Bunnahabhain, Tobermory and Deanston’s distilleries are among Distell’s 11 award wins at this year’s highly acclaimed World Whiskies Awards.
The group’s range of Scottish single malts featured heavily across numerous categories.
Tobermory Distillery, which produces both Tobermory Whisky and peated expression, Ledaig, uses the colourful cottages and the island’s natural beauty as inspiration throughout the distilling process. The Ledaig 10-year-old came out on top of the Scotch Islands (Non-Islay) category for a second year in a row, while the 18-year-old won a gold in the same category.
Among Bunnahabhain’s five awards, their Toiteach A Dhà, which is created on the island’s most northerly point using pure spring water and the tallest stills, was the winner in Islay’s Non-Age Statement grouping.
Derek Scott, Distell’s brand director for malts, said: ‘This wave of awards reflects how hard those in the Tobermory, Bunnahabhain and Deanston distilleries have been working in their search for perfection.
‘We’re incredibly proud to have some of the best distillers in whisky as part of the Distell team. So we are extremely pleased that these efforts have been to see recognised on a global scale and we are over the moon that our whiskies have been deemed award-worthy by the highly respected judges.’
Deanston was also recognised in the Scotch Highlands category, receiving a bronze certificate for both the 15 Years Old Organic and 12 Year Old from its core range, both of which are created with little input from modern technology and computers in an eco-conscious environment where handmade crafting ability has been at the heart of the Doune establishment since the 60s.
While Distell’s individual distilleries were celebrated for their outstanding efforts this year, the group was also praised, being highly commended in the Distiller of the Year category.
Andy Watts was singled out for his role as global head of whisky intrinsic excellence, taking home the coveted title for World Whisky Ambassador of the Year.
2020 is set to be a major year for Distell’s Scotch whisky portfolio, as Bunnahabhain’s new visitor centre opens in spring, while all three distilleries have an extensive range of limited-edition expressions in the pipeline.
The World’s best whisky in each category will be announced on 26 March, with the brands competing against international opposition.
The full list of Distell’s awards is –
Scotch Islands (Non-Islay): 12 years and under – Ledaig 10 Years Old (Winner)
Scotch Islay: No age statement – Bunnahabhain Toiteach A Dhà (Winner)
Scotch Islands (Non-Islay): 13-20 years – Ledaig 18 Years Old (Gold)
Scotch Islay: 13-20 years – Bunnahabhain 18 Years Old (Gold)
Scotch Islay: 21 years and over – Bunnahabhain 25 Years Old (Gold)
Scotch Islay: No age statement – Bunnahabhain An Cladach (Gold)
Scotch Islay: 12 years and under – Bunnahabhain 12 Years Old (Silver)
Scotch Highlands: 13-20 years – Deanston 15 Years Old Organic (Bronze)
Scotch Highlands: 12 years and under – Deanston 12 Years Old (Bronze)
Distiller of the Year: Distell (Highly commended)
World Whisky Ambassador of the Year: Andy Watts, Distell
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