Submissions for the inaugural SoCraft Awards are officially open. Part of the Singapore Cocktail Festival in May 2024, the SoCraft Awards celebrate the craft spirit industries from across the globe. But it’s the twelve industry insiders on the SOCraft Awards Judging Committee who will help offer what the organizers call an “Asian-centric lens.”
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Ivy Woo, managing director of FoodNews Creative Marketing Agency, the organizers of the SoCraft Awards, is frowning, considering the question of the potential for awards to stir up debate, and sometimes controversy.
“We’ve done what we can to level the playing field for everyone,” Ivy nods. That’s because the year leading up to launch was full of research, she remembers. Speaking to government trade bodies, craft spirit producers and researching existing awards and accreditation, she says, really helped refine their approach.
Something For The Small Guys
Ten years ago, FoodNews launched Singapore Cocktail Week. Two years later, they created the Festival Village, which now draws 10,000 people over its three days.
Unknowingly, at the time of the launch, it was a craft spirits importer who would encourage Ivy and the event’s organizers to start thinking more seriously about the craft spirits industry.
“So, after we pitched the concept to the industry, a gentleman pulled me aside. It was Dave Kelly, the Asia-Pacific importer of Black Cow Vodka. He said, “this is great what you’re doing, but why don’t you do something for the small guys,” Ivy remembers.
“That really affected me. I really thought about what he’d said. I’ve always loved people who have passion for what they do, particularly in this industry. So, from there we introduced a craft spirits tasting room within the village, and the relationship with craft spirits has grown and grown.”
“It was the people that got me excited”
The intervening years have seen craft spirits become big name brands. Four Pillars Gin is a good example.
“Back then Four Pillars was still a craft spirit. Now look at where they are. Stuart Gregor, from Four Pillars, is such a character, and another inspiration. In some ways, being a small business has its advantages. They’re hustlers. And there’s no one who can articulate a brand’s story better than the founder. You’re always your own best salesperson. And we’re in an industry where relationships matter so much.”
It’s an industry that Ivy has been a part of, in various capacities, for 30 years. “I actually started out as a waitress at a restaurant on Boat Quay called Gourmet Bistro. I was still studying but I fell in love with the business, and left school to work in restaurants,” she smiles at the memory.
It was the people, mostly, that made it special. And it still is, she says. “After that first job as a waitress, I had lots of jobs in F&B, and along the way I realized it was the people that got me excited every day. I feel the same way with the craft spirits industry right now.”
From Norwegian Craft Gin To Singapore’s Brass Lion Distillery
The awards follow the definition of craft spirits producers as ones making less than 750,000 liters annually, with a majority of the company independently owned, and who identify as a craft producer.
She’s expecting the entrants, whose spirits will be measured on aroma and bouquet, mouth-feel, taste, finish, overall impression and their sustainability footprint – which count towards 1-star, 2-star, 3-star and Platinum Awards – to be geographically diverse. “I was speaking to a craft gin maker in Norway a few days ago, and I could see it snowing in the window behind him. I think we were both jealous of each other’s weather.”
Then, much nearer to home, there are Singapore’s own craft spirit makers. “The closest would probably be Brass Lion Distillery or Tanglin Gin,” she says of the two companies based close to the FoodNews office.
The awards are likely to reveal new trends in the craft spirits industry. “Soju might be the next big thing – everything that is big and buzzy seems to come from Korea right now,” Ivy muses, brandishing a bottle of locally-made, Peranakan dessert-inspired Ondeh Ondeh Soju – a first of its kind for Singapore.
The SoCraft Awards’ 12 Judges Span The Region
Mostly, Ivy sees these awards as a chance for craft spirit makers from around the world who are curious about Asia to discover more and get direct feedback from the judges nominated by the 12-person SOCraft Awards Judging Committee that span the region.
The committee comes from countries that include India, represented by Sidecar’s Minakshi Singh, Indonesia, with judge Kiki Moka from Jakarta’s The Cocktail Club, China and Hong Kong, represented by Hope & Sesame’s Andrew Ho and The Quinary’s Antonio Lai, respectively, and also Vietnam with our own editor-in-chief, David Kaye. Each chooses five judges from their region, a list of nominees that changes every year.
Now the judging committee are confirmed and the timeline has been announced, there’s no turning back for Ivy and the FoodNews team. “Sometimes I embark on a project, thinking how much fun the journey will be. Somewhere along the line, you’re like “Why am I doing this?” It’s only when you see the results do you remember,” Ivy reminds herself.
And those results will be announced at Singapore Cocktail Festival in May 2024, as the event marks 10 years, and the Festival Village celebrates another year of championing craft spirits.
Learn more about the SoCraft Awards here.
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