Callington Mill has done it again in San Francisco, where its El Sol single malt took Best of Class for Australian Single Malt Whisky at the 2026 World Spirits Competition, a second straight win in the class for the Tasmanian distillery. El Sol also collected Double Gold, and the distillery’s Oloroso and Quagmire releases added Double Golds of their own.
The San Francisco result lands on top of a World Whiskies Awards crown for a different bottle, which makes 2026 the year Callington Mill stopped being a promising newcomer.
El Sol defends the San Francisco crown
Best of Class at San Francisco is becoming a habit at Pontville. Pedro Ximénez won the title in 2025 and El Sol won it in 2023, so this year’s result is the distillery’s third Best of Class at the competition and its second in a row, a run founder John Ibrahim describes as proof of the consistency and calibre of his distilling team.
El Sol is a 46 percent ABV single malt matured in ex-Sherry casks from Jerez, and judges praised aromas of freshly polished wood and rich toffee, with tobacco, oak and cocoa through the palate.
Oloroso also finished among the top five finalists for Best Australian Single Malt at the same competition.
Depth across a range wins distilleries these titles, not one lucky cask.
Amphora finishes in clay instead of oak
The World Whiskies Awards handed Callington Mill its other 2026 headline, naming Amphora Best Australian Single Malt and a category winner, with Gold, in the Rest of the World round. Amphora begins in a selection of Sherry, Tokay and Brandy casks, then finishes in clay amphorae, an Australian first that Ibrahim says sends a powerful message about what Tasmanian whisky can be.
The official tasting notes run to lush blackcurrant and cooked berries with a slight nuttiness on the nose, then sweet spices and sherry with a touch of clove on the palate, all lingering into a layered finish.
Clay breathes differently from oak and adds no wood flavour of its own, so the finish rests the whisky rather than seasoning it.
The distillery lists Amphora as sold out, which is what award seasons do to small Tasmanian runs.
A young distillery stacking titles faster than its elders
Australian whisky’s international surge has run through Tasmania for a decade, and Callington Mill, based at Pontville outside Hobart, is its newest standard bearer. The distillery also took Single Malt Whisky of the Year at the 2025 International London Spirits Competition for its Pedro Ximénez release, so the trophy shelf now covers London, San Francisco and the World Whiskies Awards inside two years.
The Heritage Release added a Gold in San Francisco this year, rounding out a medal spread that covers peated, sherried and clay-finished styles in one small range.
That spread is the story under the headlines. A distillery winning with one experimental bottle is a curiosity, while a distillery winning across four styles in one season is a producer the rest of the island now has to chase.
Next year’s Australian crown has a clear favourite, and it pours from Pontville.
