The Best Whiskies in the World

Words by Colin Hampden-White

As time moves forward, World Whisky Day has greater meaning. Long gone are the days of whisk(e)y being dominated by Scotch and Irish drams. We have whiskies being made in the most unlikely of countries, and being made very well. Along with Scotch and Irish drams, Japanese whisky has held a respected position in the whisky world for over a decade. It is surprising it has taken so long for the whisky world to wake up to Japanese whiskies with it having been produced in Japan for nearly a century with the Yamazaki distillery being built in 1924.

Beyond Japan, there is great whisky being made in Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. With Lark distillery being build in 1992, and Sullivans Cove in 1994, Australian whisky began to be recognised for its quality with Sullivans Cove being awarded the world’s best single malt in 2014. To whisky lovers, these distilleries are well known, but there are also new lesser-known distilleries with fantastic whisky. Cardrona distillery in New Zealand launched their first Single Malt last year with Just Hatched and followed that up with another brilliant release Growing Wings.

Distilling in central Europe is also going from strength to strength. Well known distilleries such as Slyrs in Germany, Lagatun in Switzerland are continuing to keep their quality and consistency. Newer distilleries in central Europe are creating some incredible whisky, Broger and Pfanner in Austria being two favourites of mine. Moving a little further east to the Caspian Sea, I have even found good single malt whisky being made in Azerbaijan on a visit a few years ago. Closer to home for me, the distilleries in England and Wales are going great guns. Aber Falls is about to release their first whiskies this year, Copper Rivet released their first whisky, Masthouse and the Cotwolds distilleries created their sherry cask matured expression which was my favourite English whisky of the last year.

A country well known for its whiskey is the USA, although usually made with different grains and corn, but they are now making some fantastic single malt whiskey. St George in California make a complex and fruity single malt, whilst Balcones in Texas make a big bold powerful single malt which has great complexity with their cold winters and incredibly hot summers making maturation a rapid affair with plenty of interaction between wood and spirit.

With all these world whiskies it would be easy to think that Scotch and Irish are getting left behind, but this is far from the truth. There is a plethora of new distilleries which are now producing whisky. The Glasgow distillery, Ardnamurchan, Daftmill and Arbiki being a few of my favourites. And there are new whiskies on the way with distilleries being built now like Gordon & MacPhail in the Cairngorms and more planned for the future. The green light has also been given for Sukhinder Singh’s distillery on Islay.

From the world of old, three notable closed distilleries are coming back to greet us. Port Ellen is being rebuilt, as is Rosebank, and Brora is opening imminently. Over the last few years, a few existing brands that have been overlooked have had a revamp and are creating some very exciting whisky. My favourite is Fettercairn from Whyte and Mackay, with the 16 year old (made with chocolate malt) being particularly good. Glenturret, having been bought by Lalique has had a serious makeover and the new expressions are seriously good, with a 15 year old at 55% ABV really standing out. Lastly, I enjoyed the new expressions from Bladnoch. A distillery which we have seen little from over the years now has a very smart new bottle and quite a few new expressions. I very much liked the Vinaya which is excellent value and for the 2020 release of Talia, a 26 year old which they matured in American oak red wine casks for all 26 years, and the results were excellent.

With so much choice in the world of whisk(e)y it is hard to know where to start. Might I suggest wherever you might be in the world to start close by, there is bound to be a distillery not too far away, creating whisky, and on this day of all days, let’s celebrate together and keep the food miles down, and support the expansion of whisky throughout the world with a glass of something local.

If you want a more in depth look into Scotch whisky make sure you check out The Three Drinkers do Scotch Whisky and if you’re thinking of investing in your favourite bottles then have a read of Colin’s Whisky Investment Index.

Around the World in 6 Whiskies

Words by Katie Groves

Katie Groves, the new bar manager at whisky lover’s heaven ‘Milroy's’ in London Soho, is lamenting the lack of travel but consoling herself with a whisky tasting tour from around the world. Here are her suggestions for creating your very own world whisky flight. All aboard!

Think back to very early 2020, when some of us may have had a tiny sulk about something like a cancelled holiday. There was an inkling that something bigger was about to happen, but we were still in a dream-like stage of mourning cheap wine on sunny terraces, gorging on tagine under the stars or sinking cold pints in a random European bar. Surely this would all blow over soon?

Mere weeks later, and the whole world was changing fast. In collective lockdown madness, we were mostly doing 3 things: baking bad banana bread, freaking out over Zoom and panic-buying British apocalypse essentials: pasta, toilet roll and alcohol, apparently.  Our home alcohol shelves, bars, or cabinets had never looked so desperately empty, but you couldn’t order off Majestic, Tesco’s queue was too big and that old bottle of Bell’s had never looked quite so appealing.

Drinks Nostalgia

Several months, drinks and meltdowns later and we’ve nearly made it through 2020. Holidays (or lack of) may have lower priority now, but we are all still dreaming of our favourite escapes. Keeping calm and carrying on can take up a fair bit of effort, and I don’t know about you, but I’m still reminiscing about slurping on gelato, guzzling cold beer like there’s no tomorrow and lapping up the sunshine like a lazy cat.

What can we do instead? The pleasures of meeting people from another culture and tasting their food and drink can never quite be replicated from home, but here’s the next best thing. (It’s known as the water of life, so that’s got to be something good!) So, kick your feet up and enjoy a flight around the world with these delicious and diverse whiskies. We all know that our sense of smell and taste, just like music, can be one of our most powerful tools for nostalgia and imagination, so pour that dram, get some records on and enjoy some downtime like it’s 2019…

All aboard! Around the world in 6 whiskies

Nikka Days - Japan

Like the food, whisky and just about everything else, Japan is famed for its beautiful label designs. This striking sunny box says lazy days at the beach and this easy-going whisky delivers just that. This is Nikka’s most recent release for the happy price-point, casual whisky drinker market and consists of grain and malt whiskies from their two contrasting distilleries: Miyagikyo and Yoichi.

Miyagikyo’s Coffey still grain whisky is creamy and vanilla-sweet; their malt is floral and honeyed, while Yoichi distillery produces a single malt that is coastal and lightly peated.

Blending these creates glowing notes of apricots, yellow plums and peach, subtle buttery malt and just a whisker of peat to tie all those lighter flavours together. A well balanced, shelf-staple blend that will convince all your friends to like whisky (try a highball)

Find Nikka Days at Master of Malt here for £38.83

Starward Solera- Australia

This whisky from Victoria-based Starward distillery lives up to its dreamy packaging. This is a colourful and complex single malt with an autumnal spectrum of spiced, fruity and earthy notes. Just breathing in those intense deep aromas hits you with a happy stick! This was aged in ex Apera wine casks (Australia’s answer to sherry), and bottled at a mellow 43%. A perfect whisky for wine and sherry fans who want to feel like they’ve jumped on a plane to languish in Australia’s wine-indulgent climate. Onward, ho!

Find Starward Solera at Master of Malt here for £47.25

Paul John Classic - Goa

With its vibrant array of cultures, sublime beaches and intense humidity punctuated with monsoons, Goa is a place like no other. This whisky will take you there: think ginger and cardamom, cacao powder and lime zest, sea salt caramel and a wave of heat from its no-messin’ high strength (55.2%!) Made from Indian 6-row barley and aged in ex-bourbon casks, this sure is a unique dram, putting India firmly on the map for great single malts. 

Find it at Master of Malt here for £55.96

Mackmyra Grönt Te - Sweden

This elegant single malt is the years-in-the-making brainchild of master blender Angela D’Orazio, who teamed up with Japanese tea specialists Yoko Ono Sthlm to create this expression. The whisky was aged in casks seasoned with a blend of three teas that had been infused into a neutral liqueur, creating fragrant herbs, spices and delicate green notes. A beautiful result, which enmeshes Swedish and Japanese culture – and doubles up on those antioxidants from this sustainability-conscious distillery.

Find it at Master of Malt here for £52.95

Kavalan Concertmaster Port Finish - Taiwan

Since opening in 2005, Taiwan’s first single malt distillery has gone from strength to strength, picking up multiple top awards along the way. Aged under Taiwan’s intense seasonal climate, this whisky had an initial snooze in ex-bourbon casks before final aging in port pipes. The angels’ share here is a greedy 10 – 12%, which means fast maturation and bottling young. But its complexity belies its age. Enjoy the notes of strawberry, black pepper, spiced chocolate and dried mango. A unique and juicy whisky so mellow that you could pretty much pour it on your breakfast cereal.

Find it at Milroy’s here for £64.94

Banana bread Manhattan - England

Since we mentioned Banana Bread, we couldn’t resist telling you about a bottled cocktail version; the Banana Bread Manhattan! Made by Liquid Intellect, it combines rye whiskey and vermouth, infusing them with natural banana bread flavours (what is this strange magic?). Pour it over ice cream or just stick it on ice. It’ll take you straight back to Grandma’s kitchen. Where else would you rather be?

Find the Banana Bread Manhattan at Master of Malt here for £25.50

If you liked this, try The Best of Whyte and Mackay, Which Rye Whisky should I try? or find our more about this shipwreck whisky auction. Also, don’t forget to visit Milroy’s in person for a huge selection of drams from all around the world or check out their website for details of virtual and live whisky tastings!