The Whisky Club's Guide to Award-Winning Whisky
Award-winning whiskies featured at The Whisky Club
Whisky awards celebrate excellence in craftsmanship, flavour, and innovation. From global competitions like the World Whiskies Awards to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, these accolades help identify standout drams. In this guide, we’ll explain what makes a whisky award-winning, share insights into prestigious competitions, and showcase ten of the best award-winning whiskies featured by The Whisky Club. Whether you’re looking for a medal-winning Scotch, Irish whiskey, or Japanese masterpiece, this is your essential resource.
Why choose an award-winning whisky?
Whisky awards are a great way for whisky drinkers to judge the quality of the output from distilleries around the world.
Whisky competitions are everywhere these days. Global whisky awards, local whisky awards, industry awards, design awards, spirits awards – the categories of competitions are seemingly endless. They do have their uses however. Here at The Whisky Club we check the results of some of the oldest and most trusted world whisky awards to help you decide which releases you simply have to be in the Club for. In addition, we send some of our exclusive Scotch whiskies, Irish whiskies, Australian malts and Bourbons to these competitions to make sure they stack up on the world stage. We don't have time to publish the full list of award winners featured by The Whisky Club here, so here's a shortlist celebrating some of the winners from our collection and a short explanation of what placed these particular distilleries or whiskies amongst the world's best.
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Want to know more? For a deeper dive into the world of award winning whisky, check out the FAQs at the bottom of this article.
Check out these other Whisky Club guides:
The Whisky Club's Guide to Rare Whiskies
Aberlour 2010 Double Cask Matured - created exclusively for The Whisky Club
The Aberlour 2010 Double Cask Matured scored 99/100 at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition.
The Aberlour 2010 Double Cask Matured has become fabled among our Members. This vintage was created exclusively for The Whisky Club, it took home a Double Gold medal.
This whisky was a marriage of first fill and refill American oak and Sherry casks, combined to show the distillery's fruity style of whisky and the richness of its Sherry casks. As Speyside single malt whiskies go, this one ticked every box. It certainly kept our Members pleased.
It was rich and fruity with soft caramel, zesty orange and sweet vanilla.
Aberlour 2010 Double Cask Matured specs
Age: 13 years old
ABV: 48%
RRP: $145
Read more: Aberlour 2010 Double Cask Matured
Bardstown Origin Kentucky Straught Bourbon scored 98/100 at the International Whisky and Spirits Competitiong (IWSC).
Built in 2016, Bardstown have taken the Bourbon industry by storm. Voted producer of the year at the 2023 IWSC competition, they have an impressive haul of medals for such a young distillery.
This particular expression has hit all the hallmarks of excellent American whiskey. The Bardstown Origin Kentucky Straight Bourbon is a 60% corn, 36% rye, 4% malted barley mash bill delivering all the right things in all the right places.
Vanilla, orange citrus, cherry and oak notes all shine in the glass.
Bardstown Origin Kentucky Straight Bourbon specs
Age: 6 Years Old
ABV: 48%
RRP: $130
Price for Whisky Club Members: $120
Read more: Bardstown Origin Kentucky Straight Bourbon
Dunville's was the winner of World's Best Small Batch Irish Whiskey at the World Whiskies Awards
The Dunville's 13 Year Old Cigar Malt was a huge hit at the Club. On the back of winning World's Best Irish Single Malt three years in a row, the distillery decided to blend its richest and most sherried malts to design a dram that would match perfectly with a cigar.
This release oozed notes of Sherry, tobacco, dark chocolate and rich dried fruits. A phenomenal single malt from a rising star on the Irish whiskey scene.
Dunville's 13 Year Old Cigar Malt specs
Age: 13 Years Old
ABV: 46.1%
RRP: $145
Read more: Dunville's 13 Year Old Cigar Malt
GlenAllachie 12 Years Old won World's Best Single Malt Whisky.
A commercial-sized operation running very much like a craft producer, it's no wonder the World Whiskies Awards picked this one as best in show.
Billy Walker has the Midas touch when it comes to helping distilleries in Scotland reach their potential. A Master Blender with a reputation for producing incredible single malt whisky, Billy took over GlenAllachie in 2017, and 8 years later the distillery has brought the title of World's Best Single Malt Whisky back to Scotland.
The GlenAllachie 12 years old is a masterful mix of virgin oak, red wine, PX and Oloroso casks and deservedly beat off the competition with notes of marzipan, raisins, dark chocolate and stewed fruits on the palate.
GlenAllachie 12 Year Old specs
Age: 12 years old
ABV: 46%
RRP: $125
Read more: GlenAllachie 12 Year Old
Sullivans Cove HH0525 won World's Best Whisky in 2014 and is perhaps the most famous Australian single cask ever.
Bill and Lyn Lark maybe founded the modern whisky industry in Australia, but one particular single malt put the continent on the distilling map. Sullivans Cove HH0525 was the single cask that was voted World's Best Single Malt back in 2014 and brought the world's attentions to the hard work of the craft producers Down Under.
This single cask, single malt whisky was aged in a French Oak cask for 12 years and wowed judges as it stood head and shoulders above every other single malt whisky entered into the competition. Sullivans Cove continues to win awards to this day, taking multiple prizes at the 2024 Icons of Whisky ceremony, but locals still talk about how this plucky Australian beat the best in Scotland, Ireland, the USA and Japan to claim its crown back in 2014. A true icon.
Those lucky enough to have tried it reported flavours of dark chocolate, toffee, fruit cake, cinnamon and mint.
Sullivan's Cove HH0525 specs
Age: 12 years old
ABV: 47.5%
RRP: $525
Read more: Sullivans Cove HH0525
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Kanosuke Hioki Pot Still is a pure pot still Japanese whisky which won gold medals at the International Spirits Challenge, San Francisco World Spirits Competition and the New York International Spirits Competition.
The team at Kanosuke continues to push the boundaries of the uses of wood, stills and distiller know-how from the Shochu world to develop award-winning bottles of Japanese malt whisky. This one pushed the boundaries extremely far. This was a pure pot still version distilled in a shochu distillery and then aged in oak casks by the coast. You won't find many distilleries making whisky like this around the globe. We're just glad we found one.
Apricot, plum, marmalade, vanilla and dry ginger biscuits were all present in our glasses.
Kanosuke Hioki Pot Still specs
Age: NAS
ABV: 51%
RRP: $230
Read more: Kanosuke Hioki Pot Still
Fuji Single Grain 30 Years Old is a Japanese grain whisky that was crowned World's Best Grain Whisky in 2020.
A little known fact about distilleries in Japan, is that they often make many styles of whisky to allow them to keep blending in-house. Fuji Gotemba is no different, with wooden and stainless steel fermenters, hundreds of yeast strains and a selection of pot and continuous stills allowing them to play many tunes and distil many types of whisky. Not only did this 30 year old grain whisky win World's Best Grain Whisky at the World Whiskies Awards back in 2020 it also took the highest accolade at the International Spirits Challenge in the same year. These bottles are like gold dust.
The whisky tasted of sugar syrup, bitter chocolate as well as a mix of ripe fresh fruits and dried fruit.
Fuji Single Grain 30 Years Old specs
Age: 30 years old
ABV: 46%
RRP: $5,000
Read more: Fuji Single Grain 30 Years Old
Glenglassaugh 12 Year Old PX Cask Matured - created exclusively for The Whisky Club
Glenglassaugh was awarded a Gold medal at the IWSC in 2024 for this exclusive Club collaboration.
Perched above Sandend Beach in the northwest of Scotland, this single malt distillery has had a chequered history with closures and downturns plaguing its history. Despite all these setbacks it continues to produce some of the fruitiest and vibrant coastal single malts in Scotland.
This expression was matured in Bourbon casks before being finished in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso casks for a lengthy eight years. These casks highlighted the oiliness of the spirit and built layers of chocolate and salted caramel on top of the tropical fruit nose and palate the distillery is famed for.
Glenglassaugh 12 Year Old PX Cask Matured - created exclusively for The Whisky Club specs
Age: 12 years old
ABV: 46.9%
RRP: $125
Read more: Glenglassaugh 12 Year Old PX Cask Matured - created exclusively for The Whisky Club
Glen Scotia 25 Years Old was voted World's Best Single Malt, World's Best Whisky and Best in Show at San Francisco as well as going double platinum twice at the same competition.
Campbeltown has seen a resurgence of late. Famed for its coastal, oily single malts, this region in Scotland doesn't know how to make bad whisky. Glen Scotia is one of three producing distilleries in the town (with at least one more on the way), and Glen Scotia 25 Year Old is one of the most awarded whiskies in the region.
The whisky encapsulates the distillery style perfectly. A mix of fruit, maritime notes, citrus, vanilla and all of the elegance of a whisky matured for 25 years.
Glen Scotia 25 Years Old specs
Age: 25 years old
ABV: 48.8%
RRP: $1,100
Read more: Glen Scotia 25 Years Old
Glenmorangie Cadboll Estate 15 Years Old has taken gold and double gold medals at various awards ceremonies around the world.
Glenmorangie Distillery owns the Cadboll Estate, a place they cultivate barley for making some of their award-winning single malt whisky. The barley from the Estate is segregated and processed separately so that we can see the affect the home-grown grain has had on the whisky. Matured in designer Bourbon casks, this is a Scotch whisky where the barley is the star.
Aged for 15 years, Cadboll Estate has a creamy texture, fruity palate and unmistakeable citrusy nose. We only wish they could grow more of their own barley so they could make more products as local and delicious as this.
Glenmorangie Cadboll Estate 15 Years Old specs
Age: 15 years old
ABV: 43%
RRP: $135
Read more: Glenmorangie Cadboll Estate 15 Years Old
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This was just a small selection of award winning whiskies offered by The Club over the years with many more sure to feature in future. If you have any questions around award winning whiskies, categories, competitions or want to let us know your thoughts on the results, you can always reach out to The Whisky Club team and get a dialogue going.
Award-winning whisky FAQs
What qualifies a whisky as “award-winning”?
An award-winning whisky is one that simply has won a medal or an award at a spirits or whisky competition. Some competitions hold more weight and gravitas than others, but any medal awarded shows that a whisky has stood head and shoulders above its competition in the eyes of the competition judges.
Who gives out whisky awards and how are they judged?
There are many awards from the World Whiskies Awards to the Kentucky Bourbon Festival Awards and everything in between. We tend to focus on those judged by industry experts, whiskymakers, journalists and taste makers, but there is also merit in people's choice awards and more localised results.
Do award-winning whiskies taste better than non-awarded ones?
Award winning whiskies are not necessarily better than non-awarded ones. Which whisky is best is completely subjective, but a medal on a bottle shows that the product has stood up against similar whiskies and come out on top. It is also worth noting that only a tiny fraction of whiskies produced are even entered into competitions, so many don't even get the chance to compete.
What are some of the most prestigious whisky awards globally?
The main whisky awards we watch are the World Whiskies Awards, San Francisco World Spirits Competition, International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) and the International Spirits Challenge (ISC).
Does The Whisky Club feature award-winning whiskies?
We feature many award winning whiskies with many of our exclusive whiskies also winning medals and awards at global competitions. We will be sure to highlight when a whisky featured for our Members has taken home an accolade of note.
How can I tell if a whisky has won awards?
You may find information on whisky award websites; distillery websites; on bottleshop shelves; or indeed on The Whisky Club website.
Are award-winning whiskies worth collecting?
Some award-winning whiskies are worth collecting. But it does depend on the collection you want to procure. We know of a few people who try to collect the World Whiskies Awards World's Best winners. If you wanted to collect every gold medal winner, you'd need a fairly large shelf...
Do whisky awards impact a bottle’s value or price?
Some whisky awards may affect the value or price of a particular bottle or batch of whisky. For core range whiskies, there should be no change in price. For small batch releases, a win in a global category can drive the clamour and desperation to get a bottle. This can drive up the price on the secondary market, or trigger a price rise for subsequent batches of the same whisky.
Are all award-winning whiskies limited in availability?
Not all award winners are limited in availability. GlenAllachie 12 is an example of a core range whisky that won the title of world's best. Some producers will enter their core range products into awards categories to keep them honest and see how their whiskies stack up against the competition.
Can I access award-winning whiskies through my Club Membership?
Whisky Club Members absolutely have access to award-winning whiskies! We'll always let you know if a whisky featured in our Club selection takes home a medal or a trophy and we will continue to enter our favourite drams to see how they stack up.
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