Success at Great Taste 2021, fourth year on the bounce!
- By British Polo Gin
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- 02 Nov, 2021
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What we have won:
We are delighted to bring you the amazing news that our new double spiced rum and sloe gin liqueur have won two stars apiece at Great Taste 2021! They now join British Polo Botanical Gin (3 stars in 2018) and British Polo London Dry Gin (1 star in 2018). This means that four in five of the products in our stable have now won Great Taste Awards and extends our Great Taste Producer Status through to 2023 at the earliest.
We are chuffed because we go to a lot of trouble and expense to source only the finest organic raw materials. Not only does organic taste great, organic products are also better for the planet. Twinned with the incredible skills on show at the distillery we are thrilled to be on to a seemingly winning formula.
What is Great Taste Producer Status?
To achieve this status, you must win Great Taste Awards three years in five. This makes sure that firms are consistently producing high quality product We are delighted and humbled to have won an award every year since 2018, firmly placing us in Great Taste Producer territory.
Why the Awards are so important to us:
Since 1994, more than 150,000 products have been put through this robust judging process. Each one is fastidiously blind-tasted by selected chefs, cooks, buyers, retailers, restaurateurs, food critics and writers. We choose to enter The Great Taste Awards because it is the only awards programme in the UK which is 100% peer reviewed.
Great Taste offers a unique benchmarking and product evaluation service, that encourages confidence and commercial success for quality food & drink businesses. This in turn generates a greater awareness for products locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
The judges look for truly great taste, regardless of branding or packaging. They take into account texture, appearance and of course the quality of the ingredients; they will note a good aroma, a decent bite, or a particularly smooth or crunchy texture. But above all else the question remains – does the product taste truly great?
Special Offers to Celebrate:
To celebrate, we are offering the sloe and double spiced rum at a reduced price of £34.99/bottle (down from £39.99/bottle) until Friday 12 November. To order yours, please click the links below:
https://www.britishpologin.co.uk/store/British-Polo-Gin-No-2-Sloe-70-cl-p268387075
What do the stars mean? (Lifted from Great Taste)
3-stars: Exquisite
Extraordinarily tasty foods – around 2% of products are awarded 3-stars each year. Don’t leave the shop without buying it!
2-stars: Outstanding
Above and beyond delicious – less than 10% of entries will achieve this rating.
1-star: Simply delicious
A food that delivers fantastic flavour – approximately 25% of entries will achieve this rating each year.
Here’s what the judges have said about our products:
3-star winners:
British Polo Organic Botanical Gin (2018):
The balance however marks it out for universal purpose - it would take olives or fruity garnishes, a great palette for imaginative flavours despite the rock pool note. Wonderfully bright with tonic - almost perfectly complemented by the Fever tree. Some judges felt this gin warranted more confidence than the 'trendy' description suggests and you should be bolder in your selling point - it simply tastes great!
2-stars:
British Polo Double Spiced Rum (2021):
Clear and bright, dark, golden amber. Strong ethanol on the nose and a full-on punch of warming exotic spice notes, ginger and orange to the fore. Very inviting and appealing. A truly heart-warming delivery of vanilla, orange peel , and finely judged cinnamon on a vanilla/molasses base. The rum gives a lovely sense of rich, rounded flavour explosion and development with a clean, lingering finish of sweet vanilla and burnt sugar. Absolutely delicious.
British Polo Sloe Gin Liqueur (2021):
An interesting take on sloe gin, and one clearly for lovers of spice. While not to everyone's taste, we can't deny the quality and balance here, given that you set out to create a spiced sloe gin rather than one that relies on cracked stones to deliver almondy notes. The sweet ness of the liqueur is apt, matching and softening the spirit's heat well - surprising, given the reduction of sugar. The spices are all complementary to the fruit, and work well with the intrinsic aromatics of the gin. A very well considered and crafted sloe gin, a sidestep from the standard and one that will be enjoyed as much for its finesse as its flavour profile.
1-star:
British Polo Organic Classic London Dry Gin (2020):
Certainly a tin with a twist - there's a dramatic herbal note on the nose, largely reminiscent of coriander (herb) but with complexity. Juniper is, however, amply present, as it should be. Sweet appeal on the first sip, perhaps deceptive, as a grip of both alcohol and aromatics follow, with a medley of flavours developing gently on the palate
