Victorian distillery Four Pillars has taken out the award for the International Gin Producer of the Year.

Kangaroo Island Spirits, Herno and Zamora Company were also in the running, but it was a back-to-back win for Four Pillars.

The Yarra Valley-based producer secured the award from the International Wine and Spirits Competition in 2019, making it the first Australian producer to receive the accolade.

“After the year we’ve had and the exhaustion we have felt, I couldn’t quite believe it when they called out our name,” said Co-Founder and Distiller Cameron Mackenzie.

“This is a triumph for strength over adversity, for professionalism and passion in the face of what sometimes in 2020 seemed insurmountable odds.

“This is a victory for every single person in the Four Pillars world but most particularly for everyone at Healesville who has faced so much uncertainty and difficulty this year but has never stopped putting in the hard yards.”

Four Pillars also snagged gold medals for their Bloody Shiraz and Rare Dry gins.