Thai gin ‘Kata Rocks’ nabs double gold at CWSA

‘The Spirit of Kata Rocks’, a Thai gin distilled in Chiangmai has won a double gold medal at the China Wine & Spirits Awards best value 2017 competition, the biggest drinks competition in Mainland China.

The handcrafted gin, created for a namesake luxury resort in Phuket, is made by Edelbrand, a distillery founded by Austrian distiller Nikolaus Prachensky, who has been living in Chiangmai for more than 10 years. It distills a range of spirits from rice-based vodka to ‘grappa’.

The gin starts with a healthy infusion of juniper berries and angelica wild ginseng and is finished with Asian spices and herbs. In total it features over 10 different botanicals including fresh lemongrass, fresh lemon peel, coriander seed, fresh bergamot leaf, Sichuan peppercorn, fresh green pepper, green cardamom, white mugwort, fresh pomelo peel, Thai basil and high mountain oolong tea.

“The gin is based on our existing ‘Gin No. 17’ and we customised it with other botanicals,” Prachensky told dbHK, referring to one of his most popular gins in the market.

The gin is now available at Kata Rocks resort along with a series of Kata Rocks gin-based cocktails including the ‘Kata Rocks Negroni’, ‘Kata Rocks Gin & Tonic’ and the ‘Kata Rocks Secret Garden’.

General manager of the resort, Scot Toon, who was also involved in the creation of the gin said: “We took enormous care in creating this gin. We believe there is a huge demand for high quality gin, both on Phuket and around Thailand.”

With its own handcrafted gin, Kata Rocks now lists over 30 different gin labels, making it one of the largest collections of gin in Phuket. Its collection includes Ink Dry Gin, Monkey 47, Iron Ball Gin, Martin Millers, G’Vine and many other rare and unique hand crafted and boutique gins from England, Scotland, Germany and Thailand.