Judging for Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards gets underway
JUDGING for next year's Spirit of Speyside Whisky Awards got underway last week as organisers prepare for another busy festival.
Eight judges, comprising of industry experts, writers and specialist retailers, carried out blind tasting of 47 entries before scoring each whisky out of 10 based on character and flavour.
Each category (12 years and under, 12 to 15 years, 15 to 21 years and non-age statement) will be whittled down to two finalists which will then be put forward for judging by whisky drinkers around the world.
The judging, the first stage in the process of selecting category winners, was held at the Station Hotel in Rothes on March 24.
And, unlike in previous years, three of the eight judges were absent from the event on the day but were still able to take part thanks to special packs put together by the festival's organisers.
The date for the initial judging phase was also brought forward by four weeks in what is another significant change to the awards.
Festival chairman George McNeil says the changes are likely to be carried forward in the future as the festival continues to evolve.
He said: "We've had five judging in person and three doing so remotely which is a first for us.
"We've also brought the judging forward by four or five weeks just to let the team breathe.
"Historically, this would be held on Tuesday night before the festival itself starts so by doing this it just makes the complexity easier to manage.
"The team are a lot calmer than we've been in previous years.
"The festival is growing year on year and the team are already talking about changes they could make for next year. Overall, I think we've found a new way of working which is excellent."
Last week's judging is the first stage in finding the winning whiskies for 2024's Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival.
However, the winners of this year's festival will be announced on April 26 after nearly a year of blind tasting.
"Running alongside this, we've obviously had almost a year of blind tasting from 2022," Mr McNeil added.
"So at the festival's opening dinner we will announce the winners in each category."
The Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival begins on April 26.
More details can be found here.
