After recently being awarded the coveted Gin Masters award, Devon’s Thunderflower Distillery has scooped more top awards for their latest Gin release, ‘Fireship 58’ this time from the highly regarded Gin Guide Awards.
The micro-distillery entered their newest Navy Strength Gin ‘FireShip 58’ into the awards and were delighted to discover that not only had they won in the Navy Strength Gin category but had also been awarded the prestigious Industry Choice Award for Gin, which is awarded to the gin receiving the highest number of nominations from industry experts as the gin they have most enjoyed and been most impressed by in the past year.
Gins from more than 30 countries competed in this year’s Gin Guide Awards in a wide range of categories with winners selected through a rigorous blind tasting process conducted by a large panel of distinguished gin experts, distillers, retailers and mixologists.
“We are absolutely thrilled to win the Master award for FireShip 58 so soon after launch”, says Anicca. “We spend many months developing the recipe and are just so pleased with the response to it, and to be told that it is the gin that the Industry Professionals have been most impressed with over the last year is really amazing.”
FireShip 58 is distilled by Thunderflower Distillery in small batches of no more than 150 bottles at a time in the London Dry method using vapour infusion to extract a complex, full-bodied flavour from 20 botanicals from around the world.
Navy strength gins have become an increasingly popular niche amongst gin enthusiasts in recent years, with a high alcohol content over 57% that provides a stronger flavour hit that can stand up to mixers and cocktails well.
“Inspiration for Fireship 58 came from the last invasion of England which took place near the distillery in Teignmouth in 1690 by the French fleet who had just won a naval victory at the Battle of Beachy Head. Naval battles back then used Fire Ships, wooden ships packed with combustibles and gunpowder, set alight and steered whilst ablaze into the enemy fleet and we imagined the crew taking their last gin before launching their Fire Ship”, says Managing Director, Anicca O’Nions.
Only pure Dartmoor spring water is added to dilute the spirit to 58% ABV, which is the strength at which gunpowder will still burn even if soaked in gin. This is the test that was applied by the Royal Navy to test the quality of the gin ration being supplied to the ships and where the more modern term ‘Navy strength’ comes from.