The Highlands Scotch whisky region has always been a broad church. You can move from soft, honeyed whiskies to something with a touch of smoke or a bit more weight without ever leaving the region. The World Whiskies Awards 2026 recognised some of these producers with gold medals.Â
Loch Lomond Distillery appears again and again, which is hardly surprising given its ability to produce a wide range of distillates from one site. It has quietly become one of the most consistent performers in competitions, picking up “most awarded distillery” at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in both 2023 and 2024.Â
Alongside that, Aberfeldy Distillery takes the top Highland title with a whisky that plays to its strengths, while Knockdhu Distillery earns a welcome place on the list with anCnoc.
So, today we are taking a look at the whiskies that grabbed gold — how they were made, and what stood out.Â
Before we get into the individual whiskies, do you agree with these results, or would you have picked something else?
Aberfeldy 21 Year Old
Award: Best Scotch Highland Single Malt
Must Read Stories
Tasting Notes: “Tangy kiwi, blackcurrant, fizzy apple sweets, and lemon sherbet dominate the vibrant nose with wax and chocolate. Palate mirrors blackcurrant, apple along with elderflower, honeycomb, raisin, fig and tropical fruit. Spicy, balanced, smoke-laced finish lingers” – WWA JudgesÂ
Find Your Next Bottle: $190
I have always had a soft spot for this whisky, and this result feels well deserved. Aberfeldy Distillery has built its reputation on a light, honeyed style, and the 21 Year Old delivers that in full. It is generous without being heavy, and unusually easy to enjoy for something with this much age.
The distillery’s character comes from long fermentation and relatively slow distillation, which helps create those soft, fruity notes before the spirit even reaches cask. From there, a mix of bourbon barrels and sherry casks adds sweetness and depth.
Considering its age, this whisky is still extremely approachable and gentle. This is not a whisky chasing intensity or complexity for its own sake. It is simply well made, balanced, and genuinely enjoyable to drink, which is probably why it continues to resonate.
Loch Lomond 18 Year Old
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Heather honey, field florals, and dusty briars dominate the nose with malt sugars, ripe fruits, warm spices, raisins and delicate peat. Prominent cask-driven sweet wine palate balances honeyed grain, lychee, mango, caramel, and tannins. Well-aged, clean.” – WWA JudgesÂ
Find Your Next Bottle: $112
If Aberfeldy represents consistency, this is where Loch Lomond Distillery shows its range. The 18 Year Old sits firmly in the more traditional end of its portfolio, but it still carries the fingerprints of how the distillery operates.
Loch Lomond is unusual in that it can produce different styles of spirit using both swan neck pot stills and its straight neck, or Lomond-style stills. Combined with long fermentation, that gives it a lot of control over how fruity or weighty the spirit becomes before maturation.Â
The spirit is then matured in a combination of American oak casks, including refill and re-charred wood, which adds structure without masking the distillery character. The result is a whisky that feels composed rather than showy, with fruit, honey, and a gentle touch of smoke all sitting comfortably together.
Loch Lomond Steam & Fire
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Gentle, open aromas of custard, citrus zest and fresh fruit meet measured peat and coastal salt. The palate stays clean and malty, with soft sweetness and agave-like savoury smoke, before tropical fruit and saline peat drift on.” – WWA Judges
Find Your Next Bottle:Â $36
This is a good example of how Loch Lomond Distillery uses those different still types to produce unique whiskies.Â
Loch Lomond Steam & Fire is made from a mix of spirit styles, thanks to the distillery’s use of both swan neck and straight neck stills, and then matured in American oak before a finishing period in heavily charred casks. Those casks are prepared on site, which is worth noting, as very few distilleries in Scotland maintain their own cooperage.
In the glass, there is a clear sense of sweetness from the oak, alongside a darker, slightly smoky edge from the heavy char. It is a great representation of the breadth of styles that Loch Lomond can produce.Â
Loch Lomond Waypoint – Falls of Falloch
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Malt, green apple and ripe tropical fruit dominate the nose with a background oak, warm spices as well as olive oil salinity. The malty palate balances fruit, spices, sourdough pastry, delicate peat, in an oily body. Clean, complex, faultless, easy-sipping.” – WWA Judges
Find Your Next Bottle:Â $103
This sits slightly apart from the rest of the range. The Waypoint series from Loch Lomond Distillery is built around places in and around the distillery, and this release takes its name from Falls of Falloch.
It starts with an unpeated spirit, distilled in the more traditional swan neck stills, before spending most of its life in ex-bourbon casks. The interesting part comes at the end, where it is finished for a year in Cognac casks, adding a slightly different layer without changing the whisky completely.
What comes through is still very much Loch Lomond. There is that familiar fruitiness and softness, but with a little more richness around the edges. It feels like a more considered release, something designed to show a slightly different side of the distillery rather than just reinforce the core style.
anCnoc 10 Year Old Peated
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Pu-erh tea, peaty malt, and vanilla fudge and fresh pears on the nose. Medium to full body delivers thick, creamy, fudgy taste with banana and toasted sourdough. Delicious complexity offers pleasant structure and balanced flavours.” – WWA Judges
Find Your Next Bottle:Â $60
This is probably the bottle on the list that fewer people will have come across, which makes its inclusion all the more interesting. anCnoc is produced at Knockdhu Distillery, a distillery that has been quietly doing its thing since 1894 without ever making too much noise about it.
There is a strong sense of continuity here. The water still comes from Knock Hill, and the stills remain true to their original design, with tall, narrow necks that help create a lighter, fresher spirit. That character is still at the core of this whisky, even with the addition of peat.
The peat itself is handled with a fairly light touch, sitting alongside the fruit. It makes for a whisky that feels balanced and easy to get into, and it is genuinely nice to see a distillery like this getting some recognition.
Highland Whisky in 2026: Consistency, Range, and a Few Quiet Surprises
There is a clear theme running through this year’s Highland results, even if the whiskies themselves are quite different. Loch Lomond Distillery dominates the list, which is not especially surprising given how much control it has over its production and how many styles it can produce from a single site.
At the same time, Aberfeldy Distillery shows that doing one thing well still counts for a lot. The 21 Year Old does not try to be everything at once, it simply delivers a style that is consistent, approachable, and very easy to enjoy.Â
Then there is Knockdhu Distillery, which offers a reminder that there are still distilleries operating slightly under the radar, producing whisky that can stand alongside much bigger names.
Do you agree with the results from this year’s World Whiskies Awards, or would you have picked something else?
