International Whisky Guide 2016 - Official Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW INTERNATIONAL WHISKY GUIDE 2016 WILL CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE WHISKEY
CHICAGO, IL (MARCH 1 2016) — The International Whisky Competition is launching the International Whisky Guide 2016, a new book featuring all distilleries and whiskies entered in last year’s edition of the annual Chicago-based blind tasting whiskey competition.
The guide was written based on the tasting notes of 10 professional tasters, eliminating the bias and perception of a single taster. Taste of whisky changes from one year to another according to Sylvain Allard, one of the guide’s authors and managing director of the International Whisky Competition. Whiskey aromas and flavors evolve from batch to batch: “It’s one of the best kept secrets about whiskey. You can’t replicate the exact same taste batch after batch. Just like wine, you have variables which can’t be controlled. In wine, it’s the weather and growing conditions. With whiskey, it’s mostly the barrels used. Over 60% of the aromas found in whiskey are imparted from the barrel and no two barrels are alike. So you have many whiskey books out there reviewing whiskeys tasted over 2 years ago and the ratings, aromas and flavors described may not be accurate anymore. This is why you need to produce a new review every year and revisit each whiskey on an annual basis.”
120 whiskeys are featured in the International Whisky Guide 2016 and include complete aromas and flavors profile for each review, a full color picture of the actual bottle, as well as a detailed description of each distillery from which they are coming from. As the Guide presents the whiskeys tasted and rated during the International Whisky Competition, it also lists the medals and awards each whiskey has won. “That makes a difference” adds Sylvain. “People can see that it’s not all the whiskeys that win a medal at the International Whisky Competition as we only award three medals per category, like in any other real competition. There’s only one (unless tied) big winner for the Whisky of the Year, the highest scoring whiskey of the competition, who receives the Golden Barrel Trophy, and each medals awarded for other whiskeys are unique, showcasing the specific category.” Last year’s Whisky of the Year was John Walker & Sons King George V which scored an impressive 97 points.
The book can be purchased on the International Whisky Competition website: www.whiskycompetition.com/shop-iwc/international-whisky-guide-2016.
About the International Whisky Competition™
The International Whisky Competition brings whiskies from around the world to be blind tasted and rated by a professional tasting panel using the most comprehensive tasting method
available with 15 different criteria. These criteria are required to produce the tasting notes as well as aroma and flavor profiles for the International Whisky Guide. Unlike other competitions, the judges on its tasting panel are presented with one whisky at a time, to ensure each whisky gets the proper attention. It’s the only such competition in the spirits world to deliver unique medals designed to promote each of the winning whiskies. Only 3 medals (Gold, Silver & Bronze) are awarded per category. The Whisky of the Year (highest score during the competition) gets rewarded with the Golden Barrel Trophy, currently held by Diageo at The Archive in Scotland for last year’s John Walker & Sons King George V who scored an impressive 97 points.
For more information about the International Whisky Guide and the International Whisky
Competition, please visit whiskycompetition.com or contact Sylvain Allard, Managing Director, at s.allard@whiskycompetition.com