Chilean Gin Wins Gold as Patagonian Spirits Eye Export Growth
Goodwinds Gin’s gold medal in San Francisco highlights a growing cohort of Patagonian distilleries building a premium export category for Latin American consumer goods.
Goodwinds Gin, produced in the remote Los Ríos region of Chile, has won a gold medal at a San Francisco spirits competition. The London Dry-style spirit uses ten botanicals, including native red murta berry and merkén smoked chilli, to create a flavor profile that acts as a regional trademark. The award adds to a growing medal haul for the brand, which occupies the premium domestic segment at CLP 25,000 to CLP 30,000 (US$26 to US$31) per bottle.
The distillery is part of a broader commercial movement among Patagonian craft spirits. South American gins are gaining global visibility, with Chile’s Carpintero Negro named the country’s highest-scoring entry at the Gin Guide Awards 2025, and Uruguay’s Sur 34 Gin taking Best in South America. Within this trend, Patagonian producers are collectively building a regional category.
Brands like Tepaluma Gin, distilled in Aysén, have already begun exporting to Europe. Last Hope Distillery and Gin Patagón Original are similarly leveraging highly localized supply chains—using ingredients like yerba maté, winter’s bark pepper, and cilantro austral—to create product differentiation. Industry observers compare this category-building effort to the historical rise of Argentine Malbec.
For investors tracking Latin American consumer goods, this clustering presents a distinct operational model. Low-volume, high-margin production can build brand equity rapidly when validated by international awards. Goodwinds currently sells through a direct-to-consumer online store and premium Santiago on-trade channels, including high-end venues like Artemisa and Arca Bar. However, establishing export channels to key markets in North America and Europe represents the next commercial frontier.
Independent reviewers have called Goodwinds “the best Chilean gin we have tried so far,” an endorsement that supports its pricing power against imported European labels. The core challenge for these distilleries remains scaling distribution internationally without diluting the artisanal scarcity that drives their margins.
