The Scotch Whisky Masters 2014 results

With three new divisions – Grain, Flavoured and No Age Statement – starring in this year’s Scotch Whisky Masters, Becky Paskin reports on the category’s burgeoning creativity.

The Scotch Whisky Masters 2014 results illustrated the creativity present in the category

The Spirits Masters have always tended to reflect category trends, mirroring the rise and fall of fads, innovations and consumer preferences, but The Scotch Whisky Masters 2014 illustrated how the category is probably the most creative in the spirits industry, despite the regulations.

This year’s competition, which once again drew an outstanding number of entries from blends to single malts, featured three new categories that demonstrate Scotch’s versatility, as well as its marketers’ creativity in spreading its allure to new drinkers. For the first time, The Scotch Whisky Masters featured the No Age Statement, Single Grain and controversial Flavoured categories, all of which have been steadily expanding over the last 12 months – some at a faster rate than others. Regardless of the relative sizes of the categories right now, their appearance in this competition made for a very interesting day of judging.

With over 140 entries to sample on the day, our team of expert, independent judges were divided into three teams, each of which was headed by myself, Joel Harrison or Neil Ridley, both co-founders of whisky consultancy Caskstrength. Joining Ridley were Karen Taylor of the blog Whisky For Everyone and Tobias Gorn of The Whisky Shop, while Alwynne Gwilt, aka Miss Whisky, and Pepijn Vanden Abeele of The Coburg Bar at The Connaught joined Harrison. On my team were Billy Abbott of The Whisky Exchange, Matt Chambers of The Whisky Shop and Shane Lee Safi of Spice Market in London’s West End, the venue of choice for the day’s very much anticipated proceedings.

As usual, the day began with the blends, with the Standard fare up first to mine and Ridley’s teams. Blended whisky is tarnished with a very unfair reputation of being a substandard form of Scotch, and although our judges were armed with a thorough knowledge of the category, they were nonetheless pleasantly surprised by the depth and complexity displayed in the Standard entries.

Billy Abbott of The Whisky Exchange and Matt Chambers of The Whisky Shop inspect the whiskies’ appearance and nose before getting stuck into the important part – the taste

“I’m extremely impressed with the quality of these blends, which is very high considering you can buy these for just £10-£20,” The Whisky Shop’s Matt Chambers enthused, while Whisky For Everyone’s Karen Taylor added: “An interesting spectrum – there were some lovely easy drinkers here through to some quite complex styles.”

The category was awarded an impressive nine medals in total, of which two were Masters, given to William Grant & Sons’ Grant’s Voyager and John Dewar & Sons’ William Lawson’s Finest Blend. The love continued into the Premium and SuperPremium Blends flights, with five Masters awarded between the two. While the majority went to the more expensive entries – Johnnie Walker Blue and Platinum each picking up the highest accolade – the judges were extremely happy with the quality available mid-range. “The premium blend category highlights the genius of today’s whisky blenders,” said Taylor.

“These whiskies offered complexity and character for a price that we can afford.” In the aged blends, praise has to be bestowed upon the 13-18-year-old flight, which was described by Harrison as “a very tight category with a lot of skill going into the blending”. The round attracted three Golds and three Silvers – the most medals of the aged blends. However the two other categories held their own, each attracting two Masters for Grant’s 12 and 25 Year Old, and Ballantine’s 12 and 30 Year Old. “There were some very good whiskies here,” exclaimed Abbott. “Some hold their age well and show whisky quality isn’t just for the single malt market. Malt snobbery is waning a little bit.”

That said, it was time to move onto the single malts, which were divided mostly by age and region. Again, it was the younger entries from across Scotland that impressed our judges the most. The first round up, the Speyside up to 12 Year Old, drew seven medals, with the only Master going to tried and tested favourite Glenfiddich 12 Year Old. “This shows the fact that younger single malts can still blow it out of the water,” reflected Gwilt. “Well done to all the entries.”

But it was the Speyside aged 13-18-year-olds that caught our judges’ attention, particularly Ridley, who described the round as being “the real stars of the show”. The Whisky Shop’s Gorn concurred, adding: “What an outstanding line-up with some wonderfully surprising, well-rounded whiskies. At this age, there really are some hidden gems.” The round was awarded 11 medals in total, with two Masters going to William Grant & Sons’ Glenfiddich 18 Year Old, and Diageo’s Singleton of Dufftown 15 Year Old, which was described by the judges as “smooth and sweet” and “very fruity on the palate with a good balance”.

The judges were split into three teams to tackle the 140+ Scotch whiskies entered this year

The enthusiasm for Speyside was shortlived however, as we moved into the 18-25-year-old category. While all the entries here were perfectly great whiskies, the teams couldn’t help feeling a touch disappointed. “There was nothing out of place here, but at the price point of a 25-year-old whisky you expect something a bit more special,” said Gorn. “Perhaps there wasn’t that ‘wow’ factor we’ve experienced so far in the competition”. The round drew a total of seven medals, with the highest accolade going to William Grant & Sons’ Glenfiddich 21 Year Old.

The sentiment was again carried through to the Speyside 25-year-old and above round, which despite also being awarded seven medals, failed to illicit much gusto from the judges. “This category proves that age is just a number, especially when you put these next to the younger categories where the real gems shone through,” explained Ridley. Perhaps the underwhelmed response was in part down to a sub-conscious expectation of higher quality from the older – and subsequently more expensive – whiskies, as not one drew a Master medal. “I’d consider Masters for some of these but not enough to push it,” Abbott added. “To be a Master you really need to stand out from the crowd.”

The selection of whiskies that truly made their mark was the Speyside No Age Statement entries, which delighted the judges with its vast range of styles. With no price point or age preconceptions to pin the liquid against, these entries were scrutinised on their aroma and flavour alone. While two Masters, two Golds and four Silvers were awarded, the judges were eager to see more entries in this burgeoning category. “I expected to see more no age statement whiskies as this is one of the biggest current trends in the industry,” explained Chambers. “However, I’m sure this category will expand over the coming years and many more of them will win prizes.”

The Speyside entries exhausted, our judges moved into other regions of Scotland, beginning with the Highlands & Islands, which immediately struck the judges as demonstrating more diversity than the Speyside lot. “There was a huge amount of varied flavour profiles and quality, but in a good way,” Abbott observed. “Comparing spicy and sweet whiskies to smoky whiskies with subtle stuff in between was a challenge, but they were all nice nonetheless.”

The judges. Back row left to right: Matt Chambers (Whisky Shop & Whisky for Everyone); Karen Taylor (Whisky for Everyone); Neil Ridley (Caskstrength); Pepijn Vanden Abeele (Coburg Bar, Connaught Hotel); Shane Lee Safi (Spice Market); Alwynne Gwilt (Miss Whisky); Billy Abbott (The Whisky Exchange); Joel Harrison (Caskstrength). Front row left to right: Tobias Gorn (Whisky Shop); Becky Paskin (The Spirits Business)

Once again the category confirmed the quality standard of younger whiskies, with the majority of medals across the region awarded to the under 12-year-olds. Meanwhile, Diageo’s The Singleton brand drew its second and third Masters of the day for its Glen Ord 15- and 18-year-old expressions. The Highlands & Islands No Age Statement whiskies continued to impress also, with Highland Park’s Harald, Svein and Einar gaining accolades along with Burn Stewart’s Deanston Virgin Oak.

Skipping across the water to Islay, the competition attracted disappointingly few entries, although those present were described as “inspiring”. Across the age and NAS brackets, a Master was awarded to Lagavulin 16 Year Old and Bunnahabhain Toiteach, the latter of which was named the outstanding whisky of the day by one judge. Among the Islay Special Editions, Ardbeg’s latest limited release Auriverdes attracted a Gold for its “sweet cured bacon and peaty wine gums” flavours, and was subsequently declared a favourite by Harrison.

Reflective of its small number of distilleries, the Lowlands categories featured very few entries, although every one was awarded a medal. Diageo’s Glenkinchie 12 Year Old was given a Gold for its “honeyed, white fruit and rounded flavour”, which the judges felt “is what people come to expect of this region”. The final two entries were from a burgeoning category not seen before in The Scotch Whisky Masters. A 25- and 30-year-old from William Grant & Sons’ Girvan Distillery rounded off the Lowlands category with a flourish. Although not entered specifically as grain whiskies, the judges were informed of the style, and their preconceptions of the category were utterly smashed. “Grain has a tendency to be wholly inconsistent, but these proved that the quality is there with real flair,” Ridley enthused. While still a tiny category in general filled with a smattering of independent brands and a collaboration between a certain footballer and large drinks group, the Scotch Whisky Masters judges were convinced from these two entries that grain whisky has a bright future ahead. “On the strength of this there is huge potential for the category to grow,” Gorn added.

The final round of the day – and arguably the most contentious, was the flavoured “Scotch” round. It must be stressed that despite a raft of new launches of late, there was just a single entry here, from John Dewar & Sons’ William Lawson’s Super Spiced. Similar in its way to a spiced rum, the spirit drink had a sweet, vanilla-forward flavour profile with a hint of lime and spice and the taste of Scotch whisky in the background. It was awarded a Silver, and perhaps demonstrates Scotch’s ability – as is the case with many other spirit categories – to carry added flavour well. As the day drew to a close, the judges were elated by the competition’s reinforcement of the choice and high standard to be found in Scotland’s whisky industry. “Repeatedly, it was the younger whiskies that surprised and delighted,” summated Gwilt. “It truly illustrated the fact consumers can access excellent whisky across the board.”

With so much innovation emerging from the Scotch category, from creative marketing to new flavours and styles – however abstract – suffice to say next year’s competition looks even more exciting than this one.

Click through the following pages to discover The Scotch Whisky Masters 2014.