Here are the most important results of this fifth edition:

Best Single Malt Whisky:
Yamazaki 1984
Best Blended Whisky:
Hibiki 21 years
Best Blended Malt Whisky: 
James Martin’s 30 years 
Best American Whiskey:
Parker’s Heritage 10yo wheated bourbon
Best Canadian Whisky:
Wiser’s Legacy
Best Grain Whisky:
Greenore 15 years

Congratulations to Suntory for winning the big prize with their partly Mizunara-matured Yamazaki 1984. Don’t rush out to buy it though – unless you have a spare € 600. Hibiki 21yo and Greenore 15yo are winning in the same categories as last year.

Amongst the subcategory winners (Best Speyside, Best Islay…) are Glenfarclas 40yo, Glenmorangie Signet, Bowmore Tempest, Redbreast 15yo…

I was wondering… Yamazaki 1984 was released in July 2009. It won Silver at the 2009 Malt Maniacs Awards. How far can you go back in time for 2011 awards? I’m sure they’ll find an explanation (it was launched in Zimbabwe last January?) but still it wears away the concept of choosing the best product of the past 12 months. The same goes for Glenmorangie Signet, launched in 2008. Sigh, awards…

Best Single Malt Whisky: Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Best Blended Whisky: Hibiki 21 Years Old
Best Blended Malt Whisky: Taketsuru 21 Years Old
Best American Whiskey: Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 proof
Best Whisky Liqueur: Wild Turkey American Honey
Best Grain Whisky: Greenore 15 Years Old
Best New Release: Parker’s Heritage Collection Golden Anniversary

This year’s winners are probably less common than in previous editions. Rittenhouse is a rye whiskey, Greenore 15yo normally doesn’t get high scores (apart from Bert Bruyneel who gives it a consistently high score) and most of the American whiskeys can be pretty hard to find in Europe anyway.

Is Ardbeg Corryvreckan really the best single malt whisky of last year? I’m afraid not (at least not for me), but bear in mind that the World Whisky Awards only score high yield releases with a big focus on official bottlings. It would have been nice to publish a list of all the entries to get a better idea of the competition.

Best Whisky Liqueur: Wild Turkey American Honey
Best grain whisky: Compass Box Hedonism
Best new release: Highland Park 40 years old
Best blended malt: Taketsuru 21 years old
Best American whisky: Thomas H. Handy Sazerac
Best single malt whisky: Highland Park 21 years old

This year, the crown jewels for best single malt have returned to Scotland, after being in Japan in 2008 (for their Yoichi 20y). I’m sure Highland Park 21y is a very decent malt, although I haven’t tried it. I have a bottle that’s still closed. This seems like a good opportunity to open it and see what the fuzz is all about. If you want one yourself, you’ll have to travel, since it’s only available in travel retail.

Other prize winners in some of the sub-categories: Tyrconnell single cask as the best Irish single malt, Lagavulin 16y as best Islay peated malt, Glenlivet Archive 21y as the best Speysider, Mackmyra First Edition as best “Other” single malt… In fact, there are so many sub-categories that your favourite malt has probably won some prize or another!