Every year, the global publication, Whisky Magazine, holds an international awards competition that recognises the best the whisky industry has to offer.
In addition to their World Whiskies Awards, in which whiskies compete in various categories, the Icons of Whisky awards recognise individuals who work in the industry, online retailers, and retail outlets, and for the second time, a South African retailer has been awarded at the 2023 Icons of Whisky Awards held in London.
In 2020, WhiskyBrother was awarded the Single Outlet Retailer of the Year, and this year, it has been awarded the Global Multiple Outlet Retailer of the Year.
The SA retailer competed against retailers from across the world, including Scotland, America, Ireland, Japan, and Europe, in two rounds of judging, for this prestigious accolade.
The whisky outlet team took to Instagram to announce the news.
“We were absolutely thrilled and somewhat stunned to hear Whisky Brother being called up on stage to receive the Global Award for Multiple Outlet Retailer for 2023! This is our second global award at Icons of Whisky - we won Single Outlet Retailer in 2020, but the ceremony was cancelled due to Covid, so it was an immense honour to be called up on stage and receive the award in a room filled with whiskey luminaries and icons from across the world.
“This huge achievement is, of course, not possible without wonderful people - both our brilliant team and our amazing customers.
“A sincere thank you to each of you who have believed and supported us along the way. We can't wait to continue our whisky journey alongside you,” they wrote.
Whisky Brother opened its doors in 2012 with one retail store in Hyde Park, and today, owns two additional stores in Bryanston and Bedfordview.
They launched Johannesburg’s first dedicated whisky bar in Sandton, which has over 1500 exclusive whiskies to taste and has an online store that delivers nationwide, with the largest selection of premium whiskies for purchase, including frequent limited editions and exclusive releases.
Their exclusive whisky releases are one of the offerings that set them apart in the South African landscape.
Selected by the team directly from the casks, the whiskies are not available anywhere else in the world and offer local whisky lovers unique whiskies that would otherwise never have been bottled.