Top Scotch Whisky Winners From The 2025 SF World Spirits Competition

Forbes

2 days ago

The 2025 SFWSC Finalists in the Single Malt Scotch Whisky 20 Years & Older category
Photo, courtesy Tasting Alliance/San Francisco World Spirits Competition
The San Francisco World Spirits Competition, a cornerstone in the world of Scotch Whisky, is one of the most extensive and prestigious judging events. Whisky enthusiasts and the beverage industry closely follow its results, as they often set the standard for excellence in the industry. The Top Shelf 2025 Awards Gala, a highly anticipated event in the whiskey industry, will announce the winners on November 9 at Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. Here are the finalists!
From a diverse pool of several hundred entries, the distinguished panel of judges, comprising some 60 in total, has selected a range of finalists. These include five blended, four blended malts, and 20 single malt Scotch whiskies, each with its unique character and flavor profile. From these finalists will emerge the coveted title of World's Best Blended Scotch Whisky, Best Blended Malt Scotch Whisky, and Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky, and ultimately the highest prize of all: World's Best Scotch Whisky. The variety and quality of these finalists are sure to pique your interest.
The 2025 SFWSC Blended Scotch Whisky Finalists in the No Age Statement category.
Photo, courtesy Tasting Alliance/San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Blended Scotch is a mix of grain whisky and single malt whisky. The Scotch Whisky Association, the industry's regulatory body, does not specify the proportions in the blend. Generally speaking, the higher the proportion of single malt in the blend, the more flavorful the whisky tends to be. The single malt portion of a blended whisky can range from as little as 10% to as much as 50% of the final blend.
Under SWA rules, a no-age-statement whisky does not disclose the age of the youngest component of the blend. However, under SWA regulations, a whisky must be aged for a minimum of three years before it can carry the designation Scotch Whisky. Hence, a NAS whisky is guaranteed to be at least 3 years old. Most NAS whiskies are considerably older than the minimum three-year aging requirement.
For a brief background and detailed tasting notes of the Blended Scotch Whisky finalists from the 2025 SFWSC, see SF World Spirits Competition Reveals Top Blended Scotch Whisky.
The Finalists in the Blended Malt Scotch Whisky category at the 2025 SFWSC
Photo, courtesy Tasting Alliance/San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Blended malt is a mix of single malt Scotch whiskies. Unlike a single malt, which is a malt whisky from a single distillery, blended malts are a mix of malt whiskies from more than one distillery. The practice harkens back to the early days of the Scotch whisky industry when independent blenders created their whiskies by mixing single malt whisky from several distilleries.
For background and detailed tasting notes on each of the Blended Malt Scotch Whisky finalists, see SF World Spirits Competition Reveals Top Blended Scotch Whisky.
SFWSC 2025 Single Malt Scotch 13 to 19 Years Finalists
Photo, courtesy Tasting Alliance/San Francisco World Spirits Competition
Single malt Scotch whisky is a single malt from a single distillery. Each expression is typically a blend of different single malts from that distillery. The age statement listed on the bottle is the youngest component of that particular blend of single malts. Hence, 18-year-old Scotch whisky is not the 12-year-old expression aged for an additional six years, but rather a blend of single malt whiskies from that distillery, the youngest component of which is at least 18 years old.
For a background and detailed tasting noteson these single malt Scotch whiskies, see SF World Spirits Competition Names Top Single Malt Scotch Whisky
For a background and detailed tasting notes on these ultra-aged, single malt Scotch whiskies, see Best Ultra-Aged Scotch Whisky, According To The SF World Spirits Competition.
These Scotch whiskies are among the very best, the crème de la crème of Scottish whisky. They are all outstanding, each reflective of the region and terroir that produced them. Some are historical names, while others are new distilleries, specialty bottlers, or once-silent distilleries that have been reborn. All are worth tasting, and if you like them, add a bottle or two to your Scotch whisky collection.