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- The Gospel named the 48th best spirits producer globally by IWSC.
- Straight Rye Whiskey wins Australia’s Best Whiskey with sub-$100 excellence.
- Multiple gold and silver medals cement Gospel as Australia’s top leader in rye.
- Crafted in Melbourne using 100% Australian Mallee-grown rye grain.
One of Australia’s most-loved, iconic, and now top 50 global distillers has once again shaken up the whiskey world. The Gospel Whiskey took the title of Australia’s Best Whiskey at the prestigious 2024 International Wine & Spirits Competition (IWSC) with its sub-$100 Straight Rye Whiskey. Now, the brand has been named the 48th best producer in the world as part of the IWSC’s Top 50: Spirits list.
The Melbourne-based distillery has risen with decadently delicious drops made using Australian ingredients. Hustling since day one, the founders abandoned their corporate lives to operate the distillery, producing exceptional whiskey in some truly exquisite bottles. Now, they’ve once again seen the fruits of their labour. Following gold and silver awards in 2023, 2024, and 2025, they’ve been recognised as a top whiskey producer in the world by IWSC.
This is the type of news we love to deliver, and it doesn’t matter if you’re a whiskey connoisseur or prefer to dabble, because we believe that knowing which whiskey and producer to indulge in is paramount.
What is The Gospel Straight Rye Whiskey?
The Gospel Distillery made a name for itself with its award-winning straight rye whiskey. It took the country (and the world) by storm by challenging the greats from the states and winning medal after medal, including:
- Silver at the 2025 International Wine and Spirits Competition (94 Points)
- Gold at the 2024 International Wine and Spirits Competition (96 Points)
- Gold at the 2023 International Wine and Spirits Competition (96 Points)
- Gold at the 2022 San Francisco World Spirits Competition
What makes it so special? Well, to better understand why the bottle continues to dominate worldwide competitions, consider the foundations:
- Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 45%
- Volume: 700ml
- Price: AUD$100
- Aged: 2 years in new American oak barrels, heavily toasted and charred to specific levels.
- Grain: 100% Australian-grown unmalted rye from the Murray Mallee region in South Australia.
What does it taste like? Perfect for drinking all year round here in Australia, it’s one of our favourites for a Friday night in watching Netflix. However, it’s buttery, caramel, and fruity on the finish, making it both sweet and refreshing, and perfect for our climate. Refer to these tasting notes if you want the details:
- Nose: Buttery dark rye bread, with hints of spice and light toffee.
- Palate: Caramel vanilla, sweet allspice, clove, pepper and green apple.
- Finish: Dried red fruit and crème caramel, with woody spices.
When it scored big at IWSC 2024, the judges noted, “It is perfumed and wonderfully peppery on the nose, full of pleasing, punchy rye spice aromas with deep liquorice tumbling through. Dry and remarkably layered, with well-defined flavours of cognac, green tea, and menthol, adding complexity to the palate.
Does that make it a good whiskey? Duh. Only a year ago, the whiskey tied for equal second with the Thomas H. Handy Straight Rye Whiskey in the global rye whiskey category at IWSC 2024. The Sazerac 18-Year-Old Kentucky Straight Rye was also the only rye whiskey to outscore The Gospel Straight Rye (but you’d better save up some cash for this one, it costs around AUD$2,400). Of course, we need to mention that it did face stiff competition at this year’s awards, but a score of 94 points is nothing to sneeze at.
Then there’s the price, because despite its award-winning flavours, The Gospel Straight Rye Whiskey is significantly more attainable than the ultra-premium global competitors it sits beside. It is available for $100 from www.thegospelwhiskey.com, as well as from select spirits retailers and on-premise venues.
Who is The Gospel Distillery?
Founded in Melbourne by Ben Bowles and Andrew Fitzgerald, The Gospel is dedicated to crafting exceptional rye whiskey using 100% Australian ingredients.
Bowles and Fitzgerald chose the backstreets of the Brunswick neighbourhood to launch their dream. It took 18 months to construct a distillery that was big enough to match their goals but small enough to remain hands-on where it mattered. It features a six-meter-high continuous column still, designed and built in-house, as well as a bespoke copper pot still.
With an unwavering dedication to rye and a hands-on approach, The Gospel has become Australia’s only dedicated rye whiskey distillery, championing local grains and Melbourne’s distinct climate to produce whiskies that are genuinely reflective of their terroir. The whiskey is made from all Australian grain grown in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. This delicious drop is chocolatey, spicy where it counts, and lingering with liquorice and cognac undertones.
To the Gospel team, showcasing the distinct taste of Mallee-grown rye is of utmost importance. “We’ve spent years defining The Gospel’s unique style of whiskey to craft something distinctly Australian and expressive to the site we source the grain from,” said Andrew Fitzgerald, Co-Founder of The Gospel, after the brand’s big win at IWSC 2024.
“We’re not aiming to taste like other whiskeys or fit in with the crowd—it’s unique to us, and I think the judges at the IWSC appreciated its difference.”
Not only have they won awards for the liquid, but they are also winners of the prestigious Designers Institute of New Zealand Best Design Awards for their beautiful bottle. It certainly seems as if The Gospel Whiskey is no stranger to the finer things in life.
These latest wins for The Gospel are particularly deserving, following an outstanding year for the distillery and its team.
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