A gin, distilled near Pembrokeshire’s Preseli Hills, has received major recognition from industry specialists IWSC – one of the most respected global wine and spirits communities.
Golden Road Gin, which has been created by husband and wife team Phil and Jennifer Wheeler, is a copper pot distilled gin, created from 100% natural botanical ingredients on a small scale.
Now, just over a year since it was first bottled, Golden Road Gin has made the grade according to IWSC’s tried and tested tastebuds, taking silver in one of the biggest categories at the 3 day event.
For their 2024 Spirits Judging, around 100 international judges gathered in London to taste over 4,000 spirits entries from around the world. The panel was comprised of Master Blenders, Master Distillers, Buyers from on-trade and off-trade, Spirits Educators, Consultants and renowned Spirits Communicators.
‘We’re so proud of this latest accolade, explains co-founder Jennifer Wheeler, who set up the business with her husband Phil in 2022.
‘Our feedback from the judges was that they loved our gin for its mix of smoky, spicy flavours with a touch of floral and citrus.
‘Last year we Golden Road Gin picked up some major recognition at the Great Taste Awards where we won bronze, so we’ve actually gone one step further this year and at the international level too, which is pretty epic when you think about it.
The Pembrokeshire couple are no strangers to the world of business.
Their three luxury self-catering cottages (Preseli Hills Cottages) have been a major success for many years and they are also now venturing into the world of honey production as their artisan journey continues.
‘As big foodie people and with Jen originally training as a chef, we’ve both been passionate about high quality food and drinks for many years – especially gin!
‘We had a realisation as we got a little older that life is for making the most of, so we decided to embark on a gin adventure of our own.
‘We were introduced to an award-winning local distillery by a neighbour and we spent a year working in collaboration, spending days in their wonderful botanicals room crafting many different recipes.
‘We’ve even worked with a mixologist who has helped us come up with some splendid cocktail recipes – our favourite one we have is called “A Proper Paddington” which has marmalade in it.’
The result is Golden Road Gin, named for the historic trading route that wends its way over wild moorland of the Preseli Hills and is said to date back to Neolithic times. Along with tales of smugglers, there is even a link back to the final resting place of the legendary King Arthur.
Jennifer Wheeler concludes;
‘We knew what we were aiming at insofar as quality and taste but it took quite some time to design the perfect profile.
‘The goal was to create a craft gin that evokes a feeling of relaxed adventure and refreshing smoothness and I think we’ve done just that. The Olympics are just around the corner so who knows, we might even win a Gold next year!’.
