Icons of Whisky 2020 – The Australian Awards

The Icons of Whisky 2020, Australia awards were held in Sydney on October 21^st 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.

Over the course of a three course meal and plenty of drams, the nominees in each category were announced and shown on a screen, with the two eventual shortlisted  entities then being called to the stage where the winner and runner-up were announced.   The awards unfolded as follows:

Distillery Manager of the Year
Winner: Ian Schmidt – Tin Shed Distillery
Highly Commended: Heather Tillott – Sullivans Cove

Master Distiller of the Year
Winner: Jimmy McKeown – Whipper Snapper Distillery
Highly Commended: Mark Littler – Hellyer’s Road Distillery

Distiller of the Year 
Winner: Sullivans Cove
Highly Commended: New World Distillery

Visitor Attraction of the Year
Winner: New World Distillery (aka Starward)
Highly Commended: Archie Rose Distillery

Visitor Attraction Manager of the Year
Winner: Harriet Leigh – Archie Rose Distillery
Highly Commended: Peter Bignell – Belgrove Distillery

Craft Producer of the Year 
Winner: Belgrove Distillery
Highly Commended: Tin Shed Distillery

Brand Innovator of the Year 
Winner: Rochford Distillery
Highly Commended: New World Distillery

Whisky Communicator of the Year
Winner: Whisky and Wisdom  (Yes, that’s us!)
Highly Commended: Whisky Waffle

Single Outlet Retailer of the Year
Winner: Casa de Vinos
Highly Commended: The Oak Barrel

Multiple Outlets Retailer of the Year
Winner: Camperdown Cellars
Highly Commended: Malt Traders

Online Retailer of the Year
Winner: Dan Murphy’s Online
Highly Commended: The Old Barrel House

Supermarket Retailer of the Year
Winner: Dan Murphy’s
Highly Commended: Vintage Cellars

Travel Retailer of the Year
Winner: Lagardère
Highly Commended: Heinemann Australia

Scotch Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year 
Winner: Matt Bailey –  The Scotch Malt Whisky Society, Australia
Highly Commended: James Macrae – Ailsa Bay

Irish Whiskey Brand Ambassador of the Year
Winner: Dan Woolley – Connnemara
Highly Commended: Josh O’Brien – Writers Tears

American Whiskey Brand Ambassador of the Year
Winner: Thalita Alves – Woodford Reserve| Jack Daniels
Highly Commended: Michael Thomas – Knob Creek | Makers Mark | Jim Beam | Bookers | Basil Haydens

World Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year
Winner: Mark Hickey – Nant Whisky
Highly Commended: Kevin Griffin – Nikka Whisky

Bar of the Year
Winner: Whisky + Alement, Melbourne
Highly Commended: Nola Smoke House and Bar, Sydney

Hotel Bar of the Year
Winner: Evolve Spirits Bar, Hobart
Highly Commended: Eau De Vie, Sydney

Bar Group of the Year
Winner: Speakeasy Group
Highly Commended: Swillhouse Group

Bartender of the Year
Winner: Alex Dahlenburg – Mjølner
Highly Commended: Simon Hopkins – NOLA

Hall of Fame Inductee
Ian Atherton

 

In the meantime, the below photograph was obviously pretty special for W&W:

Congratulations to all nominees and “well done” to all the winners.  Thanks also to the many sponsors who contributed to the night and provided prizes. If you’ll indulge me and allow me to inject a personal comment and observation:  To outsiders, the whisky industry has a glamorous lustre, but – like most industries – the reality is that it takes a lot of hard toil, passion, and long hours to get anywhere. The rewards are more ethereal than financial.   There’s always a friendly pat on the back and a “cheers” from the crowd, but – certainly in this country – there’s very little that formally recognises and acknowledges the tremendous work by those who, each in their own way, lift the profile of the category.  And so the Icons of Whisky awards are a welcome and needed development.  It’s a shame that several people present on the night failed to appreciate this and thought it more appropriate to talk during speeches and presentations; ignore the MC; boo some nominees; and over-indulge.  And how wonderfully Australian that two blokes chose to end the night with a fight, rather than with a toast.  Pull your heads in next year and show these awards the respect they deserve.

Cheers,
AD

PS: You might like our more recent article, Whisky Awards – Who really wins?