Awards & Recognition
Internationally awarded. Locally made.
Awards & Recognition
We're not the biggest. We're not the oldest. And we deliberately do things differently than the rest.
Yet since 2020, BUS Whisky has won medal after medal — from London to San Francisco, from Hong Kong to Shanghai. We're the first Dutch whisky distillery ever with B Corp certification and the tenth whisky producer in the world with this certification.
In brief
- B Corp™ certified (2025) — as the 1st Dutch whisky distillery and 10th in the world
- B Impact Score: 89.2 (median at certification: 80)
- Gold — Global Green Awards, Hong Kong (2021)
- Gold — China Wine & Spirits Awards
- Gold — Asian Wine & Spirits Competition
- Gold — Asia Wine & Spirits Challenge 2023, Hong Kong (Russian Imperial Stout finish)
- Silver (2x) — London Spirits Competition (2020 & 2021)
- Bronze — USA Spirits Ratings Competition, San Francisco
- Prestigious sustainability award — The Spirits Business Awards 2024, London
- Finalist — The Spirits Sustainability Awards 2024
- ISO 22000 certified (2025) — international standard for food safety
- SKAL organically certified (2025) — for our own barley cultivation
- National Food100 — list of Dutch food innovators
- Lonely Planet — included in selection of Dutch whisky trips
- Top 5 best Dutch whiskies
- Top 5 most unique camper spots in the Netherlands — ANWB Camping & Caravan Champion
Certifications
On this page you'll find all awards, certifications and recognition in one place. Not to brag, but because we believe independent juries provide better proof than yet another marketing claim.
In 2025, BUS Whisky became the first Dutch whisky distillery to be certified as a B Corporation. Worldwide, in 2025 there were only ten whisky producers allowed to carry this independent mark of quality.
In 2025, BUS Whisky became the first Dutch whisky distillery to be certified as a B Corporation. Our B Impact Score is 89.2 — well above the median of 80 required for certification. The score is calculated across five pillars: governance, workers, community, environment and customers.
B Corp status means we've been legally and operationally vetted to ensure we truly do what we say: make a positive impact on people and planet, not just on the bottom line.
Want to know what sets a B Corp whisky apart? Read our B Corp story →
BUS Whisky has been ISO 22000 certified since 2025. This is the international standard for food safety, developed by the International Organization for Standardization. For our growing export, this mark of quality is essential.
From 2025 onwards, our brewing barley is certified organically grown on SKAL-certified land. This makes BUS not only single estate, but now officially BIO. No artificial fertilizers, no synthetic pesticides, with wildflower field margins for biodiversity. The whisky distillery is also SKAL certified.
- 2024 — International recognition for sustainability
- The Spirits Business Awards 2024 (London) — Prestigious sustainability award. Presented at a black-tie event at the Underglobe Theatre in London, with over 300 prominent figures from the international spirits industry.
- The Spirits Sustainability Awards 2024 (London) — Finalist, selected from a record number of submissions.
- 2023 — Gold for Russian Imperial Stout finish
- Asia Wine & Spirits Challenge 2023, Hong Kong — Gold for the Russian Imperial Stout finish of BUS Whisky. One of Asia's most important wine and spirits competitions.
2021 — The breakthrough year
- Global Green Awards, Hong Kong — Golden sustainability medal. As the only whisky in the world, we received a special mention in the "Special Mentions" category, alongside world leaders like Rémy Martin and Norwegian Feddie Distillery.
- London Spirits Competition — Second consecutive silver medal, this time for the PX Octave finish.
- China Wine & Spirits Awards — Gold medal.
- Asian Wine & Spirits Competition — Gold medal.
2020 — First international recognition
- London Spirits Competition — Silver medal for batch #1, judged on taste, quality, value for money and packaging design.
- USA Spirits Ratings Competition, San Francisco — Bronze medal.
Recognition doesn't come only from expert juries. These platforms have also noticed BUS:
- Lonely Planet — BUS Whisky was included by the international travel magazine in a selection of Dutch whisky trips.
- National Food100 — BUS Whisky is in the annual list of 100 most influential food innovators in the Netherlands.
- Top 5 best Dutch whiskies — Multiple times included in independent lists of the best whiskies from our own country.
- ANWB Camping & Caravan Champion — Our camper spot was named one of the five most unique mini campings in the Netherlands.
- Brabants Dagblad — Culinary critic Carla Kentgens wrote: "BUS Whisky is a place with character. Coming back is worth the effort."
- Eatly.nl — Selected as one of the eight coolest hotel packages in the Netherlands.
- KRO-NCRV Binnenste Buiten — The TV program visited the barley fields and whisky distillery for an extensive feature.
- Trouw, NRC, Elsevier, VMT and De Ondernemer — Featured in national quality media with substantive articles about our sustainable production.
Why awards actually do matter
Honestly: we're a rebel brand. We like to forge our own path. But international recognition counts — for three reasons.
1. Proof of what we claim. Anyone can call themselves "sustainable" or "artisanal." A gold medal from an independent jury in Hong Kong or San Francisco says more than ten marketing texts.
2. Quality of young whisky. Our whisky is young compared to Scottish icons. That we score internationally despite our age confirms that our raw materials, cask selection and distillation process are right.
3. A fly on the wall in Scotland. The whisky world is dominated by Scotland, Ireland and Japan. That a Brabant farm distillery can compete at the top — and win — is something to be proud of. Not for ourselves, but for Dutch whisky in general.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. BUS Whisky became the first Dutch whisky distillery to be certified as a B Corporation in 2025. Worldwide, there are only ten whisky producers with this certification.
Want to know what sets a B Corp whisky apart? Read our B Corp story →
BUS Whisky won international gold at the Global Green Awards in Hong Kong (2021), the China Wine & Spirits Awards, the Asian Wine & Spirits Competition and the Asia Wine & Spirits Challenge 2023. Additionally, two silver medals at the London Spirits Competition (2020 and 2021) and bronze at the USA Spirits Ratings Competition in San Francisco. In 2024, BUS received a prestigious sustainability award at The Spirits Business Awards in London.
BUS Whisky has a B Impact Score of 89.2. The median at B Corp certification is 80. The score is determined across five areas: governance, workers, community, environment and customers.
Yes. From 2025 onwards, all BUS Whisky brewing barley is organically certified on SKAL-certified land. We've been cultivating without artificial fertilizers and synthetic pesticides since we started in 2016, but now this is officially documented. Since 2025, the whisky distillery is also officially SKAL certified.
ISO 22000 is the international standard for food safety, developed by the International Organization for Standardization. For BUS Whisky, it means our entire production chain — from barley to bottle — meets globally accepted food safety requirements. This is particularly important for our exports.
BUS Whisky is ranked by several independent lists among the top 5 best Dutch whiskies. Through international medals and B Corp status, BUS stands out as a sustainability leader in the Dutch whisky sector.
Want to taste what convinced all those juries?
Order a bottle, book a tour, or dine in our farm restaurant - the whisky distillery is open 7 days a week.