It’s that time of year again when we all reflect, cogitate, deliberate and ponder over all our pours from the last twelve months to compile our own variations of a Dram of the Year list. This year, we’re not going to single out one overall sensational sip, but instead give praise to some of the standout, thinking-out-of-the-cask brands that have produced or bottled some of our liquid highlights of 2025.

Something very noticeable from this year’s selection is the absence of contenders from the bigger, more established names on the dramming block, which in our opinion have been rather lacking on the innovation front, not very exciting and in some instances heavily overpriced for what they are. 2025 has most definitely been the year of the smaller, independent producer, which in itself is something that should be celebrated!

When it comes to Scotch whisky distilleries, this year has been especially exciting thanks to a number of standout releases from Ardnahoe, Glasgow Distillery, Speyside Distillery and Torabhaig. These include, respectively; 5 Year Old Cask Strength, Ruby Port Cask Finish, 12 Year Old Brume Dorée Cask Strength and Sound of Sleat Batch Strength. Coincidentally, all have been bottled at their unadulterated, optimum strength and are phenomenally well priced.

For an overall whisky category highlight, it undoubtedly has to be the Wire Works Bourbon Barrel release from the Derbyshire-based White Peak Distillery. A true craft distiller in every sense of the word, over the last few years they’ve brought real excitement and energy to the English whisky category, and so far each and every one of their releases has knocked it out of the park.

One name we couldn’t leave out is Brave New Spirits, who, it has to be said, are one of the most exciting independent bottlers to have emerged in recent years. They have been bottling some truly epic Scotch whiskies under their various brands, including Voodoo, WhiskyHeroes and Cask Masters, which this year included a couple of stunners from Royal Brackla and North British distilleries, among many others. Some exceptional cask finishes, it has to be said, all offered at various price points to suit every budget. Other notable integrity driven bottlers that have stood out this year include The Heart Cut, Thomson Bros and Watt Whisky.

If you’re regular readers of the website or followers of our social channels, you’ll know that we’re just as passionate about rum as we are about whisky, so it would only be rude not to include our biggest rum highlight of the year. Without doubt, this has to be Convocation from the trailblazing, Barbados-based Foursquare Distillery, which is not only one of our favourite rum distilleries, but one of our overall favourite spirits producers. This particular release, which for me perfectly encapsulates everything they do, was matured for 14 years in a combination of ex-Bourbon and ex-Madeira casks. Oozing with complexity and nuance, it’s not only perfect for rummies, but also the ideal bridging rum to and from the world of aged single malts.

Be it whisky, rum or any other sensational spirit, we’d love to hear what your sipping highlights of 2025 were. We’d also like to know what categories and trends you think will be big in 2026.

In the meantime, we’d like to thank you for all your support in 2025 and wish you all a very Happy New Year!