The Whisky Club’s Whisky of the Year 2024

December 16, 2024
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The votes have been counted and the results are in — Australia’s biggest whisky community has spoken. Has your favourite malt been crowned Whisky of the Year… and are you the winner of a year’s worth of whisky? Read on to find out. 

Every year, we ask our Members to cast their minds and taste buds back through the last 12 months and vote for their favourite whisky.

And what a year 2024’s been!

Thanks again to everyone who voted. We were overwhelmed by the response and their were just a handful over votes that separated the top three. 

What makes a world’s best whisky in 2025?

There are a few themes tying together the five whiskies that Whisky Club Members found most impressive from 2024, confirming some trends we expect to see into 2025.

Fortified finish FTW
Sherry finishes featured highly, with a couple of other fortified wine finishes thrown in. Many Members were keen to explore a little off the beaten track with peated whiskies and rum cask whiskies, however, while table wine and bourbon cask finishes proved to be slightly less popular.

Whiskies created exclusively for The Whisky Club
Each one of your top 5 whiskies of 2024 was created exclusively for you, and each of our fellow Whisky Clubbers. It’s nice to know we’re hitting the mark, and we’ll carry all your feedback on these into the future, and keep striving to make every Whisky of the Month even better than the last.

Adventurous tastes
While a certain Parks & Recreation-related Scotch showing up as the #1 Member favourite Add In for 2024 is no great surprise, it’s great to see a real sense of adventure from Members — following in Nick Offerman’s footsteps. While Scotch over-indexed on our monthly drops (64%), our top five include an Australian whisky, an Irish whiskey, and an English single malt!

Alright, here they are — Australia’s favourite whiskies of 2024.

5. Glenglassaugh 12 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask Matured (March)

In March, we launched the ultimate collector’s edition from one of the world's favourite whiskymakers: Glenglassaugh’s first ever aged Pedro Ximénez cask whisky, made by Dr Rachel Barrie herself. And she knocked it out of the park — it’s like drinking a salted caramel crème brûlée with luscious waves of golden syrup, sun-dried raisins and chocolate-coated figs. 

Dr Barrie really does have a knack for making whiskies the Club absolutely loves: she crafted 2023’s Whisky of the Year, the GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 11.

A bottle of Glenglassaugh 12 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask MaturedA bottle of Glenglassaugh 12 Year Old Pedro Ximénez Cask Matured

4. Aberlour 2010 Double Cask Matured (May)

We had to pinch ourselves when we finally dropped the news about this one. The mighty Aberlour, one of the world’s most iconic Scotch whisky distilleries, had never created anything like this for anyone.

This whisky was an absolute crowdpleaser, even before Members got their hands on it. Straight out of the gates, it scored 99/100 and picking up a highly coveted Double Gold medal at 2024’s San Francisco World Spirits Competition.

It also inspired a hint of jealously from the whisky world:

“It’s almost unfair to even speak about this one, as it’s only available to members of an Australian membership service aptly called, The Whisky Club. Those members were treated to a robust 13-year-old malt matured in both American oak and Spanish sherry butts, vibrantly fruity with threads of strawberry, orange zest and peppered peaches. Lucky them.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      — Forbes

A bottle of Aberlour 2010 Double Cask MaturedA bottle of Aberlour 2010 Double Cask Matured

3. Morris Double Port Barrel (September)

Was it deep? Yup. Was it dark? Yup? Was it delectable? You betcha. We took the best from one of Australia’s favourite distilleries, and made it even better. We worked with Morris to take their chewy, decadent and double-gold-award winning Morris Inaugural Port Barrel — another exclusive Club creation — and gave it an extra luxurious maturation in hand-selected, prize-winning Morris Grand Tawny Port Barrels. The result? Well, here we are. The Morris Double Port Barrel missed out on 2024’s silver medal by a mere handful of votes. 

Also one of the oldest and most awarded wineries in Australia, Morris is renowned for making world-class fortified wines ­— so, they have access to a library of exceptional barrels for maturing whisky at their disposal. “We put our already rich Port-matured spirit back into barrel for over a year,” says Head Distiller Darren Peck. “It’s picked up a freshness and a layered effect of the different Ports… it’s more complex, more luxurious.”

It’s the second time Morris distillery has made it to the top of the Club’s favourite list. Morris Tokay Barrel took out second place in 2022’s Whisky of the Year.

The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Editions: Voyage (February)

What do you get when you take not one, but two ex-Macallan whiskymakers from the distillery that made the World’s Best Single Malt in 2022? You get the The Lakes Whiskymaker’s Editions: Voyage, Created Exclusively for The Whisky Club. In fact, Lakes Distillery truly is a talent magnet, its team includes founder Paul Currie, who set up Isle of Arran Distillery in 1995, and Alan Rutherford OBE, one of the world’s leading authorities on malt whisky. So, you can’t be surprised this whisky just missed out on the top spot. 

The Lakes have two key single malt series, the seven-part series of Whiskymaker’s Reserve, numbered 1–7 (it was No. 4 that took home World’s Best Single Malt), and their limited Whiskymaker’s Editions — special-edition single malt whiskies that really highlight the prowess of the distillery, and award-winning in their own right. 

Since we launched this whisky in 2015, International whisky collectors have been aching to get their hands on a bottle. Some have even sold for more than $2,000 for a bottle at auction!

1. Bushmills 2010 Double Moscatel Cask (October)

Shortlisted for Best Irish Single Malt and awarded 98/100 points and Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Comp ‘24, this is the first Double Cask release in Bushmills' world-famous Causeway Collection. Whisky Clubbers, this is your favourite whisk(e)y of 2024!

Triple distilled back in 2010 then finished in two types of Moscatel from the Iberian Peninsula, Spanish Valencia and Portuguese Setúbal, the 2010 Double Moscatel Cask delivered wave after wave of of juicy sweet strawberries, jammy fruits entwined with milk chocolate, toffee and gentle allspice. No surprise it took out the top spot.

This is the second time the world’s oldest licensed distillery had created an exclusive whiskey just for the Club and taken out the top spot. Previous Club collaborations have been highly sought-after the world over. Some have even gone under the hammer at auction for more than $2,000 — that’s more than 20 times the price Members pay. 

“It’s so amazing that The Whisky Club Members share my love for Bushmills,” Master Blender Alex Thomas said. “What an incredible honour. On behalf of the entire Bushmills team, I would like to thank the Members of The Whisky Club for voting our 2010 Double Moscatel Cask as their Whisky of the Year. We are absolutely delighted. Thank you all so much.”

Add In of the Year 2023

Once again we had an incredible lineup of Add Ins in 2024, from cult favourites, rare finds and exclusive malts, we had a stellar selection of malts for Members to choose from. But who topped the list? For the second year in a row, Lagavulin tops the list! Make some noise for your 2024 Add In of the Year, Lagavulin Offerman Edition: Caribbean Rum Cask Finish!

Lagavulin Offerman Edition: Caribbean Rum Cask Finish

Who knew you could put paradise in a bottle. As soon as we announced the news that we were getting the latest Offerman Edition exclusively at the Club in Australia, Members took excitement to a whole new level. And why wouldn’t it? The Lagavulin Offerman Edition: Caribbean Rum Cask Finish had already bagged Double Gold at the San Fran World Spirits Competition — just like every edition.

Demand for these whiskies is crazy. Previous editions sold out immediately and now fetch anywhere up to five times their original retail price at auction.

Members also loved The Whisky Club Advent Calendar, which is of course proving to be a bit of an annual institution.

Tasmanian whisky also got a good look-in, with a couple of brilliant – and brilliantly received – exclusive malts from the Apple Isle, including Waubs Harbour Rusted Casks and Overeem Sherry Matured & Sherry Finished.

Not to forget our whiskey (vs whisky) counterparts, Jameson Single Pot Still and Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel III were hot on the heels of these extremely popular Add Ins.

Which lucky Member won a whole year of whisky?

Thanks so much to everyone who cast their vote – we were overwhelmed with the response and we can’t wait to reveal month after month of incredible exclusives for you this year.

So, who’s our lucky winner? Congratulations Michelle Lawson. You’ve won a whole year’s worth of whisky!

Ready to receive world exclusive whisky?