Manildra has shared its pride in its client Cape Byron Distillery winning three medals at the recent 2020 SIP Awards.
The distillery took out Platinum for its Mac by Brookie's nut liqueur, Gold for its Byron Slow Gin and Silver for its Byron Dry Gin.
The SIP Awards is the only internationally recognised consumer judging spirits competition.
Despite the global pandemic, the number of entrants for this year’s competition saw an increase. A diverse combination of 981 spirits and mixer brands from around the world participated in the first ever at-home spirits tasting competition.
Manildra Group Head of Ethanol Debra Forster said: “Manildra Group would like to congratulate Cape Byron Distillery, an exceptional family business that continues to showcase the quality of Australian spirits alongside the value and versatility of their native botanicals.
“We’re fortunate to supply Brookie’s range with our highest-quality beverage-grade ethanol, a partnership strengthened by the Brook family’s passion for quality ingredients, sustainability and the environment.
“I was lucky enough to tour the incredible Cape Byron Distillery with the Brook family, and was blown away by the Brook family’s passion to showcase native Australian flavours in spirits that consumers have never tasted.
“On behalf of the Honan family and Manildra Group team – congratulations to the Brook family and Cape Byron Distillery.”
The Cape Byron Distillery range of spirits is created on the Brook family farm, in the sub-tropical rainforest hinterland of Byron Bay, in NSW. The distillery is nestled among more than 35,000 rainforest trees and a macadamia orchard, all planted by Pam and Martin Brook.
Distiller Eddie Brook, co-founder of Cape Byron Distillery, told Manildra'sThe Cultivator magazine: “Mum and Dad had passion and vision, when they began planting macadamias, and for learning about how to care for the land.
“It’s here where we draw endless inspiration for our spirit range. We’re blessed with an abundance of incredible native Australian produce in the greater Byron Bay-Northern Rivers region.”
Brook said 2020 would be a year of significant growth for Cape Byron Distillery, which plans to more than quadruple its existing production capacity and triple the warehousing at a new site being built on the farm.
“We will continue to expand our range with Manildra Group’s quality grain-neutral spirit at the core of our products,” Brook said.
Produced at Manildra's world-class ethanol distillery in the NSW town of Nowra (pictured above), Brooke said its ethanol “is the perfect blank canvas from which we produce our art”.
“We feel unbelievably fortunate to have the highest quality ethanol made in Australia, which really gives us the opportunity to finely craft our products," he added.
“Our supportive working partnership also provides the confidence that Cape Byron Distillery can continue to expand knowing that Manildra Group will do so with us, and we are investing in a much larger storage tank on the new site to significantly improve both storage and freight.”
Manildra is an Associate Member of the Drinks Association