Ratings for the top food and drink are always being released, but the latest rating to come out are for the best whiskey brands in the world have been released once again, and in a surprising twist of events, it wasn’t the traditional Scottish distilleries who took the overall title; it was the Japanese. Yes, in what United Kingdom media is calling a massive embarrassment and disappointment, a Japanese whiskey was able to knock off the Scottish classics, who actually did not even make the top five in Jim Murray’s Whiskey Bible.
The new king of whiskey? The Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry from 2013, which, while shocking, isn’t wrong. The Japanese whiskey pays very close attention to detail and is apparently the closest thing to single malt perfection. The tastes are very rich and unusually deep with bold flavors that blend together to create an overall amazing whiskey.
Aside from not even making the top five of the world, the Scottish distilleries were taken down another notch by losing out on the title for best European whiskey. The English Whiskey Co. and The Belgian Owl were able to produce products worth of tying for the overall European spot. This is highly unusual for the traditional kings of whiskey; however, it could just be from a lack of drive after being automatically considered the best for so long.
The Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry took the title of best individual whiskey for 2015, with the William Larue Weller and Sazerac Rye 18 Year Old earning the second and third positions. Jim Murray tasted 4,500 different whiskies for his Whiskey Bible (which releases on November 11th) and delivered plenty of different titles. Despite being “humiliated”, the Scottish distilleries now have a reason to fight their way back and reclaim their position at the top, but for now, the Yamazaki Single Malt Sherry has the Japanese in first place with the best whiskey of the year.
Photo illustration by Chris Furlong/Getty Images
