Every year, you can count on there being new whisky. Some of it is rather good. Like the ones below, which made the cut for the top whiskies we loved in 2025.
You might have read part one. Now here comes the cavalry. This is not the B-list, however, and as with the other round-up of top whiskies we loved in 2025, bottles that qualify simply had to arrive on our virtual shelves in the last year.
Part two of the top whiskies we loved in 2025 takes us to Islay extremes and American precision to Thailand’s first single malt. The bottles that prove that great whisky in 2025 is truly global.
Top whiskies we loved in 2025
Secret Islay 10 Year Old 2014 – Black Friday (Master of Malt)
Cask strength. Natural colour. Ten years in oloroso. Under £50. Bottled to celebrate Black Friday and cause mild chaos. With just 711 bottles, this smoky sherried Islay is a little cracker that you can only get here.
Ardnamurchan 10 Year Old (2025 Release)
A proper milestone. Ardnamurchan’s first permanent age statement brings together peated and unpeated spirit matured primarily in bourbon with a touch of sherry. Bottled at 46.8% ABV, non-chill filtered and natural colour, it delivers on all that early promise, and then some.
Maker’s Mark Cellar Aged 2025 Release
The Cellar Aged 2025 Release is long-aged wheated bourbon done properly. Barrels aged in a climate-controlled limestone cellar are blended from 11, 13, and 14-year-old stock, then bottled at 56.5%. Dark sugar, caramelised oak, and baked apple meet the brand’s trademark softness.
Kyrö Sauna Stories No.2
A full-circle sauna moment. Kyrö matures 100% malted rye in new American oak and apricot brandy casks in a bespoke sauna-warehouse. Heat, moisture, and sweating wood push flavour extraction into overdrive. Weird, wonderful, and very Kyrö.
Fettercairn Vanguard 1st Release
We’ve got plenty to say about Fettercairn Vanguard’s debut here, but here’s the cliff notes: hybrid casks built with Scottish oak heads and American oak staves add depth and spice to Fettercairn’s tropical house style.
Octomore 16.3
The apex predator. Single-estate Concerto barley from Octomore Farm, malted to 189.5ppm, matured in bourbon, Sauternes, and PX casks, and bottled at 61.6%. Brutal, beautiful, and unapologetically Octomore.
Roseisle 14 Year Old (Special Release 2025)
Diageo’s usually quiet workhorse distillery gets its annual turn in the spotlight thanks to the Special Releases. Each time we get a further glimpse into something balanced, beautiful, and intriguing. Refill and rejuvenated casks do well to not get in the way of the distillery DNA. Lovely stuff.
Isle of Raasay Marsala Cask
Marsala cask finishing brings sweet spice and winey depth to Raasay’s lightly peated spirit. Coastal, characterful, and increasingly confident.
Prakaan Select Cask
Prakaan plants the first flag for Thai single malt with some confidence. Aged in bourbon casks and bottled at 43% ABV, it delivers golden fruit, honey, and gentle spice shaped by tropical ageing. A genuine milestone and a welcome glimpse of what is coming next.
The Story Of Bourbon Full Proof
This was a surprise highlight of the Whisky Show 2025. The Story Of spent five years in a Kentucky rickhouse, is bottled at 50% ABV, and is built on a classic mash bill. Expect molasses, ripe stone fruit, vanilla, and baking spice in a straight-talking, flavour-forward bourbon.
