Want the best spirits for the least cash? These expert-approved winners tick both boxes.
Building a smart stash of spirits doesn’t have to cost a bomb – not when you have the judges from the Dan Murphy’s Decoded Spirits Awards on your side. After a successful launch in 2022, the awards are back to highlight the very best in the ever-crowded world of fine spirits. If you’re after failsafe recommendations for both experts and newbies alike, let this help you on your jaunt down the spirits aisle.
To select the winners, our expert panel of judges from across the drinks industry blind-tasted more than 450 entries to determine the very best in class from distillers here in Australia and around the world. And to go even further, the judges have also compiled a selection of very honourable mentions that also happen to offer killer value. These ‘Value Pick’ winners aren’t just the cheapest of the pile – they represent the highest quality at the lowest price point. After all, we want bang for our buck, not just more buck.
So, without any further ado, we run through a handful of our favourite Value Pick winners from the 2023 Dan Murphy’s Decoded Spirit Awards.
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Category: Australian gin
And the Value Pick award goes to: Tread Softly Natural Botanicals Dry Gin
Don’t let the pretty bottle deceive you into thinking this gin is all style and no substance: it may tread softly but it packs a huge punch of flavour by way of native citrus and a dose of floral jasmine. Even better – for every six bottles sold, they plant an native Australian tree.
Category: Coloured & sloe gin
And the Value Pick award goes to: La Plancheliere French Craft Pink Gin
Light, dainty and full of flavour that betrays its price tag, La Plancheliere’s pink gin is ideal for all manner of pretty cocktails, bringing bright notes of strawberries and citrus to the party. It’s a real fan favourite that worked its way into the hearts of our judges, too.
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Category: International vodka
And the Value Pick award goes to: Vestal Vodka
Picking an affordable vodka that delivers that balance of smoothness and delicate taste can be a surprisingly tricky task, which is where Poland’s Vestal comes in. A firm favourite with our judges as well as our regulars (just read our reviews), it’s one of the few under-$50 vodkas that works as deliciously neat as it does with a mixer.
Category: Australian whisk(e)y
And the Value Pick award goes to: 78 Degrees Australian Whiskey
South Australia’s 78 Degrees cut its teeth making quintessentially new-world Aussie gins, and their first mass-market whiskey is distilled with the same approach. It strays away from Scotch-influenced whiskies and instead incorporates a blend of local barley to impart a distinct flavour inspired by those oh-so-Aussie campfire moments. It’s about as good as Aussie drams get for less than $100 – which, in this case, is very bloody good.
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Category: North American whiskey
And the Value Pick award goes to: Clyde May’s Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Bourbon tends to dominate the entry-level whiskey market, often delivering a big hit of sweetness. Clyde May is a step up, balancing mouthfeel, affordability and nuance of flavour, complementing the classic, darkly sweet bourbon profile with notes of wild strawberry, apricot and spice.
Category: Scotch whisky
And the Value Pick award goes to: Glenfiddich Fire & Cane Single Malt
From the makers of the world’s most popular single malt comes Glenfiddich’s Fire & Cane, which is a slightly more experimental dram that pushes well beyond the distillery’s classic flavour profile. If you’re looking to get into the world of smokier whiskies without sacrificing too much of that classic profile, this unique blend of peated and unpeated liquors, aged in ex-bourbon barrels, is a great place to start.
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Category: Tequila
And the Value Pick award goes to: Cazadores Anejo Tequila
If all you’ve encountered is blanco (white) tequila, then you’ll have your mind blown with añejo styles. Añejo translates to old, but specifically it means the tequila has spent between one and three years ageing in barrels. The Cazadores Añejo Tequila is aged in new American oak, giving it nuanced flavours of caramel, spice, toasted nuts and peppercorn. It’s designed to be sipped on its own, but at this price point, it also makes an excellent addition to just about any tequila-based cocktail. A rare gem indeed.
Category: Pre-batched cocktails
And the Value Pick award goes to: Campari Negroni
While bartenders will argue for days on end about the best gins and vermouths to perfect the Negroni, Campari is commonly seen as the only non-negotiable ingredient in this classic Italian cocktail. So, it makes sense Campari has made their own with a classic blend of London Dry gin and rosso (AKA red) vermouth, which you can stash in the fridge, ready for any occasion.
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Category: Spiced rum
And the Value Pick award goes to: Dead Man’s Fingers Coffee Rum
Spiced rum lends itself to a whole bunch of decadent flavour combinations, coffee being chief among them. Dead Man’s Fingers, hailing from Cornwall in England, saw the potential of this, infusing their own spiced rum with freshly roasted coffee to add a wonderful warming depth to the concoction.
Here's a hot tip – for a limited time, My Dan’s members can also score awesome deals on all our Decoded Spirits winners:
- Spend over $70, get $5 off
- Spend over $120, get $10 off
- Spend over $200, get $20 off
