The Drinks Retailing Awards trophy for Specialist Online Drinks Retailer of the Year goes to Master of Malt for an extraordinary fifth time!
Oops, we did it again! Master of Malt has won Drinks Retailing’s online retailer award two years running! An incredible feat, and something we’re immensely proud of. The latest win comes off the back of our first full calendar year of being – once again – fully independent and 100% founder-owned. That’s seen us double down more than ever on creating the greatest possible drinks buying experience, delivered in a human and real way, by people who genuinely give a shit. To be recognised once again – in back-to-back years – for what we’re doing is extraordinary, but as ever this journey is only possible with the support of you, our wonderful customers. So a massive thank you once again to you. Specifically you!
(center) Jake Mountain (resident doer of things, spirits buff & MoM OG) & Jerlyn Jareunpoon-Phillips (eComm product manager) receiving the trophy from (left) wine author and broadcaster Jane Rakison, MD (UK, Ireland & Nordics) of award sponsor Rémy Cointreau Lee James, and (right) Drinks Retailing editor Jo Gilbert
Some of the awards we used to blushingly hoover up simply don’t exist any more (perhaps we won them too much?), but the DRAs remains one of the biggest nights in the UK drinks industry’s calendar. I say “drinks” because this isn’t just across whisky retail, or even all of spirits retail, but all drinks. On the night we were brushing shoulders with all the massive supermarkets for example, as they duked it out in the multiple store categories. Meanwhile, we were flying the flag for spirits* in the independent online category against the cream of online wine retail (including Virgin Wines who’ve bagged this award several times in the past). Shout out to our table mates, including the Rémy folk who sponsored our particular award and kept us quite literally in good spirits throughout the evening. Forgetting to grab a Cointreau RTD can or two for the way home was an error I later regretted.
What are the Drinks Retailing Awards?
Good question. Let’s take a step back and explain a little about these gongs. Drinks Retailing’s a leading trade publication that’s been “championing the off-trade since 1863”(!), and their prestigious awards are free to enter with particularly rigorous judging. Expert judges, additional input from key industry figures, secret shopping, NIQ data, the works. Just three companies are shortlisted per category (congrats to all our fellow finalists!), but when the Oscars-style envelopes are opened – much like Highlander – there can be only one…
What were the judges looking for?
For the Online Drinks Retailer of the Year award, the DRA team wanted to find the retailer who – whether they’re “online only” or “offer ecommerce” – “smash it out of the park on product range… wow [their] customers with great merchandising”, or are “just brilliant at everything!” Nice. They also wanted to recognise stores that provide an “easy, reliable and pleasurable experience…” with “genuine innovation in the online space”, and who demonstrated evidence of “high fulfilment standards, including accuracy of orders and punctuality of deliveries” and “evidence of customer satisfaction”. Double nice.
Shiny. (Evidence of aforementioned cans, and some tasty Tercet also pictured.)
This is the fifth time we’ve been honoured with a version of this trophy at the DRAs, also winning in 2025 and 2023, but dating right back to 2013 (when the award still had “Online/Direct Mail” in the name!). As we always say though, we don’t rest on these kinds of laurels, delightful as they are. They do give us all a little lift here at MoM Towers, and a moment to reflect on what we’re achieving, but more importantly they spur us on to keep at it – to keep improving, innovating, and delighting.
Definitely time for a celebratory dram though. Cheers!
*Yes, we do sell some very nice wine too (and liqueurs and all sorts), but spirits and particularly whisky has obv always been our bread and butter.