The Whisky Advocate Awards 2014 – Whisky News
The 21st Annual Awards have all been posted on the Whisky Advocate blog! There are thirteen awards: eleven categories for the whisky/whiskey of the year, the distiller of the year, and our Lifetime Achievement awards. Except for the Lifetime Achievement category, there is only one winner in each category.
The Whisky Advocate Awards exist to recognize excellence in the world of whisky. Now in its 21st year, the program is simply about the world’s greatest whiskies and distilleries, and the individuals who make and promote them. As always, these awards are not simply assigned to the whiskies that get the highest ratings in our reviews. The winners might be the highest-rated, or they might instead be the most significant, or the most important, or represent a new direction for a category or niche.
These awards are the oldest and longest-running annual whisky awards program. There is no fee, there are no entry requirements. We taste and sample over the course of the year, at year’s end we consider and confer, and then we make our decisions based solely on the merits of the whiskies…as we have done for over twenty years. We give you our word: that’s how it will continue to be.
The winners are listed below, with a link to the formal write-up on the Whisky Advocate blog. We hope you enjoy the selections, and wish you the best in the coming year!
Craft Whiskey of the Year: St. George Single Malt Lot 14
American Whiskey of the Year: Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old
Canadian Whisky of the Year: Canadian Club Chairman’s Select 100% Rye
Irish Whiskey of the Year: Midleton Very Rare 2014
Japanese Whisky of the Year: Ichiro’s Malt The Joker
World Whisky of the Year: Broger Burn Out
Blended/Blended Malt Whisky of the Year: The Last Drop 50 year old
Speyside Single Malt of the Year: Craigellachie 17 year old
Islay Single Malt of the Year: Signatory (distilled at Laphroaig) 1998, 60.8%
Highland/Islands Single Malt of the Year: Arran Devil’s Punchbowl III The Fiendish Finale
Lifetime Achievement Awards:
Colin Scott, Chivas Bros.;
Duncan McGillivray, Bruichladdich
Distiller of the Year: Beam Suntory
