The New York International Spirits Competition has announced its 2026 results, and today we are looking at single malt Scotch. The competition is judged entirely by trade buyers, who taste every entry blind and assess it “by its category and actual price as if buying it for their business.” A Double Gold is only awarded when the panel’s decision is unanimous.
Eight single malts took Double Gold this year, all with a score of 96. They range from a Speyside malt in the $40-or-less price band to a 25 year old Highland whisky in the $101-plus band.
So, here are the best single malt Scotch whiskies according to the New York International Spirits Competition 2026.
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Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask Finish
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch, Speyside, Up to 10 years ($40-Less)
Tasting Notes: Spicy apple and pear, key lime pie, cinnamon sugar, caramelised tropical fruits, ground pepper, sweet vanilla, tropical fruit
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READ THE STORYFind Your Next Bottle: £30 / $31
Glen Moray is the only winner from the $40-or-less price band. The distillery began life as the Elgin West Brewery, and its first spirit ran from the stills on September 13, 1897. Macdonald & Muir (now The Glenmorangie Company Ltd), the firm behind Glenmorangie, bought it in the 1920s, and it stayed within the Glenmorangie business until its sale to La Martiniquaise in 2008.
Launched in January 2016, the Chardonnay Cask Finish is matured in American oak before spending several months in Chardonnay casks, and is bottled at 40% ABV.
Glen Moray has, despite having a long history, operated somewhat under the radar of everyday Scotch drinkers. It is on the shelves in many supermarkets, yet often overlooked. Part of this is thanks to its low-ABV core range and “cheap” perception. However, Glen Moray quietly delivers great-quality, no-frills Scotch at a low price.
Glenmorangie The Original 12 Years Old
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch, Highlands, 11–20 years ($41–70)
Tasting Notes: Citrus, ripening peaches, vanilla softness, flowery fruitiness, almond, coconut, maple syrup
Find Your Next Bottle: £34 / $43
Glenmorangie raised The Original’s age statement from 10 to 12 years in July 2024. Speaking to us at the time of the relaunch, Dr. Bill Lumsden said he tried different ratios of first-fill to second-fill bourbon barrels during development. He also said most of his sensory panel preferred the 12 when they tasted it blind against the 10. No deliberate changes were made to fermentation or distillation for the new version, and the whisky is still bottled at 40% ABV. Thankfully for drinkers, the price has also remained much the same.
William Matheson founded the distillery in Tain in 1843, fitting a converted brewery with two second-hand gin stills. Its stills are Scotland’s tallest, and LVMH has owned it since 2004.
Ardbeg Ten Years Old
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch, Islay, Up to 10 years ($41–70)
Tasting Notes: Smoky fruit, zesty lemon and lime, menthol, tarry rope, oceanic minerality, brine, buttermilk, ripe bananas, espresso, peat oils
Find Your Next Bottle: £35 / $41 / ₹9,238
John MacDougall founded Ardbeg on Islay’s south coast in 1815. The distillery closed in 1981 and ran only part-time in the years after. In 1997, Glenmorangie bought it, along with its whisky stock, for £7 million.
The Ten launched in 2000 and became the base of Ardbeg’s modern core range. It is matured in first-fill and refill bourbon casks, using malt peated to 50 ppm, and bottled at 46% ABV without chill filtration.
That same year, Ardbeg set up the Committee, a fan club formed to ensure “the doors of the Distillery never close again.” Membership has grown from 3,500 in 2000 to more than 200,000 worldwide.
Ardbeg Ten Years Old remains the icon of Ardbeg’s core range. It is an affordable way to access Ardbeg’s signature sweet peat smoke.
Lagavulin 11 Years Old Sweet Peat
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch, Islay, Up to 10 years ($41–70)
Tasting Notes: Tropical fruit, bonfire smoke, green banana, pink peppercorn, salted caramel, honey toast, dark chocolate, smoke, vanilla
Find Your Next Bottle: $70
The NYISC entered Sweet Peat in its Up to 10 years category, even though it carries an 11 year age statement. Lagavulin released it in the US in February 2026 as its first permanent addition in nine years. The whisky spends all 11 years in first-fill American oak ex-bourbon casks and is bottled at 43% ABV.
Diageo’s Jesse Damashek said, “Sweet Peat presents peat in a way that tastes more approachable, while still delivering the depth and complexity long associated with Lagavulin.”
Founded in 1816, Lagavulin ferments heavily peated malt in wooden washbacks and distills it in four pear-shaped copper pot stills.
Lagavulin has seen an increase in popularity in the United States, thanks in part to Parks & Recreation character Ron Swanson’s love for the spirit.
Glenfiddich 14 Year Old Bourbon Barrel Reserve
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch, Speyside, 11–20 years ($41–70)
Tasting Notes: Vanilla, citrus, caramelised brown sugar, baked apple, summe fruits, toasted oak
Find Your Next Bottle: £41 / £60
Glenfiddich launched this whisky in October 2015 as a permanent addition to its range, made exclusively for the US, though it is now available in other markets. The release was a tribute to American whiskey and to the ex-bourbon barrels used throughout the Scotch industry. Brian Kinsman, Glenfiddich’s Malt Master, said, “American Oak casks have had a significant influence on single malt Scotch whisky maturation and the flavor profiles we find today.”
The whisky spends 14 years in ex-bourbon casks, then is finished in charred new American oak barrels from The Kelvin Cooperage in Louisville, Kentucky, and bottled at 43% ABV.
William Grant built the distillery in Dufftown with his nine children, and his descendants still run the business, making Glenfiddich one of the few remaining family-owned and run distilleries in Scotland.
Nc’nean Huntress Malted Teacake
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch, Highlands, Up to 10 years ($71–100)
Tasting Notes: Figs, pastries, sultana, apricot, fresh baked cake, dried fruits, crème caramel, malt
Find Your Next Bottle: £85.95 / $115
Annabel Thomas left management consulting in 2013 to build Nc’nean on her family’s farm at Drimnin, on the Morvern peninsula, and the distillery began distilling in 2017. It uses organic Scottish barley and renewable energy.
Malted Teacake is the fifth release in Nc’nean’s limited Huntress series. This edition focuses on fermentation. It was made with two of Nc’nean’s house yeast strains and a third more commonly used in Belgian Trappist-style ales. The whisky was matured in STR red wine, ex-bourbon, and oloroso sherry casks. In total, 4,391 bottles were filled at 48.5% ABV, without chill filtration or added color.
The Glen Grant 18 Years Old
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch, United Kingdom, 11–20 years ($101+)
Tasting Notes: Rich, floral, oaky overtones, baking spices, malty caramel, dried raisins, vanilla, nuts
Find Your Next Bottle: £100 / $145
Brothers John and James Grant founded Glen Grant in 1840, and it was the first legal distillery in Rothes. Their nephew, Major James Grant, took over in 1872 and introduced the purifiers that remain part of how Glen Grant is made.
Dennis Malcolm was born on the distillery grounds in 1946 and started there as an apprentice cooper at 16. He returned as master distiller when Campari bought Glen Grant in 2006. He retired in 2024 after 63 years in the industry.
The 18 is bottled at 43% ABV after maturation primarily in ex-bourbon barrels.
Again, Glen Grant is an historic distillery that is somewhat overlooked by everyday drinkers. It is, however, worth a try.
Glenmorangie The Altus 25 Years Old
Award: Double Gold, 96 points
Category: Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch, Highlands, 25+ years ($101+)
Tasting Notes: Carnation, rose, orange blossom, honey, ripe peach, vanilla, almond, nutty toffee, mandarin, apple, pear, tart gooseberry, yellow plum, butter-candy sweetness, marzipan, icing sugar, ripe banana
Find Your Next Bottle: £481 / $750
In 1995, Glenmorangie released what it calls the world’s first Madeira-finished single malt, and The Altus refers back to that release. Dr. Bill Lumsden matured the whisky in the distillery’s designer bourbon casks, which are made from slow-growth American white oak. He then married it with a small amount of 25 year old whisky finished in Malmsey Madeira casks.
Glenmorangie released The Altus in August 2025 as a permanent member of its core range. It sits alongside the 12 and 18 year olds and is bottled at 43% ABV. Harrison Ford was among the first to taste it, in the distillery’s Once Upon a Time in Scotland campaign.
What Do You Make of the Results?
The most striking thing about this year’s list is how much ground it covers. Ardbeg was founded in 1815, while Nc’nean only started distilling in 2017. The eight winners include unpeated Speyside malts and heavily peated Islay whiskies. They also include a limited edition of 4,391 bottles sitting alongside long-standing flagships, and a no-age-statement Chardonnay finish in the lowest price band next to a 25 year old in the highest.
Have you tried any of these? Are there any you would like to get your hands on, and what do you make of the awards? Let us know in the comments.
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