Tamborine Mountain Distillery’s BUCKU WHISKEY LIQUEUR has been judged BEST IN THE WORLD in its category winning a PLATINUM MEDAL 96 points out of 100 at the Beverage Testing Institute Chicago.
That's what Michael Ward's email to the Daily Star said. Michael was bubbling over with enthusiasm about this award, one of many he has on the walls of the tasting room of the North Tamborine Distillery.
Come on guys, I thought. Let's have a healthy dose of Aussie cynicism here! Just how good is this award? What does it mean to get 96 points?
OK then, I checked and here's what I found out.
Let’s look at the score achieved by a couple of Bucku's competitors: a bottle of Pierre Ferrand Memoire Vintage Edition 1914 Cognac and a Louis Royer Extra Grande Champagne Cognac when they were assessed by this same prestigious independent body – the Beverage Testing Institute Chicago.
The Louis Royer Extra Grande did very well. Judges thought it was “Very smooth, elegant, and nuanced”. It scored 94 points and sells at a trifling US$395.
The Pierre Ferrand Cognac managed just 92 points, making it merely "Truly excellent in style and distinction" and if you have a lazy US$800 laying about, you can mail order it.
The Tamborine Mountain Bucku Whiskey Liqueur trounced these two high fliers with an amazing 96 points and it retails for around $50. That’s some achievement!
So step up into to the limelight Michael and Alla and take a much deserved bow.
The tasting panel described Bucku as: “Bright light amber color. Attractive and whisky nuanced aromas. Bold and satisfying. Sip on the rocks or creative clever cocktails.”
And for that, Michael and Alla Ward’s Bucku Whiskey Liqueur was judged to “Provide a world-class experience.”
So who is this Beverage Testing Institute Chicago. What would they know about it anyway?
Well for starters it is independent. To make the reviews as consistent as possible, the Beverage Testing Institute uses a dedicated tasting lab in Chicago. This room was specially designed to minimize external factors and maximize our panelists’ concentration.
Tasting at the same time of day practically every weekday morning, under the same ideal conditions, is far better than working out of a suitcase or at a producer’s facility.
All of their reviews, including over 30,000 of the most recent reviews, plus hundreds of articles, now appear on their website, Tastings.com.
The Beverage Testing Institute partners with many other websites and media that feature its reviews. Examples include: CNBC, BusinessWeek TV, the Chicago Tribune, WGN Radio, Martha Stewart Radio, BBC Radio International, All About Beer magazine, Restaurant Hospitality magazine, and many others.
The Institute rely heavily on highly experienced, professional guest tasters who are either retailers, restaurateurs, or prominent writers that are especially knowledgeable about the beverage category being reviewed.
All panelists are rigorously screened and audited and then trained in the Institute's proprietary blind tasting methodology.
The institute was formed by Craig "Meathead" Goldwyn, who modestly describes himself as a “Maverick, Guru and Savant.” Craig began and hosted the Food & Drink Network on America Online, taught at Cornell University’s famous Hotel School, and at Le Cordon Bleu in Chicago.
He founded the Beverage Testing Institute in 1984 and served as its president for 16 years. He has judged wine and food around the world, and highlights of his year are judging wine at the California State Fair and barbecue at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue.
He calls himself an "omnivore" and says he’s got wine and sauce stains on all his shirts and the well-marbled waistline to prove he does it well.
So when Tamborine Mountain Distillery gets an award from these guys, it really says something that we all should be proud of.
BUT WAIT . . . there’s more.
News has just come in from America that Tamborine Mountain Distillery has also just won more awards: 4 GOLD & 1 SILVER medals creating history for five of its’ world class products:
96 POINTS BUCKU WHISKEY LIQUEUR PLATINUM
95 POINTS KURUMBA RUM LIQUEUR GOLD
93 POINTS QUANDONG GENTIAN BITTERS LIQUEUR GOLD
91 POINTS WILD FOREST PLUM LIQUEUR GOLD
87 POINTS CHAI LIQUEUR SILVER
“This is the first time this has ever happened in Australia’s history by a true Australian company, owned, run, manufactured and bottled in Australia by Australians and we’re damn proud of it” said an ecstatic Michael Ward.
“This is an absolutely remarkable achievement when you are up against some of the biggest and best in the world” he said.
And we agree. Well done to the whole Ward family.
Not only is Tamborine Mountain a beautiful place to live and work, Michael and Alla show that you can lead the world from it.
