The International Whisky Competition, held since 2010 has been acknowledging the best spirits in the world using a refined judging method. This year the 11th edition of the IWC had to be relocated to town of Estes Park, Colorado from Las Vegas in light of the COVID-19 pandemic for safety reasons.
The competition introduced a new tasting method in 2015, leaving behind the traditional methodology of tasting samples side-by-side. Now the jury tastes the spirits one whisky at a time and separate notes are compiled for each one of them for reviewing. The acclaimed judges for the IWC 2020 included popular whisky author Sébastien Gavillet and veteran mixologist Francesco Lafranconi.
The competition winner
Having a combined score of 96.4 (out of 100 points) across all 49 categories, the Dewar’s Double 32 Year Old won the competition and took the coveted title of being the best whisky in the world. The 46 percent ABV blended scotch also won the title of being the world’s Best Blended whisky at the 2020 World Whisky Awards. The woman responsible for creating the blend – Stephanie MacLeod, also received the award for Master Blender of the Year at the event.
The spirit is one of the finest from the Dewar Double Double series which demonstrates the process of mixing liquids at four different levels, developed by A.J. Cameron. This one, in particular, is aged in Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for smooth finish, ripe treacle notes and subtle smokiness. Like all exclusive spirits this one is sold out for now and when it comes back in stock you can buy it for $250 from the exclusive retailer.
Runners up
Since Double 32 Year Old will be hard to get your hands on, you can try your luck with the runners up. Blended in Islay, Scotland, Ardbeg Corryvreckan took the second place with the combined score of 96.1 points across all categories. The single malt Scotch whisky has a blend of peat overnotes, complimented by the tobacco and coffee notes. You can get a bottle of the Ardbeg Corryvreckan whisky for $90 right away.
Ardbeg also managed to bad the third place in overall scoring sheet with 94.2 point for the Ardbeg Blaaack Committee Edition. The single malt Scotch whisky is aged in Pinot Noir barrels from New Zealand giving it a distinct taste. It combines a rich blend of smokey coal, bitter cherry and fruit pudding flavor which most of the whisky admirers appreciate. A bottle of the limited edition whisky which celebrated the 20th anniversary of the global Ardbeg Committee costs $185.