Local distillery reaps four national awards

Sarina Sugar Shed distiller, Sarah-Jane Parrott, travelled to the 2023 Australian Distilled Spirits Awards last Thursday and said the whole team were excited with the result.

“We are thrilled to return from the awards with not just one, but four awards,” Ms Parrott said.

“The awards were held in Melbourne, on Thursday, August 3, at a special awards presentation,” she said.

“The Sarina Sugar Shed Aromatic Bitters Chocolate won gold in the cocktail bitters category, the Aromatic Bitters Spiced Orange won silver, the Lime NOI won silver and the Sarina Sugar Shed Liqueur won bronze.

“The star of the night was the aromatic bitters, which is hand crafted on site at the sugar shed, and is available in two flavours, spiced orange and chocolate.

“The chocolate is infused with cacao nibs, cinnamon and vanilla, with each botanical carefully hand selected, blended and infused to bring out the natural flavours.”

Mayor Greg Williamson said the sugar shed team should be very proud of winning these awards on the national stage.

“It’s an incredible result to enter four categories and bring home four awards,” Mayor Williamson said.

“Sarah started working on the aromatic bitters in February, trialling different ingredients to achieve the ultimate flavour profile and it was released to the public in June, at the Sarina Sugar Shed cocktail book launch,” he said.

“Congratulations to Sarah and the whole team at the Sarina Sugar Shed on this amazing achievement.”

More information about Sarina Sugar Shed’s award-winning product range can be found on their website.

Background information on the awards:

Judges for the Australian Distilled Spirits competition are selected from across Australia and are engaged for their industry knowledge and expertise. The Australian Distilled Spirits Awards judges are sourced from a broad base and include distillers, spirits writers, bar owners, and retailers. They are selected for their product knowledge and expertise in the industry.

Background information about Sarina Sugar Shed:

Sarina Sugar Shed is an award-winning tourism experience offering guided tours of the sugar cane crushing process, a miniature mill and product tastings. It is open seven days (except selected public holidays) from 9am to 4pm. Advance tour bookings (9.30am, 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm) are highly recommended. The facility is located in the Sarina Field of Dreams Parklands precinct in Sarina, Queensland, 37km south of Mackay. Visit sarinasugarshed.com.au for more details.