HRAFN GIN has won a Gold Medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
HRAFN GIN ‘Thought & Memory’, created in 2018 by brothers Callum and Peter Sim of Raven Spirits Ltd 9pictured), was one of a select number of gins from around the world to secure a Gold Medal in the competition.
The judging was held in downtown San Francisco in March, when the judging panel blind- tasted almost 3,000 entries from 65 countries, across more than 100 individual categories.
SFWSC states that Gold Medals are awarded to “exceptional spirits that are near the pinnacle of achievement and set the standard for their categories” and are a recognised symbol of quality.
Said Peter, “We put considerable thought, care and focus into creating the very best spirits we can. It is important to both of us that everything that is created and produced by Raven Spirits is of the highest standard.”
The inspiration for HRAFN GIN stems from a trip to Islay in 2017, when Callum and Peter, both whisky drinkers, visited the island’s distilleries.
Callum explained, “In addition to the whisky tours we also took one distillery’s gin tour. The still had just been emptied and the fragrance from the botanicals was remarkable. “That evening, over a glass or two of single malt, our conversation turned to gin. We considered such things as the characteristics, the mix of botanicals and the taste profile of our ideal gin.”
The brand name, HRAFN, takes its inspiration from Callum’s life-long interest in Norse mythology and is pronounced “Ra-Vn” meaning Raven in Old Norse. It is Odin’s two ravens ‘Huginn’ and ‘Muninn’, which translates to ‘Thought’ and ‘Memory’ giving this expression its identity.