The United States’ Pier View Gin bagged a Gold and “Gin Of The Year” award at the 2019 Bartender Spirits Awards held on May 19 in San Francisco, USA. The gin’s distillery, Stoke Distilling Company also took home the “Gin Producer of the Year” award.

Light and easy going, like a perfect sunny day, Pier View Gin is a typical "San Diego Style" gin with 43.5% ABV. Pier View Gin has a nose of citrus peel, sweet vanilla, and a touch of cinnamon. The mouth of the gin is bright and citrusy, accompanied by a tediously specific blend of herbs and spices. Four phases of the gin on the palate beings with citrus, followed by a herbal, rosemary, oolong tea middle, Madagascar vanilla, Saigon Cinnamon finish & dry spice and citrus tail. A smooth backbone is a core of the entire experience. Pier View Gin was produced to bring out tasting notes meant to hit the palate during the beginning, middle and end of each sip. It can be simply drunk neat or stirred into any classic cocktail - all you need is Gin Cranberry Gimlet, Pier View Gin, Lemon juice, Lime juice, Cranberry juice, and Agave nectar. Shake like a mad man, double strain into a chilled glass and enjoy. 

The founders  Justin, Ryan & Jordan said, “We are truly ecstatic about this win.  Although Pier View Gin has gotten a medal at every competition we've ever entered it in, winning Gin Of The Year by far our biggest honor.  We created Pier View Gin with versatility in mind and we want it to appeal to as many people as possible.  Hearing that bartenders and industry professionals agree shows us that all our hard work isn't for nothing!”

Fun Fact: Stoke Distilling Company includes the batch number(#) on every bottle that helps them identify their favorite characteristics in Pier View Gin. Since they don’t have a traditional 100-year-old recipe to follow, they never refuse to improve. Closely following the batch #s - the older batch #s, like Batch #1, Batch #2, and Batch #3 will quickly become challenging to find, but these are the roots of the gin. It's where everything began. The higher the batch #, the more improvements that have been made. These improvements may be subtle batch to batch but ultimately makes the gin even more superior than before.

The founders of Stoke Distilling Company, Justin Wilkinson, Ryan Kohn & Jordan Kohnthey found a lot of inspiration in the city where the distillery is located - San Diego. “The trick is to keep your eyes open and see the beauty around you,” they said. Started as “Pier View Gin”, the founders changed its name to “Stoke Distilling Company.” But having done that, they announced that the Pier View Gin isn't going anywhere, and people will still be able to enjoy their favorite gin. The mission of Stoke Distilling Company is to put out only the best tasting spirits. 

The Bartenders Spirits Awards, organized by the Beverage Trade Network is the leading spirits competition in the USA that rates the spirits with the focus of the bar industry. To evaluate the entrants, the Bartenders Spirits Awards invites Bartenders, On-Premise Buyers and Bar Managers from around the world. These leading spirits experts judge the spirits with the aim to provide independent and honest reviews for brands targeting the US on-premise trade. 

To check out other winners, click here.

To know more about the competition, click here.