New Brunswick distillery Fils du Roy takes home gold medal
San Francisco World Spirits Competition awards Fils du Roy's Gin Thuya its top prize
A New Brunswick spirit has received another gold medal at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
Fils du Roy's Gin Thuya was one of 1,850 spirits judged at this year's competition. This is the distillery's third gold medal for its gin.
Owner and founder Sébastien Roy said the reason for the gin's success may very well be in the way it is made, a 150-year old process of distilling in copper pots, or an alembic.
"The judge can see that there was a lot of work behind the conception of the gin. That is the feedback we receive," said Roy.
Roy is waiting to hear back from a London competition in April and another in Germany in May.
"We did not expect to have any recognition internationally. Those are very big competitions, the winners are usually big distilleries," he said.
The Fils du Roy's micro-distillery began its operation in Sept. 2012 in Petit-Paquetville. Roy expanded to Québec in June 2015, with a small facility in St-Arsène.
The distillery produces vodka, whisky and other spirits, and is working on a single malt whiskey to be introduced in the coming years.
Roy said next year Fils du Roy will offer something new to the competitions, a single malt gin, a melding of young whiskey and their now famous gin.
"Even if you are very small you can have big dreams. We didn't think we could dream that big … now we can see we have some success in those competitions and we are very happy."