The awards, now in their sixth year, are organised jointly and co-sponsored by the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland and Scottish Food & Drink in association with Scottish Enterprise.

Other major sponsors include The Grocer magazine, Scottish Development International and the Scottish Executive’s Healthy Living Campaign.

The award-winning Benromach Organic Speyside Single Malt Whisky, bottled at 43%, is hand made by just two men at Speyside’s smallest working distillery at Forres, operated by Gordon & MacPhail of Elgin.

The whole process - raw ingredients, production, maturation and bottling – is certified to the rigorous organic standards set by The Soil Association.

The company works with the main maltsters in Scotland to source organic barley grown and malted to an exact specification.

One of the key components in whisky production is maturation and with no sherry or bourbon casks certified as organic, the company, in a first for the industry, has used new American oak from environmentally managed forests in Missouri.

Gordon & MacPhail’s marketing controller, Ian Chapman, said: “The Benromach brand is positioned as an exclusive, boutique brand.

“Benromach Organic is a line extension of the brand and will appeal both to organic consumers and to malt whisky enthusiasts who like to experiment and discover new expressions.”

Gordon & MacPhail has been blending, bottling and retailing Scotch whisky since 1895. In 1993 the company purchased Benromach Distillery at Forres and in 1998 it was re-opened by the Prince of Wales.

The company is run by the Urquhart family and in 2003, Ian, David and Michael Urquhart and their sister, Rosemary Rankin, received the RHASS Lifetime Achievement Award.

In the 2006 Excellence Awards, the firm won the Brand Development category for the Benromach brand with its flagship Classic 55 year old Malt.

The 2007 Scottish Food & Drink Excellence awards were presented last night (May 10) at a gala dinner in Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, attended by more than 300 leading figures from the industry.

The Environmental Award, new for this year, was won by ice cream manufacturer Mackie’s of Scotland whose company vision is “…to be a leading global brand from the greenest company in Britain created by people having fun”.

Mackie’s ice cream packaging carries a windmill icon showing that it is made with renewable energy.

Two companies won double awards.

Graham’s Dairies of Bridge of Allan won the dairy, confectionery and snacking category for its organic range of milk, cream and butter plus the award for brand development.

Meanwhile, Castle MacLellan Foods of Kirkcudbright won two retail categories - fish and seafood with luxury terrine slices for Waitrose and fruit or vegetable with organic red pepper and chickpea pate for Tesco.

Judges for the awards were: Maggie McGinlay, Director, Food & Drink, Scottish Enterprise; Fiona Angus, Business Manager – Nutrition, Sensory & Consumer Science at Leatherhead Food International; Fiona McLelland, Deputy News Editor, The Grocer; Gillian Kynoch, Scottish Food & Health Co-ordinator; Wendy Barrie, Director, Scottish Food Guide; Anne Crawford, Group Foodservice Manager, Aramark; Sarah Mackie, Senior Buying Manager, Tesco Scotland; Ceri Ritchie, Group Manager Rural Business and Marketing, SAC; Allan Stevenson, Supply Chain Director, SAOS; Campbell Laird, Managing Director, Three Brand Design; Ewen Cameron, Scottish Development International; Richie Malloch and Carol Lightbody, both Scottish Enterprise; Audrey Sheal, Scottish Enterprise Grampian; and Michael Milner, Business Environment Partnership