Last Thursday at the 13th annual Australian Drinks Awards, the premier awards specific to our industry, 19 different drinks brands took home the 27 Brand Award titles.
At the end of the night, Asahi Beverages was the clear standout supplier, winning 10 awards across the three newly-established awards categories for brands it either owns or brews under license. This includes winning seven of the 18 Most Reputable Brand titles, two of the five Best New Products Innovations, and one of the four Best Brand Campaigns.
Rounding out the podium were Diageo and Brown Family Wine Group, each with three brand award titles. Notably, Brown Family Wine Group’s Brown Brothers was the only brand to receive more than two awards in 2025: with wins across each of the three categories.
Without further ado, the Australian Drinks Awards’ Brand Award winners for 2025 are:
Draft
Starting with an entirely new category addition for the 2025 Australian Drinks Awards, only Somersby, the Most Reputable Draft Cider, also clinched the same title in the equivalent packaged format category.
Meanwhile, fellow Asahi Beverages brand Carlton Draught clinched the Most Reputable Draft Beer and Suntory secured the title of Most Reputable Draft RTD, a category which has reported significant growth, for Canadian Club & Dry.
Beer
Always one of the more hotly contested categories, Asahi Beverages once again showcased its diversity and strength by earning the title of Most Reputable Classic, Most Reputable Contemporary and Most Reputable Premium for beers it either owns or distributes under licence, with the final Craft category being awarded to Coopers.
Reflecting on these results, the Director of Thrive Insights, the market research agency that consulted with 4,000 consumers to determine the awards, notes that both Most Reputable Classic and Most Reputable Premium categories were close calls in this year’s awards.
Thrive Insights Director Chris Papadimitriou said: “Victoria Bitter is such an iconic Australian brand, and so is Carlton Drive, and it's actually a pretty hard-earned victory there between the two… It was the closest out of all the categories in beer.”
Meanwhile, the Most Reputable Premium was hotly contested between Corona and Heineken. “Premium is made up of a lot of imported premium beers, plus also local premium beers, but these two imported beers do really well. Corona is iconic as we know, and it's got a strong reputation, so it's done very well there.”
On the other two categories, Pappadimitriou says that “Great Northern is a standout in Contemporary beer [and] Coopers in Craft.”
Impressively, Asahi Beverages also took home the Best Beer Product Innovation and Best Beer Brand Campaign titles for Carlton Dry Ultra Low Carb and Carlton Draught Win a Night at the G.
RTD
Whilst Brown-Forman’s Jack Daniel’s was crowned Australia’s most reputable dark RTD brand, backing up its long-standing position as Australia’s Fan Favourite in prior Australian Drinks Awards, Hard Rated took out the white spirit title that had previously been held by fellow Asahi Beverages brand Vodka Cruiser since 2019.
Notably, Hard Rated also won the RTD Best New Product Innovation award for Alcoholic Lemon Zero Sugar.
Spirits
The enduring strength of Jack Daniel’s was further reaffirmed via its recognition as the Most Reputable Dark Spirit brand, backing up its longstanding position as the category leader in the previous Fan Favourite editions of the award.
As Chris Papadimitriou puts it, “Jack Daniel’s has a very strong brand reputation, taking out the Most Reputable award for both Dark Spirits and Dark RTD.”
Reflecting on the Most Reputable White Spirit, Papadimitriou adds that “Bacardi’s brand reputation is impressive: the most reputable brand in white spirits ahead of Grey Goose and Smirnoff.”
Baileys, Australia’s Most Reputable Aperitif/Liqueur for 2025, was commended by the Director of Thrive Insights for being both “highly reputable and innovative” after it also won best new product innovation for Baileys Chocolate.
Wine
Impressively, Brown Brothers clinched top accolades across all three Brand Awards categories – the only brand to do so across all liquor categories. In addition to being named the Most Reputable Sparkling Wine, Brown Brothers also received the wine category awards for Best New Product Innovation and Best Brand Campaign for Moscato Mango Swirl.
“Indulgence is desired,” says Chris Papadimitriou reflecting on the result. “Consumers are seeking indulgence and flavour experiences, with Baileys Chocolate and Brown Brothers Moscato Mango Swirl awarded best new product innovations.”
In its first Australian Drinks Awards as part of Vinarchy’s global portfolio, Jacob’s Creek has secured Most Reputable titles for both white and rosé, repeating its 2024 performance. Similarly, Most Reputable Red Wine and Most Reputable Champagne were also claimed by returning winners Penfolds and Moët & Chandon.
Cider
Somersby has maintained its long-term position as the Most Reputable, previously Fan Favourite, cider of Australia’s drinks industry across both packaged and draft formats.
As Papadimitriou puts it, “Somersby dominates this category and takes home the Most Reputable award.”
However, it was Strongbow that clinched the Best New Cider Innovation for Hard Cider Zesty Lemon: a lemon and apple flavoured cider with an abv of 8.2%: “Following this Hard Lemon trend, Strongbow Hard Cider Zesty Lemon was awarded the best new product innovation in cider,” Chris Papadimitriou said.
About the awards
The three new awards categories were developed in collaboration with the Drinks Association Board to ensure the awards continue to align with where member organisations are placing their focus.
Most Reputable Brands celebrates the liquor brands with the best, most established, and most widely recognised positive reputation among Australian consumers, replacing what was previously the Fan Favourite category. The top 200 drinks brands in each category (based on retailer ranging and wholesaler withdrawal data) were voted on by 4,000 Australian consumers using a weighted survey facilitated by Thrive Insights.
Best New Product Innovation recognises standout product launches in the past 15 months. Again, Thrive Insights oversaw a consumer judging process on the top 100 brands for each category to determine the winners.
Finally, Best Campaign saw 19 Drinks Association members submit entries across five different categories, with judging taking into consideration both consumer sentiment and campaign outcomes.
The Drinks Association congratulates its Category One Members on their 2025 Brand Award wins.
The Drinks Association would like to thank its generous sponsors for this year’s event.
