Boann Distillery has won the ‘World’s Best Single Grain Whiskey’ at a prestigious ceremony in London. The Co. Meath drinks firm clinched the top prize for its Whistler Mosaic Marsala Cask which was held in the Honourable Artillery Company on Thursday 24th March 2022. It is the company’s fourth international gong in the World Whiskies Awards since 2019. Also on the night, The Good, The Bad and The Smoky was nominated for ‘World’s Best Blended Malt’. Both spirits form part of the distillery’s flagship Whistler range.
The Co. Meath distillery, based just outside Drogheda, blazed a trail to the finals in London after coming through the first-round of blind tastings, in which it scooped 11 prizes – Gold for its Single Pot Still ‘New Make Spirit Naoi’ and three silvers for its Oloroso Sherry Cask Finish, Single Pot Still ‘New Make Spirit Ceathair’ and Single Pot Still ‘New Make Spirit Deich’. It also clinched a host of bronze awards in the competition, organised by Whisky Magazine.
The awards commend the best whiskies in 16 categories, covering style and production methods. The first round of blind tastings is judged by independent spirits experts. From their scores, a winner is selected for each category and country, and gold, silver and bronze medals awarded. Each country winner then competes in round two for the title of World’s Best in each category.
“We must extend a heartfelt thanks to our judges, who all met online in dedicated tasting sessions to share their expertise and evaluate each sample individually. It has been an incredible experience. None of this would have been possible without all the great people involved, across all parts of the operation, who were willing to help and work together to make this a great year for the World Whiskies Awards. We have seen increased numbers of whiskies entered and measurably improved quality across the board.”
Anita Ujszaszi – Director of the World Whiskies Awards
The Whistler Mosaic Marsala Cask
This is a fantastic example of a premium, small batch Single Grain whiskey. This unique single grain Irish whiskey has been initially matured in ex-bourbon casks before being finished in exquisite Sicilian Marsala casks. This creates a perfectly balanced whiskey which boasts a deliciously fruity and flavoursome nose and palate to match. The nose offers a huge citrus burst, dry citrus peel with fleshy and juicy orange, and lime with hints of vanilla, chocolate and oak spices in the rear. Warm toffee and hazelnut on the palate with dry citrus, honey and stewed apricots with a medium finish with citrus zest, oak spice and honey. (Single Grain • Non Chill Filtered • Natural Colour • 46% ALC/VOL)
“We are absolutely delighted with the success, winning the world’s best grain whiskey is a massive achievement and proof that we can play on a world stage with the best whiskey producers on the planet. It is a testament to the hard work and attention to detail of our distillers and larger team and comes on the back of three other ‘World’s Best’ awards in recent years.”
Sally Anne Cooney, co-Founder Boann Distillery
The Good, The Bad and The Smoky
This spent the first part of its life in ex-bourbon barrels, this whiskey was then married and finished in 125 litre, peated quarter casks for a minimum of 10 months, giving this whiskey a campfire peated finish of outlaw days and sandblasted spice. The smoky character of this blended malt pays homage to the spaghetti westerns of days gone by, with whiskey drawn from three corners of the Irish plains. The palate offers a playful interlude between campfire smoke, bourbon sweetness and a slight salinity, followed by campfire embers, herbal spices, and cereal sweetness on the palate. (Blended Single Malt • Non Chill Filtered • Natural Colour • 48% ALC/VOL)
At the WWA last year, Boann won the ‘World’s Best New Make’ and ‘World’s Best Honey’ for the Whistler Irish Honey, in addition to the ‘World’s Best Cream’ for Merrys Irish Cream Liqueur in 2019.
For further information on these releases and up-to-date news on Boann Distillery, please visit www.boanndistillery.ie
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