This Is the Whisky of the Year, According to IWC 2025

Results from one of the world’s most rigorous spirits competitions are in, and a Taiwanese single malt has been awarded the title of best whisky of the year. 

Kavalan’s Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky earned the highest score of 97.04 points at the 2025 International Whisky Competition (IWC). The competition is judged in a double-blind format, with only one spirit evaluated at a time. No information about origin, category, or ABV is provided during judging. Scores are based on sight, nose, taste, and finish.

Kavalan Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask is distilled, aged, and bottled in Taiwan, with flavors influenced by the Spanish Fino Sherry casks used in maturation. The whisky is bottled at cask strength, typically between 50 and 59.9% ABV. It is non-chill filtered and bottled in its natural color. With its top score, this expression in the Kavalan Solist line also received awards for Best World Whisky and Best Single Malt Whisky.

According to brand tasting notes, the whisky begins with a “rich aroma of sherry, with its creamy toffee and rich fudge qualities and the slightest hint of chocolate.” The palate exhibits an early natural sweetness and flavors of fudge, alongside complex fruit notes including mango, ripe citrus, and green apple. The finish is long and rounded. 

In addition to Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask, Kavalan’s Solist Manzanilla Sherry Single Cask also made it into the top 10 of the competition, finishing 9th overall with 95.78 points. Thanks to its high-performing entrants this year, Kavalan received the prestigious Distillery of the Year award, “[a]warded to the distillery with the highest overall score, based on a weighted formula that factors in both product quality and portfolio representation.” And Zerose Yang, Kavalan’s head of research and development, was awarded Distiller of the Year. 

Fast Facts: Kavalan Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky 

ABV: 50-59.9% (varies by cask)

Origin: Kavalan Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask Strength Single Malt Whisky is a single malt entirely distilled, aged, and bottled in Taiwan. Kavalan started operations in Yilan County, Taiwan, in 2005 and distilled its first whisky in 2006. The Solist series was first introduced in 2009, and the initial Solist Fino Sherry Single Cask was released in 2010.

Price: Varies by retailer and region, roughly $180–$450 in the United States.

IWC judging took place earlier this year in Louisville, Kentucky, at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience and Louisville’s Thoroughbred Society. The competition started in 2010, with the current format introduced in 2015. IWC judges award only three medals — one each of Gold, Silver, and Bronze — per category. 

The second-highest-ranked whisky of the year was A. Smith Bowman Cask Strength (Batch #4), a Virginia straight bourbon. The top 10 whiskies from this year’s competition are listed below.