Whistler’s Storm Crowned World’s Best Tea Liqueur 2026

Whistler’s Storm Liqueur was among the winners at the World Liqueur Awards 2026, announced at a ceremony at the Waldorf Hotel in London on 2 June, taking home the World's Best Tea Liqueur award.

The World Drinks Awards are the global awards selecting the very best in all internationally recognised styles of drinks. Presented by TheDrinksReport.com, the world’s no.1 online resource for drinks professionals, the World Drinks Awards select, reward and promote the world’s best drinks to consumers and trade across the globe.

What makes Whistler's Tea so award winning? Well we all know the Brits love two things – strong tea and a stiff drink. So why not combine the two? Well Birmingham entrepreneur Dom Richardson has just done that, by creating Whistler’s Storm, a high quality tea-inspired liqueur made by cold-brewing loose tea leaves with premium vodka.  

Local entrepreneur and founder Dom Richardson was first inspired back in 2019 by the production of camellia sinensis leaves while in a Kerala tea field in southern India. These shrubs produce leaves which are the root of most true teas from Green to Oolong to good old English Breakfast tea. Motivated by this and a passion for innovative alcoholic drinks, Dom decided to combine the two great historic British pastimes – tea drinking, and drinking!  

With an increased market demand for flavoured liqueurs, consumers are looking for something fresh and new. Whistler’s Storm aims to enter the market by combining tradition with innovation, with their current collection including household tea names such as: Earl Grey, Masala Chai, Assam Black, and Lapsang Souchong.

With summer fast approaching Whistlers Storm want to persuade you to take your tea another way, and 2026 looks like the year for spicing things up. The team have a specially curated selection of signature cocktail recipes listed to up your drinks game.

Whether you want to keep it classic with a Whistler’s Refresher, get into the summer vibes with a Tea Spritz, or push the boat out with a Spiced Chai Sour, Whistler’s have been getting creative behind the scenes.  

In 2022, his Earl Grey drink was named the planet’s best tea liqueur at the World Liqueur Awards and it was a double success for the 32 year old as his Assam variety was given a silver award.

Dom Richardson said, “I wanted to make something truly unique to the current liqueur market and people seem to really like it. And I wanted to ensure the packaging was just as unique and attention-grabbing as the flavours inside. That’s why our bottle illustration depicts a whistling kettle creating a storm in a tea cup!”.  

“My aim is for the brand to go worldwide and I have recently signed distribution deals in China and Poland.”  

These one-of-a-kind spirits can be purchased from the Whistler’s Storm website, Amazon, Specialist retailers like Master of Malt, or from the Stirchley Wine and Spirits shop.