Midleton Distillery whisky cleans up at San Francisco World Spirits awards

an aerial image of Midleton Distillery with the San Francisco world spirits competition sticker in the top right hand corner

(Image credit: Midleton Distillery)

published 11 June 2025

When it comes to whiskey, Midleton has been around the block, having been in the whiskey-making business for 200 years. And that pedigree has shone through at this year's most prestigious spirits award competition.

In 200 years, Midelton had earned its fair share of accolades, but at the most recent San Francisco World Spirits Competition, it reached a new landmark, being crowned the most awarded international distillery. Midleton took home an impressive 41 medals.

Midleton Distillery’s awards included 21 double gold medals, 10 gold medals, 9 platinum awards, and 9 best of class finalists. Basically, Middleton has become the Michael Phelps of the whiskey world.

an image of Midleton's collection, from left to right, a bottle of Powers whiskey, Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare, Jameson, Green Spot, and Knappogue Castle

Midleton has released some pretty impressive drams in recent years, including the oldest ever single pot still Irish whiskey, and is home to an exclusive very rare collection. Some of the brands made at the distillery include Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, and Knappogue Castle.

So if you’re looking for a wee dram for yourself or a friend (you don’t have to lie to us), you can know you’re picking up a decent bottle with awards aplenty.

The leaders of Midleton called the awards “a true honour”, saying it was “a testament to the passion, innovation and craftsmanship of our teams in Midleton – both past and present.” Mainly, a testament to how much people love an Irish malt, which we definitely can’t argue with.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.