This Irish Distillery Is Officially the World’s Top Whiskey Producer in 2025, According to the San Francisco World Spirits Competition

The initial results from the 2025 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) have been announced, and Ireland’s largest whiskey producer is this year’s biggest winner. 

With more than 20 Double Gold Medals, Midleton Distillery acquired the most prestigious awards in this year’s competition by a hefty margin. The next highest Double Gold Winner was the UK’s Loch Lomond Group, with 14 Double Golds.

Midleton’s impressive haul is undoubtedly a testament to the quality of its products. Of course, its position as Ireland’s largest whiskey distillery also gives it a distinct advantage. If you’ve ever enjoyed Jameson, Redbreast, Powers, Method and Madness, Spot Whiskey, or Midleton Very Rare, you’ve sipped something from the renowned producer in County Cork. It’s also the Republic of Ireland’s oldest operational distillery.

Midleton Distillery is often referred to as “New Midleton Distillery” to differentiate it from its predecessor in the area, which traces its origins back to 1825. Opened in 1975, New Midleton Distillery emerged during a challenging time for Irish spirits production. In the middle of the 20th century, decades of declining sales impacted Ireland’s once-mighty whiskey industry, leading to numerous distillery closures.

In 1966, in an effort to consolidate resources, Cork Distilleries Company, John Jameson & Son, and John Power & Son agreed to merge and shift production to a new facility. Today, the distillery houses the world’s six largest operational pot stills, each with a 75,000-liter capacity. 

The newly formed entity was named Irish Distillers Limited and eventually included Northern Ireland’s Bushmills as part of the company. From the mid-1970s until the opening of Cooley Distillery in 1987, the only two legal distillers in all of Ireland were owned by the same company. Irish Distillers was acquired by Pernod Ricard in the late 1980s, which remains the owner today; Bushmills is now owned by Proximo.

Starting in the early 21st century, Irish whiskey experienced a renaissance similar to the “Bourbon Boom” in America. Dozens of new distilleries opened, leading to greater innovation and an expansion of Irish whiskey’s diverse flavor profiles. Midleton continues to produce much of the nation’s most awarded whiskey, offering a wide variety of labels, unmatched production capacity, and access to much of Ireland’s finest aged stock.

That dominance is reflected in this year’s San Francisco results, where Midleton scored more than 20 Double Golds, the competition’s highest standard award. In 2025, SFWSC received entries from 73 countries, including over 1,600 whiskies. Sixty-four judges evaluated the entries, with Double Gold reserved for expressions that excel at the top rungs of their respective categories.

We’ve listed Midleton’s Double Gold winning expressions below. (An SFWSC official confirmed that Midleton won 21 Double Gold medals for 2025, although we counted 22 winners from their various brands and expressions.)

• Jameson Crested Irish Whiskey
• Jameson Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Jameson Triple Triple Chestnut Edition Irish Whiskey
• Jameson Triple Triple Irish Whiskey Chestnut Edition
• Jameson Triple Triple Malaga Edition Irish Whiskey
• Knappogue Castle 14 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
• Knappogue Castle 21 Year Old Single Malt Irish Whiskey
• Method And Madness Single Grain Irish Whiskey
• Method And Madness Single Malt Irish Whiskey
• Midleton Very Rare Barry Crockett Legacy Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Powers John’s Lane Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Powers Three Swallow Release Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Redbreast 12 Cask Strength Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Redbreast 15 Year Old Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Redbreast 18 Year Old Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Redbreast 21 Year Old Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Redbreast 27 Year Old Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Redbreast Lustau Edition Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Redbreast PX Edition Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Spot Whiskey Green Spot Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Spot Whiskey Red Spot Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey
• Spot Whiskey Yellow Spot Pure Pot Still Irish Whiskey

Notably, Midleton’s best-performing entries excelled across various categories, including Pure Pot Still Irish, Single Grain, and Single Malt Irish Whiskey. The SFWSC’s Best in Class Awards — which indicate overall category superlatives — will be announced at the Top Shelf Gala on November 9th, 2025.

In 2025, Loch Lomond Group, the Scotch conglomerate that includes Loch Lomond, Glen Scotia, and Littlemill, was the second biggest Double Gold recipient after Midleton, receiving 14 awards. The American producer with the most accolades that year was Heaven Hill, earning 10 Double Gold medals across its portfolio of American whiskey, international whiskey, and agave spirits.