Vancouver Island gin nabs top prize at international competition
Sheringham Distillery's Seaside Gin was named the best contemporary gin in the world
A Vancouver Island couple's gin has taken top honours at the World Gin Awards in the U.K.
Seaside Gin from the Sheringham Distillery, founded by Alayne and Jason MacIsaac, was named the best contemporary gin in the world at the award show.
"[It was] kind of surreal to tell you the truth," said Jason MacIsaac.
The gin beat out entries from 22 other countries to win in their category earlier this year.
Contemporary gin can have different flavours than juniper berries which give traditional gin its distinctive taste, Alayne MacIsaac explained.
Seaside Gin is flavoured with coriander, angelica root, rose petals, lavender, lemon, orange, cardamom and winged kelp.
"The kelp gives it a bit of ... ocean on the palate," Jason explained. "I think it also gives it a bit of depth, some umami, and also helps round off the rest of the botanicals."
The idea for the gin came from beach walk and the refreshing feeling of standing on a beach on the west coast of Canada.
"I had full confidence in Jason that he would be able to take the different flavors and botanicals and make that feeling put and put it into a bottle," Alayne said.
The MacIsaccs opened their distillery in 2015. Jason had been working as a professional chef and Alayne had been working in luxury fashion. They say the distillery is a perfect blend of their skills.
"It wasn't super easy in the beginning to be honest," Alayne said. "But we really learned how to figure each other out and it's actually made our personal relationship even stronger."
Listen to the full interview on CBC's On The Coast:
With files from On The Coast