Another year in the books, and a bumpy one for the whisky industry. Production halts have become common as the industry faces excess supply. However, there’s still a lot of great stuff out there. As well as some that disappointed. Here you’ll find our highlights, lowlights, and thoughts for the year. Thanks for reading.
-The Maltrunners
Raygun
Best pour: Longmorn 31 (1968) Mackillop’s Choice – I haven’t had enough 60s malts to say whether they are uniformly better than modern stuff. What I can say is that this was an insane pour. Probably made from floor maltings and lightly peated. Modern sherried Benrinnes is my closest reference point in terms of the meatiness. This is just a different level though.
New discovery: Lochside – I wasn’t intending to find a dead distillery rabbit hole, but had a chance to try one at a semi-reasonable price, and…it’s great. I was thinking it would be my best for the year until I tried that Longmorn. Unfortunately, now I have to try to find (and afford) more.
Most surprising: Blinking Owl 5 (2018) American Single Cask – I’m not always such a fan of American malts (sorry Demi); the reliance on virgin oak doesn’t tend to do it for me. I quite liked this one though. What really surprised me was how easily it drinks for 66%. I guessed it was around 50%. Sadly, this distillery closed down.
Most disappointing: Millburn 18 (1975) Rare Malts – It wasn’t a bad bottle (plenty of people who had samples from the same bottle liked it). This just did not agree with me at all.
Worst pour: Nothing truly awful this year, but there were a few contenders for least favorite. I’ll go with the Sutherland 5 blended malt from Thompson Brothers. Burnt cookies and manure is not my favorite combination.
I can’t stop talking about: Whisky shops in Asia. Not just the selection, though that puts to shame anything I’ve seen in the US, but that it’s apparently not a problem to sell pours from open bottles, something that would never be allowed here. A favorite memory is sampling Hibiki 17 and Yamazaki 18 from plastic cups in Japan.
DemiTastes
Best pour: Lost Lantern McCarthy’s 10 Year ASMW. The best McCarthy’s this year for sure, maybe the best McCarthy’s I’ve ever had. And, of course, McCarthy’s is already my favorite whiskey across all categories. So we’re definitely chart-topping here (9+/10). I think it even beats my favorite from last year, my barrel pick of McCarthy’s Rum Cask #701, which I also rated 9+/10, but McCarthy’s 10 might edge it out by a point or two on the 100 point scale.
Most emotionally significant: Laphroaig 30 Year (1990/2021) Redacted Brothers. I purchased this birth-year bottle and stashed it until the birth of our first child. We then opened and toasted his birth with family. It’s a delicious 30 year old Laphroaig with tropical fruit notes, basic clean ex-bourbon profile, and just whispers of smoke left after 30 years. It’s very good, though not a chart-topper, but it doesn’t need to be. This has been the most special whisky on my shelf for years, both on specs and by intended significance of the occasion for which it would be opened, and now it’s officially in the books as the whiskey with which I celebrated the birth of our son.
Most surprising: Lost Lantern Warfield Idaho ASMW. Who knew Idaho was making single malt that really truly tastes like scotch? — Since I default to ASM, to add a “most surprising scotch” as well here, if you discard all of the amazing decades-old special releases I was able to try at Whiskies for Wildlife, but also failed to take notes on, and also discount the many generously-shared scotches at whiskey meetups, that I also didn’t take notes on, let’s limit it to stuff you can actually get today, Glenfiddich Grand Cru was very surprisingly good, and at the price of $250 almost feels like it could be worth owning a bottle. My experience over the years with any OB Glenfiddich, and even most IB Glenfiddich, has been that anything other than the Glenfiddich 12 Year has been pretty lackluster for the price, so this was a refreshing change. Speaking of…
Most disappointing: Glenfiddich 15 Year Perpetual Collection Vat 03. At about $100, it seemed like a really good price for the age and cask strength, but it’s extremely “just okay.” I even have video proof of my massive disappointment on a first crash and taste of it; I happened to be recording a tasting with my best friend and my sister-in-law when I opened and tasted this for the first time — I don’t think I’ve ever recorded myself on a first impression where I was so thoroughly disappointed before. Partly because it was barely worth the cost on flavor, and partly because this was one of the whiskeys that made it into a whiskey tasting lineup with people I see only very rarely. — To throw in a token ASMW, the Jack Daniels ASM is, at $100 for a 1L Travel Exclusive, very expensive for what it is. The underlying malt is almost featureless and it’s supplemented by an okay, not terrible, but not great, sherry cask finish.
Worst pour: Clermont Steep ASMW. In many ways it’s just okay whiskey, ASM made in a more bourbon-like style which I’m subjectively not as much of a fan of. But where it gets actively bad is that it has this weird, metallic, stale crabcake meat flavor in the middle and through the finish that absolutely ruins it for me. The possibility that this could be a significant number of people’s introduction to American Single Malt, since it comes from Beam, has long stood as an existential threat of harming the public perception of the category of American Single Malt. Thankfully, from what I’ve heard, it doesn’t seem to have captured much mindshare or caused people to be turned off of the ASM category on the basis of this example. — But honestly I struggled to come up with a “worst pour” for this year; most of the whiskey I’ve tasted this year has been selected specifically because it was known to be quite good, or was for the podcast, which thankfully hasn’t awkwardly turned up any stinkers.
I can’t stop talking about: Westland 7 Year Ex-Bourbon Alba Barley Single Cask #3520 Handfill. This is the same Alba barley distillate that went into Colere 1st Edition. Westland Colere was born of their desire to cultivate barley varieties on a local farm for flavor instead of high yield – a philosophy which has always resonated with me. Unfortunately despite resonating with the philosophy, the price point and profile of the Colere series was often not worth the price tag for me. But amp up the age, present it at cask strength, let me hand fill my own bottle, and all for $100 – this whiskey at long last absolutely delivered on the promise of the Westland Colere series for me. This whiskey is also deeply personal to my whiskey journey: Westland Colere 1st Edition appeared in the first tasting in which I ever tasted an ASMW in 2020. It was 1 of 2 whiskeys, the other being the then-new Westland Flagship ASMW, in the tasting where I tasted ASMW for the very first time, without even yet realizing the significance the category would have in my life from that point forward. This Westland Colere Alba Barley distillate set me on a path that has resulted in almost 4 years since I started pursuing primary research on ASM aimed at writing a book, including producer interviews and 2.5 years of podcasting and counting.
ricebowl
Best pour: Balvenie Robert Watson 1980 56%. Your favorite scotch’s favorite scotch.
Most surprising: Fettercairn 40yr 41.60%. Wax, ethereal, strawberry jam, effortless and timeless.
Most disappointing: Springbank 5yr 100 Imperial Proof. Young, raw, and forgettable.
Worst pour: Octomore Polyphonic 15yr 54.9%. A complete mess. Many voices without coherence. Back to the drawing board, please.
I can’t stop talking about: Ardbeg 1977 46%. Peak.
Whiskery Turnip
Best pour: Ardbeg 29 Year (1993), Cadenhead’s
Top of my charts this year was something I poured way back in January of this year: a pour of a 29 Year Ardbeg I brought back from the Cadenhead’s Tasting Bar and Cafe in Campbeltown. It set a high water mark that was hard for any other whisky to match! It was punchy and complex, still undeniably Ardbeg, but elegant in a way that younger Ardbeg are not. I’ve not always loved very old Ardbeg, and often felt like they lacked some of the quintessential distillery character I really enjoy, but this still had it in spades. Now if only a bottle didn’t run over a thousand dollars, then maybe I could enjoy something more than just the single pour that I brought home!
Most surprising: Mars Malt Duo “Tsunuki x Akkeshi”
The surprise here was just how much this whisky reminded me of 1980s Bowmore, and in the best way possible. I have had mixed experiences with Mars Tsunuki and Akkeshi Distilleries: they are both part of the new wave, with Tsunuki providing more peated malts for Mars, while Akkeshi is a remote coastal distillery in Hokkaido offering a more Islay-style (peated and maritime) malt. They show a lot of promise for the future, but neither have really won me over just yet. Except for this bottle… it was fantastic, and the blended malt was greater than the sum of the two parts.
Most disappointing: Springbank 13 Year (2008), Distillery Cage Bottle Rotation 165
I had a lot of great Springbank last year as I ran through all of my Springbank samples and then practically drowned in pours at the distillery. So this was a bit of a shock to me: a cage bottle that was fascinating… but also not very enjoyable to drink. I still poured some great Springbank this year, but I was impressed just how far off the mark this felt compared to all the wonderful whiskies I had from the distillery.
Worst pour: Port Dundas 14 Year (2004), Clan Denny Cask DMG 12936
I hate how easy it was to pin point the worst whisky I had this year. I love a good grain whisky and I think that even young grain whiskies can be good, but this was just foul. I have no idea why it was bottled. I gave it several shots, hoping to find more redeeming qualities about it, but I never did.
I can’t stop talking about: Plans for Whisky Travel in 2026
I had very little in the way of whisky-related or adjacent travel in 2025, my only major trip was to the furthest reaches of New Zealand. The climate there was very Caledonian in nature, but the whisky scene was not. I still had a great time of course, and tried my fair share of drams, but I’m looking forward to more fun travel (not work related at all for once!) in 2026. In particular I am looking forward to reconnecting with whisky friends abroad and spending time in some of my favorite whisky bars in Asia.
The Auditor
Best pour: Habitation Velier Savanna HERR 2025
It was the easiest pick for best pour I’ve had, Savanna HERR is my favorite rum of all time and a re-release was going to be a no brainer pick. Juicy Fruit bubblegum, raspberry, just the best rum ever made in my opinion.
Most surprising: Cheramie Queen’s Share 4 Year
If you had just told me blindly to try a 4 year old, ex-bourbon aged, American cane juice rum, I would go in very skeptical. However, this bottle is just amazing. It’s an example of the very best American rum has to offer, and more people should know and be excited about the rums being made by Cheramie down in New Orleans.
Most disappointing: Roaming Road Spain 17 Year
A 17 year aged rum, with a second maturation in a Cotswold malt whisky cask, bottled at cask strength? It should be great. However, it was a let down for me. The finish is too aggressive and it’s almost all cask.
Worst pour: Stade’s JAWS
This was easily the worst rum I had this year. Ferrand had West Indies Rum Distillery located on Barbados make a high ester rum. Nothing wrong with that on its face, I love high ester rums. But they stuck it in a cask for 6 months before bottling and the results show. It’s shockingly thin, unbalanced, and just overall terrible. Add on to that all of Ferrand trying to block a Barbados GI and change the Jamaican rum GI, and its pretty clear they are an awful company.
I can’t stop talking about: Alambique Serrano
Alambique Serrano, the brand for the Krassel family distillery down in Mexico, is the hottest brand in rum right now for me. Their ability to put out an amazing array of aged and unaged cane juice rums cannot be discussed enough. My top 10 rums of the year list has 3 of their releases on it which I will list here. Make no mistake, this is a legendary distillery releasing incredible stuff now.
Alambique Serrano Cartier 30 Batch #2
Dustbunna
Best pour: Convalmore 32yr 1984, 2017 Diageo Special Release. Heaven in a glass. My local group split a bottle of this and on first tasting every one of us was blown away. Immense complexity and power, layer after layer after layer revealing themselves over the course of an evening.
Most surprising: Springbank 10yr 2011, bottled for the decommissioning of HMS Campbeltown. Yes, it’s a cask-strength 10-year-old Springbank in a bourbon cask, yes, it’s extremely good whisky. That’s not what surprised me. During our three-day stay in Campbeltown, my traveling friend and I between us managed to order this from the bar at Ardshiel five or six times, we just could not get enough of it. Maybe we were enamored with the story of bringing the namesake WWII destroyer back to Campbeltown Harbor to decommission it, or it might simply have been alignment of the stars on a particularly excellent bourbon cask and immaculate full-force distillate. Either way, in a journey in which we collectively tried dozens of great whiskies local to the wee Toon, this was the one that captivated us over and over again.
Most disappointing: Barrell Seagrass. I’d heard so many good things about this blend of American and Canadian ryes, with the unusual casking mix of apricot brandy, Martinique rum and Madeira. I finally got to try it at a local tasting: my impression was that it was sticky-sickly-sweet and that while every element of the casks was present, none of them meshed for me at all. The impact of all three cask types just duked it out, and none of them emerged a clear winner. Sadly I found this wasn’t my style of spirit at all. I’ve almost bought this multiple times on others’ recommendations; now I’m glad I never pulled the trigger on a bottle.
I can’t stop talking about: the West Highlands of Scotland. It feels like my palate, right now, is really converging on the broadly coastal, fruity, funky, slightly austere profile shared between distilleries in Campbeltown, some of the Islands, and the western edges of the mainland. If I’m being truthful, that’s probably biased by my two Scottish trips (so far): to Fort William/Oban/Mull, and to Campbeltown and the Kintyre peninsula. Walking through those places and taking them in has really fostered in me a strong sense of place, felt as a common through-line of scents, tastes, and memories in the whisky belonging to these disparate but adjacent regions.
Malt Runners 