Less than a year after being placed in administration, Old Young’s Distillery has staged an extraordinary comeback, winning Best Gin in the World at the 2026 ADI International Spirits Awards.

The Western Australian distillery also won Best Gin & Tonic in the World at the prestigious awards.

The remarkable turnaround comes after what founder James Young describes as one of the darkest and most personally devastating periods of his life.

“The real emotional toll wasn’t the day we went into administration, it was the nine months leading up to it,” Young said. “That was me waking up in the middle of the night asking myself, ‘Have I completely stuffed this? Have I let down our investors? Are we going to lose our house?’

“When you’re lying awake at 2am every night worrying about debts, investors and our 55 staff instead of getting excited about what’s coming off the still, you know you’ve drifted too far away from what you love.”

Old Young’s entered voluntary administration in September 2025 after an aggressive expansion period that included large scale tourism ambitions, hospitality operations and the now shelved “Cathedral of Gin” project in Perth’s Swan Valley. But rather than signalling the end of the brand, Young says the administration process ultimately forced the business to strip away complexity and return to what made Old Young’s famous in the first place, producing world-class spirits.

“The thing that dragged me furthest away from my real passion was opening the restaurant,” Young (above) said.

“At the time it felt like the right move, but eventually I realised we were trying to be too many things at once. Simplifying the business brought us back to who we really are. We’re a spirits company. Our job is making great booze, employing great people and sharing something special with customers.”

At the 2026 ADI International Spirits Awards, hosted by the American Distilling Institute, Old Young’s took home:

• Best Gin in the World: Old Young’s Common Gin (Navy Strength Gin)
• Best Gin & Tonic in the World: Old Young’s signature 1829 Gin
• Best Classic Gin: Old Young’s signature 1829 Gin
• 3 Gold, 2 Silver and 2 Bronze medals

The distillery also recently placed Top 5 in the Fever-Tree G&T Cup.

“Given the last 18 months, these awards are incredibly meaningful. They prove the quality never went away. Our booze stayed world class, even when life was a challenge.”

The wins arrive as Old Young’s celebrates its 10th birthday, a milestone Young admits means far more after nearly losing everything. 

“Hitting ten years means more now than it ever would have if things had just been smooth sailing,” he said.

“It’s proof all the pain and hard choices were the right thing to do. We chose the hard road to make sure Old Young’s survived. I guess it could have been easier to walk away, but that never really crossed my mind – I felt a huge responsibility to our staff, investors and customers not to do that.”

Now back spending more time behind the still rather than buried in operational stress, Young says the business has rediscovered its creativity and soul.

“Getting back behind the still feels like coming home,” he said. “There’s something meditative about it. Your mind finally has space to wander again and that’s when the creativity comes back. My sleep came back and energy has come back. And for the first time in a while, I’m genuinely excited about the future.”

To mark its 10th anniversary and new chapter, Old Young’s is releasing two special products. The first is the return of its cult favourite Black Cherry Gin, the distillery’s most requested seasonal release ever.

The second is Cream of the Crop, a limited-edition gin created from the first and most flavour packed 50ml collected from every single batch of Old Young’s 1829 gin distilled over the past decade. Only 100 bottles exist.

“It’s the only product we physically could not have made without surviving ten years. In a very literal way, it’s our first decade captured in liquid form,” Young said.

The release is housed in hand-thrown ceramic bottles crafted by Western Australian potter Judy Nastov and priced at $250 per bottle. The bottles will go on sale on 3 June.