Scapegrace Distilling Co. has been awarded a Master Medal for its Single Malt Fortitude V Whisky at the 2023 Global Spirit World Whisky Masters.

The Master Medal is the highest honour in the competition, which was held in London. Chaired by The Spirits Business with a panel of leading spirits specialists, the Global Spirits Masters are the world’s most highly regarded series of spirits blind-tasting competitions.

Scapegrace Co-Founder Mark Neal says they’re thrilled to pick up the award. “To be awarded a Master Medal at the highly acclaimed Global World Whisky Masters is a fantastic achievement for our whole team,” said Neal. “The New Zealand movement of Single Malt on the world stage is relatively new, so to pick up such an acclaimed accolade amongst the world’s best is a dream come true.” 

Fortitude V was recognised by the judges for its “light smoke on the nose and complexity” and “smooth palate with hints of smoke and sweetness”. 

Neal says the Fortitude V is a mānuka-smoked single malt, which is aged three years in a virgin French oak cask.

“We are super proud of our unique, distinct mānuka style and it really showcases the best of New Zealand by being distilled with water from the Southern Alps and using local mānuka in the malting process. This is a huge win for our international reputation and again shows that we’re right up there with the best in the world.”

Scapegrace also won Gold at the Global Spirit World Whisky Masters 2023 for its Fortuna VI manuka-smoked single malt whisky, and Silver for Dimension VII, its classic blend.