In a previous piece, we looked at the best single malts from each Scotch whisky region at the World Whiskies Awards 2026. Today, I’ve decided to take a closer look at one of those regions: Islay.
This is a small island with a very clear reputation. Islay is known for peat, coastal ageing, and a style that is often described as smoky, medicinal, and maritime. That identity still holds. However, Islay’s whisky identity is far from one-dimensional. There is actually a huge amount of variety and craft on show.
This year’s winners include a 21-year-old Bowmore shaped by long maturation and sherry casks, three very different Ardbeg releases that span age and intent, a tequila cask finish from Smokehead, and a supermarket Islay single malt.
So, let’s take a closer look at all of the Gold medal-winning Islay single malts from the World Whiskies Awards 2026, and what made them stand out.
Bowmore 21 Years Old Sherry Oak Cask
Award: World’s Best Single Malt, Best Scotch Islay Single Malt
Tasting Notes: “Super medicinal peat with TCP smoke with alcohol vapour. Palate balances medicinal peat, sweetness and warming winter spices into an evaporative finish.” – WWA Judges
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Find Your Next Bottle: $344
Bowmore is one of the island’s oldest names, founded in 1779, and it still does a few things the slower way. It remains one of the few Islay distilleries to retain elements of traditional floor malting, a labour intensive but necessary process according to Bowmore.
The distillery is also known for its measured approach to peat. Peat is very much present, but not the dominating force in the whisky.
For this award-winning whisky, moderately peated malt goes through fermentation in Oregon pine washbacks, which helps build a more rounded base. From there, the focus shifts to cask management.
The 21-year-old is matured in ex-bourbon and Oloroso casks, then finished in first-fill Pedro Ximénez.
It forms part of the Sherry Oak Collection launched in 2024 and is bottled at 46.8% ABV, with availability kept relatively tight.
Smokehead Tequila Cask Terminado
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Lightly peated, seaside notes mingle with meaty iodine, smoked fish, winey red fruits and vanilla. The taste layers cold bonfire embers, and dried fruits harmoniously, fading into a balanced, medium smoky finish.” – WWA Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: $51
Smokehead takes a different approach to most Islay whisky. It is owned and bottled by Ian Macleod Distillers, but the distillery behind the liquid is not disclosed.
That lack of transparency is deliberate. Smokehead has been positioned as a “mystery Islay” since its launch in 2006, with the focus placed on flavour and cask treatment rather than provenance.
The base spirit is still a peated Islay single malt. What sets this release apart is the finishing. The whisky is first matured in ex-bourbon casks before a period in tequila casks.
It is bottled at 43% ABV as a no-age-statement release and is widely available, sitting at the more accessible end of the category.
Ardbeg Wee Beastie
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Peaty smoke threads baked apple, golden syrup and underlying nuttiness through the nose with vanilla and grapefruit. The palate turns tangy with zesty salted caramel and fudge, as ashy earthiness balances neatly into a mineral, spicy, medium-length finish” – WWA Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: $42
Ardbeg Distillery has built its reputation on heavily peated whisky, and Wee Beastie strips that idea back to its essentials. First released in 2020, it was introduced as a permanent addition to the range rather than a limited experiment.
The production is classic Ardbeg. Malt peated to around 50 ppm is sourced from Port Ellen Maltings, then fermented for longer than average to develop complexity in the wash. Distillation is shaped by the purifier on the spirit still, which increases reflux and keeps the spirit from becoming too heavy. You can see how Ardbeg describes this process on its .
At five years old, maturation is necessarily straightforward. The whisky is drawn from ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks, chosen to support the spirit rather than reshape it.
Bottled at 47.4% ABV and non-chill filtered, Wee Beastie sits at the younger end of Islay, but it is not positioned as a compromise. Ardbeg calls the whisky “a monster of a dram”.
Ardbeg Anthology The Unicorn
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Beautiful peat and shiitake mushroom aromas drift with delicate cigar smoke across the nose. The palate unfolds creamy custard, sweet vanilla and savoury salted meats through stunning structure, resolving in balanced, smoky complexity.” – WWA Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: $125
Ardbeg Distillery returns here in a very different mood. The Unicorn’s Tale is part of the distillery’s Anthology series, a set of releases built around unusual cask combinations and a more narrative-led approach to bottling.
The production remains consistent with Ardbeg’s house style. Heavily peated malt, long fermentation, and the purifier on the still all play their part. But the maturation is very different to Wee Beastie.
This release is matured for 14 years in a combination of ex-bourbon and Madeira casks. Madeira is not a traditional choice for Islay whisky, but it has become more common in recent years as distilleries explore a wider range of finishes.
It was launched in 2024 as the second release in the Anthology series and bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill filtered.
Ardbeg Traigh Bhan Batch 7
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Toffee, salted caramel, and crème brûlée aromas create great sweet-savoury contrast on the nose. Plumy, umami barbecue sauce and pineapple wave through a complex palate balanced by sweet smoke. Good overall complexity.” – WWA Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: $284
The third Ardbeg in this lineup moves in another direction again. Traigh Bhan is a 19-year-old whisky released in batches, each one tied to a specific distillation period and cask selection. Batch 7 marks the final release in the series.
The production is unchanged at its core. Over time, though, the role of the cask becomes more pronounced.
This whisky is matured in a combination of ex-bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks. At 19 years old, the interaction between spirit and wood is more integrated, with the cask shaping the structure rather than simply supporting it.
Batch 7 was distilled in 2006 and bottled in 2025, giving it a clear timeline that connects production to release. It is bottled at 50.3% ABV and non-chill filtered.
As the final batch, it closes a series that focused on age, consistency, and transparency rather than experimentation.
Ben Bracken Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Award: Gold
Tasting Notes: “Peaty, smoky TCP notes mingle with vanilla toffee, soft fudge and hints of coconut on the nose. The palate integrates gentle peat alongside crumbly sweetness and drying wood spice, easing into a balanced, faintly warm medium finish.” – WWA Judges
Find Your Next Bottle: £20
Ben Bracken sits at a very different end of the market. It is an own-label whisky sold through Lidl Great Britain Limited, with production linked to Whyte & Mackay. The distillery itself is not disclosed.
There is very little technical detail published. No age statement, no clear cask information, and no indication of peat level beyond what you would expect from an Islay whisky.
The whisky is bottled at 40% ABV and designed for wide retail availability.
Its inclusion here is notable. An undisclosed, supermarket Islay single malt has taken a gold medal alongside some of the most recognisable names on the island.
Closing Thoughts
This is a small group of whiskies, but it covers a lot of ground.
Islay is still defined by peat and coastal maturation. Those fundamentals have not changed.
But, the way each whisky is made shows that one little island with very few distilleries can still produce a huge variety of whisky, even within the traditional framework of Islay.
Bowmore builds around age and careful cask selection. Ardbeg shows three distinct expressions of the same distillery, from five years old through to 19. Smokehead brings in a tequila cask finish, while Ben Bracken keeps things simple and widely available.
All of them come from the same island. The methods are familiar. The results are not.
Have you tried any of the award winners from this year? Or do you think other whiskies should have been honoured by the World Whiskies Awards? Let us know in the comments.
