CHICAGO; Apr. 18, 2012 – The 2012 International Whisky Competition held at Few Spirits distillery last week saw 26 whiskies scooping medals and awards. Over 40 whiskies were tasted by 4 whisky judges: Paul Hletko, Pete Stasiulis, Howard Scharf, and Chris Morales.

Each whisky was blind tasted and rated on a judging grid which included 4 categories and 15 sub-categories ranging from nose, taste, body, to finish.

The International Whisky Competition reaches out to an exciting whisky fan community on Facebook and YouTube. Winning whisky videos from the competition are added to the sites.

The International Whisky Competition is happy to announce the official results for 2012:

Whisky of the Year
GOLD: Signature Premier Grain Whisky
SILVER: Tomatin Decades
BRONZE: Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique

Best American Whiskey
GOLD: Lion’s Pride 47th Ward
SILVER: Few Rye Whiskey
BRONZE: Lion’s Pride Dark Millet

Best Canadian Whisky
GOLD: Forty Creek John’s Private Cask No. 1
SILVER: Gibson’s Finest 12 Year Old
BRONZE: Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve

Best Scotch Whisky
GOLD: Tomatin 12 Years Old
SILVER: Tomatin 18 Years Old
BRONZE: Glenallachie 1999 (12 Years Old) Binny’s Hand Pick Single Cask

Best Bourbon Whiskey
GOLD: Breckenridge Bourbon Whiskey
SILVER: Few Bourbon Whiskey

Best World Whisky
GOLD: Penderyn Single Malt Welsh Whisky
SILVER: Bagpiper Gold Superior Grain Whisky
BRONZE: Kavalan Concertmaster Port Cask Finish

Best White Whiskey
GOLD: Few White Whiskey
SILVER: Koval American Oat Organic
BRONZE: Koval Rye Chicago Organic

Best of Show
GOLD: Black Ram 3 Years Old
SILVER: Forty Creek Double Reserve
BRONZE: Kinnickinnic Whiskey

About International Whisky Competition:

International Whisky Competition is a young organization holding a world-class whisky competition every year in April.  Its goal is to bring whiskies from around the world to be tasted and rated by a panel of judges. The International Whisky Competition attracts whisky lovers from around the world and promotes winning whiskies through video and social media.  The company was founded in 2009 by three whisky enthusiasts. Its home page is www.whiskycompetition.com.

Each whisky was blind tasted and rated on a judging grid which included 5 categories
and 23 sub-categories ranging from nose, to taste, to finish as well as packaging.

The International Whisky Competition is an enthusiast of social media and has a
dynamic Facebook fan page, YouTube and Twitter accounts in order to inspire and
stay connected with whisky drinkers. Videos from the competition as well as individual
interviews with the judges are available on the sites.

The International Whisky Competition is proud to announce the official results for the
best whiskies of the year:

Whisky of the Year:
1 Gold: Lark Small Port Cask Aged Cask Strength (Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky)
2 Silver: Kilchoman Single Cask Strength (Islay’s Farm Distillery)
3 Bronze: Royal Challenge (Finest Premium Indian Whisky)

Best Young Whisky:
1 Gold: Bruichladdich  PC 7
2 Silver: Black Dog 8 Year Old
3 Bronze: Four Roses Single Barrel

Best Scotch Whisky:
1 Gold: Compass Box Peat Monster
2 Silver: Usquaebach 15 Year Old
3 Bronze: Bruichladdich  Rocks

Best Indian Whisky:
1 Gold: Royal Challenge
2 Silver: Antiquity Blue Rare Premium Whisky
3 Bronze: DSP Black

Nonjatta

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Well, to be honest, I am not sure it does. I was talking to a chap at Nikka’s Miyagikyo distillery last year who said they were already confused about which competitions were really to be taken seriously.

Nevertheless, the newly minted “International Whisky Competition” held at Hotel 71 in Chicago earlier this month is at least worthy of mention if only because of its innovative approach. The event was broadcast live over Ustream to viewers around the world, who were encouraged to vote on their favourites. The popular choices were awarded under a special “Wisdom of the Masses” category, while the other sections were judged on the basis of a blind tasting by a panel of six.

Japan (or, to be more specific, Suntory) did well, winning, among other gongs, the “Whisky of the Year” award with the Yamazaki 1984 and scooping the third place in the same category with the Yamazaki 12. The Yamazaki 18 came second in the “Single Malt 18-24″ category and Suntory’s Hibiki 12 was third in the “Wisdom of the masses category.”

]]> http://whiskycompetition.com/blog/does-the-world-need-another-whisky-competition/feed/ 0 http://whiskycompetition.com/blog/no-iceland-in-my-whisky/ http://whiskycompetition.com/blog/no-iceland-in-my-whisky/#comments Fri, 28 May 2010 16:42:15 +0000 ogoldin http://whiskycompetition.com/blog/?p=340 The Whisky Couple

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

About four months ago Becky and I received an e-mail invitation from a Canadian gentleman who presented himself as a marketing executive of a management consulting agency. That is not my line of business, but reading the e-mail I quickly grasped what the man and I shared in common — a sincere love of the drink called whisk(e)y. Said man, Sylvain Allard, referred to his Web site www.whiskycompetition.com.

At the time, I was in Charleston working on the manuscript of Bourbon & Blues, the sequel to Whisky & Jazz; hence, I was living in the same time zone as Mr. Allard, who is based in Quebec. Wanting to know more about his invitation and our joint fascination, I set up a skype conversation with him. Soon it became clear to me that he was seriously planning to set up an international whisky competition — the umpteenth one, was my first reaction. However, by listening to him explain the way he would organize the tasting, I became more interested and over the next week we frequently skyped, a verb that will soon find its way into the dictionary, if that hasn’t happened already.

Mr. Allard is not only fascinated by whisky but also by social media. He’d invited several people to become judges at his planned competition that would take place in Chicago. The idea was to broadcast the event on the Web, using Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Linked-in, Hyves, live video streams, e-mail and any other means of digital communication.

Having spent part of my professional career in digital media, I was immediately interested in his idea, which had the potential to distinguish itself from previous whisky competitions. The event being held in Chicago gave me another impetus. I could visit a few blues clubs, doing additional research for Bourbon & Blues. So we agreed, and two weeks later we left Charleston for Europe. Soon the official dates of the whisky competition were made known to us, April 8-10, with ample time to enjoy the city. It meant we would have to fly back to the USA only a month after we’d returned to our home in The Netherlands, but what the heck. This looked like a very interesting opportunity to combine social media with my favorite drink. When I mentioned the event in an e-mail to our intrepid publisher and editor-in-chief, Charles Waring, he immediately contacted Rosanna Krekel, an independent PR agent working and living partly in Charleston and partly in New York City. He asked her to set up a few book signings for Whisky & Jazz in the Big Apple and planned it immediately after our Chicago gig. So far, so good.

The Whisky Competition went very well. Picture our panel, consisting of a Scotsman, a Canadian, a Belgian, a Dutchman and two Americans. During three days we blind-sampled more than 50 whiskies and whiskeys, whilst people following us on the web could see the name of the whisk(e)y we tasted. A very interesting experience indeed. Eventually a stunning 25-year-old Suntory Japanese single malt was the overall winner with the highest score, but there were winners in a variety of different categories, such as premium blends, single malts and North American whiskey.

Between the sampling sessions there was time to explore Chicago. Among other adventures we visited the Art Institute, took in the view of the city from the Hancock Tower, strolled the Navy Pier and visited Buddy Guy’s Blues Legends club. There we enjoyed the Lonnie Brooks Band and encountered living legend Bruce Iglauer, founder of Alligator Records and discoverer of Hound Dog Taylor, among many other famous blues musicians. So far, so good.

After five days in the Windy City we transferred to NYC, where Rosanna had set up book signings with Park Avenue Wine & Liquor, one of the most famous whisky retailers in the world, and Union Square Liquors at the eponymous square. The latter is a wine and spirits shop wonderfully designed to hold events in their back room. The proprietor had contracted a jazz combo, and his most valued customers came streaming in. All whisky importers of the brands mentioned in Whisky & Jazz had their own stands. People could sample and listen at the same time and talk with us about the book. Among them was Peter Silver, the famous jazz-dentist of NYC and one of the revered Malt Maniacs, of whom there are only 24 in the world. They have taken tasting to the extreme and are considered an influential group in the world of whisky. Mr. Silver loved the combination of music and malt, and when I told him I’d done another whisky book (The Legend of Laphroaig) with a Dutch colleague of his, his evening only got better. So far, so good.

Rosanna, whom we met for the first time, turned out to be a real gem and suggested some interesting things for us to do when off duty. For me, only having been there once for two days, it was an opportunity to get to know NYC a tiny bit better. High on my agenda were the John Lennon Memorial in Central Park and the Metropolitan Museum. We stayed in a nice apartment in the upper West side, with shops, restaurants and bars nearby. We thoroughly enjoyed the city for a few days, albeit it that my heart lies in the Southeast, in Charleston, and that will be forever. So far, so good.

The day we were to fly back, we got up rather early and checked the Web site to confirm our flight was on time. The evening before, we’d heard somber stories in the pub across from our temporary dwelling about a volcano in Iceland … however, the airline Web site informed us there were no delays so we decided to go to JFK. Then, disaster struck. Deep was our disappointment when upon arrival we were confronted with the words “flight canceled.” We were directed to a line of people and were eventually summoned to the desk of a tired looking airline employee. After having shown him our itinerary, he looked at us like a sad dog. “I can get you on a flight two weeks from now,” he sighed, already anticipating verbal abuse. I can be a bit high strung in such situations, so I usually leave this kind of thing in the capable hands of the Famous Spouse, who has far more empathy and patience.

Kindly she explained to the man that we had to catch a ferry to Scotland from Europe in eight days and it would be impossible to wait that long for a new flight. The man was susceptible to her charm. When Becky suggested he might book us on a partner airline, his eyes lit up, his fingers hit the keyboard and within 35 seconds a broad smile appeared on his stubbled face. “What about in a week? I can have you flown to Munich and from there the next day to Amsterdam!” A quick calculation revealed that we would have exactly one day to change suitcases in Zwolle and then get in the car, racing to Amsterdam to catch the ferry to Newcastle. I frowned and didn’t utter a single syllable, staring into the distance, looking annoyed. “I recommend you accept this flight. It will be gone in no time, since we have to re-schedule 19 million passengers worldwide,” the attendant said to Becky. She nodded with a sigh and he printed our temporary boarding passes. “Your husband doesn’t respond. He’s okay?” the attendant wanted to know. “Leave him be,” Becky responded, “He doesn’t like Iceland in his whisky.”

Slainte Mhath,

The Whisky Couple

www.thewhiskeycouple.com

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Strong on social media, the 2010 International Whisky Competition proves to be the whisky competition 2.0.

CHICAGO; Apr. 18, 2010 – The 2010 International Whisky Competition held at the Penthouse Suite of the Hotel 71 in Chicago last week came to an end on April 8th. Over 45 whiskies were tasted by 6 judges, master whisky tasters, coming from different parts of the world (Scotland, Netherlands, Canada, USA, and Belgium).

Every whisky was blind tasted and rated on a judging grid which included 5 categories ranging from packaging, to nose, to color, to taste, to finish as well as various sub-categories.

The private event was broadcasted live over Ustream to hundreds of whisky fans around the world, something new and exciting to the world of whisky competitions. Not only were fans able to watch the competition, they were encouraged to vote for their favorite whisky under the “Wisdom of the Masses” category.

The International Whisky Competition is an enthusiast of social media and has a dynamic Facebook fan page, YouTube and Twitter accounts in order to inspire and stay connected with whisky drinkers. Videos from the competition as well as individual interviews with the judges are available on the sites.

The International Whisky Competition is proud to announce the official results for the best whiskies of the year:

Whisky of the Year:

1. Gold: The Yamazaki 1984 – 25 Year Old Single Malt
2. Silver: The Dalmore 40 Year Old
3. Bronze: The Yamazaki 12 Year Old Single Malt

Single Malt No Age:

1. Gold: The Dalmore Gran Reserva
2. Silver: The Dalmore King Alexander III – 1263
3. Bronze: Lark Distillery 43% Single Cask Release, Single Malt Whisky

Ultra Premium Scotch:

1. Gold: The Dalmore 40 Year Old
2. Silver: The Balvenie Portwood 21 Year Old
3. Bronze: The Dalmore 1981 Amoroso – 28 Year Old

New Release:

1. Gold: Usquaebach 15 Year Old Blended Malt Whisky
2. Silver: Maker’s 46
3. Bronze: Forty Creek Double Barrel Reserve Canadian Whisky

Cask Strength:

1. Gold: Signatory Vintage Royal Lochnagar
2. Silver: Lark Distillery 58% Cask Strength
3. Bronze: G&M Caol Ila 8 Year Old

Single Malt 13-17:

1. Gold: The Dalmore 15 Year Old
2. Silver: Isle of Jura 16 Year Old
3. Bronze: The Balvenie Madeira Cask 17 Year Old

Islands:

1. Gold: Isle of Jura 16 Year Old
2. Silver: Lark Distillery 43% Single Cask Release, Single Malt Whisky
3. Bronze: Lark Distillery 58% Cask Strength Whisky

Young Whisky:

1. Gold: Douglas Laing Big Peat
2. Silver: Lark Distillery 43% Single Cask Release, Single Malt Whisky
3. Bronze: G&M Caol Ila 8 Year Old

Blended Whisky (Over 10 Year Old):

1. Gold: Whyte & MacKay 13 Year Old
2. Silver: Usquaebach 15 Year Old Blended Malt Whisky
3. Bronze: Black Dog De Luxe Aged 12 Years Scotch Whisky

Single Malt 18-24:

1. Gold: The Balvenie Portwood 21 Year Old
2. Silver: The Yamazaki 18 Year Old Single Malt
3. Bronze: The Dalmore MacKenzie 1992 – 18 Year Old

Asia-Pacific:

1. Gold: The Yamazaki 1984 – 25 Year Old Single Malt
2. Silver: The Yamazaki 12 Year Old Single Malt
3. Bronze: The Yamazaki 18 Year Old Single Malt

12 Year Old:

1. Gold: The Yamazaki 12 Year Old Single Malt
2. Silver: The Dalmore 12 Year Old
3. Bronze: Suntory Hibiki 12 Year Old

Single Malt 25+:

1. Gold: The Yamazaki 1984 – 25 Year Old Single Malt
2. Silver: The Dalmore 40 Year Old
3. Bronze: The Dalmore 1981 Amoroso – 28 Year Old

Blended Whisky (Under 10 Years Old):

1. Gold: Signature Rare Aged Whisky
2. Silver: Whyte & MacKay Special Blend
3. Bronze: John Barr Gold

North America:

1. Gold: Forty Creek Barrel Select Canadian Whisky
2. Silver: Maker’s 46
3. Bronze: Maker’s Mark regular edition

Wisdom of the Masses:

1. Gold: Usquaebach Old-Rare Flagon
2. Silver: McDowell’s No. 1 Whisky
3. Bronze: Suntory Hibiki 12 Year Old

About International Whisky Competition:

International Whisky Competition is a young and creative company organizing a world-class whisky competition.  The International Whisky Competition is the premium whisky competition in the world. Our goal is to bring whiskies from around the world to be tasted and rated by a panel of judges in an annual event. The International Whisky Competition attracts whisky lovers from around the world via the web and allows fans to vote for their favorite whisky of the competition.  The company was founded in Canada in 2009 by three whisky connoisseurs.  Its home page is www.whiskycompetition.com.

Wednesday, January 15, 2010

Official Whisky Tasting Glass will shine at the International Whisky Competition

CHICAGO: Jan. 15, 2010 – In a joint press release, the International Whisky Competition (IWC) and Bottega del Vino today announced that the Johnson’s Whisky Tot is becoming the Official Whisky Tasting Glass of this year’s edition of the IWC.

This noble single malt glass will be used by the master whisky experts judging at the whisky competition. Benefiting from a unique design by noted Scotch Whisky authority, David Johnson, the Johnson’s Whisky Tot is designed to be a tasting glass, as compared to a nosing glass.

“If the whisky matters, so does glass – it’s that simple” said Robert J. Hall, Chief Whisky Officer at Bottega del Vino. “Several fine nosing glasses are available in the world today,” he went on, “and a couple of them are even made by friends of ours. We’re proud to have been recognized by the International Whisky Competition for our focus on tasting glasses and look forward to participating in this wonderful event” added Robert.

The International Whisky Competition will take place at the Hotel 71 in Chicago, IL USA from April 8th to 10th 2010 and will be hosted live on the web by a panel of whisky experts acting as competition judges.

About International Whisky Competition
International Whisky Competition is a young and creative company organizing a world-class whisky competition.  The International Whisky Competition is the first whisky-only international competition in the world. Our goal is to bring as many whiskies from around the world to be tasted and rated by a panel of judges. The annual International Whisky Competition attracts whisky lovers from across the world via the web and these can vote on whiskies participating in the competition.  The company was founded in Canada by a group of three whisky connoisseurs in 2009.  Its home page is www.whiskycompetition.com.

About Bottega del Vino Crystal
If the wine matters, so does the glass™ – it’s that simple. Tasting after tasting, test after test, time after time, wine enthusiasts are amazed by the difference the glass makes. Inspired by a life in wine and created by Severino Barzan, Bottega del Vino Crystal wine glasses are first and foremost, wine-driven in design and creation. Each piece is painstakingly mouth blown and hand finished to the highest world standards for balance, weight, shape and the tactile pleasure of holding the stem and drinking from it. Each piece features a superbly crafted bowl with single pull stem for the best possible feel in hand and mouth. Our crystal is unique in the world because it is not fragile, yet it offers the finest presentation available for your wines both in appearance and taste. It homepage is www.bottegadelvinocrystal.com

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

First Live Whisky Competition Broadcasted over Internet and Mobile Devices

EDINBURGH; Jan. 13, 2010 – The International Whisky Competition (IWC) today announces that the first edition of this world-class competition will be broadcasted live via Twitter, YouTube and Ustream to the delights of whisky fans throughout the world.

“We believe all whisky fans from around the world should have their say in the whisky rating process and their votes will contribute to the Public Choice award category” said Sylvain Allard, Managing Director at the IWC. “By hosting the event live on the Internet we’re ensuring this is an open and truly international competition. I hosted the first live whisky tasting on GoogleWave last year and the response was very good.” said Blair Bowman, Judge at the IWC.

The International Whisky Competition will take place at the Hotel 71 in Chicago, IL USA from April 8th to 10th 2010.

About International Whisky Competition
International Whisky Competition is a young and creative company organizing a world-class whisky competition. The International Whisky Competition is the first whisky-only international competition in the world. Our goal is to bring as many whiskies from around the world to be tasted and rated by a panel of judges. The annual International Whisky Competition attracts whisky lovers from across the world via the web and these can vote on whiskies participating in the competition. The company was founded in Canada by a group of four whisky connoisseurs in 2009. Its home page is www.whiskycompetition.com.

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Started out as an initiative to promote whisky tasting across the world, a group of three entrepreneurs, from USA, Canada, and Switzerland, launched the International Whisky Competition as a way for whiskies to compete with each others, within comprehensive categories.

This is an annual and private event that will gather over ten expert whisky judges that will taste a wide variety of whiskies from around the world.