GIN distillery founders Ben Kaberry and David Clayton have tasted success at major international awards.

Big Hill Distillery, the first gin distillery in Mobberley, has won a medal at this year’s SIP (Spirit International Prestige) awards – one of the spirits industry’s most respected competitions.

The brand’s success was a Double Gold medal for its Spirit of George English Dry Gin.

‘Spirit of George’ was named in honour of Mobberley’s famous ‘son’ George Mallory, the mountaineer who climbed Everest in 1924 but died near the summit.

His frozen body was found in 1999 near the summit, and the note from his wife that he said he would leave at the top of the ‘big hill’, was nowhere to be found, fuelling the belief he made it to the top of Everest before anyone else.

His father was the Reverend at St Wilfrid’s Church opposite the Church Inn pub and there is a stained-glass window commemorating Mallory in the church.

Big Hill Distillery is soon to be based at the award-winning Church Inn in Mobberley.

Ben said: "This highly-prized medal is a reflection of all the hard work that has gone into creating Spirit Of George. Having grown a loyal customer base that keep coming back for more, the award has already generated significant extra interest.

We really appreciate how highly this accolade is regarded; it spurs us on to produce more outstanding gin and now that the demand for Spirit of George is growing, it's great timing that we are moving into a new distillery which will allow us to increase our production capacity.”

The winning gin will feature at the Cholmondeley Arms Gin Fest 2018 for the first time from Friday, July 6.

The award success is especially impressive considering 780 spirits from across the globe were judged this year – the largest number of entries in the awards’ 10-year history.

As the only international spirits competition with only consumers as judges, the SIP Awards provides brands a rare opportunity to receive unbiased consumer feedback.

A total of 122 judges undertook four days of blind tastings before awarding the highly sought-after stamps of approval.