Great Gido's Homebrew near Wakaw was recognized in several categories by the New York City International Spirit Competition. (Facebook/Great Gido's Homebrew)

By Angie Rolheiser

Great Gido's Homebrew

Saskatchewan distillery recognized in international spirit competition

Aug 28, 2020 | 12:54 PM

Great Gido’s Homebrew (GGH) near Wakaw won some awards in the New York City International Spirit Competition.

The competition had over 1,200 entries from 30 countries with 60 categories.

President Mark Holinaty said this certain competition is based purely on taste.

“When the judges get the sample, they get a container with a bar code on it so they don’t know who made it, what it looks like or anything,” Holinaty said.

GGH has only been in operation for the past three years and was awarded gold for their premium brandy and Triple Sec, silver for their Fish Creek Grain Fairy liqueur and also won the award for Canada’s Liqueur Producer of the Year.

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“I got a score of 95 for the premium, and 94 for the triple sec, and 92 for the absinthe,” Holinaty said. “It is an 18 judge panel and all of the judges are owners with bigger bars and liquor stores in New York.”

Placing in the top 50 would have been an honour for Holinaty who said the news hasn’t quite sunk in yet. Other than Last Mountain Distillery getting bronze for their locally brewed vodka, GGH was the only other Saskatchewan distillery to win an award.

“Bacardi and some really big outfits are on there and other places around the world are on there,” Holinaty said. “It is such an extraordinary competition and world renowned and just really amazing that I got in there.”

GGH supplies to Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority stores as well as private liquor stores can request for them to bring a shipment.

It is made out of six different fruit and honey and that is my premium, distilled two times,” Holinaty said.

Gido is Ukrainian for grandpa, hence the name Great Gidos Homebrew.

“It is my Great Gidos Homebrew and so that is my recipe for the base that I use,” Holinaty said.

Holinaty’s great grandfather came to Canada in 1912 from Chernivtsi, a city in the Bukovina region of the Ukraine, and settled in White Beech, Sask. He cleared 90 acres and built a log home for his family, where he farmed and was the local brewer.

A century later, Holinaty bought some bush land in the RM of Fish Creek, southwest of Wakaw, cleared some of it, built a log cabin and is carrying on the family tradition of sharing his Great Gido’s homebrew with the world.

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angie.rolheiser@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @Angie_Rolheiser