The best whisky is made right here!

IT’S official: locally produced Bains Cape Mountain Single Grain Whisky has been awarded the title of World’s Best Grain Whisky for 2018.

The announcement was made on Thursday at the annual Whisky Magazine Awards dinner held at the Waldorf Hilton Hotel in London.

And this year, it was a South African favourite that won the votes of some of the most distinguished whisky connoisseurs on the judging panel.

Manufactured and produced in the small town of Wellington, in the Western Cape, home to SA’s James Sedgwick Distillery, the double-matured Bains Cape Mountain Whisky beat out stiff competition from whiskies made in Scotland, Ireland, America, Japan and Taiwan to take home top honours.

It also won World’s Best Grain Whisky at the 2013 World Whiskies Awards and received the World Whisky Trophy at the 2016 International Spirits Challenge.

According to a media statement, it took distiller Andy Watts, who was named global Icon of Whisky Master Distiller/ Master Blender at the awards, 10 years to develop Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky before it was released in 2009.

“We have overcome the odds against the perceived perception that only traditional whisky producing countries can be taken seriously. We’ve had many hurdles along the way, we have become innovative in our approach to manage our unique warmer climate. ”