The James Sedgwick Distillery in Wellington, which is home to South African Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky, and its founder distiller, Andy Watts, both took the world titles at this year's Icons of Whisky Awards.
The James Sedgwick Distillery took home the Sustainable Distillery of the Year award while Watts was named the World Whisky Brand Ambassador of the Year.
Taking to Instagram, the Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky team said they have never been prouder of their home.
“We’ve never been more proud of our home – the James Sedgwick Distillery, where Bain's is made has been named World’s Best Sustainable Distillery. Did you know that you can take a tour of it,” they wrote.
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A post shared by Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky(@bainswhisky) on Mar 28, 2020 at 2:44am PDT
In a statement, Watts said innovation has been key in the success of South African whisky.
“Bain’s was launched in 2009, long before single grain whisky became a trend around the globe. My vision for this whisky was to offer consumers something truly South African made with a hundred percent South African maize and quite uniquely double matured for a period of five years in casks previously used for the maturation bourbon.
"This together with our warm South African climate which accelerates maturation, resulting in an exceptionally smooth whisky with extraordinary flavour, makes the whisky truly one of a kind. And in its own right, Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky has been awarded as the World’s Best Grain Whisky twice at the 2013 and 2018 World Whiskies Awards, segmenting our country’s reputation for making world-class whisky,” he said.