A Suffolk brewer which branched out into distilling just a few years ago is toasting two international accolades for its vodka.

Southwold-based Adnams scooped the awards for its recently-rebranded East Coast Single Malt Vodka.

The 2015 World Vodka Awards named it Best Varietal Vodka, and the International Spirits Challenge 2015 awarded it a gold medal.

Adnams decided to make artisan handcrafted spirits in 2008 and spent the next 18 months researching the project before launching its own vodka and gin in November 2010.

East Coast Single Malt Vodka, formerly known as Copper House Barley Vodka, won out over other entries in blind tastings at the 2015 World Vodka Awards to take the Best Varietal Vodka 2015 title.

Judges praised it as “soft and creamy with plenty of vanilla and barley notes” and said it had “distinctive nougat aromas, balanced by a touch of glacé cherry..

They described it as “lightly oiled with a touch of soft spice. Soft, creamy and toffee’d with crème caramel, light cereal and spice. Very full and rounded with a touch of lightly oiled spirit character. Long and spicy with hints of chilli pepper. Pleasant and full with a good character.”

It also won a gold award at the International Spirits Challenge 2015 for its Copper House Barley Vodka.

The vodka has now been given a “strong new look” to accompany its name change, using clouds and seagulls in a nod to Adnams’ Southwold heritage and hand-drawn ears of barley to highlight the company’s artisanal approach to distilling.

Adnams marketing director, Emma Hibbert said: “We’re so pleased with the award wins, which are testament to our unique approach to distilling, producing fantastic spirits loved by customers and experts alike.

“We’re so delighted that this success coincides with our re-launch of the vodka, giving it a new name and look.”

The company had had “fantastic” feedback about its new bottle design for both the Copper House Dry Gin and East Coast Single Malt Vodka,

“The two sit fantastically alongside each other, on the bar or on the shelf,” she said.

“With increasing emphasis being placed on spirit packaging, it is important for our products to remain individual in an increasingly crowded market.

“The new design is bright and modern, exciting on the eye, while also highlighting our point of difference from other craft distillers.

“We’ve had fantastic feedback for the new bottle design for both the Copper House Dry Gin and East Coast Single Malt Vodka, and the two sit fantastically alongside each other, on the bar or on the shelf.”

The new design, which follows a redesign of its Copper House Dry Gin in April this year, is screen-printed onto the bottles, with red as the main colour.

Designer Lee Cook from CookChick Design, said: “The new bottle design for East Coast Single Malt Vodka was conceived at the same time as the bottle for Adnams’ Copper House Dry Gin, so stylistically the two fit together as a pair and complement each other.

The illustrations were inspired by Adnams’ hand-crafted approach to spirit production and unique grain to glass distilling method, and the image of the tractor on the vodka paid homage to the locally-grown barley from which the vodka is made, he said.