World Whiskies Awards: South African whisky wins the title

At the 2024 World Whiskies Awards (WWA), Three Ships Whisky has been judged the ‘World’s Best’ in its category.

More specifically, the Three Ships Whisky 12-Year-Old Double Wood was honoured as the World’s Best Blended Limited Release.

This added to the earlier announcement that four South African whiskies had secured category winner titles.

The legacy of excellence for Three Ships Whisky goes back to 2012, when its 5-Year-Old Premium Select variant claimed the title of World’s Best Blended Whisky.

This year, the 5-Year-Old Premium Select solidified its position as a finalist in the Blends category once more.

Furthermore, Three Ships Whisky 21-Year-Old Millennium represented in the Single Malt category. Bain’s Founders Collection 15-Year-Old from the James Sedgwick Distillery was judged World’s Best Grain Whisky.

STRICT ‘BLIND’ WHISKY-JUDGING PROCESS

With over two decades of tradition, the World Whiskies Awards maintain a stringent double-blind judging process. A panel of 200 international experts evaluates over 1 500 whiskies representing more than 40 nations.

Accepting the award on behalf of Three Ships Whisky was former master distiller at the James Sedgwick Distillery, Andy Watts.

Watts has played a pivotal role role in advancing the quality of South African whisky. The award also honours the maturation, and collaborative efforts of the Three Ships Whisky team in South Africa, writes BizCommunity.

“Our master distillers and blenders have put in hard work, determination and ingenuity to be able to stand with the best in the world,” said Brown Spirits marketing manager at Heineken Beverages South Africa, Meryll Stocks Roos.

“For anyone who’s been lucky enough to taste these winning whiskies, they’ll know those qualities have paid off. But it’s certainly rewarding to have the rest of the world sit up and take notice, and it’s a great achievement for South Africa,” she said.

RACKING UP THE AWARDS

The recent triumph adds to a string of victories in the South African whisky industry in recent years. This includes numerous Gold and Double Gold awards in international competitions.

This has not only elevated the profile of South African whisky, but also given recognition to the country’s master distillers.

Situated in the warm climate of Wellington, the James Sedgwick Distillery has had to pioneer innovative techniques to compete with distilleries in the Scottish Highlands and other ‘traditional’ whisky-making locations.

“It’s an enormous honour for South African whiskies to win global recognition, and to be among the best of the best,” said Walters Uys, Centre of Excellence Spirits Lead at Heineken Beverages.

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