J.P. Wiser’s 24 Year Old takes top prize at the 16th annual Canadian Whisky Awards
Davin de Kergommeaux founded the Canadian Whisky Awards in 2010 to boost the awareness and quality of our homegrown spirit, announcing the winners each January during the annual Victoria Whisky Festival.
Sixteen years later, as he prepares to hand the awards over to a new generation of whisky lovers, he describes the state of Canadian whisky as “diverse and robust,” and says: “Canadian distillers are doing stuff that was unheard of even 16 years ago. What we have is something really exciting and really Canadian.”
The 2026 Canadian Whisky Awards winners were announced on January 15, with J.P. Wiser’s taking home the title of Canadian Whisky of the Year for its 24 Year Old Canadian Whisky.
This ultra-premium blended whisky received the top overall score from a panel of 13 judges, who tasted nearly 200 competing whiskies in blind tastings. Part of J.P. Wiser’s Decades Series, it was distilled in 2000, aged for 24 years and shows fine oak, spice and leather with notes of butterscotch, toffee and nougat.
“This solid old-timer brings the delicacy and refinement of long-aged whisky to the depth and nuance of a masterfully blended dram. Among so many brilliant whiskies in competition, it was a clear winner,” says de Kergommeaux, who was chair of the judging panel.
It was just one of more than two dozen awards presented this year, including:
- Canadian Whisky Producer of the Year: Sons of Vancouver Distillery
- Canadian Whisky Lifetime Achievement Award: Bill Ashburn of Forty Creek
- Award of Excellence in Product Innovation: Macaloney’s Distillery, The Peat Project
- Best Whisky & Spirits Writer: Reece Sims
- Blended Whisky of the Year: Wayne Gretzky Distillery, Maple Cask Whisky
- Corn Whisky of the Year: BEARFACE Triple Oak
- Rye Whisky of the Year: Wild Life Distillery, WLD Cask King of the North
- Single Malt Whisky of the Year: Macaloney’s Distillery, The Peat Project: Harvest Coast
- Best Barrel Finished Whisky: Bridgeland Distillery, Glenbow Single Malt, Porta-Rossa Cask Finish
- Best Cask Strength Whisky: Sons of Vancouver Distillery, “The First Crack of a Creme Brulee,” Cask-Strength Wheated Rye
- Best Limited Expression: Pike Creek, 22 Year Old PX Cask Finish Canadian Whisky
- Best Single Barrel Release: John Sleeman & Sons, Spring Mill Distillery, Wine Cask Aged Single Malt
The other big news of the night was that de Kergommeaux, long the passionate spirit behind the awards, is handing the reins over to Blair Phillips, his co-author of The Definitive Guide to Canadian Distilleries, who will become the chair of judges, and Alex Hamer, who is already the managing director of the awards. (Hamer is also the founder of Artisan Distillers Canada, which produces the annual Canadian Artisan Spirit Competition.)
The awards will continue to be fully independent and only whiskies that were distilled and matured in Canada are eligible to compete. As de Kergommeaux says: “I really want these decisions to be made in Canada by Canadians.”
For more information and the full results of the 2026 Canadian Whisky Awards, visit canadianwhiskyawards.com.
—by Joanne Sasvari
