The best and brightest icons in the world of whisky have been commended at the Rest of World round of the Whisky Magazine Awards 2022, with the winners including a swag of Australians.

From bartenders to brand ambassadors, retailers to visitor attraction managers, the Icons of Whisky awards honour those who have worked tirelessly to produce and promote whisky.

The Whisky List picked up Online Retailer of the Year, Dave Withers at Australia’s Archie Rose Distilling Co was crowned Master Distiller/Blender of the Year and Lark Distilling Co was named both Sustainable Distillery of the Year and Campaign Innovator of the Year.

Sullivans Cove Distillery took out three awards: Craft Producer of the Year, Distillery Manager of the Year (Heather Tillott) and Visitor Attraction Manager of the Year (Ally Bhana).

The Whiskey List co-founder Oliver Maruda (pictured main with co-founder Chris Ross) said: “This is an exciting win for the TWL team, and we could not have achieved it without our network of suppliers, partner retailers and most importantly, our customers. And this year is looking to be even bigger. So stay tuned whisky lovers for more delicious whiskies from us, and thanks for the support. Congratulations to all the winners this year. Cheers!”

The judges said: “Founded in 2018 by veteran technology consultants Oliver Maruda and Chris Ross, The Whisky List was set up to make buying whisky online easy, personal and social. It boasts an engaged community of 20,000+ ‘Whisky Lovers’ (members) who can utilise a suite of virtual tools and experiences to help them learn about, try, rate, and buy their next whiskies. The platform even uses artificial intelligence technology to map member’s taste preferences and identifies available products most suited to their tastes.”

The Whisky List is now in the finals against the other regional winners: UK Online Retailer Abbey Whisky, and Ireland’s Online Retailer Winner Celtic Whiskey Shop.

The Icons of Whisky Global awards will be announced at a gala dinner in London on 24 March.

Australia’s World Whiskies Awards winners

The World Whiskies Awards (part of the World Drinks Awards) named its category winners for Rest of World, chosen from hundreds of entries from distillers across the globe by an expert judging panel.

This year’s Aussie winners include Teeling Whiskey 30 Years Old, which took the prize for Best Irish Single Malt 21 Years & Over, and Roe & Co Cask Strength was awarded Best Irish Grain 13 to 20 Years Old. The title of Best Australian Rye 12 Years & Under went to Archie Rose Rye Malt Whisky, while Best Australian Blended Malt No Age Statement went to Lark Distilling Co. Symphony No.1.

Other Australian winners were: Blended 12 Years & Under – Tasmanian Independent Bottlers The Blend (Malt & Oat); Blended Malt 12 Years & Under – Heartwood None of the Above; Grain 12 Years & Under – 78 Degrees Muscat Finish Whiskey; Single Cask Single Malt 12 Years & Under – Hillwood Sherry Peated; 13 to 20 Years – Sullivans Cove American Oak Old & Rare HH0609; No Age Statement – Woodwater PX Honey Cask; Single Malt 12 Years & Under – Hellyers Road Distillery Original 12 Years Old; 13 to 20 Years – Hellyers Road Distillery Slightly Peated 15 Years Old; No Age Statement – Hobart Whisky Tawny Port Cask Matured 21-005; Small Batch Single Malt – 12 Years & Under – Old Kempton Distillery The Old Stables; No Age Statement – Launceston Distillery Peated Release H17-23.

All category winners will now be compared head-to-head by the World Whiskies Awards judging panel to determine the Country and Global titles for 2022, such as France’s Best Single Malt and World’s Best Single Malt.

Christopher Coates, editor of Whisky Magazine, said: “The global whisky industry has taken the challenges of the past few years in stride, and the strength of the entries we’ve received to our Icons awards for 2022 reflects this perfectly. It was no easy task for our panel to choose these Rest of World winners, but I believe we’ve been successful in highlighting some truly iconic whisky heroes.

“As always, we have been inspired by each and every one of our Icons nominees. Regardless of where in the world they are located or the part of the industry they work in, it is apparent that all are united by an unrivalled passion for whisky and a shared commitment to excellence in their respective fields.”

Anita Ujszaszi, awards director, said: “We’ve been particularly impressed by submissions from some of the world’s newest distillers, many of which have been embracing innovative techniques to produce exceptional whiskies.

“None of this would have been possible without all the great people involved, across all parts of the operation, who were willing to help and work together to make this a great year for the World Whiskies Awards. We have seen increased numbers of whiskies entered and measurably improved quality across the board. We’re looking forward to next year already.”

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