The World Whiskies Awards (WWA), part of the prestigious World Drinks Awards program, are organised by The Drinks Report, a division of Paragraph Publishing.
The awards recognise the very best in all internationally recognised styles of whisky and this year, 23 Scotch whiskies made the cut.
Each year, whiskies from around the globe are rigorously blind judged by an independent panel of the world’s top whisky experts to determine the best in each category and, ultimately, the best in the world.
Judges blind taste and are always looking for the next best product to crown ‘World’s Best’ within each category. There are two separate strands to these awards – one is for taste and the other is for design excellence.
Here are all the Scotch whiskies that won accolades in the 2025 World Whiskies Awards, plus where you can buy a bottle.
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Greg Dillon, co-founder of GreatDrams, expressed his delight at this accolade saying: “Winning this award is like finding the perfect harmony in a dram—it’s music to our palates and a testament to our dedication to quality and innovation.”
Kirsty Dillon, co-founder, added: “We’re over the moon! This recognition not only honours our passion but also shines a spotlight on the rich heritage of Campbeltown whisky. Time to crack open a bottle and celebrate!”
Reflecting on this award Cameron McCann, co-founder of Stirling Distillery, said: “We are immensely proud to have been recognised as Scotland’s Best New Make Spirit. To stand alongside the best whiskies in the world is a fantastic achievement for our small, independent distillery.
"This award is a testament to the dedication and skill of our team, particularly Hugo, whose talent continues to shine. This is just the beginning of an exciting journey for Stirling Distillery as we establish ourselves in the whisky world.”
The judges gave these tasting notes for this whisky: "Big fruitcake nose, utterly classic. The fruit comes over on the powerful palate, too, with nicely balanced wood and a long finish."
Tasting notes for this included: "Lots of rich leather and dried fruit on the nose. Juicy cherries and a touch of bubblegum on the palate. A long, elegant finish."
Judges tasting notes for this whisky were: "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."
As well as the whiskies that won awards, independent, organic Scotch distillery Nc’nean was named “Sustainable Distillery of the Year” at the World Whisky Awards Icons of Whisky Global.
Having been championed as Scotland’s most sustainable distillery at the regional heats in December 2024, Nc’nean has beaten well-known distilleries from around the world to take the top global spot in this iconic accolade.
Annabel Thomas founder and CEO of Nc’nean said: “Alongside putting innovation at the heart of our spirit making, a key part of my vision for Nc’nean was to pioneer sustainable production within Scotch – to show what could be done, and to encourage the rest of the industry to go faster.
“This award is a wonderful recognition of all we’ve achieved so far as a business and an encouragement to continue striving for even better results!
“A big thanks goes to our awesome team, especially our head of sustainability Amy, who puts a huge amount of work into this everyday – from carbon foot printing, to finding the best suppliers, to weighing the bins every week (glamorous hey). I’m now off to have a delicious dram of Nc’nean to celebrate.”
See all the award winning whiskies via the World Whiskies Awards website.
