Whisky Focus - Inver House Scoop 5 Medals At Global Distillery Masters 2016

Inver House distilleries, Pulteney, Balblair, Speyburn, Knockdhu and Balmenach between scoop 5 medals between them at new Global Distillery Masters 2016 Awards.

Inver House Distillers has scooped five awards in a new international drinks industry competition - Global Distillery Masters 2016. The Airdrie-based business’s five Scottish distilleries, Pulteney, Balblair, Speyburn, Knockdhu and Balmenach between them received an three gold and two silver medals.

The inaugural competition was created to recognise the world’s finest distilleries and the growing importance of tourism, creativity and technical merit in the spirit industry. Chaired by UK drinks magazine, The Spirits Business, and judged by a panel of specialists, entrants were assessed on their customer experience, production innovation, digital and social media and environmental initiatives.

Inver House Global Distillery Masters 2016 Awards:

• Pulteney Distillery & Visitor Centre - Gold Medal, Consumer Experience
   
• Balblair Distillery & Balblair Home - Silver Medal, Consumer Experience
   
• Knockdhu Distillery - Gold Medal, Environmental Initiatives
   
• Balmenach Distillery - Gold Medal, Environmental Initiatives
   
• Speyburn Distillery - Silver Medal, Production Innovation
   

Both Pulteney and Balblair Distillery Visitor Centre’s received much coveted medals in the competition’s ‘customer experience’ category, with Pulteney scooping gold and Balblair a silver accolade. As one of the most northerly distilleries on the Scottish mainland, Pulteney’s popular Visitor Centre has put the small coastal town of Wick firmly on the map, attracting thousands of UK and international visitors every year. Refurbished in 2013, the dynamic Centre showcases not only how Old Pulteney single malt Scotch whisky is produced, but also Wick’s rich seafaring heritage that lives on in ‘the maritime malt.’

Balblair’s innovative Visitor Centre, fondly known as the Balblair Home, received recognition for bringing over two centuries of whisky making history to life through authentic tastings and bespoke tours. Since opening in 2011, the Home has more than doubled its visitor numbers and sales revenue and secured a 4 star visitor attraction status from VisitScotland. Balblair is the only whisky distillery to exclusively release vintage single malts.

Both Knockdhu and Balmenach Distillery received gold medals for their environmental initiatives which have cemented their position as two of Scotland’s most resourceful distilleries. Situated in the picturesque village of Knock in Aberdeenshire, Knockdhu’s production methods remain rooted in tradition, whilst its Highland single malt, anCnoc, and commitment to sustainable practice are refreshingly modern. Thanks to ongoing investment in both on-site operations and surrounding natural resources, the distillery has made comprehensive energy reduction savings and enjoyed significantly improved efficiency.

Balmenach Distillery is renowned as the home of super premium wildly sophisticated Scottish gin Caorunn which is crafted using local, natural resources. It is Caorunn’s environmentally-friendly credentials that are now mirrored by the distillery’s commitment to sustainable practice. At the heart of this commitment, is a new state-of-the-art boiler which has diminished both the distillery’s energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions whilst providing cost-effective renewable energy.

To cap a remarkable string of accolades, scenic Speyside distillery Speyburn, scooped a silver medal in the competition’s innovation category thanks to a £5 million expansion program carried out in 2015. Since its founder John Hopkins used his intuition, and began to make whisky in 1897, the distillery has always trusted its instincts and challenged the whisky norms. Speyburn has since then carved its own path and has been at the cutting edge of distillation innovation and equipment, whilst also adhering to traditional production methods.

The expansion not only increased Speyburn’s production capacity from 1.8 million litres to over four million litres every year, but substantially reduced its energy consumption per litre of alcohol. The improvement in Speyburn's carbon footprint has yielded energy savings of more than 20 percent.

Karen Walker, Marketing Director at Inver House Distillers commented:
"We couldn’t have asked for a better start to the year at Inver House. It’s always fabulous to pick up awards however to have scooped five at the Global Distillery Masters is an achievement we’re especially proud of.

"The medals serve to highlight the great lengths our staff go to in ensuring that each and every aspect of how we run our distilleries from product innovation to the customer experience, is carried out in the best possible way, helping to create brands of real distinction. We are immensely proud of our distillery teams, and these medals are a real testament to their hard work.

"It’s incredibly rewarding to be recognised by the judging panel, particularly in such a high calibre field and we look forward to building upon this success throughout the year."
 

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