After beating off competition from across England, Oxfordshire-based Sky Wave Gin has scooped a major prize in the World Gin Awards to be named Best Contemporary Gin in the country.

Launched just over a year ago from its based in Bucknell, near Bicester, Sky Wave Gin was developed over seven months with hundreds of tastings and more than 40 recipes to get its signature London Dry Gin just right.

“It really is a big deal as the World Gin Awards celebrates the very best in all internationally recognised styles of gin” says distiller and co-founder Rachel Hicks.

“We had hoped to win a bronze, silver or gold medal – but being best in England, the original home of London Dry Gin, is the ultimate accolade.” says Rachel, “We are thrilled to be recognised by this global competition. We are very much an artisan gin, we bottle and label by hand so each bottle is truly a labour of love.”

This year the competition had over 600 entries.  They were tasted by 26 judges from around the world who are industry experts, including high profile journalists, specialist drinks retailers and leading distillers.

“We are one of the youngest gins in England and the newest gin in Oxfordshire, having launched just 15 months ago, so this is a huge endorsement of our delicious spirit.”

“We hope this will help us grow by attracting new business through shops, pubs and distributors who wish to share Sky Wave Gin across England.” Added distiller and co founder Andy Parsons.

The World Gin Awards are a guarantee to the customer of a quality product.  “We have seen a huge increase in the quality of gin submitted in the seven years since we launched the World Gin Awards.” says Anita Ujszaszi, Awards Director, “The small producers are up there with the big global brands when it comes to quality.”

Sky Wave Gin is currently enjoying great success, winning a Double Gold Medal in the Chinese  Wine and Spirits Competition in January 2020 and a Gold Medal in the international Womens Wine and Spirits Awards 2020 in November.

So why the name? Sky Wave not only reflects the adventures Rachel and Andy experienced over mountains and seas, it is also a term used in radio; in their former lives, they were respectively a BBC radio reporter and a Royal Signals officer.