Purity Distillery’s Organic gin and vodka win Double Gold at the International Spirit Challenge 2020
Purity Navy Strength Organic Gin and Purity Connoisseur 51 Reserve Vodka has won a Double Gold at this year’s International Spirit Challenge. The ISC is recognised as one of the most prestigious competitions in the wine and spirits industry during the year. Purity Distillery is a family-owned, craft, organic distillery based in Sweden.
The winners are established through a rigorous judging process – a highly controlled operation held over twelve days of intense blind tastings by panels of more than 50 respected and experienced industry professionals.
Samples are delivered to the judging area in flights of numbered tasting glasses to ensure the accuracy of the blind tasting. Each judge will assess products according to their age, region, and variety which is determined by the entrant and verified by the chairman. Each product is blind tasted and awarded a score for its aroma, appearance, taste, and finish. Scores are collated and recorded by the category chairman before Double Gold, Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals are awarded.
“I am very honoured to be awarded two Double Gold medals at this year’s International Spirits Challenge for our new Purity Navy Strength Organic Gin and for our Purity Connoisseur 51 Reserve Organic Vodka. These two products are our flagship products and are for the gin and vodka connoisseurs.”, says Mathias Tonnesson, Master Blender at Purity.
Purity Navy Strength Organic Gin means, quite simply, more flavour. A bigger, bolder canvas to imbue with the botanicals – juniper and a selection of Nordic berries give your cocktails an unforgettable kick. It is the mixologists go-to-gin for unforgettable cocktails.
Purity has updated the classic Navy Strength gin recipe with better, bolder ingredients and unforgettable flavour while maintaining the Purity signum of smoothness. The blend of organic juniper, Nordic berries, botanicals, and Purity’s over-proof 34 times distilled spirit results in a striking, delicious blast of flavour adding real character to any cocktail.
Technically, gin with more than 57.14% alcohol is considered Navy Strength. The reason for the high alcohol content is a practical one. Historically, gin and rum were stored in wooden barrels together with gunpowder. If either of the barrels started to leak and soaked into the gunpowder, the alcohol content had to be at least 57.14%. Anything below that and the gunpowder wouldn’t burn. The “proof” of the spirit meant the powder was safe and the gin good enough to be served to the officers.
Mathias further explains, “The secret to making a great gin is having a fantastic base to start with. It’s like cooking, you can’t create a great meal if you start with a poor cut of meat. Your foundation spirit must be exemplary, fortunately, we already have a perfect base spirit.”
Purity Connoisseur 51 Reserve Organic Vodka is made from natural ingredients, its prize-winning flavours come from the combination of organic barley and wheat, distilled slowly with low heat multiple times. The heart of Purity Connoisseur 51 Reserve is distilled 51 times to maximise flavour as well as smoothness.
Over the years, Purity has dominated the world’s blind tasting vodka competitions, taking home a record number of highly sought-after awards, including being named as “Best Organic Vodka in the World 2019” by The International Spirit Challenge, and “World´s Best Vodka” by the International Wine and Spirit competition 2017.
Tönnesson adds, “Our main ingredients, Swedish wheat, and malted barley, are carefully selected without any chemical cultivation or processing. We believe that by using organic ingredients it creates a much better tasting vodka, and of course, is better for the environment. We also value the quality of the water that we use and believe it’s crucial to the taste. Most brands use only distilled water, which removes any of the natural nuances, sediments, and flavours that help bring out the complexity of the vodka. At Purity, we use naturally soft Swedish water, and as a result, it blends with the other ingredients creating a complex, characterful, and truly unique spirit.”
The results are instantly apparent – compared to the giant industrial processes of competitors, Purity Connoisseur 51 Reserve Organic Vodka is unique in flavour and smoothness. The flavour is clean and crisp with a slight peppery note; and the finish comes with zero burns.
