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Ardbeg
Distillery named 'Distillery of the
Year' at the International Whisky
Competition and the recently released
Ardbeg Wee Beastie named 'Best Single
Malt Scotch Under 10 Year Old'.
Ardbeg Distillery has been named
Distillery of the Year for the third
year in a row at the International
Whisky Competition (IWC) 2020 industry
awards. Furthermore, Dr Bill Lumsden,
who creates Ardbeg and Glenmorangie
whiskies, was hailed as Master Distiller
of the Year for an unprecedented fourth
time by the IWC.
Between them the two single malts which
Dr Bill oversees has won 10 categories
at the awards, which illustrates the
whisky industry’s continued admiration
for both distilleries, owned by The
Glenmorangie Company.
Even Dr Bill's latest Ardbeg creation,
Ardbeg Wee Beastie 5 Year Old,
the latest addition to the Ardbeg core
range of whiskies scooped an award in
its debut at the competition, scoring
92.6 points and being named "Best Single
Malt Scotch Under 10 Year Old". In
his tasting notes head of the IWC
tasting panel, Sebastien Gavillet,
described Ardbeg Wee Beastie as a "peat
and smoke bomb", adding: "Very
intriguing and powerful. Experimental to
say the least."
Ardbeg, the peaty Islay malt whisky, was
hailed by the IWC judges for its
"exceptional craftsmanship, passion, and
mastery in the art of assembling
phenomenal whisky". It was handed the
award after its untamed range scored an
overall average of 92.9 points out of
100, described by judges as an
"incredible feat", with six category
wins. They singled out "brilliant"
Ardbeg Corryvreckan as the winner of
five categories including Best Single
Malt Scotch, giving this deep, peaty
whisky the highest score of any single
malt – 96.1 points. In addition, Ardbeg
Wee Beastie, the youngest ever Ardbeg,
was chosen as Best Single Malt Scotch
Under 10 Year Old.
Glenmorangie’s Highland single malt
Scotch whisky also came in for high
praise, with four category wins. The
recently launched limited edition
Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1996,
which aged in the Distillery’s famed
designer casks scored 92.4 points,
winning two categories including Best
Highland Single Malt. There was a win
apiece for its 14 year old port cask
finish Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban and
Glenmorangie Lasanta, its 12 year old
sherry cask finish.
Dr Bill said: "At Ardbeg and
Glenmorangie we are passionate about
creating great-tasting single malts for
whisky lovers old and new – and it’s so
rewarding to see our efforts recognised
with this record-breaking award for
Ardbeg. I’m delighted judges enjoyed our
new release, Ardbeg Wee Beastie. Aged in
some of our first designer casks,
Glenmorangie Grand Vintage Malt 1996
embodies the lengths to which
Glenmorangie goes in search of delicious
whisky – and it’s great to see Quinta
Ruban’s bold taste praised. I am
honoured to be recognised for the part I
play in our dedicated teams."
You will find all the Ardbeg and
Glenmorangie award winning whiskies available from specialist online whisky
retailers such as
The Whisky Exchange,
The Whisky Shop and
Master of Malt
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