strength gin, London Dry gin, New World gin, and ‘Other’ gin.
In between sips of liqueurs, gin & tonics, award winning whiskies, we lined our stomachs with roving canapés, paella, and build-your-own-bao. (I told you distillers know hospitality!) 
It’s no secret the hospitality industry is struggling post-covid — with high excise taxes, the rising costs of ingredients, and consumers lacking disposable income. The Australian Distilled Spirits Awards were a welcome chance to come together for a ‘spirited’ night of celebration. 
– Jenny
Jenny S. is an event adventurer. When she’s not attending live shows, you can find her sampling the latest craft beer or sipping a creative cocktail.
The Melbourne Royal Australian Distilled Spirits Awards support excellence in the Australian distilling industry. View the full list of winners at Melbourne Royal.
