A North-east businesswoman and author has been appointed to the judging panel of high profile business awards celebrating the innovation and excellence of gin distilling in Scotland.
Karin McGivern, owner of business and marketing consultancy, Karin McGivern Business Support, and author of “This is Gin: A Guide to Scottish Gin”, will join experts from around Scotland for the newly created Scottish Gin Awards 2017, which is open to distilleries and companies of all sizes.
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The first book produced by This is Guides was released last year showcasing gins made in Scotland and produced by Scottish companies. Discussions and work is ongoing on future plans that will showcase the industry and the country as well as an online community portal for readers. The business has already sold over 400 books across the UK and is set to produce similar guides for Scottish beer and whisky.
Following a revival in the Scottish gin industry, the Scottish Gin Awards will showcase the best talent from the sector, offering businesses the opportunity to enter business performance and taste categories giving an insight into business activity and performance.
Ms McGivern works with a diverse range of clients across Scotland from Laurencekirk to Thurso, and will join an expert panel consisting of some of the UK’s most experienced leaders and influencers from the gin and distilling industry, to judge entries in the taste category. The team will conduct blind tastings of some of Scotland’s most innovative gins and review written entries.
Ms McGivern said: “The Scottish gin industry is booming at the moment, with some brilliant small craft distilleries and established whisky companies entering into the gin market.
“I work with two key sectors; the agricultural sector and marketing sector, and running my own business has given me a different viewpoint from which to look at the gin industry in Scotland and the variations in companies from small batch one product producers to multi product large producers.
“My qualifications to judge the Scottish Gin Awards are based on my passion for gin as a consumer and my strong sense of business acumen in the food and drink arena.”
Registration for the awards close on Tuesday, March 28, with the deadline for written entries on Tuesday 25 April. The judging tasting session takes place on Thursday 1 June.
Winners of the Scottish Gin Awards will be announced at an awards ceremony and dinner taking place on Thursday, 14 September 2017 at the Doubletree By Hilton Hotel, Glasgow Central.
