The World’s Best Single Malt Scotch—According To The 2024 San Francisco World Spirits Competition

Last month we were the first to report on the finalists for Top Shelf, a major industry event that serves as a sort of Oscars for the booze trade. After a weekend of tastings and master classes, the extravaganza culminates in a black tie gala where we finally get to see who won the top honors at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition—across a whopping 71 separate categories.

Well, that evening just came and went with much fanfare inside a packed ballroom at the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown SF. Today it’s time we had a closer look at what was revealed as the best single malt scotch for 2024: Talisker 45 Year Old Glacial Edge. The ultra-luxe tipple, which undergoes an innovative finishing technique involving ice-fractured barrels, was actually awarded the distinction of “Best In Show Whisky” as well as “Best In Show Brown Spirit.” In other words, there’s no aged liquor on shelves right now tastes better than this juice, according to the expert palates making up the prestigious competition.

So, yeah, it’s pretty special stuff. And pretty expensive, too. Currently, you can find it fetching as much as $5000 a bottle, online. Is it worth that hefty sum? All we can do is present you with a careful examination of what makes Talisker—and this particular expression—such a unique scotch as well as what wooed the judges about its specific flavors. Then, it’s up to you decide.

First, a bit of background on Talisker. The historic distillery first opened its doors all the way back in 1830, along the edges of Loch Harport, an inlet halfway up the western edge of the Isle of Skye. Its signature style of malt carries a subtly spicy, maritime brine, which rides a waxy mouthfeel into a drawn out peppery, pear-like finish. The weighty nature of its moderately-peated distillate can be attributed to a unique pot still set up: two wash stills and three spirit stills (most malt makers rely on a 1:1 ratio between those separate styles of vessel).

Today, the distillery’s flagship expression is a 10-year-old single malt that shouldn’t cost you more than $60 a bottle. It is often spotted alongside its 18-year-old sibling, which hovers around the $100 mark. Less frequently seen is a rich and robust 25-year-old that pulls toffee and sultana into the fray, thanks to partial maturation in European oak. It usually sells for roughly $600—a downright steal compared to our “Best In Show” recipient.

But make no mistake: Glacial Edge is by no means an everyday whisky. At 45 years in age, it’s Talisker’s oldest official release to date and there will only ever be 2,455 bottles of it in existence. The 99.6-proof liquid was finished in heavily charred American oak casks that were exposed to the extreme elements of the High Canadian Arctic. This exposure created “ice fractures” in the staves, allowing a four-decade-old malt to burrow deep into the surrounding wood as it sat for several more years. It is the ultimate release in the distillery’s Xpedition Oak series—which initially launched back in 2021.

We were taken aback by the remarkable balance this dram strikes; a bargain between sandalwood aromas, creamy vanilla textures, and a chili pepper palate. Here’s what the judges in San Francisco had to say in their official tasting notes:

“A beautifully intricate Single Malt Scotch with aromas of dried fruits, tobacco, and briny oak, leading to a creamy palate enriched with notes of oak, banana, vanilla, sea salt, black pepper, and a touch of citrus and the sea, finishing with an impressively long and vibrant finish.”

A compelling argument in favor of a $5000 offering—despite the fact that most people procuring it are likely keeping it unopened as a collector’s item. Nevertheless, it’s understandable that even ardent scotch enthusiasts aren’t prone to dropping that much on a single bottle. The good news here is that Talisker’s unique malt style also shows incredibly well at a far younger—and less expensive—age.

The most recent proof arrives in the form of Talisker 8 Year Old ‘Tidal Churn,’ part of the brand new Diageo Special Releases 2024 collection. This barrel strength offering is a complex case study in all the aforementioned hallmarks that make the distillery so revered: oily textures, orchard fruit, maritime smoke, lengthy, pepper-laden finish. All of it realized at less than $120 a bottle. That’s worthy of some form of medal in our book.