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GINSTR’s in town: ‘World’s Best Gin for a G&T’ goes sky high in Hong Kong’s Ozone bar

GINSTR, which boasts citrus notes, is best enjoyed with a tonic that’s not too sweet.
GINSTR, which boasts citrus notes, is best enjoyed with a tonic that’s not too sweet.

German distillery GINSTR has just picked up a double gold at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London and is bringing its fine spirits to Hong Kong and China

GINSTR is a small German distillery that beat 600 different gin distillers from 90 countries to win the prestigious 2018 “World’s Best Gin for a Gin & Tonic” award against at the annual International Wine and Spirit Competition in London.

Most recently, it also won a double gold medal at the China Wine and Spirits Awards.

 
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The Stuttgart distillery started life as the hobby of Alexander Franke, and Markus Escher, who dropped by to speak to STYLE in Hong Kong.

Q: What’s new with GINSTR since you won the award in London?

Alex: We’re in Hong Kong! The main update is we’ve been receiving a lot of requests from all of Asia – [especially] China and Hong Kong. Now we are getting a little bit bigger and have a distributor in Hong Kong, and the Ritz-Carlton is the first hotel giving us a chance to be in their Ozone Bar. Which is great for us, because it is the world’s highest sky bar, and one of the best in Hong Kong.

We just won the a double gold medal at the China Wine and Spirits Awards, and at the moment our product is still unknown in Asia. Maybe some people will recognise it in London, but here, it’s the first time people have come into contact with GINSTR at the award, so that’s great.

Q: Tell us about your gin – how are you different from the other brands out there? 

Markus: [Our gin is] very fruity – we’re different because GINSTR is handcrafted in small batches in a small distillery. We’re different from big companies and big brands because this has stemmed from our hobby – it’s like our baby.