In the first news from the World Whiskies Awards 2025, the Scotland taste category winners and Icons of Whisky Scotland 2025 were revealed last week at an award ceremony in the Signet Library, Edinburgh. 

 

The event included talks from Damian Riley-Smith, founder and managing director of Whisky Magazine, and chef Tony Singh. Returning sponsors included Brindiamo, Glencairn Crystal, and Rankin, alongside several new sponsors joining the awards this year.

 

A variety of individuals, brands, and teams were named Icons in the 2025 Scotland awards, including Holyrood Distillery for Distiller of the Year, Laura Sharp of Cardhu Distillery for Visitor Attraction Manager of the Year, and Allan Bartlett of Tomatin Distillery for Cooper of the Year.

 

In the World Whiskies Awards, category winners in the first round of the competition were revealed, including the regional results for best single malt and best blended whisky. Awardees included Rosebank, Craigellachie, the GlenAllachie, Ardbeg, Bonnington, and many more. 

 

Winners of the World Whiskies Awards Scotland will go on to compete against other winners from the France, Ireland, Canada, Japan, US, and Rest of World categories in March 2025, where winners of the World’s Best awards for 2025 will be revealed.

 

The event also saw two members of the Scotch industry inducted into the Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame: Stephanie Macleod, master blender at John Dewar & Sons, and Leonard Russell, managing director of Ian Macleod Distillers.

 

For the full list of winners, visit the World Whiskies Awards website.