The reputation of Australian whisky on the global stage continues to grow, with the World Whiskies Awards recently revealing its medal winners for 2023, and a number of Australian whiskies have scored well.
As well as the whiskies, Australia has also performed well in other areas, with The Whisky List’s Emma Cookson named Whisky Communicator of the Year, Whisky & Alement named Bar of the Year, Lachlan Watt at Whisky & Alement named Bar Manager of the Year and Ally Bhana at Sullivan’s Cove named World Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year.
Bhana said of the win: “I’m blown away to be recognised alongside some incredible industry folk. A fantastic result to see the Australian whisky industry so well represented on the world stage. The team at Sullivans Cove are chuffed to be adding a few more awards to the collection.”
There were also Highly Commended recognitions for Sullivans Cove as Visitor Attraction of the Year and Brand Innovator of the Year and The Whisky List as Online Retailer of the Year.
Oliver Maruda, co-founder of The Whisky List told The Shout: “Our passion is simple – to help people discover their next whisky. Achieving second place to industry legends Master of Malt this year highlights the team’s hard work at The Whisky List. It also underscores how much we value collaboration with our partners, bars, retailers and distillers who support our efforts to innovate and promote the thriving Aussie whisky industry.”
Distillers are also delighted to have won a wide array of medals at the awards, with Inquity Whisky winning twice.
Distiller Ian Schmidt said: “Absolutely stoked that our whisky, the Iniquity Den’s Drams, #57 won gold and best in category for Best Australian Single Cask Single Malt Whisky. A smoky dram that lends credibility to those who refer to Iniquity as Australia’s answer to Ardbeg.”
There was also a double win for Manly Spirits, with co-founder David Whittaker saying: “We are incredibly proud of our Coastal Stone Shiraz Cask whisky winning best in category and gold medal for small batch single malt at the World Whisky Awards.
“The expression is a perfect balance of the distillery’s malty new make spirit with ex-Aussie red wine casks matured by the sea in Sydney’s sub-tropical climate. Subtlety and balance has been achieved by this combination making us very happy campers in expectation for our future releases using ex wine varietal casks.”
Overeem Whisky also won a gold medal, and owner Jane Overeem said: “We are honoured to receive a gold for our Port Cask – our flagship offering from Overeem always a favourite, now recognised on the global stage.”
The gold medals did not stop there, with Morris Whisky also being recognised and Marketing Manager, Lara Gardner, said the whole team was delighted with the win.
“To win a gold for our Morris Australian Single Malt Whisky Muscat Barrel expression at the World Whisky Awards is incredible, as we were up against some tough competition,” she said. “It’s such a good feeling to see all our efforts in creating a unique whisky from our home in Rutherglen Victoria make it to the world stage. The whole Morris team are delighted.”
Cameron Brett, Owner and Distiller at Spring Bay Distillery said it was great to see Tassie whiskies being recognised on the global stage.
“Very proud to be in such good company as medal winners at the WWA. Great to see Tasmanian Single Malt continuing to impress the world judges,” he said.
Paul McLeay, CEO of the Australian Distillers Association, told The Shout the results show just how good Australian spirits are.
“The whole Australian Spirits industry is proud of the fine showing at this year’s awards,” he said.
“Building on strong foundations and previous years success, the multiple winners from across Australia demonstrates the sophistication and depth of the Australian product.
“The industry was also pleased to see the team from Whisky & Alement, in Melbourne, pick up the Bar of the Year, and Tasmanian Ally Bhana awarded World Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year in the rest of the world category.”