Exciting news for fans and observers of The Macallan this month with the release of the new addition to The Macallan’s M Collection range for 2022 – in this instance, the M Copper. The M Collection is a special, high-end offering within The Macallan’s portfolio that aims to showcase the brand’s so-called Six Pillars. As the word “pillar” suggests, these are the foundations on which the brand is built, and they comprise the following:
Category: Events
The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship, 2022
The biennial Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship returned to Sydney in March 2022, after a series of interruptions due to COVID and lockdowns. Originally scheduled for June 2020, it was postponed twice and pushed into 2021, then had to be re-scheduled again to 2022 after the second wave from Delta. For competitors who’d been holding on to their entry ticket for two years, it was a relief when the event finally got the green light to proceed and the various COVID variants were kept at bay for one incredible night. And, as whisky nights go, this was a great one….
Continue reading “The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship, 2022”
The Australian Whisky Awards, 2022
{This article is now a few years old, and discusses a unique awards program that operated as a public-vote. You might like to read our more recent article, Whisky Awards – Who really wins?}
February 2022 saw the second annual Australian Whisky Awards, presented and organised again in Sydney by the Australian Whisky Appreciation Society, or “AWAS”, as it’s more commonly known. The awards ceremony and gala dinner was held on the top floor of the Museum of Contemporary Art overlooking Sydney Harbour, and some 120 people gathered to mingle, celebrate with, and recognise the many people involved in various aspects of the industry.
The Australian Whisky Awards, 2021
{This article is now a few years old, and discusses a unique awards program that operated as a public-vote. You might like to read our more recent article, Whisky Awards – Who really wins?}
There’s no shortage of whisky awards programs around the world, or spirits competitions that the whisky industry features heavily in. Some commentators assert that there’s actually too many whisky awards in the industry, whilst others point to the reality that many of the awards programs have flawed or questionable entry/judging criteria that render their outcomes dubious. The “pay to play” schemes of many awards programs are a good example of this.
Here in Australia, we’ve had numerous spirits/whisky awards that have recognised Australian distillers/distilleries over the years, dating back as far as the early 20th century. More recently, the Malt Whisky Society of Australia convened a very successful and well-run awards concept from 2005-2012 which awarded a “Champion Australian Whisky” from 2009 onwards, and introduced a trophy in 2010 for the highest scoring Australian whisky. The Australian International Spirits Competition had a dedicated category for Australian whisky in 2020, and there are other local spirits competitions that recognise the whisky category. But it’s been a while since we’ve seen a locally run awards program dedicated exclusively for the Australian whisky industry.
So with all that as backdrop, there was excitement and curiosity earlier this year when the Australian Whisky Awards were announced. Conceived by Niko Devlin (the man behind the Australian Whisky Appreciation Society, aka the AWAS Facebook group) and Dan Woolley (Highwayman Whisky), the awards were built on the platform of being a way to recognise distillers, players, distilleries, and whiskies in the Australian whisky community, as voted by Australians, for Australians. Whilst the idea had its genesis late last year, its announcement and activation was perhaps cemented and hastened after the debacle that was this year’s Icons of Whisky Awards for the Australian industry.
The Australian Whisky Awards were thus held on Sunday 21st of March at Luna Park’s Crystal Palace in Sydney. The event attracted those within the industry, those in the general whisky appreciation community, and a large number of people who tuned in to the event via the livestream. With interstate travel still a troubling prospect in the shadow of COVID, an impressive number of industry folks made their way from around the country to Sydney to attend the event.
So how did these awards work, and what was the judging criteria? The system effectively unfolded in three phases: The first phase was a nominations round, whereby anyone in the public and within the industry could nominate their personal choices for the entities they felt were deserving in each category. Once all nominations were collated and processed, shortlists of the top 20 nominated names were created in each category for the purposes of voting. For the second phase, anyone in the public was able to go online and vote in each category on a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place basis. (Australian Rules Football fans will recognise the similarity to the Brownlow voting system!) Then, in an extension of the second phase, a group of 50 industry people were selected as judges to submit their votes. The judges’ votes were merely added to the public votes – they did not replace or trump the public votes, but were weighted to recognise industry knowledge and insights. The judges were a mix of distillers and producers (not involved with whisky), brand ambassadors, bar trade folks, retailers, and writers.
It is also worth mentioning that the organisers refused / declined sponsorship from any entities involved with or associated with the drinks industry – all part of the thinking to ensure the awards had full integrity and transparency. Looking at the list of short-listed nominees and the people/entities who were subsequently announced as the winners, it’s evident that these awards truly reflected the spirit and input of the Australian whisky community as a whole, and the organisers are to be commended accordingly. Thousands of nominations and votes were received from around the country, making it – in the words of one speech maker on the night – the whisky industry’s largest democracy.
Either by intention or, possibly, assumption/oversight, it was never explicitly explained whether the awards were for the Australian whisky industry, or for the Australian whisky industry. (Did you pick the difference?) As such, when voting for, say, “Personality of the Year”, did the nominee have to be someone involved with an Australian whisky distillery or product, or could it be, for example, a brand ambassador who works in Australia for a Scotch or bourbon brand? Similarly, when voting for “Venue of the Year”, was it for Australia’s best whisky bar, or was it for the bar that best featured/represented Australian whiskies? These nuances were never explained or defined by the organisers, thus resulting in a very eclectic list of nominees – yet, wonderfully, effectively bringing in a much larger field of candidates.
A superb line-up of Australian whiskies to accompany dinner
Phil Jamieson added some live music entertainment to the evening
Notwithstanding the mechanics of the voting and the results, the live event itself was a grand affair and reflected both the enthusiasm and gravitas of a serious awards program. Close to 200 attendees enjoyed a sensational five course meal with accompanying whiskies (Australian, of course); the awards presentations; a live performance by Phil Jamieson (of Grinspoon fame); and – for those that braved Sydney’s wet – an afterparty in several different venues. (Not bad for a Sunday night!)
Scott Fitzsimons (of Oak Barrel and The Whisky Fair fame) was charged with the task of MC’ing the event, which he set about admirably and perfectly with his trademark mix of suitably-informal professionalism, humour, commentary, and insights. Each award was announced and presented at intervals throughout the evening with the commencement of each subsequent dinner course, and the evening unfolded as follows:
Personality of the Year (presented by Niko Devlin):
Copper – Dan Woolley
Silver – Bill Lark
Gold – Kelvin Low
Distiller/Producer of the Year (presented by Alexandra Dahlenburg)
Copper – Heather Tillott
Silver – Brian Hollingworth
Gold – Dave Withers
Venue of the Year (presented by Scott Fitzsimons)
Copper – Archie Rose
Silver – Whisky + Alement
Gold – The Elysian
Lifetime Achievement Award and the inaugural Hall of Fame induction (presented by Dan Woolley, Kristy Lark, and Andrew Young)
Bill Lark
Distillery of the Year (presented by Thalita Alves)
Copper – Starward
Silver – Black Gate Distillery
Gold – Archie Rose
Whisky of the Year (presented by Andrew Derbidge)
Copper – Black Gate Apera
Silver – Archie Rose Single Malt
Gold – Sullivans Cove French Oak
Dram of the Decade (presented by Dan Woolley)
Copper – Archie Rose Rye Malt
Silver – Black Gate 520s
Gold – Sullivans Cove Cask HH525 (Yes, that whisky!)
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The evening had many highlights; after the year that 2020 was, simply the chance to come together as a community and celebrate was a highlight in itself! But few would disagree that the main highlight of the night was seeing Bill Lark – together with Lyn Lark – recognised and celebrated. And, equally a highlight, it was a privilege to hear Bill deliver a wonderful and poignant acceptance speech that told not just the story of Australian whisky in the last 30 years, but gave insight into why our industry now enjoys the successes and strengths it exhibits: It is more than just the drink in the bottle, it is the collegiate spirit that Bill fostered and shared; it is the people behind the scenes and at the coal face; and it is the Australian spirit of having a go and giving it a decent shake.
Despite Sydney putting on some of its most miserable weather in 20 years, it was warm and suitably festive indoors, and the evening delivered on so many fronts. I’d like to personally congratulate Niko Devlin and his assembled team for putting on one hell of a party; for bringing such a large chunk of the Australian whisky community together under the one roof; and for delivering a Whisky Awards event that can hold its head high.
Cheers,
AD
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[UPDATE: You can read our write-up of the 2022 Australian Whisky Awards here.]
Want to read more about the Australian whisky industry? Check out these other articles by Whisky & Wisdom…
Trouble brewing for the Australian whisky industry?
Visiting the distilleries of Tasmania
The pioneers of Australia’s whisky appreciation community
Australian whisky – It’s got an image problem
Australian whisky has its Cardhu moment
Bakery Hill – the view from the top
Archie Rose Six Malt New Make – the giant stirs
Icons of Whisky 2020 – The Australian Awards
The Icons of Whisky 2020, Australia awards were held in Sydney on October 21st this year. The Icons of Whisky is an awards program convened by Whisky Magazine and its international agents to recognise the people, places, and products that strive for excellence in the whisk(e)y industry.
Originating in the UK back in 2007, the awards have since grown to recognise the local players in many international markets, with countries/regions such as America, India, Australia, Scotland, Ireland, and Rest of the World now holding annual awards. The winners in each category in their local awards go forward to be part of the Global Icons of Whisky Awards, held in London.
The Australian awards were a fun (if slightly boisterous) affair, with the room filled with distillers, distributors, brand ambassadors, bartenders, hospitality managers, whisky tourism and visitor attraction personnel, accounts managers, sales teams and, yes, even the occasional whisky writer. James Buntin, a long-time whisky ambassador who’s worked with many of the brands over the years, was an appropriate MC for the evening.
Continue reading “Icons of Whisky 2020 – The Australian Awards”
Bruichladdich – the Gathering
Sydney has been fortunate to play host to some incredible whisky tastings over the years. The Ultimate Ardbeg Dinner (2007) and the Ultimate Glenfarclas Tasting (2015) being two examples. This month, The Scotch Malt Whisky Society curated and hosted what must go close to being the Ultimate Bruichladdich Tasting. Continue reading “Bruichladdich – the Gathering”
Highland Park – the Vikings are coming.
Anyone who’s been drinking whisky for a few years now will no doubt have noticed “change”. Brands have changed their packaging and labels. Distilleries have changed their core-range or introduced new expressions into their line-up. Prices have changed. Distillery Managers and Brand Ambassadors have changed. According to some, whisky itself has changed! Another key area that has changed (and will continually evolve and change) is whisky’s marketing. In particular, each whisky brand’s image can change. And few brands can match the change in persona that has overcome Highland Park.
Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Release & Ardbeg Untamed
For the review and tasting notes of the Ardbeg Kelpie Committee Edition, scroll further down.
With multi-tasking all the rage these days, this piece combines two distinct happenings involving Ardbeg. The second of these relates to Kelpie, this year’s new release to coincide with Ardbeg Day. But before we try and conquer that wee beastie, have you heard of Ardbeg Untamed?
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Lagavulin 8yo Launch
As is widely known across the whiskysphere, 2016 sees the Lagavulin distillery celebrate its 200th Anniversary. No one celebrates a 200th birthday lightly, and Lagavulin has been widely praised for the release of its limited edition (but widely accessible and affordable) celebratory 8yo in honour of the occasion. Whisky & Wisdom had an early taste of this, and wrote up a piece about the distillery and the whisky back in April. You can read that piece and the review on the 8yo here.
However, more recently – and closer to home – the 8yo had its local launch in Australia just a few weeks ago. Held at The Wild Rover in Sydney’s Surry Hills, the launch was not just the unveiling and tasting of the whisky, but it was also an incredible virtual reality (VR) tour of the distillery.
The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship, 2016
{This is an older post from the 2016 Championship. See our newer post following the 2022 event}
The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship is a bit like the internet. It’s something you might think is a relatively “new” thing, when the reality is that it’s been around for decades longer than you gave it credit for.
In actual fact, the Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship has been around since 1989! As the name suggests, it is a tasting competition, and had its origins in Adelaide, South Australia. The competition’s principal format and structure has remained largely unchanged over the years: Competitors are presented with eight whiskies pre-poured before them, and supplied with a list of nine possible whiskies – in other words, the eight whiskies that are on the table, plus one red herring. Competitors are then given 30 minutes to identify which whisky is which and to write their answers on the answer sheet. Of course, having a list with all of the possible contenders in front of you makes the exercise seem a little easier, but the challenge is also in establishing which whisky of the nine on the list is not on the table!
Continue reading “The Australian Malt Whisky Tasting Championship, 2016”