Case study
Downton Distillery sees 830% sales increase following their success at IWSC 2024.
A small artisan distillery in the south of England saw a “ballistic” sales growth thanks to their IWSC medal. The team reports selling out all their stock and having to run the still twice within a week to fulfill all the orders.
Following the IWSC 2024 Spirits results announcement, our Head Judge for Gin Olivier Ward was invited to Sunday Brunch on UK’s Channel 4. Olivier brought with him 3 gold medal-winning gins from the IWSC. One of these was Great Bustard Gin by Downton Distillery (UK). The gin saw an absolute triumph at the show, the hosts and the guests proclaiming It “delicious” and “gorgeous”. The effect of this TV appearance for Downton Distillery, an artisan gin producer in the south of England, surpassed any of their expectations as their phone “went ballistic with orders”.
Hugh Anderson, Founder of Downton Distillery, shared that they “didn’t expect to be shown on national television on the back of the win”. He added: “Those three minutes by Olivier did more than any paper or social media push could have done. It placed the distillery and charity into the spotlight across the nation, showcasing us at our best, for this I am humbled.”
The IWSC Spirits Judging Committee member Olivier Ward shared that when he was invited to Sunday Brunch as a gin expert, he had no doubts about which gins to bring along. These had to be the IWSC winners, endorsed by a panel of highly experienced judges. Great Bustard stood out to Olivier during the judging as a “phenomenal” celebration of the local flora.
The IWSC is known for the calibre of its judges, who are the top industry professionals, shaping the market trends. Over the years, the endorsement of the IWSC judges has proven to be able to boost sales and help producers standout among their competitors.
In addition, our judges provide valuable feedback to the entrants, essentially helping producers achieve higher quality. This was one of the reasons for choosing the IWSC amongst many drinks competitions, shares the team at Downton Distillery.
The IWSC win has had a huge impact not only for the Downtown brand, but also for the distillery’s charity project. Great Bustard Gin was created in Partnership with the Great Bustard Group. The Great Bustards, once a frequent sight across various parts of England, were hunted to extinction with the last bird killed in 1832.
“The bird is iconic to Wiltshire and is shown within our county arms and within the colours (flag), and I wanted to raise awareness for the reintroduction programme that was started back in 1998,” shared Hugh Anderson. “The win has placed the spotlight on these magnificent birds, allowing us to raise monies for the Charity which goes to new habitats, working with the farming communities. At the start of the year, we only had 50 birds, this year the group has raised 25 chicks which were released back into the wild in September.”