The World Whiskies Awards and the Icons of Whisky winners (in the Rest of World category) have been unveiled for 2024. There are some familiar names and, pleasingly, some new names and faces as a number of new distilleries bring their whiskies to the world’s stage…
The World Whiskies Awards has grown to such an extent that, several years ago now, it was split into various regions to do justice to the huge number of distilleries, producers, bottlers, and individuals who contribute to the many sectors of the whisk(e)y industry. While some regions naturally pick themselves (e.g. Scotland, USA, Ireland), the catch-all region of Rest of World was created to capture the likes of Australia, Japan, India, Taiwan, Canada, New Zealand, Israel, China, and the many European countries producing whisky (e.g. Belgium, Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Switzerland, etc) and more. In February this year, the 2024 winners in the Rest of World categories were announced for both the World Whiskies Awards and the Icons of Whisky Awards. Being an Aussie and someone who’s written a lot about Australian whisky, I trust you’ll indulge us if we highlight the Australian winners for 2024…
Icons of Whisky, 2024
(Rest of World category – Australian winners)
Brand Ambassador, Scotch Whisky – Seamus Carroll, The Whisky Club
Brand Ambassador, World Whisky – Ally Bhana, Sullivans Cove Distillery
Brand Innovator – Sullivans Cove Distillery
Communicator – Andrew Derbidge, Whisky & Wisdom
Craft Producer – Callington Mill Distillery
Distillery Manager – Heather Tillott, Sullivans Cove Distillery
Master Distiller / Master Blender – Ian Thorn, The Gospel Whiskey
Sales Team – Sullivans Cove Distillery
Visitor Attraction Manager – Michelle Burns, The Aisling Distillery
Visitor Attraction – Callington Mill Distillery
World Whiskies Awards, 2024
(Rest of World category – Australian winners)
A large number of Australian distilleries and producers submitted their whiskies for judging, and a number of expressions / bottlings were recognised with Bronze, Silver, and Gold medals. Importantly, an impressive number of whiskies were announced as being overall Category Winners – a huge achievement, particularly noting the huge volume of entries and the large number of different categories. The Australian Category Winners were as follows:
Backwoods Distilling Co, Shiraz Cask, 46% – Rye, No Age Statement
Coastal Stone, Xplore, 40% – Blended, No Age Statement
Eden, Folklore – Double Oak, 50.4% – Small Batch Single Malt, No Age Statement
Hellyers Road Distillery, The American Oak 16 Years Old, 60.7% – Single Cask Single Malt, 13 to 20 years
Hellyers Road Distillery, The American Oak 21 Years Old – Cask 2157.05, 62.4% – Single Cask Single Malt 21 Years & Over
Hellyers Road Distillery, The Dark Harmony, 52% – Blended Limited Release, No Age Statement
Hellyers Road Distillery, The Voyager Cask, 57% – Small Batch Single Malt, 13 to 20 Years
Hillwood Whisky, Peated Sherry Cask 150, 60.5% – Single Cask Single Malt, No Age Statement
Iniquity, Talamara, 40% – Single Malt, 12 Years & Under
Lark, Fresh IPA Cask, 46% – Single Malt, No Age Statement
Lark, Symphony No. 1, 40.2% – Blended Malt, No Age Statement
Sullivans Cove, American Oak 2nd Fill TD0452, 50% – Single Cask Single Malt, 12 Years & Under
The Gospel, Legacy Rye, 56% – Rye, 12 Years & Under
Transportation Whiskey, The Journey Single Cask Cask Strength, 57.6% – Pot Still, No Age Statement
Waubs Harbour Distillery, Waubs Original, 43% – Small Batch Single Malt, 12 Years & Under
Whipper Snapper, Rye, 48% – Single Cask Single Rye, No Age Statement
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If you’d like to see the full list of medals (Bronze, Silver, Gold) and the many Australian distilleries and their releases that entered the awards but aren’t listed above, you’ll find it here. Of course, it’s worth stating that this is an awards program that distilleries choose to enter and submit their whiskies to, and so not every Australian distillery or producer is necessarily represented. For more information on this and how whisky awards programs work, you might like to read our recent article, “Whisky Awards – Who really wins?”
Congratulations to all involved; to the many individuals behind the scenes that work tirelessly and often anonymously in the production of great Australian whiskies, and to the Australian whisky industry as a whole.
Cheers,
AD
PS…you might also like our article Which is the best Australian whisky?
