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SUNNY Hill Distillery, Arthurton, has been recognised for the quality of its spirits, taking home major national awards.

The distillery entered its vodka, limoncello, second release whisky and first release rum in the 2022 Australia Distilled Spirits Awards in Melbourne earlier this year.

“The judges do a blind testing of the spirits in each category and award points based on how the spirit addresses the criteria,” co-owner Olivia Colliver said.

“We came with a bronze for our whisky, a silver for the limoncello and vodka while our rum won a gold medal.”

Olivia, husband Sam, rum creator Justin Murdock and their team also entered their first batch of rum in the inaugural Australian Rum Awards.

“We won the best aged rum aged two to four years, which was wonderful, but during the assessment, the judges all said it was the best in the category and scored it 95/100, which earned us a double gold,” Olivia said.

“It’s wonderful to have the recognition for the work we’ve done to get here.

“The rum and the whisky are a process, they have to be fermented and distilled and then sit in a barrel to age, so there’s a lot of work that goes into this.

“It was really nice to be able to show at the Rum Awards, which were held in Queensland where the distillers have easy access to cane sugar, that South Australia can make an amazing product too.”

The Sunny Hill team is preparing for a busy summer holiday period, with the doors to the distillery open for seven straight days between December 27 and January 8, excluding New Year’s Day.

“Now our outdoor toilet block is finished and we’ve got a lovely garden bed with rosemary and thyme that people are welcome to pick as well, we’re ready for a big summer,” Olivia said.

“We’ve got food and music happening every weekend and on Australia Day, we’re hosting Australia’s number one whip cracker, Nathan “Whippy” Griggs.”

Bookings are encouraged; to find out more, visit Sunny Hill Distillery’s Facebook page.