Queenstown’s Broken Heart Spirits Wins World’s Best Vodka Award

A Queenstown distillery has scooped the world’s best producers of vodka to take out a global award.

Competing in the World Drinks Awards, Broken Heart Spirits first won the award for New Zealand’s best vodka in the Pure Neutral category, then went on to beat 18 other country winners to claim the World’s Best Vodka award.

In the gin awards category, Broken Heart Original Gin won New Zealand’s Best London Dry 2022 award, successfully defending its 2021 title.

The awards were judged in London by a panel of expert distillers, consultants, buyers, mixologists and spirits afficionados.

Broken Heart owner and master distiller Joerg Henkenhaf and his team celebrated the wins with a well-deserved cocktail or two, capping off a stellar year of 24 awards in 2021.

Late last year the company opened Queenstown’s first Gin Garden restaurant and tasting room and this year it will celebrate a decade of operation.

Joerg described their 40% proof world’s best vodka as an “outstanding drop”.

“It’s made with the finest spring water from Arrowtown, creating a delectably pure and clean vodka with soft notes of citrus,” he says.

“A lot of people know us for our gin, but we are constantly developing our products and expanding our range to broaden Broken Heart’s audience and appeal.”

The Pure Neutral category in which Broken Heart Vodka won is defined as one where impurities in aroma and flavour have been filtered out to leave clear spirit of clean, neutral character.

London Dry gins are defined as being juniper-forward, traditional-style gins made using the traditional technique where all flavours are imparted via distillation, with only water added after distillation.

Broken Heart Vodka and Broken Heart gins are among 13 products in a wide range of locally crafted gins, rums, whiskies, liqueurs and beers produced by the distillery.

It has recently launched a wild plum gin elixir called Bella, in partnership with renowned chef Annabel Langbein and her daughter Rose. Bella is a flavour sensation of perfectly ripe plums carefully blended with 18 revitalising aromatics and botanicals.

Broken Heart’s multi-award-winning vodkas, gins and other spirits are available to buy at www.brokenheartspirits.com or in person at the Gin Garden in Arthurs Point, Queenstown.

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