The World's Best Single Malt-According To The 2025 World Whiskies Awards

Forbes

27-03-2025

The GlenAllachie Speyside Single Malt 12-Year-Old
Scotch lovers rejoice! The World Whiskies Awards, the world's most prominent international spirits competition dedicated entirely to whisky, just announced their champions for 2025. An outrageously affordable bottle was just named the World's Best Single Malt. That's just the type of news Scotch lovers need in these uncertain times.
The World Whiskies Awards, founded in 2007, is a highly selective international competition that crowns the world's best whisky. It puts every bottle through a multi-stage judging process where a group of esteemed judges evaluate each entry's appearance, nose, taste, balance, finish, character, and complexity. Part of what makes it so unique is that it takes the best bottles from regions across the globe to all compete for the title of world's best. Think of it as the ultimate booze-based championship where only one bottle remains at the end.
This year, The GlenAllachie Speyside Single Malt 12 Years Old beat out 29 other top single malts from around the world, including five other Scots, to claim the title of the world's best. And get this - it only costs $67! What a steal for a world-class whisky.
GlenAllachie was opened in 1967 in Aberlour, Scotland, at the foot of Ben Rinnes mountain. It was shuttered in 1985 and sat silent for four years before Pernod Richard/Campbell Distillers purchased it to serve as a production facility for scotch to be used in its premium blended Chivas Regal. Recognizing its potential, legendary Master Distiller Billy Walker, famous for reviving once forgotten distilleries BenRiach, Glendronach, and Glenglassaugh, purchased the distillery and brand in 2017. It has been nothing short of a smashing success since.
Part of GlenAllachie's success has been the wide range of aged single malts dating back to the 1970s that were included in the purchase, which attracted Walker to the distillery in the first place. Because the distillery had no past history of bottlings to compete against, Walker envisioned a blank slate where he could pursue whatever flavors he thought fit.
They launched their single-malt brand in 2018, and the drinking public took notice. Their first releases were a range of single malts from 10 to 18 years old, solely focused on the Speyside region. Priced affordably, they quickly became highly sought-after bottles.
It was in 2021 that The GlenAllachie officially arrived on the international awards circuit. [22] That year, their 10-Year-Old Cask Strength won the World's Best Single Malt title at the World Whiskies Awards, plus Walker was inducted into Whisky Magazine's Hall of Fame. These achievements helped propel the GlenAllachie brand onto the international stage and set the stage for its continued success, including the latest World's Best title this year for the 12-Year-Old expression.
The GlenAllachie Speyside Single Malt 12-Year-Old, the distillery's flagship bottling, is made using malted barley from the Moray Firth coast run through its Porteus mill installed in 1967 and water from nearby. It then went through a traditional double distillation process before being racked in the finest wood that Walker could source. It then spent twelve long years aging in the ever-changing Speyside weather in non-climate-controlled warehouses.
The resultant liquid, an unpeated single malt, is loaded with flavors that make it an enjoyable dram from first sip. Here is what the judges had to say in their tasting notes. "A nose of rich sultanas, flapjacks, and milk chocolate, alongside acetone notes. On the palate, dried apple, gourmet chutney, orange zest, nutmeg, and cinnamon emerge, complemented by vanilla custard. The finish is medium-long, oily, and slightly warm, making for a very enjoyable dram." With its exceptional quality and depth of flavor profile, all for the remarkably affordable price of $67, it's no wonder the GlenAllachie 12-Year-Old was crowned the World's Best Single Malt.
For a complete list of the other winning single-malts, visit the World Whiskies Awards, and if you want to grab a bottle of the champion, you can pick one up here or in most fine liquor stores. In a world often dominated by high-end, premium single malts, this award-winning bottle proves that exceptional quality and value can coexist, setting a new standard for what Scotch whisky lovers can expect from affordable, yet world-class, expressions.
As the Scots would say, Slàinte Mhath!
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