IWSC announces 2024 Spirits trophy winners
The International Wine & Spirit Competition is an annual wine and spirit competition founded in 1969. Each year the competition receives thousands of entries from over 90 countries worldwide. The awards given by the competition are considered as high honours in the industry.
The IWSC is more than a competition. It is a global wine and spirits community, focussed on people and expertise. Their mission is to champion the best wine and spirits from around the world by taking a personal approach to each competitor’s needs by offering comprehensive business support via a network of world-class experts aiming to bring this global community together to share insights and help each other grow. They don’t just champion award winners, they seek out undiscovered talent and help competitors – large and small – reach ambitious targets and achieve their goals.
The IWSC is organised so that all wines are tasted blind. Glasses are poured prior to the arrival of the judges, so even the bottles and shapes remain unknown. The judges themselves are drawn from an eclectic range of wine-related industries such as winemaking, wine-writing, distilling, retailing, distribution and hospitality. The medals the competition awards are bronze (75–79 points), silver (80–89 points) and gold (90–100 points). For class-winning wines, the mention 'Best in Class' is appended to the medal and award. Trophies are also awarded every year to products, producers, retail companies and individuals.
100 international judges gathered in London in June to taste over 4,000 spirits entries from around the world in the prestigious International Wines & Spirits Competion 2024. More than 3,760 medals were awarded, 500 of which were gold and over 100 gold outstanding medals in various categories, encompassing the wide world of Spirits.
In October, members of the Spirits Judging Committee
were tasked with re-tasting all the 2024 gold-winning spirits, selecting the
very best as the year's trophy winners.
Homing in on Whisky, the IWSC celebrates excellence in whisky from around the globe, with an ever increasing number of distilleries putting forward their wares for recognition, acclaim, global identity and increase in markets. With a distinguished panel of judges and a commitment to quality, these awards recognise the craftsmanship, diversity, and innovation within the whisky industry.
Scotch whisky is always one of the most eagerly
anticipated categories at the IWSC and this year was no different. Four
trophies were awarded to Scotch single malts: Tomatin Distillery Legacy Single
Malt Scotch Whisky, East Asia Whisky Company 35 YO Manta Ray Genesis
Bunnahabhain Distillery Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Cask 88 Imperial Distillery
The Bothy 25 YO Single Malt Scotch Whisky and Loch Lomond Whiskies 12 YO
Inchmurrin Single Malt Scotch Whisky. Another trophy went to a blended Scotch -
Diageo Johnnie Walker High Rye Blended Scotch Whisky.
A large number of entries were from the numerous new distilleries that are sprouting across Scotland, each with esoteric qualities and individual approaches to maturing whisky and cask control.
The IWSC Judging Panel described the Tomatin single malt Scotch whisky as featuring succulent aromas of lychee, creamy vanilla, and warm cinnamon. A fabulously luscious flavour profile with a heavenly finish, defined by apricot sweetness.
East Asia Whisky Company, 35 YO Manta Ray Genesis
Bunnahabhain Distillery Single Malt Scotch Whisky
The IWSC Judging Panel described this independent
Bunnahabhain bottling as showcasing beautiful nose showing an elegant and rich expression of wonderful aromas, dried fruit, lime peel, sea salt, lovely floral hints,
dates, and figs. Rich, velvety, and savoury palate, waxy notes, and oak tannins
end on a finish that lasts forever.
Cask 88, Imperial Distillery, The Bothy 25 YO Single
Malt Scotch Whisky
The IWSC Judging Panel described this independent
bottling of Scottish single malt as exhibiting orgeous citrus-driven nose with rhubarb and custard
sweets, a lovely, complex palate with citrus, rhubarb, cinnamon, and chocolate
notes. Finish with a hint of biscuity sweetness. It has a lovely fruity
complexity for its age, lovely.
The IWSC Judging Panel described the Loch Lomond single
malt Scotch whisky as showing a rounded, polished nose of summer fruit in a subtle whisper of peat smoke, continuing to a lovely viscous texture on the palate with bright tropical fruit notes from lingering sweet blackcurrant citrus, melon, mango, peach, and grapefruit and
an impressively long and elegantly sweet finish.
Diageo, Johnnie Walker High Rye Blended Scotch Whisky
The IWSC Judging Panel described this new, innovative
blended Scotch whisky as expressing treacle (syrupy) toffee aromas swirled with subtle
smoke textures to give complexity to the palate, with well-integrated characters
and an elegant sweetness on the finish that gives a delightful all-rounded
mouthfeel.
OTHER SILVER AWARD WINNERS WITH RANK
Old Monk XXX Very Old Vatted 7-Year-Old Blend Rum, India Rank 61
Amrut Indian Single Malt Whisky, NAS India Rank 225
Rampur Double Cask Single Malt Whisky, NAS, India Rank 414
Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Scotch Whisky NAS, Rank 754
Chivas Regal Gold Signature 18-Year-Old Rank 1124
The Glenlivet 18 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Rank 1492
Ardbeg Ten-Year-Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky Rank 1915
Ardbeg 'Corryvreckan' Single Malt Scotch Whisky NAS Rank 4305
Amrut Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky, NAS, India Rank 5545
Also, the previous week saw The World Whisky Awards announcing the GOLD medalists from the Scotch whisky judging. The final judging for the World’s Best Whiskies occurs in London in February 2025.
The winners of the World Whiskies Awards Scotland go on
to compete with the winners of the French, Irish, Canadian, Japanese, American,
and Rest of The World categories. After the final judging Feb 2025, the winners
of the World’s Best awards for 2025 will be revealed in London, the following
month.
The full list of single malt and blended Scotch winners
for the World Whiskies Awards Scotland 2025 are:
SINGLE MALT SCOTCH WHISKY
SCOTCH CAMPBELTOWN:
13–20 Years Old: Glen Scotia, Icons of Campbeltown
Release No.2
21 Years & Over: Glen Scotia, 25 Years Old
SCOTCH HIGHLANDS
No Age Statement: Glenmorangie Signet Reserve
12 Years & Under: Loch Lomond, Inchmurrin 12 Years
Old
13–20 Years Old: Loch Lomond, Waypoint Series — Falls
of Falloch 16 Years Old
21 Years & Over: Royal Brackla, Sherry Cask Finish
25 Years Old
SCOTCH ISLANDS (NON-ISLAY):
12 Years & Under: Arran, 10 Years Old
13–20 Years Old: Jura, 14 Years Old
SCOTCH ISLAY
No Age Statement: Ardbeg Corryvreckan
12 Years & Under: Ben Bracken, Islay Single Malt
Scotch
13–20 Years Old: Ardbeg, 17 Years Old
21 Years & Over: Ardbeg, 25 Years Old
SCOTCH LOWLANDS
No Age Statement: Holyrood Distillery Embra
12 Years & Under: Bonnington, Single Malt Scotch
Sherry Cask
13–20 Years Old: Bladnoch, 16 Years Old
21 Years & Over: Rosebank, Single Malt Scotch 32
Years Old
SCOTCH SPEYSIDE
No Age Statement: Glen Moray Phoenix Rising
12 Years & Under: The GlenAllachie, Speyside Single
Malt 12 Years Old
13–20 Years Old: Craigellachie, 19 Years Old
21 Years & Over: Secret Speyside, Glen Keith 31
Years Old
BLENDED SCOTCH WHISKY
No Age Statement
GOLD
Woven, Homemade Blended Whisky
The Borders Distillery, WS:02 The Long and Short of It
Ardray, Blended Scotch
SILVER
D'yavol, Vortex
Lauder's, Blended Scotch
Islay Mist, Double Peated
Royal Salute, 62 Gun Salute
Compass Box, Nectarosity
BRONZE
Sir Edward's, Blended Smoky Scotch
Ballantine's Finest
Compass Box, The Travelling Circus
12 Years & Under:
GOLD
Scottish Leader
Original Dewar’s, 12 Years Old
SILVER
Thompson Bros, TB/BSW Windsor, 12 Years Old
BRONZE
Hankey Bannister, Regency 12 Years Old
Chivas Regal, 12 Years Old
Ballantine's, 10 Years Old
13 to 20 Years:
GOLD
White Heather, 15 Years Old
Dewar's, Blended Scotch 18 Years Old
Chivas Regal, Ultis XX
21 Years & Over:
GOLD
Dewar's, Double Double 21 Years Old
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SILVER
Antiquary, 30 Years Old
Dewar's, Double Double 26 Years Old
BRONZE
Windsor, 21 Years Old
Antiquary, 21 Years Old
Dewar's, Double Double 27 Years Old
Royal Salute, Cognac Cask Finish 24Years Old
Antiquary, 30 Years Old
Dewar's, Double Double 26 Years Old
Earlier, in March, the Single Malt Whisky of the Year was won by GODAWAN CENTURY from India in the London Spirits Competition 2024.
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