ALIA 2009 Winners Announced

By James Wilkinson

Almost 750 leading suppliers, retailers, hoteliers and bartenders converged on the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre last night (Oct 21) for the 16th annual Australian Liquor Industry Awards (ALIA).

In what turned out to be a stellar night for the liquor industry, some of Australia’s finest brands, best venues and leading personalities stole the show at what was labelled the best ALIAs in the last decade.

Some of the big winners on the night included: Samuel Smith & Son (Supplier of the Year); Bundaberg (Liquor Brand and Best Marketed Spirit); Tooheys Extra Dry (Mainstream Beer); Henschke (Luxury Red Wine for the Keyneton Shiraz Merlot); Melbourne’s Black Pearl (Bar of the Year); Justin Hemmes’ ivy (Hotel of the Year); and Keystone Group (Group Operator – On-Premise); and Cellarbrations (Retail Banner Group).

Thousands of nominations were received for the 16th annual ALIAs, with voting coming from the industry through a dedicated website and inside host publications National Liquor News, Australian Hotelier and bars&clubs Magazine.

Judging was then undertaken by two leading industry panels (representing off-premise and on-premise), before the results were officially audited by Ernst & Young - making the ALIAs the liquor and bar industry’s most transparent awards event.

The 2009 ALIAs were hosted by National Liquor News, Australian Hotelier, bars&clubs Magazine and theshout.com.au, and co-hosted by Coca-Cola Amatil and Torchmedia.

WINNERS IN THE 2009 AUSTRALIAN LIQUOR INDUSTRY AWARDS

BEER AWARDS

1. Mainstream Beer
Presented by TorchMedia
Winner: Tooheys Extra Dry
Highly Commended: Coopers Original Pale Ale

2. Mid-Strength Beer
Presented by National Liquor News
Winner: XXXX Gold
Highly Commended: Pure Blonde Naked

3. Light Beer
Presented by Australian Hotelier
Winner: Cascade Premium Light
Highly Commended: Hahn Premium Light

4. Low Carbohydrate Beer
Presented by National Liquor News
Winner: Pure Blonde
Highly Commended: Hahn Super Dry

5. Premium Domestic Beer
Presented by Australian Liquor Marketers
Winner: Boag’s Premium
Highly Commended: Crown Lager

6. International Beer
Presented by TimeOut Sydney
Winner: Corona Extra
Highly Commended: Peroni Nastro Azzurro

7. Craft Beer
Presented by 1st Fleet
Winner: Little Creatures Pale Ale
Highly Commended: James Squire Golden Ale

8. Best Marketed Beer Brand of the Year
Presented by MaCher
Winner: Pure Blonde
Highly Commended: Victoria Bitter

WINE AWARDS

9.  Popular White Wine - $12 and under
Presented by NILWA
Winner: Houghton White Classic
Highly Commended: Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay

10. Premium White Wine - $12-$35
Presented by Little Bottler
Winner: Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc
Highly Commended: Giesen Sauvignon Blanc

11. Luxury White Wine - $35-plus
Presented by Ernst & Young
Winner: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc
Highly Commended: Petaluma Chardonnay

12. Popular Red Wine - $12 and under
Presented by 1st Fleet
Winner: De Bortoli Sacred Hill Cabernet Merlot
Highly Commended: Jacob’s Creek Shiraz Cabernet

13. Premium Red Wine - $12-$35
Presented by Australian Liquor Marketers
Winner: Taylors Cabernet Sauvignon
Highly Commended: Wirra Wirra Church Block Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot

14. Luxury Red Wine - $35-plus
Presented by Coca-Cola Amatil
Winner: Henschke Keyneton Shiraz Merlot
Highly Commended: Jacob’s Creek St Hugo Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon

15. Australian Sparkling
Presented by tchillBag
Winner: Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay Pinot Noir
Highly Commended: Brown Brothers Zibibbo

16. Champagne
Presented by ILG
Winner: Moet & Chandon Brut Imperial NV
Highly Commended: Veuve Clicquot NV

17. Dessert Wine
Presented by Ernst & Young
Winner: De Bortoli Noble One
Highly Commended: Miranda Golden Botrytis

18. Best Small Winery
Presented by 1st Fleet
Winner: Wirra Wirra Vineyards, SA
Highly Commended: Zilzie Wines, VIC

19. Best Marketed Wine Brand of the Year
Presented by TorchMedia
Winner: Jacob’s Creek
Highly Commended: [yellow tail]

SPIRIT & LIQUEUR AWARDS

20. Dark Spirit
Presented by Australian Hotelier
Winner: Jim Beam White
Highly Commended: Bundaberg UP

21. Light Spirit
Presented by National Liquor News
Winner: Smirnoff Red
Highly Commended: Absolut

22. Premium Spirit – $35-plus
Presented by TheShout.com.au
Winner: Chivas Regal 12YO
Highly Commended: Johnnie Walker Black

23. Luxury Spirit
Presented by National Liquor News
Winner: Johnnie Walker Blue
Highly Commended: Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel

24. Liqueur
Presented by Australian Hotelier
Winner: Baileys
Highly Commended: Jagermeister

25. RTD – Dark
Presented by Australian Liquor Marketers
Winner: Jim Beam White
Highly Commended: Jack Daniel’s Old No.7

26. RTD – Light
Presented by TheShout.com.au
Winner: Smirnoff Ice Double Black
Highly Commended: Kristov Vodka Cruiser

27. Best Marketed Spirit of the Year
Presented by TorchMedia
Winner: Bundaberg
Highly Commended: Jack Daniel’s

HOTEL, BAR & CLUB AWARDS

28. Cocktail Spirit
Presented by bars&clubs magazine
Winner: Hendrick’s
Highly Commended: Ron Zacapa

29. Cocktail Liqueur
Presented by Signature Cocktails
Winner: St-Germain Elderflower
Highly Commended: Campari

30. Tap Beer
Presented by Lancer
Winner: Coopers Original Pale Ale
Highly Commended: Asahi

31. Bar Team
Presented by
Winner: Zeta, NSW
Highly Commended: The Lark, QLD (joint Highly Commended)
Highly Commended: Black Pearl, VIC (joint Highly Commended)

32. Bar Manager
Presented by Coca-Cola Amatil
Winner: Chris Stock, Golden Monkey, VIC
Highly Commended: Tim Wastell, Blue Diamond, VIC

33. On-Premise Training Program
Presented by bars&clubs magazine
Winner: Alchemy
Highly Commended: Mixxit

34. Venue Renovation
Presented by Coca-Cola Amatil
Winner: The Golden Sheaf, NSW
Highly Commended: Goldfish, NSW

35. Hotel Bistro/Restaurant
Presented by BAT
Winner: The Beresford Hotel, NSW
Highly Commended: The Botanical, VIC (joint Highly Commended)
Highly Commended: Ucello, NSW (joint Highly Commended)

36. Bar Restaurant
Presented by NILWA
Winner: Seamstress, VIC
Highly Commended: Bacco, NSW

37. New Venue
Presented by Russian Standard vodka
Winner: Hugos Manly, NSW
Highly Commended: Cloudland, QLD

38. Nightclub
Presented by Halo Security
Winner: Hugos Lounge/SKYY Bar, NSW
Highly Commended: Elsewhere, QLD

MAJOR AWARDS

39. Bartender
Presented by Mixxit
Winner: Nick Edwards, The Lark, QLD
Highly Commended: Pierre Fajloun, ivy, NSW

40. Bar
Presented by Southtrade
Winner: Black Pearl, VIC
Highly Commended: Bayswater Brasserie, NSW

41. Hotel
Presented by Hoshizaki Ice Machines
Winner: ivy, NSW
Highly Commended: Chalk Hotel, QLD

42. Group Operator – On-Premise
Presented by Halo Security
Winner: Keystone Hospitality, NSW
Highly Commended: Merivale Group, NSW

43. Liquor Promotion
Presented by Little Bottler
Winner: Jack Daniel’s ‘Rock on with Jack’s jukebox’ promotion
Highly Commended: Jim Beam ‘Take Control – Jim Beam Racing’ promotion

44. New Product
Presented by National Liquor News
Winner: Bundaberg Red
Highly Commended: Tooheys New White Stag

45. Liquor Brand
Presented by TorchMedia
Winner: Bundaberg
Highly Commended: Pure Blonde

46. Liquor Store
Presented by Pernod Ricard Australia
Winner: Coogee Bay Liquor Barn, Coogee, NSW
Highly Commended: Kemenys, NSW

47. Retail Banner Group
Presented by Coca-Cola Amatil
Winner: Cellarbrations
Highly Commended: Dan Murphy’s

48. Supplier of the Year
Presented by National Liquor News, Australian Hotelier, bars&clubs and TheShout.com.au
Winner: Samuel Smith & Son
Highly Commended: Lion Nathan