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 20^th 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 21^st 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 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd 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. 

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

Joadja Distillery

TIB – Tasmanian Independent Bottlers

The heart of Heartwood