An initiative by Australia’s Nip of Courage called The Community Spirit has won the Ethical Award at the 2020 Spirits Business Awards.

The Community Spirit project was recognised for making an ethical contribution to the spirits industry in a virtual event streamed from the United Kingdom in the early hours of December 2.

The collaborative project, made possible with funding from Spirits and Cocktails Australia, received top prize in the ethical award category.

In 2020, The Community Spirit embarked on a road trip with Nip of Courage national brand ambassador Abby Roennfeldt (pictured below with Kathleen Davies and Phoebe Scutts). The team captured stories of bushfire-affected distilleries and communities to share with the rest of the world to promote returning tourism to these regions.

To further support these distilleries, Spirits and Cocktails Australia purchased products from fire-affected distilleries at retail value to donate to bushfire fundraising events.

“It is truly an honour to be recognised on a global scale for the work we have done in our own backyard,” said Kathleen Davies, Sales & Marketing Manager at Nip of Courage.

“Aussie distillers had a tough year in 2020 and we hope that the message of The Community Spirit can be reinforced with this very exciting achievement.”

The road trip covered 5000 kilometres across Australia and featured the stories of 10 distilleries; Kangaroo Island Spirits (pictured main), Craft Works Distillery, Karu Distillery, Joadja Distillery, Stony Creek Farm Distillery, Wildbrumby Distillery (below), Billson’s Beechworth, Hurdle Creek Still, Corowa Distilling Co., and Reed & Co. Distillery.

“Spirits and Cocktails Australia is thrilled The Community Spirit has been recognised for making a positive contribution to the industry,” said CEO Greg Holland. “We’re proud to have partnered with Nip of Courage to bring this idea to life to support local distillers and bushfire fundraising efforts.”

The Spirits Business Awards was launched in 2019 and aims to champion the workforce of the spirits industry in a range of categories including marketing, sustainability, products, people and tourism. The judging panel is composed of a number of industry leaders including spirits journalists, marketers, and bar entrepreneurs.

“The Spirits Business Awards has been launched to celebrate outstanding achievements across the breadth of the spirits industry,” said Melita Kiely (above), editor of The Spirits Business.

“Our sector is vast and complex, relying on the abilities of people spanning a range of disciplines – many of whom stay out of the spotlight. [These awards] seek to give praise where praise is due.”

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