In March 2025, class and medal winners from the World Whiskies Awards Scotland will go on to compete for the revered ‘World’s Finest’ titles on the World Whiskies Awards, joined by the winners of different regional competitions. Saying the Scottish winners in December 2024, the World Whiskies Awards has set the stage for an unbelievable competitors, that includes some coveted single malt scotch whiskies.
Persevering with our breakdown of the Scotland winners, as we speak we flip our focus to single malt scotch whiskies from Islay. So, let’s take a better have a look at the perfect Islay single malt scotches in keeping with the World Whiskies Awards. Spoiler alert – the judges had been very impressed with Ardbeg.
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Class: Single Malt Scotch
Area: Islay
Age: No Age Assertion
Tasting Notes: Tarry ropes, creosote, linseed oil, darkish chocolate, blackcurrants, muscovado sugar, cherries, pine, brine, seaweed, smoky bacon, vanilla, cloves, blueberries, menthol, treacle, chilli sauce, peppered steak, espresso, darkish fruits, almonds, star anise, hickory, violets.
BUY NOW: $84
Ardbeg Corryvreckan stands as a testomony to Ardbeg’s boldness – a single malt celebrated worldwide regardless of its repute as “not for the faint-hearted.” Named ‘World’s Finest Single Malt’ in 2010, it has turn out to be a cornerstone of Ardbeg’s enduring legacy.
The whisky takes its identify from the Corryvreckan whirlpool, a dramatic and untamed drive of nature within the Gulf of Corryvreckan, north of Islay. This pure phenomenon is mirrored within the whisky itself, with its deep, intense character and commanding profile.
Distilled from 100% Scottish malted barley, Corryvreckan is matured in a mix of ex-bourbon and French oak casks. The exact getting older stays undisclosed, including an charisma to this revered expression. Followers and critics alike have dubbed it an “Ardbeggian icon,” a testomony to its place within the pantheon of nice Islay whiskies.
In June 2024, Ardbeg reignited curiosity within the Corryvreckan legend with the discharge of The Abyss, a brand new chapter within the story of this 2008 authentic. For followers of Ardbeg, it’s another excuse to have a good time the spirit of journey that defines this iconic whisky.
Ben Bracken Islay Single Malt Scotch
Class: Single Malt Scotch
Area: Islay
Age: 12 Years & Underneath
Tasting Notes: Sea spray, bonfire smoke, salted bananas, baked apples, sponge pudding, candied orange, wasabi spice, meat
BUY NOW: Solely obtainable in Lidl Shops
You might not have heard of Ben Bracken. It’s not a distillery in Scotland, reasonably it’s the label underneath which Lidl sells single malt scotch whisky.
A whole lot of skepticism exists round grocery store bottlings of scotch whisky. Nevertheless, at an reasonably priced worth and with awards underneath its belt, Ben Bracken appears to have discovered a dependable fanbase.
Whiskies from Speyside and the Highlands are additionally bottled underneath this label, however this specific expression hails from Islay.
The distillery at which this whisky was distilled is just not specified, though there are rumors that it comes from Bowmore.
In accordance with the Lidl web site, this whisky is three years previous, and bottled at 40% ABV. At Lidl supermarkets, the bottle retails for round £16 – a really cheap worth.
Ardbeg 17 12 months Previous
Class: Single Malt Scotch
Area: Islay
Age: 13-20 Years Previous
Tasting Notes: Pine resin, aniseed, sea spray, lavender cleaning soap, aniseed toffee, cafe latte, fennel, cleaning soap, peat smoke, chewy oak, cocoa powder, tar
BUY NOW: $150
It’s hardly stunning that the recently-revived Arbdeg 17 12 months Previous is scooping up the awards. Reintroduced as an Ardbeg Committee unique in September 2024, the Ardbeg 17 12 months Previous is a cult traditional from the Islay distillery.
The bottling was initially launched in 1997 and shortly grew to become a staple, notable for its light peat smoke and multi-layered profile. Ardbeg followers had been downtrodden when the whisky was discontinued in 2004.
The Ardbeg 17 12 months Previous has been faithfully recreated by the distillery’s Whisky Creation Crew – a mix of peated and unpeated single malt bottled at 40% ABV.
On the time of re-release, Grasp Blender Gillian Macdonald commented: “Ardbeg followers can anticipate finding traditional aromas of pine resin and sea spray, in addition to a mineral notice layered with malted barley – all underpinned by delicate smoke. In tribute to the Ardbeg folks previous and current who made this whisky an icon, we’re very excited to convey an Islay legend again to life, permitting a brand new technology of whisky lovers to expertise an iconic Ardbeg that they’ve heard a lot about.”
Ardbeg 25 12 months Previous
Class: Single Malt Scotch
Area: Islay
Age: 21 Years & Over
Tasting Notes: Smoked cream, peppermint, toffee, fennel, pine resin, bonfire, banana, pepper, lemon sherbert, carbolic cleaning soap, tar, chili pepper
BUY NOW: $875
The oldest whisky in Ardbeg’s core vary, the 25 12 months Previous was completely added to the distillery’s portfolio in January 2021.
Bottled after a quarter-century of maturation, this whisky was probably distilled within the mid-late Nineties, simply earlier than Ardbeg was remodeled due to its buy by Glenmorangie plc in 1997. Previous to this, the distillery had been marred by a number of closures. In accordance with the Ardbeg web site, the 25 12 months Previous was “[b]ottled from extremely uncommon casks crammed throughout among the Distillery’s darkest days
Talking in 2020, Dr. Invoice Lumsden stated of the 25 12 months Previous: “After 1 / 4 of a century within the cask, you’d be forgiven for imagining that Ardbeg 25 Years Previous would have misplaced among the hallmark Ardbeg smoky punch. I can guarantee you it hasn’t. And but there’s additionally a outstanding complexity and class to this whisky that I discover totally fascinating. It’s unmistakably Ardbeg, however not like any Ardbeg you’ve tasted earlier than.”
Its daring packaging definitely displays the character of the whisky contained in the bottle, the peatiness of which has not been tamed by 25 years within the cask.
