Discover the winners of the Australian International Spirits Awards.
If you’re all about following the top gongs to find excellent drinks, you’ll want to know the latest winners of the Australian International Spirits Awards. Now in its 11th year, the annual awards just announced the best spirits and distillers for 2026, which were judged blind by a panel of experts from a record number of more than 1000 entries.
This year also marked the first time the awards were officially open to international producers, and more than 20 spirits categories are represented in the coveted competition. The growth of the awards reflects the ongoing evolution and increasing quality across the spirits industry, both here in Australia and further afield.
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In the major awards, Australia’s oldest continually run distillery St Agnes took home the Champion Large Australian Distillery trophy. The esteemed South Australian producer, which is 101 this year, also collected Best Brandy for its St Agnes XO 15YO, which is nutty, smooth and complex.
The trophy for Champion Medium Australian Distillery went to Queensland’s Nil Desperandum Rum for the second time in three years, confirming the diversity and strength of our local rum scene. The producers proudly make unsweetened rum from local sugarcane and molasses.
And vermouth masters Maidenii collected the trophy for Champion Small Australian Distillery as well as Champion Victorian Distillery; their Sweet, Classic and Dry Vermouths all have a loyal following. It was a very welcome win after the devastating loss of their production facility in the Harcourt bushfires in January.
The 2026 awards also introduced a new category with the G&T trophy, with submissions judged in the classic cocktail format. The inaugural honour went to Bunker Distillery from NSW for its Traditional Dry Gin paired with Strangelove Coastal Tonic.
Other gin winners included South Australia’s Never Never Triple Juniper Gin, which claimed Best London Dry Gin as well as Champion Australian Gin. As the name suggests, this is a juniper-dominant gin, which is made by three different distillation processes. Also taking home a title was the Brogan’s Way Strawberries & Cream Gin for Best Fruit or Wine Gin.
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In other spirits categories, Archie Rose’s Rye Malt Whisky won Best Grain Whisky (as well as a Consistency of Excellence award), made with malted rye, which differs from many others that use unmalted. This helps to deliver a unique whisky with flavours of spiced custard, ginger, stone fruit and baked apple pie.
And Best Liqueur went to Marionette for its Caretaker’s Cottage Black Forest, which was made in collaboration with the award-winning Melbourne bar from local fruits and produce.
For all details, visit the Melbourne Royal Australian International Spirits Awards.
