For issue 206 of Whisky Magazine — our exciting annual World Whiskies Awards issue — Bradley Weir and Alwynne Gwilt returned to blind taste a selection of 20 drams from around the world. Here, we take a look at the top five whiskies they tasted for this issue, including the expression that was named Editor's Choice.
Read on to discover our tasters' favourites, and visit our tastings pages to see all the tasting reviews from issue 206.
5th: Isle of Barra — Blended
Isle of Barra Distillery has big plans to distil its own single malt. In the meantime, while its new whisky distillery is under construction, the distillery team has released two whiskies: this non-age-statement blended malt, made with liquid from Tullibardine and Mannochmore, and a 10-year-old blended malt.
Isle of Barra, Blended
Barra Distillers
ABV: 46% | Style: Blended Malt | Country: Scotland | Region: N/A | Bottling: Distillery | Availability: UK
Combined taster score: 16.3
Bradley says...
Apple crumble, shortcrust peach tart, thick apricot yoghurt. Lovely fruit notes here, with a gentle vanilla aroma accompanying. This would pair exceptionally well with a dessert.
Alwynne says...
Bright and refreshing — there’s pear drops, strawberry laces, cinder toffee, and spun sugar with just a touch of some earthy smoke and wet newspaper. A delightful little whisky.
Read Bradley and Alwynne's full tasting notes here.
=3rd: Wire Works — Caduro
Based in Derbyshire, White Peak Distillery produces single malt whisky under its Wire Works brand, which debuted in 2022. Its Caduro expression is matured in a mixture of first-fill bourbon casks and STR casks, using the combination of American and French oak to build the whisky's flavour profile.
Wire Works, Caduro
White Peak Distillery
ABV: 46.8% | Style: Single Malt | Country: England | Region: N/A | Bottling: Distillery | Availability: UK
Combined taster score: 16.5
Bradley says...
Foam banana sweets, followed by berry fruits such as raspberries, cherries, and strawberries. On the palate, strawberry yoghurt, apricot, peaches. Medium in length, with a lasting fruitiness.
Alwynne says...
This takes a while to open up but once it does, there are some lovely floral notes — a meadow in spring. A gentle grassiness, alongside orange peel, honeydew, and Sprite. Take time with this one and it delivers.
Read Bradley and Alwynne's full tasting notes here.
=3rd: Laphroaig — Quarter Casks
This Laphroaig expression has spent a portion of its maturation ageing in quarter casks, a smaller cask size which allows the whisky closer contact with the wood, for a higher extraction of oak flavours into the spirit.
Laphroaig, Quarter Casks
Suntory Global Spirits
ABV: 48% | Style: Single Malt | Country: Scotland | Region: Islay | Bottling: Distillery | Availability: Worldwide
Combined taster score: 16.5
Bradley says...
That trademark Islay smokiness and peatiness is here in spades. Burned honey, charred courgette, and barbecued pork. Then, ginger biscuits dipped in a warm cinnamon tea. This isn’t redefining the Islay region, but it represents it very well.
Alwynne says...
Notes of hay and salty sea create a background of nature that holds a foundation for the soft smoke here. There’s some peanut brittle, toffee, vanilla, and candy apples too. A beautiful whisky — very classy and of a place.
Read Bradley and Alwynne's full tasting notes here.
2nd: Royal Salute — Kingdom Amarone 26 Years Old
Premium blended whisky brand Royal Salute released this Amarone wine cask-finished bottling as part of its limited-edition Kingdom series. This 26-year-old release celebrates Italy, where the wine is made, and marks the first time Royal Salute has used Amarone casks.
Royal Salute, Kingdom Amarone 26 Years Old
Chivas Brothers
ABV: 40% | Style: Blended | Country: Scotland | Region: N/A | Bottling: Distillery | Availability: UK
Combined taster score: 16.8
Bradley says...
Apples and lemons on the nose, with roasted chestnuts and chocolate-coated raisins on the palate, followed by fudge and sherbet lemon. A tremendous, complex whisky, perfect as a warming dram on cold winter nights.
Alwynne says...
Lots of great dunnage warehouse notes here: soil, oak, and dust. Then baked apples, wood wax, dried cherries, and maple syrup. A very appealing and comforting whisky — bolder on the nose than the palate, but well-rounded overall.
Read Bradley and Alwynne's full tasting notes here.
1st: Auchentoshan — Three Wood
The three woods referred to in this core-range dram by Lowland distillery Auchentoshan are American oak ex-bourbon barrels, oloroso sherry casks, and Pedro Ximénez sherry casks. The whisky begins its maturation in the ex-bourbon wood, before finishing in the oloroso and then PX casks, for a complexity of flavour that our tasters liked enough to name this dram Editor's Choice.
Auchentoshan, Three Wood
Suntory Global Spirits
ABV: 43% | Style: Single Malt | Country: Scotland | Region: Lowland | Bottling: Distillery | Availability: Worldwide
Combined taster score: 16.9
Bradley says...
An initial sweetness with honey and brown sugar. Then, subtle aromas of nigella seeds, liquorice, ginger, nuts. This is wildly complex, so much so that there’s not enough room on the page to fully do it justice.
Alwynne says...
Rich, woodsy notes at the start, some resinous oak, baked sultanas, toasted almonds, and banana bread. A nice dark toffee note to finish, almost syrupy. A little cocktail in a glass — lots going on here and very well balanced.
Read Bradley and Alwynne's full tasting notes here.
A note on blind tasting at Whisky Magazine
- All samples are blind tasted, with ABV, country/region, and style the only information disclosed.
- Samples are tasted individually over a two-week period.
- Tasters work to tasting and scoring guidelines in order to assess samples consistently.
- The top-scoring sample is awarded Editor’s Choice.
- Samples receiving scores of 16.5+ receive a Recommended award.
