Whisky Focus - Hankey Bannister 40 Year Old Named Supreme Champion Spirit

The International Beverage team was this week (Monday 5th November) celebrating as its award-winning blended whisky, Hankey Bannister 40 Year Old, was named ‘Supreme Champion Spirit’ in the prestigious International Spirits Challenge (ISC) 2012.

With the cream of the global drinks industry gathered for the annual ISC dinner at London’s Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel, Hankey Bannister 40 Year Old won gold in the Blended Scotch Whisky category before scooping the night’s highest accolade: the Supreme Champion Spirit Trophy.

In a field of more than 1000 entries from nearly 70 countries worldwide, this Trophy is awarded to the highest scoring spirit across all categories in the competition and is considered to be one of the most coveted prizes for any spirit.

Hankey Bannister 40 Year Old was launched in 2007. It is an intricate blend of fine Scotch whiskies including malts from lost distilleries such as Glen Flagler and Killyloch, and grain from the demolished Garnheath distillery. It is bottled in a beautiful crystal decanter with Glencairn crystal glasses, only 1917 bottles were released to a select group of 20 markets internationally.

Karen Walker, Marketing Director of International Beverage commented: "Hankey Bannister 40 Year Old is already a well decorated whisky, and we are thrilled to have been awarded another great accolade at this year’s ISC. Our Master Blender Stuart Harvey and his team have done a wonderful job with the full Hankey Bannister range and in particular this very special 40 Year Old expression. If they were around today, I’m sure that Mr Hankey and Mr Bannister would be celebrating in style."

Chairman of judges John Ramsay gave tasting notes including: "Fruit, vanilla, sweet, spicy, nutmeg, waxy and sherry."

Now in its 17th year, the ISC is the most authoritative, respected and influential spirits competition in the world. The competition is founded on a rigorous and independent judging process, which serves to encourage the high calibre of spirits, designs and campaigns entered into the competition each year.

Hankey Bannister has one of the most colourful histories in the whisky industry. The flamboyant Mr Beaumont Hankey and his astute business partner Mr Hugh Bannister were the owners of a prestigious wine and spirits merchants with a history dating back to 1757. Their eponymous whisky is a smooth and complex blend of premium Scotch whiskies which were awarded royal warrants under King George V and Edward VII and were enjoyed by the likes of Winston Churchill. Their legacy of shared values, mutual respect and complementary skills and experiences continues to embody the brand to this day.

Hankey Bannister was acquired by Inver House Distillers in October 1988. It is already an award winner with Hankey Bannister Original Blend winning the Monde Selection Grand Gold Award for Quality in 2009 and the 40 Year Old voted World’s Best Blended Whisky at the WWA in both 2009 and 2011.
 

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