Barry Island Welsh Dry Gin and Barry Island Organic Welsh Vodka have both been awarded Great Taste 2 stars in the world’s most trusted food and drink accreditation scheme
Barry Island-based spirits company, Barry Island Spirits Co has been named among the top food and drink producers globally this year, picking up two highly prized 2-star Great Taste awards for its Welsh Dry Gin and Organic Welsh Vodka.
13,672 products were put through the competition’s rigorous blind judging process, and Barry Island Welsh Dry Gin and Organic Vodka both picked up two highly acclaimed gold stars each at the world’s most coveted food and drink awards. 3,938 products were awarded a Great Taste 1-star – ‘food and drink that delivers fantastic flavour’, 1,386 were awarded a Great Taste 2-star – ‘above and beyond delicious’, and 266 were awarded a Great Taste 3-star – ‘extraordinarily tasty food and drink’.
Having previously been awarded a 1-star Great Taste award in 2021, Barry Island Welsh Dry Gin has received higher star status in the 2024 awards. Described as “very bright and well defined” with “lots of character”. Barry Island Organic Welsh Vodka has also been accredited with a 2-star award with judges saying it’s “Crystal clear and gleaming, with a clean and freshly inviting nose.”, “Very impressive with restraint without in any way being boring”. Both spirits were a big hit with the Great Taste judges.
The pair were two of 5,590 products to receive a Great Taste award in 2024 (which is only 40.8% of the total products entered). Barry Island Spirits Co, which is owned and operated by Barry-Island based couple Tim and Claire Whalley, has also been named a Great Taste Producer which is only awarded to producers showing consistency in the quality of their products. All four of the Barry Island Spirits Co spirits now carry Great Taste awards.
Tim Whalley of Barry Island Spirits Co said “We are really proud to have won two 2-star Great Taste Awards for our Welsh Dry Gin and Organic Vodka. To have also been named as a Great Taste Producer is the icing on the cake. From what started as an ‘accidental business’ four years ago, we never imagined we’d have achieved all four of our spirits being accredited with Great Taste Awards, it’s a dream come true,”
“We’ve worked hard to produce a range of high-quality spirits. Our range all proudly carries the ‘Barry Island’ name, so it’s always been important to us that we represent our location in a positive way. Our recipes have been inspired by the beautiful surroundings around our home on Barry Island. We create drinks that we like and want to drink ourselves, so it’s wonderful to know that the Great Taste Award judges enjoy them too” Claire added.
The couple, who opened a shop on High Street in Barry in 2022 are also the owners of award-winning independent bar Craft Republic which can be found at the Goodsheds development. As well as Barry Island Dry Gin and Organic Vodka, the Barry Island Spirits range includes a Pink Dry Gin and Botanical Spiced Rum – both of which were awarded 1-star Great Taste awards in 2022.
As well as their own range of spirits the Barry Island Spirits Co shop, which can be found at 33 High Street, also carries a wide selection of wines which have been hand-picked by the couple, as well as a selection of whisky and other spirits.
What is Great Taste?
Recognised as a stamp of excellence and actively sought out by food lovers and retailers alike, Great Taste, organised by the Guild of Fine Food, values taste above all else. All products in the line-up for judging are blind-tasted: every product is removed from its packaging so it cannot be identified, before entering a robust, layered judging process.
This year, judging took place over 92 days in Dorset and London, with a panel of more than 500 judges putting the products to the test. The line-up saw food and drink products submitted from an extraordinary 115 different countries across the world.
Barry Island Welsh Dry Gin and Barry Island Organic Vodka are available in 5cl, 50cl and 70cl bottles from all the Pughs Garden Centres, Wally’s Deli in Cardiff, Forage Farm in Cowbridge and a number of small independent outlets around the UK. They’re also available to buy online for UK delivery or free Click and Collect in Barry from www.barryislandspirits.co .
The full list of this year’s winners and where to buy them can be found at www.gff.co.uk/directory and a wide range of the award-winning products are available to buy in delis, farm shops and independent retailers across the country.
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