SPIRIT OF SPEYSIDE WHISKY AWARDS -FINALISTS ANNOUNCED

The Glenlivet triumphed in the first round of judging of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards 2012, featuring in each of the three categories of the prestigious awards.

The judging panel for the first round of the awards, including industry representatives, whisky writers and specialist retailers, gathered at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on Thursday, 26th January for a blind tasting of 56 of Speyside’s finest malts hosted by Richard Lochhead MSP.

The judges selected two finalists in each of three categories resulting in a good representation of sherry influenced whiskies, a new release from Tomintoul Distillery and another fine representation from Chivas Brothers.

The shortlisted finalists are:

12 Years and Under:
– Tomintoul 12 Years Old (Oloroso Finish)
– The Glenlivet 12 Years Old

13 to 20 Years Old:
– Aberlour 18 Years Old
– The Glenlivet 15 Years Old (French Oak)

21 Years and Over:
– The Glenlivet 21 Years Old (Archive)
– Knockando 25 Years Old (2011 Special Release)

Jim Royan, Chairman of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival said:  “Many of the world’s most popular whiskies come from Speyside, so these shortlisted spirits are expressions of some of the highest quality malts to be found in the region.  We look forward to the next round of judging when visitors to the Festival will be the final decision-makers of the winning whiskies.”

Susan Young, editor of Dram magazine was attending as a judge for the first time.  She said she had been pleasantly surprised by the high quality of entries which she felt demonstrated the depth of whiskies available in Speyside. “When you’re tasting blind, you’re not influenced by packaging or presentation but judge purely on the taste.  The selection of whiskies entered for the awards was excellent which made it more difficult, particularly in the 12 years old and under category.  There were a few good whiskies I tasted on the day which I would definitely like to have in my drinks cabinet at home!”

The six finalists will now to on to a public vote at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival on Thursday, 3rd May, a unique judging process which has helped the Awards gain international recognition since their inception in 2005. 

Visitors to the Festival can book tickets for the exclusive final judging of the best of Speyside malts, and the winners will be announced shortly afterwards at the Opening Dinner to be held at The Macallan.

Tickets to take part in the judging of the Awards finals at this year’s Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival and to view all 300 events in the Festival programme are available at www.spiritofspeyside.com.  Whisky lovers can keep up-to-date with the Festival programme on www.facebook.com/WhiskyFestival or www.twitter.com/spirit_speyside.

Notes 
– Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival runs from Thursday, 3rd May – Monday, 7th May.  Check out www.spiritofspeyside.com for up-to-date news and follow the Festival at www.facebook.com/WhiskyFestival or www.twitter.com/spirit_speyside
– The Festival also runs several competitions and awards including the prestigious Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards as well as the Photographic Competition
– The Festival runs a subsidised taxi voucher scheme
– Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has received funding from EventScotland and is also financially supported by many other private and public partners
 
– EventScotland: EventScotland is the national events agency. EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about

EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org

– About the Year of Creative Scotland 2012: The Year of Creative Scotland began on January 1, 2012 and is a chance to showcase, celebrate and promote Scotland’s cultural and creative strengths on a world stage. Through a dynamic and exciting year-long programme of activity celebrating our world-class events, festivals, culture and heritage, the year puts Scotland’s culture and creativity in the international spotlight with a focus on cultural tourism and developing the events industry and creative sector in Scotland. More information about the programme can be found at: www.visitscotland.com/creative. The Year of Creative Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative led in partnership by EventScotland, VisitScotland, Creative Scotland and VOCAL.