Talisker 57° North Won A Master award

Diageo’s Single Malt Scotch Whiskies Lagavulin, Talisker and The Singleton of Glen Ord have added further polish to their global prestige and long record of success with major wins in the prestigious Scotch Whisky Masters competition held in London with the results being announced yesterday.

The Scotch Whisky Masters awards are decided by expert judging panels after an extensive and rigorous blind tasting process.

The panels, all independent of the whisky industry, included mixologists, managers of luxury hotels, bars and restaurants, global retailers, and leading whisky commentators including two former editors of Whisky Magazine, chaired by the widely-respected drinks journalist Patience Gould.

They awarded six ‘Master’ accolades – the highest award in the competition – to Diageo brands: Lagavulin 16 year old (adding to its already substantial collection of awards), The Singleton of Glen Ord 12 year old, now a major success in Asian markets, Talisker 57° North, The Distillers Editions of Cragganmore and Dalwhinnie – and a newcomer: Caol Ila Moch, a recently launched expression of the highly successful Islay malt without an age statement, destined initially for the exclusive enjoyment of the Friends of the Classic Malts.

Talisker confirmed its status as a regular winner by picking up three top medals: a Master for Talisker 57° North, and Gold medals for Talisker 10 year old and Talisker Distillers Edition.

Other Gold medal winners were: Caol Ila 12 year old, Cardhu 12 year old, Cragganmore, 12 year old, Dalwhinnie 15 year old, Glenkinchie 12 year old, Glenkinchie Distillers Edition, Lagavulin Distillers Edition and The Singleton of Glendullan 12 year old.

Nick Morgan, Diageo Scotch Knowledge and Heritage Director, said: “These are outstanding results. And we value this increasingly-influential competition. It stands out by the independence of its judging panels, with members drawn from a wide cross-section of drinks professionals and commentators, many of whom are close to the tastes of our target consumers.”