In Best of the Best, we honour the brands and people behind the most covetable products. Here is a list of wine and spirits you’ll want more than just a sip of
Best Limited Edition: The Macallan Romantica Collection
The Macallan marks the 100th anniversary of its most storied whisky with a collection that reunites art, cask, and legacy in equal measure. The Romantica Collection draws from a single sherry-seasoned European oak cask that had been laid down in 1986, the same year the last bottles of The Macallan 1926, the world’s most valuable spirit sold at auction, were released. best spirits
Four decades of quiet maturation have given the whisky an unusual character for the house: a whisper of peat smoke beneath apricot, peach, and cinnamon, deepening on the palate into something that’s gently smoky. Bottled at 48.6 per cent ABV in its natural colour, it arrives alongside new artworks by Michael Dillon, Sir Peter Blake, and Valerio Adami, the three artists whose original label designs defined the 1926 bottles.
Production is capped at 258 bottles, split evenly across the three artist editions, each housed in a European oak presentation box with a numbered certificate, a collection booklet, and a limited-edition giclee print, and is sold by invitation only.
Best American Single Malt: Westland Garryana 10th Edition
Seattle’s Westland Distillery is one of the most prominent names in the world of American single malt. Its entire line-up is worth exploring, but the Garryana series stands out in particular. This whisky is partially aged in Quercus garryana, a type of oak that is native to the Pacific Northwest. The 10th edition is the first 10-year-old release (and the oldest to date), made from a mash bill of several different types of barley and matured in wine, port, sherry, and ex-bourbon casks, along with the Garry oak. The distillery gained some unwanted attention when a truckload of this whisky was stolen last summer, but thankfully there were still enough bottles left for consumers to purchase. Look for notes of incense, spice, citrus, maple, honey, and leather on the palate. best spirits
Best Bourbon: E.H. Taylor Bottled in Bond
The Buffalo Trace Antique Collection is an annual release from this storied Kentucky distillery that contains some of the most coveted unicorns in the worlds of bourbon and rye. This year, Buffalo Trace introduced a new member—the first addition to the collection since Thomas H Handy joined in 2006—and it’s fantastic. E.H. Taylor is the distillery’s bottled-in-bond label, and while that designation applies to this release, the whisky is much older than the required four years, at 15 years and four months old. This is a truly delicious bourbon, with notes of vanilla, oak, cherry, and green apple on the palate, and at 100 proof it’s a welcome reprieve from some of the other barrel-strength bottles in the collection.
Best Rye Whisky: WhistlePig Boss Hog XII: Feather & Flame best spirits
WhistlePig’s core line-up of age-statement expressions is very good, but the annual Boss Hog release is where this Vermont distillery really shines. Each edition is a well-aged rye whisky that has been given a first-of-its kind cask finish. And the latest is wonderfully weird. The distillery created its own version of pulque curado, a Mexican beverage made from cacao and chilli, and seasoned used barrels with it. Then, aged rye from a distillery in Indiana was put into those casks for two weeks, creating a strikingly spicy and altogether delicious—not to mention unique—whisky that really stood out.
Best Tequila: Cazcanes No. 7 Rosa Añejo
This limited-edition release from Cazcanes is not only the best tequila of the past 12 months but one of the very best spirits overall. It’s an anejo that was blended from three different liquids—one aged in ex–Four Roses bourbon barrels for 30 months, the other two in uncharred French oak wine barrels aged for about two years. This is a decadent tequila, with big notes of vanilla, chocolate, and berry. But it is never overtaken by the different types of oak it was aged in, and most importantly it does not lose its all-important agave character. And it sips with much more body and complexity than you might expect at the minimum 80 proof.
Best Mezcal: Paquera Cuishe Ancestral
Paquera’s Cuishe Ancestral mezcal can’t technically be called mezcal. Instead, it’s labelled as destilado de agave because the brand chose not to have this release certified by Mexico’s governing organisation. That way, it could work with smaller producers making high-quality spirits highlighting lesser-known agave types. This particular ‘mezcal’ was produced from the cuishe agave varietal, which was roasted in an earthen oven and distilled in clay pots by producer Hafid Rodriguez. There are savoury and herbaceous notes of green pepper, pineapple, wet earth, and stone fruit on the palate, making this a complex and engaging sipper.
Best Gin: Quattro Gatti Olive Grove Gin
La Biennale di Venezia recently named Italian gin brand Quattro Gatti as the official gin of its 61st International Art Exhibition, the first time a spirit has been given that honour. But the best thing about this brand, whose name translates to ‘four cats’, is the launch of its Olive Grove expression. It’s currently available in Australia, Italy, and the US, with further expansion planned. Produced in Umbria, this dry gin is made simply with eight botanicals, three of which come from olive trees: olive leaf, olive oil, and olives. That doesn’t mean the spirit tastes exactly like olives, however, but it has a creamy mouthfeel, some delicate savoury notes, and soft tinges of juniper and citrus. As such, it is an excellent gin to use in a martini, with some extra heft and heat as you sip at 43 per cent.
Best Newcomer: Cygnet 22 Hand-Crafted Welsh Dry Gin best spirits
The market is awash in premium gin right now, but one brand that has really stood out is Cygnet. Husband-and-wife team Andrew Levitas and Katherine Jenkins created the Welsh spirit so that Jenkins, a classical singer, could enjoy sipping a gin smooth enough not to affect her voice. There are 22 different botanicals used to flavour the spirit, with Manuka honey taking centre stage. The result is a floral and slightly sweet gin that can be enjoyed neat or used in any traditional or modern cocktail. And now Cygnet’s line-up includes four different expressions, with barrel-aged bottles matured in Welsh- whisky casks.
