The prestigious awards gave recognition to many local distilleries, including Tomatin and Fettercairn.
Several whisky distillers, blenders, ambassadors and communicators from across Scotland discovered they had won top prizes at the Icons of Whisky Scotland awards.
The ceremony took place online on Friday February 5 when they were presented by the editor of awards organiser Whisky magazine, Christopher Coates.
Many of Scotland’s top industry producers were among those who won awards. Locally, Tomatin Distillery, achieved a highly commended in the Campaign Innovator award, with their own Global Brand Ambassador, Scott Adamson, taking the top prize in the Scotch Whisky Brand Ambassador award.
Unaware he had even been nominated for the accolade, Scott said it was “a real surprise” to be recognised.
“It’s an incredible honour and I think, to the best of my knowledge, this is the one competition that really looks at the people in the whisky industry as much as the product. There are already a lot of competitions out there for products but something like this is about the people,” he said.
“It’s a lovely piece of recognition for a year of work. We don’t always get a chance to look back at what we’ve done as we’re always looking to the next activity, so to be recognised for what we did last year is really incredible.
“I didn’t have a clue that I was even nominated. I knew that our virtual lockdown whisky festival had been nominated for an award so I happened to have the awards on in the background but I was actually on a call with a friend. It was just by chance I glanced at the screen and saw my photo. That’s when I found out not only that I’d won but that I’d even been nominated in the first place. So it was a real surprise.
“They haven’t told me what the criteria was for the award. I just had messages afterwards saying that we’d really adapted well to the situation last year. I went back and watched the footage afterwards and heard them saying that what they were looking for was ambassadors that don’t only do what it takes to promote their own brand but promote the industry as a whole.
“I think that’s something the company, Tomatin, has done really well as a whole and being able to be the face of that has been a really nice opportunity, especially during a tough time.
“I’m always reminding myself that it’s the greatest job in the world – we get paid to talk about and drink the best whiskies in the world, so the role in and of itself is enough of a reward. But to have this recognition from peers is a really, really lovely thing.”
Further afield, Arbroath-based Arbikie Distillery won the Craft Producer of the Year award.
Co-owner Iain Stirling said his team are delighted to be recognised for all of their hard work after they set out wanting to be one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries.
He said: “It is fantastic to be recognised by the whisky industry for what we are trying to achieve with our whiskies at the Arbikie Distillery. It’s an honour to be awarded Craft Producer of the Year by the prestigious Whisky Magazine and as owners, my brothers and I are absolutely delighted to see our team recognised for all their hard work on the farm, at the distillery and in whisky markets across the world.
“We had no idea we had been nominated. The Icons Awards are nominated by and voted for by the drinks trade before the results are ratified by the Whisky Magazine Judging Panel.
“We found out live and so it was a mix of surprise and delight for all our team. We were competing with so many other excellent distilleries, so winning is always very special, especially coming so soon after winning the ‘Excellence in Sustainability’ at the Scottish Whisky Awards. We have an amazing world-class whisky industry in Scotland, so it is fantastic to be included on such a prestigious list of amazing distillers and distilleries when still such as a young whisky business.
“We set out with a clear vision when we started Arbikie in that we wanted to be one of the world’s most sustainable distilleries and to distil one of the world’s best whiskies, and have worked and continue to work very hard to achieve these goals.”
The winners from the north and north-east:
The full list of winners from across Scotland can be seen here.
Craft Producer of the Year
Winner – Arbikie
Campaign Innovator
Highly Commended – Tomatin Distillery, The Lockdown Whisky Festival
Our creative and innovative approach to promoting our distillery via the Lockdown Whisky Festival has been Highly Commended by @Whisky_Magazine Icons of Whisky awards. Congratulations also to Scott Adamson who has been named Scotch Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year! pic.twitter.com/1yTEwTg2ap
— Tomatin Whisky (@Tomatin1897) February 5, 2021
Distillery Manager
Winner – Stewart Walker, Fettercairn Distillery
Scotch Whisky Brand Ambassador
Winner – Scott Adamson, Tomatin Distillery
Highly Commended – Paul Dempsey, Speyside Distillery
Single Outlet Retailer
Winner – Carnegie Whisky Cellars
Highly Commended – Inverurie Whisky Shop
Just ever so slightly elated!@Whisky_Magazine #whisky #whiskymagawards #IconsOfWhisky #raiseaglass pic.twitter.com/spXTqzVjqF
— InverurieWhiskyShop (@InverurieWhisky) February 6, 2021
Whisky Hotel Bar of the Year
Highly Commended – Dornoch Castle Hotel
Communicator of the Year
Highly Commended – Andrew Flatt, The Amateur Drammer
To be nominated 2 years in a row (especially in such prestigious company) is very humbling, however I’m rather chuffed to receive a highly commended award from Whisky Magazine in the ‘Communicator of the Year’ category. Thanks to all involved for your su… https://t.co/mo4g25vsXa pic.twitter.com/QL4VveLr4Y
— Andy Flatt (@Andrew_T_Flatt) February 5, 2021
