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The top 10 best value for money spirits in Asia

There’s no doubt that Asia is a key region for the long-term development of the global alcohol industry. We reveal the top 10 best value for money brands on the market.

SB names the 10 best value for money spirits in the Asian market

The Spirits Business held its annual Asian Spirits Masters last month, where an experienced panel of judges recognised the best bottlings in the business.

Looking across multiple categories, from Tequila to World Whisky, a wide range of spirits were awarded the top accolades of Master and Gold medals for their quality.

The individual scores of each entrant have not been revealed, however these are five of the highest rated medalists in the competition, in no particular order.

While some expressions are not standard priced, our judges have given each spirit listed here the seal of approval for offering excellent quality within their respective price categories.

Click through to the following pages to view the top 10 best value for money spirits in Asia of 2018.

Big Peat

Price: £42.00

Independent Scotch whisky bottler Douglas Laing & Co grabbed a Master medal in the Scotch Whisky – Blended – No Age Statement flight for its Big Peat expression.

The expression is described as a “marriage of malt whiskies” from Islay including Caol Ila, Bowmore, Ardbeg and Port Ellen. Bottled at 46% abv, Big Peat is produced without colouring or chill-filtration.

One judge said: “It’s remarkable that you get so much freshness and a pronounced citrus flavour. It’s really well integrated and balanced. I was surprised by how flavoured it was because it’s so pale.”

Laphroaig 10 Year Old

Price: £36.00

Judges praised Laphroaig 10 Year Old for having “lovely bittersweet maltiness” and “maritime smoke” flavour, giving it a Master medal in the Scotch Whisky – Single Malt – Age Statement round.

To make Laphroaig, malted barley is dried over a peat fire. According to the brand’s website, the smoke from the peat gives Laphroaig its “particularly rich flavour”.

Purity Vodka 17

Price: US$29.00

Purity Vodka 17, praised for its “balance of vegetal and sweet notes”, was awarded a Master medal in the Microdistillery and Smooth flights.

The Swedish vodka maker also picked up awards in the Organic, Ultra Premium, Ultra, Premium, Europe and Scandinavia rounds.

Glengoyne 30 Year Old

Price: £650.00

Awarded a Master medal in the Scotch Whisky – Single Malt – Age Statement flight was Glengoyne 30 Year Old. The expression impressed with its “creamy palate” and notes of “Christmas cake spice”. One judge added: “This is a stand out whisky.”

Produced by Ian Macleod Distillers, the expression has been aged in Sherry casks for 30 years.

The Lost Distillery Company – Jericho Archivist

Price: £59.95

The Lost Distillery Company was bestowed a Gold medal in the Scotch Whisky – Blended – No Age Statement round.

“This was very fruity and it had a lovely, rich Sherriness, but it wasn’t overpowering,” said one judge.

The Lost Distillery Company creates blended Scotch whisky inspired by the flavour profiles of closed distilleries,

The expression is part of the producer’s Archivist collection of blended malt Scotch whiskies – styled on the silent Jericho Distillery in Nether Jericho, Aberdeenshire, which closed in 1913 due to its isolated location.

Neptune Rum Gold

Price: £34.95

In the Rum round, a Gold medal was given to Neptune Rum Gold. “I like the rich sweet notes of burnt sugar on the palate,” said one judge, while another enjoyed the rum’s “edge of sharpness”.

Neptune Rum Gold is aged for three years in American Bourbon casks at the distillery, based on the southern slopes of Barbados.

Sierra Milenario Tequila Fumado

Price: £55.40

German spirits producer Borco was awarded a Gold medal in the Tequila flight for its Sierra Milenario Tequila Fumado.

Judges commended the expression for having the “wow factor”, with a character that is a mix between “unaged mezcal and Frazzles crisps”.

Created at the family-owned distillery Sierra Unidas in Jalisco, Sierra Milenario Tequila Fumado is said to have “exceptional notes of smokiness” due to the“unique” ahumado process with mesquite wood.

Tamdhu Batch Strength 003

Price: £59.99

Grabbing a Gold medal in the Scotch Whisky – Single Malt – No Age Statement round was Ian Macleod Distillers’s Tamdhu Batch Strength 003.

The expression, praised for its “great balance” and “full flavour”, is the third bottling in the Batch Strength Series.

Batch Strength 003 (58.3% abv) is bottled un-chill-filtered and matured in Sherry oak casks.

Laphroaig Select

Price: £33.00

Beam Suntory-owned Laphroaig Select was given a Gold medal in the Scotch Whisky – Single Malt – No Age Statement flight.

The judges were impressed by the expression’s “pollen­-honey drizzle-­cake effect”.

Laphroaig Select is made from selected casks of each of the brand’s key styles: quarter cask, PX cask and triple Wood (oloroso Sherry) and a final addition of 10 Year Old. It then goes through a final maturation in American oak casks – rarely used for Scotch whisky.

Penderyn Peated

Price: £47.77

The Welsh Whisky Company’s Penderyn Peated won plaudits for its “pleasing dry finish”, grabbing a Gold medal in the World Whisky round.

The expression has been aged in ex-Bourbon barrels and ex-peated Scotch whisky casks.

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