Corks pop in whisky face-off
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BATTLE lines have been drawn in an annual contest to find the best whiskies in Speyside.
Judges have selected eight finalists in the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival Awards and it's now down to the public to crown the best.
A panel of industry experts and drinks writers sampled dozens of drams from across the region, whittling the malts down into a shortlist that whisky fans will be able to sample in blind taste sessions across the UK, as well as in North America and Europe.
In the 12 year and under category, Benromach 10-year-old will go up against Cardhu 12-year-old, while in the contest for malts age 13 to 20 years, another Benromach – the 15-year-old – will battle it out with Glen Grant 15-year-old.
Glenlivet 21-year-old will take on Aultmore 21-year-old in the 21-year-old and over category, and in the non-age statement class it is a head-to-head between Tamdhu Daalbeallie Dram and Glen Moray Classic Cabernet Finish.
The awards are a key feature of the annual festival which takes place from May 1 until May 9 next year.
Festival director Julie Fraser said: "Yet again our distillers have blown apart the myth that a typical Speyside whisky exists. From floral to peated, the whole spectrum of flavour is here. We've been running the awards as part of the festival for many years now. They are different in that the winners are voted for by the whisky-drinking public and not by a panel. The eight finalists are truly outstanding drams."
Judging sessions take place at the festival itself but over the next few months a tour will take in cities including New York, Malmo, Cologne, Rome, Amsterdam and Paris, as well as Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and London.
