The Lifetime Achievement Award was one of three recognition prizes presented at the ISC dinner at Gibson Hall, London.
“I am honoured and touched to have received this award,” said Winchester. “I started my career at The Glenlivet in 1979, and over those years have witnessed a fair few changes.
“But the one thing that has remained the same is the dedication to excellence and the commitment to maintaining the exceptional quality for which The Glenlivet has become known.
“This passion and dedication is shared by the entire team at the distillery and I’d like to thank them for their support over the years. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Winchester’s career within the Scotch whisky industry spans more than 40 years and 20 different distilleries around Scotland and today Winchester manages Pernod Ricard’s 14 malt distilleries while acting as master distiller at The Glenlivet.
Greg Dillon, founder of Greatdrams whisky blog, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to raise a dram to Alan and to thank him for not only what he does in the industry, but for being an inspiration and one of the most down-to-earth people I’ve had the opportunity to learn from.”
Our final award this evening: Lifetime Achievement Award goes to Alan Winchester. Alan has made a significant imact in the spirits world, having worked at over 20 distilleries in the past 40 years and is highly regarded in the scotch whisky world. Congratulations Alan! #ISC2018 pic.twitter.com/ezmF7sRZco
— International Spirits Challenge (@IntSpiritsChal) 12 July 2018
Winchester’s latest expression, Captain’s Reserve is aged in first-fill sherry and bourbon casks, finished in cognac barrels for six months and won a silver medal at this year’s ISC, one of the biggest Scotch whisky blind tasting competitions in the world.
Bearing no age-statement, the whisky has been named after Captain William Smith Grant, great grandson of The Glenlivet founder George Smith, who served in France during WWI.
The Glenlivet 15 Year Old and 18 Year Old both won gold medals at this year’s ISC and the single malt distillery also picked up a further three silver medals alongside Captain’s Reserve.
