Royal Tasmanian Whisky & Spirits Award launched

A new whisky and spirits award will be taking place in August, making it Tasmania’s first international whisky and spirits competition.

The Royal Tasmanian Whisky & Spirits Awards will be run by the Royal Agricultural Society of Tasmania (RAST) and the Tasmanian Whisky & Spirits Association.

The inaugural competition will be judged by a panel featuring experts from overseas.

Christopher Coats will be flying in from Scotland to be the 2026 competition’s chief whisky judge.

He has served as Chair of Judges for the World Whiskies Awards and Icons of Whisky.

Kiwi Tash McGill will be the chief spirits judge, having previously been head judge for the Super Spirits Awards and the NZ Spirits Awards.

Tasmanian whisky pioneer Bill Lark is the Patron of the awards.

“Tasmania is now an international force in fine whisky, and this new competition will allow Tasmania – and in a wider sense Australia – the opportunity to regularly benchmark its excellence against the best global whisky distillers,” Mr Lark said.

RAST CEO Scott Gadd said the competition would complement its other contests, such as the Royal Tasmanian Fine Food Awards, the Royal Hobart Wine Show, and the Tasmanian Vineyard of the Year program.

“We’ve been pursuing this idea for a few years,” Mr Gadd said.

“Whisky and gin produced in Tasmania is of such a quality that it now complements and underlines Tasmania’s reputation as an exemplar destination for exceptional food and wine.”

The categories in the Royal Tasmanian Whisky & Spirits Awards include: 

• Best Overall Whisky in Show
• Best Single Malt Whisky
• Best Other Whisky
• Best Gin
• Best Vodka
• Best Other Spirit
• Best Tasmanian Single Malt Whisky
• Best Tasmania Whisky
• Best Tasmanian Gin