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Dick Mack’s – Irish Whiskey Bar of Year

Dick Mack’s in Dingle, County Kerry, emerged as the Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year Year at the Irish Whiskey Awards held in the Teeling Distillery in Newmarket Place in Dublin last night while Melbourne’s Whisky and Alement bar was named the International Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year.

The Dingle Whiskey Bar in Dublin’s Nassau Street took the Leinster award, Garavan’s Bar in Galway took the Connaught award and The Duke of York in Belfast took the Ulster award.

For the second year running Redbreast 21 Year-Old Whiskey was named the Irish Whiskey of the Year.

Now in their third year the Irish Whiskey Awards recognise excellence and innovation from indigenous producers and distillers.

The awards spanned 20 categories including two new ones for Irish Gin and Irish Vodka, won by Thin Gin and Dingle Vodka respectively.

Connemara Single Malt took the Irish Single Malt (12 Years & Younger) category prize while Knappogue Castle Vintage 2000 Batch 2 Mongeard Mugneret Burgundy Cask took home the trophy in the Irish Single Malt Whiskey (13 Years & Older) category.

Tullamore Dew 12 Year-Old won best Irish Blended Whiskey (RRP of less than €60) while Midleton Very Rare 2015 received the Irish Blended Whiskey (RRP of €60 or more).

Each category winner received a trophy and the runners-up received Gold Medals that can be prominently displayed on their whiskey at Point Of Sale.

Ally Alpine, Managing Director of the Celtic Whiskey Shop and the Irish Whiskey Awards, commented, “The Irish Whiskey Awards were started almost at the same time as the explosion in interest in Irish whiskey and craft distilling and each year shows the leap in both entry numbers and the quality of the liquid. We hope this journey continues for many years”.

Special guest on the night John Teeling added, “With the renaissance in Irish whiskey gathering pace it’s important now more than ever to recognise the top quality whiskey being distilled here in Ireland”.

He pointed out that some 13 gins and 14 malts were among the entries for the competition.

He also pointed to the growth in Irish whiskey demand around the world.

“In 1971 Irish whiskey sales totalled 2.5 million cases” he explained, “one million of them in Ireland itself. In 2015 that figure is likely to be nearer 10 million cases and by 2025 the figure will have risen to 25 million cases.

“That’s still just a drop in the ocean when you consider that India alone consumes 250 million cases of spirits a year.

“Thailand consumes 125 million cases of spirits a year and even Myanmar (Burma) drinks 17 million cases of spirits a year.”

Africa too is a good prospect for sales of Irish whiskey, he believed.

South Africa, for example, imported 5,000 cases in 1996. Today that figure stands at 30,000 cases, mainly thanks to the growing middle class market there.

At one time Irish whiskey accounted for 60% of all whisk(e)y drunk around the world. The premium end of that Irish whiskey was made here in Dublin and it has returned to Dublin with the opening of Teeling Distillery and others now in the pipeline.

The winners of the Irish Whiskey Awards will be celebrated at Whiskey Live when it returns to Dublin for the fifth time on Saturday 24th October in its new city centre location of The Printworks at Dublin Castle. This move has allowed the event to grow and it now accommodates up to 1,200 visitors over the two sessions 1.30pm to 5pm and 6pm to 9.30pm.

Tickets are limited and available from http://www.whiskeylivedublin.com.

 

 

 

The 2015 Irish Whiskey Awards winners in full:

 

                Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year (Overall Winner)

Glencairn Trophy – Dick Mack’s, Dingle

 

                  Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year (Leinster)

Trophy Winner – The Dingle Whiskey Bar

Gold Medal – The Whiskey Palace

Gold Medal – L Mulligans Grocer

 

                Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year (Munster)

Trophy Winner – Dick Mack’s, Dingle

Gold Medal – The Shelbourne Bar, Cork

Gold Medal – The Folkhouse, Kinsale

 

                Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year (Connaught)

Trophy Winner – Garavan’s Bar, Galway

Gold Medal – An Púcán, Galway

Gold Medal – Tigh Neachtain’s, Galway

 

Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year (Ulster)

Trophy Winner – The Duke of York, Belfast

Gold Medal – Bittles Bar, Belfast

Gold Medal – McCuaig’s bar, Rathlin Island

 

Irish Whiskey Bar of the Year (International)

Trophy Winner – Whisky and Alement, Melbourne, Australia

Gold Medal – The Shebeen/Irish Heather – Vancouver, BC, Canada

Gold Medal – Scholars Bar, Rome

 

Irish Whiskey of the Year (Overall winner)

Glencairn Trophy Winner – Redbreast 21 Year-Old

 

Irish Single Pot Still Whiskey

Trophy Winner  – Redbreast 21 Year Old

Gold Medal  – Midleton Barry Crockett Legacy

Gold Medal – Powers Signature Release

 

               Irish Single Malt Whiskey (12 Years & Younger)

Trophy Winner Connemara Single Malt

Gold Medal – Teeling Single Malt

Gold Medal – Tullamore Dew 10 Year Old Single Malt

 

                Irish Single Malt Whiskey (13 Years & Older)

Trophy Winner – Knappogue Castle Vintage 2000 Batch 2 Mongeard Mugneret Burgundy Cask

Gold Medal – The Palace Bar Three Generations Batch 14 Year-Old

Gold Medal – Glendalough 13 Year Old Single Malt

 

                  Irish Blended Whiskey (RRP of less than €60)

Trophy Winner – Tullamore Dew 12 Year Old

Gold Medal – Writers Tears Copper Pot

Gold Medal – Jameson Select Reserve Black Barrel

 

                Irish Blended Whiskey (RRP of €60 or more)

Trophy Winner – Midleton Very Rare 2015

Gold Medal – Jameson Gold Reserve

Gold Medal – Jameson 18 Year Old Limited Reserve

 

                Irish Single Cask Whiskey

Trophy Winner – An Púcán Teeling Whiskey Single Malt

Gold Medal – Celtic Cask Trí Déag

Gold Medal – Celtic Cask Dó Dhéag

 

                Irish Cask Strength Whiskey

Trophy Winner – Tullamore Dew Phoenix

Gold Medal – Midleton Dair Ghaelach

Gold Medal – Redbreast 12 Year Old Cask Strength

 

Irish Single Grain Whiskey

Trophy Winner – Kilbeggan Single Grain

Gold Medal – Glendalough Single Grain

Gold Medal – Teeling Single Grain

 

 

Irish Poitin

Trophy Winner – Teeling Poitin

Gold Medal – Bán Poitin

                

Irish Liqueur

Trophy Winner – Mrs Doyle’s Irish Cream

Gold Medal – Coole Swan

Gold Medal – The Wild Geese Irish Honey Liqueur

 

                Irish Gin

Trophy Winner – Thin Gin

Gold Medal – Blackwater No 5

Gold Medal – Dingle Gin

 

                  Irish Vodka

Trophy Winner – Dingle Vodka

Gold Medal – Untamed Irish Vodka

Gold Medal – St Patrick’s Distillery Vodka

 

                Irish Whiskey Barrel Aged Irish Craft Beer

Trophy Winner – O’Hara’s Barrel Aged Series

Gold Medal – Independent Whiskey Stout

Gold Medal – Franciscan Well Jameson Stout


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