William Grant and Sons makes clean sweep at 2016 Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Whisky Awards

Glenfiddich Distillery has swept the board at the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Whisky Awards, collecting a hat-trick of honours. The Dufftown distillery picked up first place in all three categories after their malts were selected by the whisky-loving public in a series of blind taste tests.

Glenfiddich 12 year old triumphed over Glen Grant’s 10 year old in the 12 year or younger category, and also took the title for the 13 to 20 year category with its 18 year old, winning over Glen Moray’s 16 year old.

Glenfiddich 21 year old won the category for single malts aged over 21, beating the Cragganmore 25 year old 2014 Special Release into second place.

Roving judging sessions were held across Speyside during the Festival, which closes today (Monday May 2), and one was also held in specialist Scottish shop Scotia Spirit in Cologne. This was the first time a judging session was held outwith the local area.

Owner Peter Klas is a long-term friend of the Festival and it is hoped the success of the overseas judging session will lead to more international destinations being added to future events.

The finalists in all three categories were whittled down into a shortlist of entries earlier in the year by a panel including industry experts, retailers and whisky writers.

Festival chairman James Campbell says,“Huge congratulations to Glenfiddich for such a tremendous success at this year’s awards – we have never had one single distillery win all three titles before.

“Our awards are considered as one of the industry’s highest accolades, as the winners are determined by the people who matter the most –the whisky-drinking general public.

“Having a panel of industry experts judging the drams would not represent the views of the majority of drinkers, which is why we allow Festival visitors to have the final say. The people who vote in the awards are judging the drams based on their personal preference of the nose and taste of each entry. As it is a blind taste test, consumer or brand loyalty does not affect their decision.

 “The judging sessions are enjoyed by a wide variety of people – from whisky aficionados to novices still learning about our national dram – and are an extremely popular element of the Festival.”

The awards are sponsored by coppersmiths Forsyths of Rothes, the company responsible for building many of the pot stills in which the shortlisted single malts were distilled.

The five day Festival comes to an end today (Monday) and has featured a packed programme of over 500 events, with music, crafts, and food themes running alongside a wide range of distillery tours and tastings.

More information about the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is available on its website – www.spiritofspeyside.com/. The Festival is also active on social media – facebook.com/WhiskyFestival and @spirit_speyside on Twitter.

Notes

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is committed to promoting responsible drinking. Visitors travelling to and from festival events can take advantage of a range of transport options. Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival has received funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise and is also financially supported by many other private and public partners.

The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund Programme 2014 to 2020. The Scottish Government is the managing authority for the European Regional Development Fund Programme.

Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design

2016 will shine a spotlight on Scotland’s achievements in innovation, architecture and design through a wide-ranging, variety of new and existing activity.

The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design will run from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2016 and will build on the momentum generated by the 2015 Year of Food and Drink as well as previous years including Homecoming Scotland 2014, the Year of Creative and the Year of Natural.

Through a series of exciting events and activity, the year will showcase Scotland’s position as an “innovation nation”, its outstanding built heritage, and its thriving, internationally acclaimed fashion, textiles and design sector.

The Year of Innovation, Architecture and Design is a Scottish Government initiative being led by VisitScotland, supported by partners including Scottish Government, Creative Scotland, Architecture + Design Scotland, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Enterprise, The National Trust for Scotland, Historic Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and The Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS).

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