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Australia smashes it at World Whiskies Awards 2026

Editor

The World Whiskies Awards has revealed the winners in its Rest of World 2026 round, with Australia scooping 21 Gold medals and five 2026 Icons of Whisky wins.

The competition celebrates whisky producers the world over, shining the spotlight on an increasingly diverse and growing international whisky community.

Awards director Anita Ujszaszi said: “This has been a remarkable year for whisky, with an exciting wave of new expressions alongside the continued strength and support of established brands, even in what remains a very challenging global market.

“We are deeply grateful to our judges for their dedication over the past six months, and to our international team whose
commitment makes this program possible. Congratulations to all of our winners — every award should serve as an inspiration to the entire whisky community.”

World Whiskies Awards chair of judges Bradley Weir said: “It has been a privilege to lead the judging on the Rest of World entries this year. It’s been a real confirmation of the growing strength of so many countries around the globe that are establishing themselves as exciting forces of whisky.

“I think we can all agree this has been a strong group of winners. A special mention to all of the spectacular work by our judges, who have used their specialist knowledge and skills to come to the best conclusion.”

Callington Mill was named Australia’s Best Single Malt Whisky and crowned Category Winner – Rest of the World for its innovative, Australian-first Amphora Single Malt Whisky.

Callington Mill Founder John Ibrahim said: “For a Tasmanian distillery to win Best Australian Single Malt with a whisky finished in clay rather than oak sends a powerful message. Innovation doesn’t mean abandoning tradition, it means understanding it deeply enough to challenge it.”

Hellyers Road Distillery secured four category wins, four gold medals and 18 medals overall: more than any other Australian producer.

CEO & Managing Director Derek Charge said: “We are single malt specialists in the truest sense, controlling every step of production on one site for nearly three decades.

“Winning across multiple age statements reflects deliberate long‐term decisions, not shortcuts. These outcomes are the return on patience, building aged inventory, controlling quality end‐to‐end and allowing time to create value.”

The Icons of Whisky Rest of World 2026 celebrate the people and places behind the whisky. This year’s Australian honourees include Heather Tillott of Sullivans Cove Distillery in Tasmania for Innovation Manager of the Year and Chris Thomson of Lark Distilling Co for Master Distiller/Master Blender of the Year.

Sullivans Cove Distillery also took out Campaign Innovator of the Year and Sales Team of the Year, plus a Highly Commended award for Visitor Attraction Team of the Year.

Lark Distilling said: “Selected from a field spanning 40 whisky-producing nations, this honour recognises not only Chris’ mastery of distilling and blending, but the collective craft of the team at our Pontville Distillery – and the growing impact of Tasmanian whisky on the global stage.

Chris Thomson said: “This is fantastic recognition for all the efforts of our distilling and blending team here at our new Pontville distillery, it is super exciting to see our unique Tasmanian whiskies accepted so positively on the global stage.”

Australia’s Gold medals

See the full list of winners here.

All World Whiskies Awards country winners, including those from the US and Ireland, which will be announced in February, now have the chance to become the World’s Best in their respective categories, which will be announced at the Global Dinner in March.

Pictured main: Archie Rose Master Distiller Dave Withers.

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