Whiskies of the Year
2024
In 2024 we began selecting 10 whiskies each month to point our big ‘Master of Malt’ spotlight at. It’s like the Bat-Signal, but better because there’s no crime afoot; just bottles of proven whiskies waiting to be poured. Throughout the year a total of 10 of us championed a new release or old favourite they were enjoying that month. So that's worked out neatly.
We’ve looked back through all the selections each whisky lover submitted and asked them to pick out a highlight. Included is the original reason they chose them. This is our Top 10 Whiskies 2024, as picked by the people from your favourite retailer. Happy New Year, and have a great 2025!
Redbreast Lustau Edition
Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey
This release doubles down on the sherry influence all Redbreast fans love. Made with both unmalted and malted barley, it was initially matured in a combination of American and European oak casks (like all Redbreasts) for 9 to 12 years, before being transferred into first fill Oloroso Sherry casks from the celebrated Bodegas Lustau for a further 1 year finish. Sublime stuff.
"I LOVE a Redbreast. Robust with the unmalted barley providing unique spiciness and silky, creamy mouthfeel, here with further dialled up fruity sherry cask influence. It's one I've regularly recommended."
Jake Mountain
Resident doer of things, spirits buff & MoM OG
Tasting notes
Rich and round with toasted almond, Curaçao orange peel studded with clove, stewed fruits and juicy sultanas.
Chewy milk chocolate and honey (almost a bit Crunchie-like) with allspice, walnut and poached plum depths.
Long with apple turnovers giving way to rich sherry and crushed cinnamon.
Blair Athol 12 Year Old - Flora and Fauna
Scotch Single Malt Whisky, Speyside Region
A Flora and Fauna release (a name coined by whisky writer Michael Jackson on account of the illustrated labels featuring wildlife) from the Blair Athol distillery, this 12 year old exudes sherry and Christmas pudding notes with spice. The label features on otter, on account of the distillery's ancient water source, the Allt Dour or 'burn of the otter'.
"One of whisky’s worst kept secrets. This stuff is nectar. Sherried, woody, spicy, fruity nectar. If The Macallan bottled this for silly money people would pay it and be glad."
Adam O'Connell
Whisky nerd & certified mate of Ainsley Harriott
Tasting notes
Nutty with sherried notes. Gentle oak char. Crisp.
Good body, malty and sweet. Citrus and the peels thereof.
Toasty oak, syrup. Good sweetness, bittersweet, drying.
Bruichladdich 14 Year Old 2009 (cask 2222) - Micro-Provenance Series (MoM Exclusive)
Scotch Single Malt Whisky, Islay Region
A Master of Malt exclusive, this Bruichladdich expression was distilled from the Optic strain of barley on 26 June 2009. It was aged for 14 years in Cask #2222, a first-fill bourbon barrel stored in warehouse location WHS14 23E and yielded just 222 bottles at 59.2% ABV on 11 November 2023. The whisky was bottled to celebrate the Islay distillery's victory in the Master of Malt Whisky Championships 2023 and was released to coincide with the final results of 2024's Championships, as a reward for the loyal fans who voted.
"A fantastic single cask exclusively bottled for Master of Malt. Tropical fruits on the nose and palate layered with spices and sweetness. Great flavour, and depth, but only 222 bottles available!"
Michael Monte
Spirits buyer, but in French (& sometimes Mandarin)
Tasting notes
The nose is tropical and lush with fruit (melon, stewed apple, papaya, foam banana sweets…) and perfumed with summer garden floral qualities, lavender mostly. There’s also notes of hessian in there as well as a candied sweetness from Jelly Tots and meringue, with damp oak and rock pools providing the coastal, mineral element we expect.
The palate is sweet and viscous, almost syrupy, opening with more tropical fruit (lychee joining the ranks) and plenty of citrus too, orange and lemon boiled sweets mostly. It has a charred quality like the fruit has been barbecued. Honey, sauternes, black pepper, tarragon, and a little bourbon cask sweetness add depth.
The same medley of fruit that appeared throughout slowly dissipates among beach bonfire embers.
Holyrood Ambir
Scotch Single Malt Whisky, Lowland Region
Holyrood Distillery celebrated its fifth birthday with the launch of this single malt whisky, Ambir. It follows Holyrood Distillery’s sold-out inaugural whisky, Arrival and its peated whisky, Embra. Through each of its limited releases, the Edinburgh whisky maker wants to showcase a different flavour profile or style with Ambir showcasing the use of four different specialty malts including Crystal 240 and Caramalt. It was bottled at 49.8% ABV, non-chill filtered and with no artificial colour.
"I recently tasted this with head distiller Callum Rae - the 4-malt character has balance and grace, exploding with flavour twice: spice and fruit, then lasting raspberry compote & cream, with cherry hints. SO. DAMN. PRETTY. "
Sam Simmons
Whiskevangelist, Blender of the Year & guitar shredder
Tasting notes
Caramel creamy fudge, demerara sugar, Scottish tablet.
Red fruits, vanilla and cornflakes.
Biscuit velvet texture, mouth-watering, a hint of savoury at the end.
Maple Syrup & Toasted Oats & Orange Zest & Vanilla 8 Year Old
Canadian Corn Whisky
The &Whisky folks have donned their snow boots, headed to the Great White North, and brought back some serious goodies! What we have here is a tremendous Canadian corn whisky that's been finished in sherry casks. Character-wise, the clue is very much in the name here.
"'Blender's ketchup' is how I’d describe this stuff. A pure, massive core of sherry-cask, with some intriguing (and if we’re honest ephemeral) cereal top-notes. Does. Not. Fuck. About."
Ben Ellefsen
Co-founder of MoM, Atom Brands & Maverick Drinks
Tasting notes
Buttery toffee popcorn and chocolate cornflake cakes, plantain, toasted oats and maple syrup with a rancio-like edge. Bonkers stuff!
Orange zest with Florentines full of biscuity, nutty, candied cherry, dark chocolate, honeyed goodness. Black tea and vanilla.
Juicy Fruit, sweet tea, and rolled oats. Mmm. Moreish.
Wire Works Bourbon Barrel
English Single Malt Whisky
This lightly peated single malt English whisky from Derbyshire's White Peak distillery is matured in bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill. Bottled at a satisfying 53.4% ABV, it's brimming with notes of custard, creamy chocolate, citrus zest, and ginger.
"Wire Works Bourbon Barrel is the distillery’s oldest whisky yet, and the ultimate example of its outstanding house style thanks to full maturation in American oak, first-fill bourbon barrels."
Charlotte Gorzelak
Social media empress & "the Dr. Frankenstein of cocktails"
Tasting notes
Vanilla cream, white chocolate, soft peaches, and lemon zest.
The zesty lemon carries though, joined by ginger biscuits and vanilla custard, with roasted, honeyed nuts beneath.
Milk chocolate, burnt biscuits, stewed apple, candied ginger, and a touch of peppery, herbaceous peat.
Bunnahabhain 21 Year Old Cask Strength - 2024 Edition
Scotch Single Malt Whisky, Islay Region
An immensely impressive 21-year-old single malt from Bunnahabhain! Fully matured on Islay, the unpeated whisky spent the majority of its time in oloroso sherry casks, before a 21-month finish in Pedro Ximénez casks. Tasty, tasty stuff this.
"The best thing I've tried this year and it's limited so I will be very sad when this is all gone. PX finished 21 year old Bunna. Need I say more?"
Chris Wood
Spirits buyer, spirits seller & spirits drinker (& also MoM OG)
Tasting notes
Syrupy honey and milk bottle sweets cushion robust oak, giving way to notes of almond sponge, browned butter, guava, and the syrup from tinned pineapples. Date molasses rides throughout, with juicy sultanas, dried orange peels, and hints of dried cranberry bringing suggestions of a Manhattan.
Big but round, with waves of red fruits and stewed stone fruits bringing superb balance to tannic, leathery oak. Candied pecans and maple syrup soon follow, joined by mixed fruit and nuts, and a dusting of cocoa.
Soft, venerable oak, walnut, slightest hint of marshmallow, cassis, and more maple.
Safe Haven 8 Year Old 2014 Grapefruit Sour Cask Finish - Murray McDavid
Scotch Single Malt Whisky, Island Region
According to the Murray McDavid website, this peated single malt is from a distillery off the west coast of Scotland that was founded in 1798. 'Safe Haven' may be another clue. We can't say any more... It started its maturation in a bourbon barrel before being finished in a cask that previously held Grapefruit Sour beer from the Wild Beer Co! A release of 308 bottles.
"Continuing my journey into the realm of weird and wonderful cask finishes, I stumbled upon a Grapefruit Sour Cask Finished 'mystery malt'. It's peated, it's tart, it's light, it's floral – it's bloody fantastic!"
Thomas Burton
Customer service guru, translator to the dev team & MoM OG
Tasting notes
Rich peat smoke, dried apples, tangy citrus, and a touch of gooseberry.
That citrus tang carries through, with zesty peels and vibrant grapefruit joining the oily peat smoke beneath.
Rich, tarry smoke lingers, with flamed citrus, dried hops, and oaken vanilla.
Woodford Reserve Batch Proof - Master's Collection
American Bourbon Whiskey
A brilliantly robust bourbon from Woodford Reserve's Batch Proof Master's Collection. This edition is made from the same mash bill as the distillery's flagship Kentucky Bourbon but bottled at a higher proof – a cask strength of 128.3 proof, which translates as 64.1% ABV.
"Showcasing the very best of Woodford Reserve’s stock at higher proof, it unveils a range of sweet aromatics, fruit, spice and wood characteristics. It's also highly limited so hurry before it's all gone!"
Giovana Petry
Spirits marketer, cervaja founder & pomeranian parent
Tasting notes
Graham Crackers, flamed orange peel, cherry, and vanilla bean, then black tea, cinnamon, paprika, oak char, and butterscotch.
A viscous palate carries notes of dried fruit, clove, chocolate biscuit, apricot, crème brûlée, and woody spice.
Long and generous with plenty of oakiness as well as chocolate-covered raisins, banana, allspice, and vanilla.
Craigellachie 11 Year Old (Master of Malt Christmas Bottling)
Scotch single malt whisky, Speyside region
A Christmas whisky isn't just for Christmas when it's this yummy. A marriage of 6 specially selected casks of Craigellachie single malt: 2x Pedro Ximénez octaves of 11yo, 2x oloroso octaves of 12yo, 1x first-fill bourbon 12yo, and 1x hogshead of 14yo. Sweet, spicy, with plenty of backbone, this was created to be a real crowd-pleaser for whisky novices and nerds alike. Completely natural colour and non-chill filtered so all the rich creamy character of the worm-tub-condensed Craigellechie malts can be present.
"Getting to sample our own bottlings is one of the highlights of my job, and I'm always happy when a Craigellachie turns up on my desk! Read my tasting notes – it really is delicious."
Emma Symons
Whisky word-engine, rum nut, imperial stout maven & MoM OG
Tasting notes
Big, bold, juicy layers of vibrant barley, honeyed prunes, and boozy sultanas join tropical notes of dried mango. Creamy butterscotch and toasted marzipan follow in time, with notes of chocolate-coated Brazil nuts in tow.
Sumptuous layers of golden and maple syrup tangle with barley sugar sweeties, with chewy malt and grilled pineapple joining hazelnut meringue and vanilla cream beneath. A touch of sticky ginger cake and cinnamon warmth develop in time.
A superb balance of gentle, satisfying spice and juicy, meaty malt, with browned butter, a touch of dried orange, and cinnamon sticks.
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