While Indian whisky has been bagging all the global spirits awards off late, the honoree of the world’s best scotch (as of this moment) belongs to the Highlands.
San Francisco-based Tasting Alliance, the parent company managing the famed San Francisco World Spirits Competition and two other contests in Singapore and New York, recently set up a best-of-the-best showdown for the first time. The ultimate championship, if you will.
Like in other spirits competitions, the judges were asked to sample the supreme selections from various liquors — blind. They narrowed it down to the top three, with whisky emerging top dog. The winner was none other than Tomatin 36 Year Old Highland Single Malt, which, incidentally, had bagged the ‘Best in Show’ award at both the 2023 and 2017 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, Forbes reports.
This scotch whisky has been labelled “World’s Best Scotch”. Here’s how much it costs
Matured in multiple casks
Produced in a distillery near Inverness, the Tomatin 36 Year Old Highland Single Malt was released in the market in 2015. With 1,200 bottles produced globally every year, the award-winning scotch whisky is matured in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Oloroso sherry casks.
Taste
Tomatin describes its special dram as a smooth and creamy liquid which carries notes of baked fruits, leather balsam, toffee, walnut, and crystallised ginger. The scotch is both rich and sweet on the palate, with the fruity tones blending perfectly into flavours of raw heather honey and roasted chestnuts. The finish is long and accompanied by a trace of fruit and winter spice.
ABV
The award-winning whisky is bottled at 45.1% ABV cask strength, has a natural colour and is non-chill filtered.
Price
While the Tomatin 36 Year Old Single Malt isn’t currently available in India, it can be easily found on shelves in American and UK markets. Each bottle is priced at $1,500 (Rs 1,24,475).
Other awards
In October 2023, the Indri Diwali Collector’s Edition 2023 won the coveted title of “Double Gold Best In Show” at the 2023 Whiskies of the World Awards. In January, Radico Khaitan’s single malt Rampur Asava was recognised as the ‘Best World Whisky’ in the 2023 edition of the John Barleycorn Awards. Both these wins have helped India cement its place at the top of the global whisky landscape.
