Golden Road Gin, a premium Welsh dry gin from the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, has been awarded a Gold Medal at the 2026 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, one of the world’s most respected spirits competitions.
The award marks a major international milestone for Golden Road, an independent, founder-led gin created by husband-and-wife team Philip and Jennifer Wheeler. It places the Pembrokeshire brand among an international field of spirits recognised for exceptional quality, balance and craftsmanship.
Golden Road is the only gin from Wales to achieve a Gold Medal in this year’s competition.
Run by The Tasting Alliance, the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is renowned for its rigorous blind judging process, with entries assessed by leading spirits experts, buyers, bartenders, educators and drinks professionals. With more than 4,000 entries in 2026, a Gold Medal is a significant international endorsement of quality and a proud moment for a small Welsh gin rooted in the Preseli Hills.
Golden Road Gin was created to capture the spirit of the place it comes from. It takes its name from the ancient Golden Road, the route that runs along the ridge of the Preseli Hills above the founders’ farm.
For thousands of years, traders, pilgrims and travellers crossed this route, carrying goods, stories and ideas across Wales. That sense of journey, landscape and shared experience sits at the heart of the brand.
Crafted using traditional copper pot distillation, Golden Road brings together carefully selected botanicals, including fresh bay leaves hand-picked from the founders’ farm at the foot of the Preseli Hills. Pink peppercorn and a distinctive cherry tea blend add gentle warmth, lift and character, creating a gin that is elegant, aromatic, refreshing and full of quiet Welsh personality.
Jennifer Wheeler, a Cordon Bleu-trained cook and co-founder of Golden Road Gin, placed flavour and balance at the heart of the gin’s development. Designed to work beautifully in a classic G&T, while carrying enough structure to sit alongside food, Golden Road was developed as a refined, food-friendly gin with a clear sense of place.
Philip Wheeler, co-founder of Golden Road Gin, said:
“To win Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition is a huge moment for us. This is one of the awards that carries real weight in the spirits world, because the judging is blind and the standard is exceptionally high.
Golden Road began with a simple but very personal idea: to create a gin that carried something of the Preseli Hills, our farm, and the feeling of adventure, authenticity and joyful shared moments.
We are very grateful for the comprehensive and practical support we have received from the Welsh Government, and from other local producers we have met through that support. It has helped us enormously.
This recognition gives us real confidence that our gin can stand alongside some of the finest spirits in the world. For a small independent Welsh gin to win Gold in San Francisco feels extraordinary.”
The San Francisco Gold Medal follows a growing list of awards for Golden Road Gin, including Gold at the Global Gin Masters 2024, Best in Class recognition at the World Gin Awards 2025, and a Great Taste Award.
The latest accolade strengthens Golden Road’s reputation as a premium Welsh gin with international credentials, standout shelf appeal and genuine provenance.
Golden Road Gin is available through selected wholesalers, retailers, hospitality venues and online.