Published: September 6, 2020 | Updated: 6th September 2020
A gin producer has put Dorset firmly on the international map after scooping gold at the China Wine & Spirits Awards (CWSA).
Fordington Gin received the accolade for its Gurt Lush, described as its boldest gin.
The awards are billed as the biggest and most prestigious wine and spirits competition in Hong Kong and China.
They are regarded as the major springboard for wines and spirits entering into China, the world’s fastest growing market.
CWSA judges together sell 75m bottles of wine and spirits per year.
Organisers claim that makes CWSA the most influential wine and spirits awards across the globe.
Dorchester-based Ros Nelmes, Founder and Craft Distiller of Fordington Gin, pictured left, said: “All of our hard work has been recognised with this prestigious award, all the way from China.
“We were over the moon to receive a certificate listing us as gold winners.
“Judged by the top 100 buyers, importers, distributors and retailers across Hong Kong and China, our uniquely flavoured Gurt Lush clearly hit the right notes with the judges.
“Gurt Lush is our boldest gin, a London Dry Base with additions of fennel, angelica and Wormwood.
“This really puts Dorset on the map for the very best in hand crafted, small batch gins.
“This business started in my kitchen in Fordington.
“I am delighted to know that it is now enjoyed on many continents by connoisseurs around the globe.”
Fordington Gin describe Gurt Lush as “a gin of seafaring strength” and “a bolder and more perfect gin with the magical Fordington twist”.
It’s also won the Taste of the West Gold Award 2019, Women’s Wine & Spirits Gold award and the World Gin Award 2020.
A lifelong fan of gin, Ros founded Fordington Gin in 2014.
The gin is handmade in small batches.
The company’s website states: “Having ordered a G&T in a local bar Ros was very disappointed with what she was served.
“Her drink arrived in a toothbrush style tumbler – fresh from the dishwasher, still hot and rapidly melting the single ice cube.
“A soggy bit of lemon from a dish of stale water, a shot of gin and a squirt of tonic from the bar hose.
“Ros knew that gin deserved much better than this and so the Fordington Gin journey began.”
In addition to Gurt Lush and its Classic gin, Fordington Gin also offers seasonal gins such as apple and blackberry, English rose and orange and elderflower.
Bespoke gins handmade to suit a wedding or occasion can also be ordered with labelling designs to tie in with colour and design choices.
