A bottle of gin that costs less than £10 from Aldi has been named one of the best in the world. The budget supermarket's Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin won a gold medal at the 2017 International Wine and Spirits Competition in the London Dry category.
The purse-friendly tipple was described as "light and crisp with a touch of spice and juniper" and is best served with tonic. It fought off competition from several much more expensive rivals; the second place gin went to Foxhole London Dry Gin, which costs almost four times the price at £39.95.
Aldi's Oliver Cromwell London Dry Gin won a gold medal
Aldi was the only supermarket to win a gold medal for its gin, along with a further 19 awards including a gold medal for its Specially Selected Crème de Cassis, which costs £6.99. Other British gold medal winners include Bathtub Gin – both cask-aged and navy-strength, Gordon's London Dry Gin, Manchester Gin and Wild Island Botanic Gin.
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Aldi's own-brand alcohol range has won a number of awards over the past couple of years, and at the beginning of July it was named Supermarket Own Brand Spirits Range of the Year at the International Spirits Challenge. A spokesperson for the ISC said Aldi "consistently showcased high quality products in the blind tastings, which demonstrates that you don't have to compromise on price to enjoy great tasting drinks."
Aldi was recently named Supermarket Own Brand Spirits Range of the Year
Meanwhile Tony Baines, Joint Managing Director of Corporate Buying at Aldi, said: "Receiving medals for our spirits is a fantastic achievement and it is great to see our spirits range being praised so highly by experts. Being awarded a title such as 'Supermarket Own Brand Spirits Range of the Year' is something that not only reflects the quality of our products but also the hard work that our UK based buying team put into drinks retailing every single day."
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