The winners have been unveiled in the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Whisky Awards. Over 200 votes were cast in the competition, which is the only awards where the winners are determined by the real experts - members of the whisky-loving public.

The winner of the 12-year-old and under category was Strathisla 12 while the title for malts aged 13 to 20 years went to Aberlour 18.

In the 21-year-old category GlenSpey 21 topped the poll.

Six finalists were voted on at a series of judging sessions across Speyside in the run up to and during the Festival. The malts had previously been shortlisted by a panel of industry leaders, acclaimed writers and specialist retailers.

James Campbell, Chairman of the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, says, “Well done to our 2015 winners. It is a huge honour to receive one of these awards because they are voted for by the public, as opposed to a panel of experts, and are not influenced by any kind of consumer loyalty or external influences.

“Festival visitors have used their noses, knowledge and taste buds to vote on these drams at judging sessions that were held across Speyside and the  judging sessions are equally loved by people who are just starting to learn about whisky as well as those with expert knowledge.” 

The awards are sponsored by coppersmiths Forsyths of Rothes, the company responsible for building many of the pot stills in which the shortlisted single malts were distilled.

They were announced at the closing ceilidh held on Sunday, 3rd May 2015 at the Laichmoray Hotel in Elgin.

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