The Best Small Batch Single Malt Scotch According To The 2025 World Whiskies Awards

In this feature on the recent results, we turn our focus to the Small Batch Single Malt winners from Scotland.
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The category winners at the World Whiskies Awards Scotland 2025 were announced recently. These category-winning whiskies will go on to compete in the global World Whiskies Awards this March following the completion of other regional competitions in places such as the USA, France, Ireland, Canada, Japan, and Rest of World. In this feature on the recent results, we turn our focus to the Small Batch Single Malt winners from Scotland.

Each whisky stands out for its distinctive character, categorized by age and region, showcasing the diversity and depth of scotch whisky. From the mineral smokiness of a Highlands malt to the bold sherry influences of an Islay veteran, these winners clearly made waves at the 2025 World Whiskies Awards.

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Glenlaird Lightly Peated 12 Year Old

Category: Small Batch Single Malt Scotch
Age: 12 Years & Under
Region: Highlands
Tasting Notes: Light mineral smoke, green apple, liquorice, butterscotch sweetness, spice
BUY NOW: $70

Glenlaird 12 Year Old is produced by Stravaig Spirits, the independent bottler also famed for its Tri Carragh range. The Glenlaird range, which also includes a 10 Year Old expression, is a celebration of the Scottish Highlands. 

The name ‘Glenlaird’ is a portmanteau of the words ‘Glen’ – the Scots Gaelic word for ‘valley’ – and ‘Laird’ – the historic name for an owner of these vast lands. According to the brand website, “Glenlaird pays homage to these great landscapes and traditions, showcasing the diverse range of flavours that Highland Single Malt Scotch is known for.” 

Distilled at an undisclosed Highland distillery, the Glenlaird 12 Year Old is a small batch release bottled at 48% ABV. 

Each batch is selected through blind tasting, ensuring that no biases are born from knowing the origin of the single malt. The batches are also entirely unique. Once they’re gone, they’re gone. 

Isle of Raasay Dùn Cana — Sherry Quarter Cask Release: Second Edition

Category: Small Batch Single Malt Scotch
Age: No Age Statement
Region: Islands (Non-Islay)
Tasting Notes: Dried fruit, sultanas, vanilla, toffee, roasted nuts, white pepper, sea salt, wood smoke
BUY NOW: $95

Dùn Cana Sherry Quarter Cask Release has become a firm favorite of whisky enthusiasts since the release of the first edition, which was named ‘The World’s Best Single Malt Scotch Whisky 2024’ by Forbes. 

The second edition whisky is named after the highest point on the Isle of Raasay, the distillery’s Hebridean home. It is crafted using Isle of Raasay distillery’s signature distillation regime, which is also used to produce ‘Na Sia’, the brand’s flagship single malt. 

Peated and unpeated malt is matured separately in ex-American rye casks before being combined and finished for six months in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry quarter casks. The use of smaller quarter casks, which hold approximately 125 liters, enhances the interaction between the whisky and the wood, effectively accelerating the maturation process.

Speaking about the whisky at the time of release, Master Distiller Alasdair Day said: “The Dùn Cana Sherry Quarter Cask Release is a great addition to our core product offering at Isle of Raasay Distillery, as it allows further discovery into our style of whisky making whilst presenting the spirit with a distinctively different cask influence than our Signature Single Malt. We were overwhelmed with the positive response last year, selling out in record time to our Slàinte Club and growing global audience. We look forward to bringing future editions of Dùn Cana to our loyal fans.”

Holyrood Distillery Ambir 

Category: Small Batch Single Malt Scotch
Age: No Age Statement
Region: Lowlands
Tasting Notes: Caramel, creamy fudge, Demerara sugar, Scottish tablet, red fruits, vanilla, cornflakes, biscuit
BUY NOW: $75

Ambir, from Holyrood Distillery, showcases the power of different malt types. Distilled from four different types of malted barley (chocolate malt, Vienna malt, crystal 240, and caramalt) Ambir was created to display “those velvety textures and sweet flavours that you get from using specialty malts,” according to the brand. 

The brand website states: “The mindset for Ambir was to create a deliciously sticky and sweet single malt expression, using our knowledge of Specialty Malts and yeasts. A harmonious balance of sweet malts, and fruity yeasts, wrapped in a blanket of warming, spicy vanilla from bourbon barrels.” 

Fermented using 10 different strains of yeast (which you can see here), the whisky was matured in a combination of first and second-fill bourbon casks, Spanish Oloroso butts, and Spanish Oloroso hogsheads. 

The resulting single malt displays a beautiful amber hue, hence the name ‘Ambir’, from the Scots for ‘amber’. 

Ambir is the third single malt release from Holyrood Distillery. The second release, Embra, was also honored at the World Whiskies Awards Scotland 2025

Whisky Of Voodoo Mask Of Death Batch #2 

Category: Small Batch Single Malt Scotch
Age: 12 Years & Under
Region: Speyside
Tasting Notes: Candied almonds, rosewater, dried flowers, honey, poppy seeds
BUY NOW: $95

The Whisky Of Voodoo range, by Brave New Spirits, is a range containing small batch single malt and single grain whiskies that are designed to “entice and enchant”. According to the brand website, Whisky Of Voodoo is: “A range of delectable drams is created to lure and fascinate its tribe! Casting flavour spells and incantation. With each drop, from casks and distilleries handpicked by a select few, the Whisky of Voodoo conjures magic and mystery.”

Matured and finished in specially selected casks, each batch is bottled at natural cask strength. 

Brave New Spirits does not declare the distillery of origin on the labels of these whiskies, but has revealed that Mask Of Death Batch #2 is a 10 Year Old single malt scotch from Dailuaine Distillery in Speyside. It was matured in bourbon barrels and bottled at 55% ABV. 

Brave New Spirits, a Glasgow-based independent bottler and blender of Scotch whisky, was established in 2020. 

The company quickly gained recognition for its innovative releases, including the Whisky of Voodoo, Cask Noir, and Yellow Edition brands. In 2023, they expanded their UK distribution network by opening a new bonded warehouse in Glasgow.

Bunnahbahain 40 Year Old Rare Find Gleann Mor

Category: Small Batch Single Malt Scotch
Age: 21 Years & Over
Region: Islay
Tasting Notes: Citrus, tangerines, Seville orange marmalade, apples, pastry drizzled in syrup, nougat, red berries, tropical fruits, shortbread, ginger, lemon
BUY NOW: $1,100

This 40 Year Old whisky distilled at the Bunnahabhain Distillery on Islay, was selected and bottled by independent bottler Gleann Mor for its Rare Find range. Specially selected by Greg Urquhart, the whisky is a vatting of five refill sherry casks from Bunnahabhain. It was distilled in 1980 and bottled at 45.2% ABV. 

Gleann Mor Spirits has been bottling Rare Find whiskies since 2015. Each Rare Find whisky is unique and unrepeatable, making the releases inherently rare. According to the Rare Find Whisky website: “From the millions of casks maturing in Scotland, only a small percentage are destined for single malt bottlings, and from those, only the best become a Rare Find.” 

Bunnahabain Distillery is perhaps best known for subverting the expectations of Islay by tending to stay away from the traditional heavily-peated whiskies associated with the island. The distillery produces a lighter style of whisky and is notable for its sherry cask maturation. 

Beth Squires

Beth Squires joined Mark Littler Ltd full-time in October 2020 after completing her university degree in English Literature. Since then, she has acquired extensive knowledge about all aspects of whisk(e)y and now holds the position of Deputy Editor at The Whiskey Wash. Beth is passionate about history, industry innovation, marketing, and sustainability. With a special fondness for independently bottled rare scotch, Beth also serves as a whisky bottle investment specialist.

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