Cruxland Gin Production Team
KWV Cruxland Gin won Best South African London Dry Gin for Taste at the prestigious World Gin Award.

For the second year running, KWV Cruxland Gin has triumphed as the Best South African London Dry Gin for Taste at the prestigious World Gin Awards. The announcement was made at the Caledonian Club in London, in the presence of more than 100 guests and influencers from the gin industry.

The World Gin Awards is widely regarded as the most authoritative global competition of the gin industry, and products carrying medals and honours from its panel of international journalists and specialist drinks retailers, are deemed as truly remarkable.

To reward top honours, judges seek gins that reflect their high standards. In the London Dry Gin category, judges tasted juniper-forward, traditional-style gins made using the London Gin production technique, with all flavours distilled, with only water and neutral spirit added after distillation. Cruxland gin is made in this style, and is the world’s first craft-style gin to be infused with nine exotic signature botanicals and rare Kalahari N’abbas – also known as ‘Kalahari truffles’.

All botanicals are distilled together with neutral spirits. The truffles grow in the Kalahari after the first rains for a limited time, and only a very experienced truffle hunter can spot where to start digging. It is not something consumers will find in any other drink, anywhere in the world.

Judges have been decidedly complimentary about the Cruxland taste, describing it as: “Bright peppermint (with a) chalky note on the nose, (as well as) zesty, juicy fresh orange. The palate is bright, fresh and lifted. Citrus-led. Layered with a pink pepper finish.”

Reflecting on the weight this honour carries, KWV Master Blender, Ilse du Toit said: “Winning this category is indeed an impressive achievement for any gin that passes the meticulous assessment from the expert panel of judges. Winning the title of Best South African London Dry Gin for the second time is exceptional and shows that our unique formula for KWV Cruxland gin is at a world-class level.”

As the South African country winner, Cruxland is now hopeful to be named the best in each of the 10 competing categories at the World’s Best Gin competition. These results will be announced on 21 February 2019 at the Gin Magazine Awards Dinner in London.