When you hear the name The Belfry, more often than not, luxury and visions of incredible golfing prowess will spring to mind. However, in addition to being a world-class resort and one of the world’s great homes of golf, it can also boast its own Signature Gin, called 1960. And it must be good as it has won bronze at the 2023 International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC).

The Belfry’s 1960 London dry gin, which takes its name from the year the Belfry was founded, was launched in December. It is a herbaceous gin with a distinct blend of home-grown botanicals offering flowery notes from the roses and lavender in the resort’s courtyard, willow from the golf courses and honey from its very own ‘Belfry Bees’.

It’s not uncommon for us to be sent news of new tipple launches; in fact, we probably get a couple a day, which shows how frequent it is. More often than not, the beverages, as good as they are, come in a plain, rather no-descript bottle. However, Belfry’s award-winning 1960 gin adopts a different approach.

The bottle housing the gin is a cut-glass Belfry Bell-shaped bottle, which is topped with a gold glass golf ball as a nod to the resort’s distinguished golf heritage. Another nice touch is that in line with environmental policies at The Belfry, once empty, all 1960 bottles from the resort will be sent to the distillery to be refilled and returned.

Commenting on the win, Varun Shetty, Hotel Manager at The Belfry Hotel & Resort, said, “We have worked extremely hard to create a gin that is truly special and to have it acknowledged by such a respected competition is a great honour. It’s proving extremely popular with guests here at The Belfry and has received glowing feedback, so it is fantastic for it also to be recognised internationally.”

The IWSC use a rigorous and thorough judging process, with each spirit tasted by a panel of expert judges overseen by a member of their judging committee, who supervises the panels to ensure consistency and fair benchmarking across the competition. This year, 120 of the world’s leading spirit experts gathered in London to assess over 4,100 entries from 98 countries to taste and award each wine and spirit.

The Belfry’s 1960 gin is available to buy at reception for £65, or guests can try the Perfect Serve in Brabazon Bar, featuring rose syrup, lemon juice and elderflower tonic.

Read more news from the spirits industry here.