Ever fancied yourself a whisky taster or judge? Well, thanks to The Whisky Exchange, now’s your chance!
For the second year running, whisky fans can become whisky judges for the internationally recognised award, The Whisky Exchange’s Whisky of the Year. The first stage nominations open on 10th August, meaning there’s never been a better excuse to re-taste some favourite drams.
The Whisky of the Year award is given to one whisky that stands out from the crowd each year and that has been chosen by The Whisky Exchange‘s customers. The winning whisky is given a dedicated landing page on The Whisky Exchange for the year to showcase the distillery and the bottling, while customers can watch out for special offers online and in-store Of The Year tastings.
How do I Vote?
In order to nominate your favourite dram, voters will visit https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/vote from Monday 10th August to put forward up to four whiskies. The three most popular nominations will be selected for the Whisky of the Year shortlist.
What’s more, to kick things off, everyone who nominates their favourite whisky is in with a chance to win an Of The Year 2020 Winners Collection – a bottle of each of Benromach 15 Year Old single malt whisky, Worthy Park Single Estate Reserve rum and Henri Giraud Esprit Nature Champagne.
The criteria for nominations are:
- The whisky must have a retail price of £65 or less (the award is about not only quality but accessibility)
- It must be 48% ABV or less
- It must be permanently available (ie. not a limited release)
A further three whiskies will be picked by Co-Founder of The Whisky Exchange, Sukhinder Singh, and head buyer, Dawn Davies MW, to complete the shortlist.
Once the whiskies have been selected, customers will have the opportunity to purchase a Perfect Measure Tasting Set featuring all six finalists. The whiskies will be labelled A to F so they can be judged blind and the sets will be available from September 2020. For those who would like to judge alongside like-minded whisky lovers, a Whisky of the Year judging session will take place during the Virtual Whisky Show from 2nd – 4th October.
Customers will then be able to cast their vote online for their favourite whisky at thewhiskyexchange.com.
Nominations will open at 10am on 10th August and close two weeks later. The blind tasting judging packs will be available online and in-store from 28th September and the Whisky of the Year will be revealed on 1st December 2020.