Today we turn our attention to the best-performing scotch whiskies in the Bartenders' Brand Awards 2025.
Only two points separate the top three Scotch brands at the BBAs 2025. Appropriately it was the tasting round that handed the crown to the first-placed Loch Lomond 12 Year Old Perfectly Balanced.
The Highland brand was awarded a gold with judges praising its notes of “honeysuckle”, “peach” and “black treacle” along with its “smashable” character. Value-wise “a good price for the liquid” – another gold.
In a narrow second-place was the Islay favourite, Ardbeg 10 Year Old. The Moët Hennessy peat bomb achieved gold across all three categories with the panel shouting it for being “easy drinking but complex enough to go back to” and its packaging “perfectly resonates with the liquid”.
In third place, another dram from the Loch Lomond Distillery. Spearhead is the only single grain whisky to make the top five, being awarding gold in the tasting for its “fruity, light and delicious” grain character.
In fourth, the list’s third Loch Lomond-owned brand. Glen Scotia Double Cask collected a gold in the design round for its “classic”, “sleek” and “elegant”.
In fifth, Highland Mountain, a blended malt owned by Alexadrion Saber, it was awarded gold in value for being "super accessible for a decent whisky".