This Overlooked Distillery Just Made the World’s Best Single Malt Whisky (Again)

The grand arbiters of brown liquor at Whisky Magazine’s World Whiskies Awards have now spoken for the 13th year.

After unveiling its picks for the best American Whiskies in February, the organization has revealed its complete selection list for the World’s Best Whiskies of 2025.

The title of World’s Best Single Malt ranks as arguably the most prestigious honor of the bunch, and this year, the honor returns to Single Malt’s motherland – Scotland, after several years of going to distillers scattered across the globe.

The GlenAllachie

Most impressively, the winner is the same Scottish Distillery that took home the title for Best Single Malt Whisky just four years earlier in 2021, The GlenAllachie.

Here’s everything you need to know about the winning bottle, The GlenAllachie 12 Years Old, as well as the under-the-radar distillery quietly dominating the Single Malt award circuit.

Pure and Simple

The GlenAllachie

The GlenAllachie 12Yeas Old is one of the distillery’s flagship whiskies. What stands out the most about it is its simplicity.

It’s unpeated and thus lacks the smokey flavor profile many associate with the category.

It’s uncolored, meaning it lacks the color additive formally known as Spirit caramel (E150A), which is used by many brands to enhance the look of the whisky.

It’s also bottled at a more potent 46% ABV and not chill-filtered, which some whisky fans believe harms the spirit’s flavor by stripping it of key natural oils. That said, this latter distinction isn’t too much of a surprise, given that the goal of chill filtering is to remove elements in a whisky that can make lower ABV bottlings, usually pegged at below 46%, from appearing cloudy in colder conditions.

The GlenAllachie

GlenAllachie touts wood quality as a key advantage on the single malt’s product page. However, exact details about what makes the brand’s wood special are seemingly scarce. The brand only notes finding the “finest quality wood from every corner of the globe” on the process section of its website.

According to official tasting notes, the nose offers notes of “dark chocolate, heather honey, with cinnamon, espresso, and sticky raisins in the background.”

A sip yields hints of “marzipan and orchard fruit tones, followed by warming mocha, butterscotch, and grated nutmeg.”

Gone Too Soon?

The GlenAllachie

The GlenAllachie Distillery was built in 1967 and has had a somewhat rocky operating tenure until recently.

In 1985, less than twenty years into its operation, Invergordon Distillers, then-owner, put the brand on ice.

Four years later, in 1989, the brand and facility were acquired by a Pernod Ricard subsidiary, Campbell Distillers, which immediately invested in expanding The GlenAllachie Distillery’s capacity with two additional stills.

However, relatively recently, in 2017, the brand became independent—i.e., not part of a massive spirits conglomerate—when Chivas Brothers Limited, another subsidiary of Pernod Ricard, sold the brand to the so-called GlenAllachie Consortium, formed by whisky industry legends Billy Walker, Graham Stevenson, and Trisha Savage.

The GlenAllachie

According to the 2017 press release covering the sale, Pernod’s decision to sell the distillery and its associated brands aligned with its strategy of focusing “on its priority spirits and wines brands.”

I’m not qualified to state whether the deal was a good or bad move on Pernod’s part, but in hindsight, there are at least two reasons why PR might be kicking itself for divesting when it did.

After all, basic math indicates that the whisky inside this year’s award-winning GlenAllachie 12 Years Old was originally distilled and barreled back when Pernod Ricard’s subsidiaries owned and operated the distillery.

The same is true for the distillery’s other whisky, which was named the World’s Best Single Malt of 2021 by the World Whiskies Awards, The GlenAllachie 10 Years Old Batch 4.

Of course, winning industry awards doesn’t always translate to financial success. And much of the credit for The GlenAllachie’s recent accolades obviously has to go to the team who acquired and evolved the brand, including including Master Distiller and Whisky Magazine Hall of Fame inductee Billy Walker.

Still, the fact remains that Pernod Ricard moved on from the brand just a little ever a decade before it wound up in elite distilling company.

Only one other distillery has earned Best Single Malt Honors in the World Whiskies Awards twice— Suntory’s world renowned Hakushu Distillery in Japan.

A Relatively Affordable Price

The GlenAllachie

As of publication, The GlenAllachie 12 Years Old is available at some online retailers for under $55 (on the Distillery’s official page, it retails for $67.)

Though neither price point is budget whisky territory, it’s still a pretty remarkable bargain in the world of premium Single Malt Whisky.

Case in point, last year’s Best Single Malt, The English Distillery Sherry Cask, technically retailed for £65 or ~$84. However, prices jumped far higher at many online whiskey retailers after the bottle received the award.

The 2023 winner, Milk & Honey Distillery Elements Sherry Cask Single Malt Whisky, has an MSRP of 299 Israeli New Shekels, or approximately $80. In 2022, the now sold-out winner boasted an even higher MSRP of ~$100.

In 2020, The Hakushu 18-Year-Old Peated Malt took the crown. It’s MSRP was around ~$300, though it was impossible to find at anywhere near that price point.

Here’s hoping the price of The GlenAllachie 12 Years Old continues to stay reasonable

The GlenAllachie 12 Years Old Single Malt Whisky

• $67 at The GlenAllachie

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