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The bar features an immersive forest staircase, photo wall and interactive games where guests can win a selection of prizes. The brand was also awarded a Master medal for its Uncle Nearest Master Blend Edition, and Gold medals for the Uncle Nearest 1884 Premium Small Batch Whiskey and Uncle Nearest 1856 Premium Aged Whiskey. The brand named Mangrove UK as its distribution partner in January this year. Nc’Nean Organic Single Malt is bottled at 46% ABV. We recently interviewed Nc’nean’s founder, Annabel Thomas to talk about her trailblazing whisky and the future of sustainability in whisky production. The judges also awarded 12 Gold medals in this heat. Four Pillars Bloody Bandwagon was one of the Gold winners, enjoyed for its “sweet, red‐berry” nose, with a “good level of dryness and complexity on the palate – even when mixed with tonic water”. Founded by conservation biologist and bartender Paul Mathew in 2019, the Everleaf portfolio consists of three expressions, each of which is anchored to different parts of the natural world: Forest, Marine and Mountain.Three Gold medals were also awarded in this flight: “well‐balanced, rounded” Everleaf Marine, “sweet and bitter” Fluère Bitter, and “bright, light and minty” De Kuyper Zero 0% Mojito. Six Silver medals completed the flight. We’re excited to see what else is to come from this young distillery, which sits at the foot of the famous Aber Falls waterfall that acts as the gateway of the beautiful Snowdonia national park. What we do know is they will continue to do Wales very proud. In the following flight – Non‐Alcoholic Dark ‘Spirit’ (less than 0.5% ABV) – three Golds and three Silvers were awarded. Lauded by one of our judges for its “fruity nose with berries, a little bit of sweetness, and good texture”, this gin was the first spirit to be awarded a Master medal in the day of tasting. British non-alcoholic apéritif brand Everleaf has made its debut in the US. The Everleaf expressions are designed to represent three areas of the natural world

Made using botanicals sourced from the English gardens of the famous Berkshire-based Highclere estate, it would seem like the iconic castle is now rightly becoming known for more than just the setting for BBC dramas. Everleaf has also been named as the official non-alcoholic sponsor of The Pig Hotel Group’s Smoked and Uncut festivals, as well as all nine of chef Tom Kerridge’s Pub in the Park festivals, where attendees will be able to enjoy a range of the brand’s Spritzes at its two-story bar. Two Silver medals were also awarded in this flight, with one going to Merser Small Rum, and a second to Vegvisir.Transporting you to the white sand beaches of the Seychelles, Takamaka’s creamy white expression, Rum Blanc, was awarded a Gold medal for its “light tropical aromas”. Lees noted: “A very diverse category, good to see natural flavours and very good to see balance achieved.” Of course, Aperol isn’t the only traditional option when it comes to Spritzes in Italy, where you were just as likely to encounter options made with Campari, Cynar and more. Then there’s the Hugo Spritz, said to have been created in 2005, combining elderflower (nowadays St-Germain or something similar), prosecco, mint and soda water.

This exclusive and rare bottling contained a liquid with “beautiful honey and cream around the palate” with red fruit notes and cigar smoke on the finish. Bottled at cask strength, the Single Barrel whiskies from Uncle Nearest have all been aged for a minimum for 11 years. Everleaf Forest was the first product debuted by the brand, and is a bittersweet blend of sustainably sourced botanical distillates and extracts carefully chosen to capture forest flavours, including saffron, Madagascan vanilla and honeyed orange blossom. The bottle received a Master medal in The DB & SB Spring Blind Tasting 2022.From the first whisky distillery in North Wales in more than 100 years comes another Master medal winner. The Aber Falls single malt wowed our judges with its softness and “luscious tropical notes of bananas”. It was a Gold medal presented to this non-chill-filtered single malt whisky from the west coast of Scotland. The runaway popularity of low- and no-alcohol ‘spirits’ has led to a huge increase in brands and products entering the sector. And this influx appears to have led to a rise in quality. Low- and no-alcohol has risen in popularity as consumers seek lighter serves

Although it’s very difficult to choose, marine was probably our favourite flavour of all. We also tried out our own combination and added ginger beer, which brought a bit of spiciness to the crisp marine botanical flavours. Said to be a good twist on the G&T, Everleaf’s Forest is loaded with sustainably sourced botanicals including saffron, citrus blossom and vanilla. Move over vodka, rum and gin, the next-gen spirits are here and they're probably not what you were expecting. As interest in booze-free alternatives continues to grow, so too do the fun, innovative and grown-up alternatives on offer. In keeping with the names, each are inspired by places, and mountain is labelled as vibrant and aromatic, forest as complex and bittersweet, while marine is said to be crisp and refreshing. We also found handy mixing instructions on the reverse, outlining measurement ratios with tonic, fruit slices and ice. Our tester thought this was a particularly nice touch.Using a selection of ingredients that highlight Everleaf’s nine key botanicals, bartenders are invited to book a slot on the Everleaf stand to showcase their Spritz-making skills. Entries will be judged live at the show using four criteria: flavour, aroma, texture and presentation.