2022 Irish Whiskey Awards Announced

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2022 Irish Whiskey Awards Announces The Best Irish Whiskies

This year the Irish Whiskey Awards (IWA) celebrated its ninth anniversary. Since their creation in 2013 by Irish whiskey entrepreneur Ally Alpine, they have become the premier awards in the Irish whiskey industry, widely respected among consumers and industry participants for the scope and quality of their judging process.

The award ceremony was held at Pearse Lyons Distillery in Dublin. Gerard Garland, Brand Engagement and Advocacy Team Manager at Irish Distillers Pernod Ricard, presented the awards.

The awards span 19 categories. They honor the very best of Irish whiskey and are a fitting tribute to the revival of the Irish whiskey industry over the last three decades. The industry now has over 40 distilleries either operating or in the planning and construction stage, up from just two distilleries in 1985 and only four distilleries in 2013.

Still, the impressive growth in the number of distilleries notwithstanding, the number is less than half of the 88 whiskey distilleries Ireland had at the peak of the Irish whiskey boom in the 19th century. According to William Lavelle, president of the Irish Whiskey Association:

This increasing choice and supply of premium and high-end Irish whiskeys has been instrumental in driving recent growth in the United States. According to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, one in six bottles of Irish whiskey sold in the US market last year was sold at the high-end premium price point. We expect this growth to continue as Irish whiskey increasingly takes on Scotch as American consumers' imported whiskey of choice.

Irish Whiskey Awards 2022 Winners

This year’s awards were judged over the summer, with several hundred ballots submitted. Celtic Whiskey Shop, Dublin’s preeminent whiskey retailer, hosted several blind tastings in Dublin’s Three Storey Bar on Stephen’s Green.

It also coordinated tastings throughout Ireland with members of the Celtic Whiskey Club, Irish Whiskey Society — Dublin and Dingle, Cork Whiskey Society, Waterford Whiskey Society, Kilkenny Whiskey Guild, Ennis Whiskey Club, 1875 Whiskey Club, Carlow Whiskey Society, and Belfast Whiskey Club. A large number of industry professionals also participated in the judging.

This year’s awards also saw the return of the White Spirits and Whiskey Liqueurs categories. These entries were judged by a selected group of local bar staff, mixologists, and industry experts who blind-tasted and scored Irish Gins, Poitins, Irish Vodkas, Irish Cream and Whiskey Liqueurs, and other Irish Spirits.

All results have been audited and verified by Serghios Florides, Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Irish Whiskey Magazine, and William Lavelle from the Irish Whiskey Association.

 

 Echlinville Distillery, Dunville’s 21 YO Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish (Cask 1197).

William Lavelle presented the Irish Whiskey of the Year award to the Echlinville Distillery for Dunville’s 21 YO Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish (Cask 1197).

Echlinville is based in Kircubbin, a small town outside of Belfast. Their Dunville’s whiskies are named for one of Northern Ireland’s historic whiskey distillers.

Lavelle took the occasion to highlight the remarkable progress of the Irish whiskey industry, noting :

The Irish Whiskey Awards have developed to become one of the most important nights in our industry’s calendar, and this year, more than ever, the awards showcased the depth and class of the Irish whiskey category. While the innovation pipeline continues to produce exciting new expressions, we also see more and more age-statement Irish whiskeys, particularly single pot stills and single malts, demonstrating the quality of the character of Irish whiskey.

The official list of winners from the 2022 Irish Whiskey Awards is below.

Overall Winner - Irish Whiskey of the Year 2022

Best Irish Whiskey of the Year – Dunville’s 21 YO Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish Cask No. 1197.

Categories:

Whiskey Liqueur

Winner: Muldoon Whiskey Liqueur

Gold: The Whistler Irish Honey Whiskey

Gold: St Patrick’s Orange Whiskey Liqueur

Cream Liqueur

Winner: St Patrick’s Irish Cream Liqueur

Gold: Merrys White Chocolate Irish Cream Liqueur

Gold: Five Farms Irish Cream Liqueur

Poitin

Winner: Boann ‘New Born’ New Make Spirit

Gold: Micil Heritage Poitín

Gold: Bán Poitín

Vodka

Winner: Zesty Citrus Vodka

Gold: Istil 38 Pot Still Vanilla Vodka

Gold: Istil 38 Pot Still Vodka

Gin

Winner: Silks Irish Dry Gin

Gold: Sling Shot Gin

Gold: Method & Madness Gin

Best Other Irish Spirit

Winner: Aqua Vitae

Gold: 1848 Apple Brandy

Single Pot Still 11 Years and Under

Winner: Two Stacks Polorais II- Red Ice Wine Finish

Gold: Writers’ Tears Single Pot Still

Gold: Old Comber Single Pot Still

Single Pot Still 12 Years and Over

Winner: Redbreast 15 YO

Gold: Powers John's Lane 12 YO

Gold: Redbreast 12 YO

Single Malt 11 Years and Younger

Winner: Dunville’s 10 YO PX

Gold: Croithlí, Coillín Darach Oak Series - Quercus Robur

Gold: Shortcross Peated Single Malt

Single Malt 12 – 15 Year Old

Winner: Jack Ryan Finisher's Touch 12 YO

Gold: Pearse Lyons 'Founder's Choice' 12 YO

Gold: The Irishman 12 YO

Single Malt 16 Years & Older

Winner: Dunville's 20 YO Oloroso Sherry Cask

Gold: Fercullen 21 YO

Gold: Clan Colla 20 YO PX Finish 46%

Blended No Age Statement

Winner: Micil Inverin Small Batch

Gold: Foxes Bow

Gold: Michael Collins ‘The Prediction’

Blended Age Statement

Winner: Jameson 18 YO

Gold: McConnell’s 5 YO

Gold: Pearse Lyons 'The Original' 5 YO

Blended Limited Release

Winner: Teeling Small Batch Collaboration – Stiggins’ Fancy Pineapple

Gold: Jameson Black Barrel Proof

Gold: Fercullen Estate Series ‘The Italian Gardens’

Single Cask 11 Years & Younger

Winner: Teeling Single Pot Still Chestnut PX Cask No. 29842

Gold: The Whistler P.X. I Love You 9 YO

Gold: Green Spot Greek Wine Cask

Single Cask 12 Years & Older

Winner: Dunville’s 21 YO Palo Cortado Sherry Cask Finish Cask No. 1197

Gold: Powers 15 YO Single Cask No. 10099

Gold: Dunville’s 20 YO Temple Bar PX Sherry Cask No. 1651

Cask Strength

Winner: Redbreast 27 YO Single Pot Still

Gold: Shortcross Rye & Malt Cask Strength

Gold: St. Patrick’s Cask Strength

Single Grain

Winner: Celtic Cask Daichead a Dó (42) 2009 Anima Negra Cask

Gold: The Bridge Single Grain- Killunure Release

Gold: Egan’s Vintage Grain

New Irish Whiskey

Winner: Pearse Lyons Genesis Release

Gold: The Busker Single Pot Still

Commenting on the awards, organizer Ally Alpine, Managing Director of Celtic Whiskey Shop and organizer of Whiskey Live Dublin, said: “We are delighted to celebrate the excellence and innovation in the Irish Whiskey industry this evening.”

He also noted that all proceeds from the event went “to our incredible charity partner Mary’s Meals, an organization that feeds two million children every day whilst ensuring they attend school.”

Drinks Industry Ireland was the event’s media partner, as they have been for many years, and key sponsors include the Irish Whiskey Association and Tuath Irish Whiskey Glass.

Most of the award-winning whiskeys above are available from the Celtic Whiskey Shop on Dawson Street, Dublin or through their website.

Article originally appeared in Forbes


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