Whisky Magazine Awards 2024 Highlights
The Whisky Magazine Awards 2024 were held at Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London on Wednesday 20 March. As usual, showcasing the best people, places, and products in the whisky industry. Some of the industry’s legends attended the function to express their support. The annual award highlights the best in its categories in honor of their efforts.
For 24 years, Whisky Magazine has presented the results of its World Whiskies Awards (dubbed Best of the Best in 2001). The 2024 results were based on blind judging by more than 200 judges who assessed over 1,500 different whiskies from over 40 nations.
Whisky Magazine Awards 2024 Winners
Notably, there were 23 categories represented, including single malt, bourbon, blended, rye, pot still, and design. This year’s winners include:
- The English Sherry Cask, won World’s Best Single Malt,
- 1792 12 Years Old, was awarded World’s Best Bourbon, and
- Ballantine’s 30 Years Old, named Best Blended.
Since 2007, the Icons of Whisky have celebrated the best in the whisky industry’s people, places, and agencies. The global winners are selected from a shortlist of regional winners from America, Ireland, Scotland, and elsewhere.
Among this year’s 27 winners were
- Irish Distillers, awarded Distiller of the Year,
- Balcones Distilling, declared Craft Producer of the Year, and
- Glen Moray’s Stephen Woodcock, crowned Master Distiller/Master Blender of the Year.
Bethany Brown, editor of Whisky Magazine and chair of judges for the Icons of Whisky awards, said: “We had an outstanding crop of entries to all our regional Icons of Whisky competitions this year, making the selection of our global winners a difficult process. However, for us as judges, this is the best kind of challenge; it goes to prove the seemingly inexhaustible innovation, strength, and ingenuity to be found within the global whisky industry.
“I would like to congratulate our winners, but also thank them — and all our Icons of Whisky 2024 entrants — for the work they do each and every day to help the whisky industry thrive.”
As part of the event in London, three new members of the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame were inducted, including Russell Anderson of the Macallan Distillery, Ichiro Akuto, founder of Venture Whisky and Chichibu Distillery, and Canadian writer and consultant Davin de Kergommeaux.