Last year, we held our annual W Club Members' Choice Awards where W Club Members across the UK took part in blind tastings to determine the best drams of 2024. So far we've told you about the Awards themselves, the Single Malt (Non-Age Statement) Category Winners, and the Single Malt 12 Years Old and Under Category Winners now get ready to find out more about the Single Malt 13 – 18 Years Old category!

How the Winners Are Determined

To determine the overall winner and each category winner, the members were asked to score each dram out of 100, based on four categories:

‘Nose/Aroma’ - This asks members to judge how good the whisky smells, and what it smells of. Popular answers to this include things like 'vanilla', 'cooking spices', and 'dark fruits'.

‘Mouthfeel & Taste’ - This asks members to judge how the whisky tastes, what flavours they can detect, and what texture the whisky has. Texture or 'Mouthfeel' seems like an odd question to ask about a drink, but once you've gotten to know the whiskies of the world, you'll find some, for example, feel more oily than others, or perhaps crisper.

‘Finish’ - This asks members to judge the aftertaste of whisky; how long and what type of flavours remain in the mouth after they've swallowed a sip. Much like mouthfeel, this can sometimes take a bit of practice to pinpoint, but common finish reviews include descriptions such as 'lingering', 'dry', and 'smoky'.

‘Overall impression’ - This asks members to take the whisky as a whole. Yes, it smelled of pineapple upsidedown cake, tasted like caramelised figs with a velvet mouthfeel, and had a softly smoked finish, but did you like it? Would you have bought this yourself after sampling? Is it something you'd reccommend to a friend?

The Single Malt Category

Winning bottles chosen for this category are all Single Malt releases but before we dive into the winners, let's cover what Single Malt means.

Simply put, a single malt whisky is a bottling which has been produced from a single distillery, and has been made using one variety of malted grain, usually barley. This differs from single cask whiskies, which are the product of just one whisky cask, as single malts are often a blend of whiskies taken from several casks. It also differs from whiskies labelled as blended whiskies which are created from a combination of malts from different distilleries.

The Category Winners

Our 'Single Malt 13-18 Years Old' overall category winner is....

Loch Lomond 18 Year Old

Matured in the finest oak barrels chosen by former Master Cooper, Tommy Wallace, this 18 year old has been allowed to experience the sweeter character of the wood, taking on a subtle hint of peat and smoke to ensure a balanced finish.

"A huge, Orson Welles of a whisky! And a wonderful colour from American oak. Wood, leather, chocolate and honey... and that’s just on the nose. One sip coats the palate with lashings of fruit and toffee. This isn’t subtle – it’s layer upon fascinating layer." ~ Chris, The Whisky Shop Norwich

Our Gold Medalists in the category are...

Old Pulteney 18 Year Old

This 18 year old from Old Pulteney has been matured in American oak ex-bourbon barrels and then finished in Spanish oak, bringing a spicy dried fruits influence to the character of the famously maritime malt.

Rich chocolate and vanilla on the nose with honeyed sweetness and some vibrant spices. The palate brings more of the chocolate and honeyed spices, with some floral and briny aspects leading to an apple and citrus finish.

Fettercairn 18 Year Old 2023 Edition

Fettercairn's annual limited release of their 18 Year Old is here! The Highland expression has been crafted using a handpicked selection of first fill and refill bourbon American white oak casks, and finished in responsibly sourced 100% Scottish oak casks. Bottled at 46.8% abv.

Expect notes of sugared almonds, baking spices, passion fruit and guava, before a finish full of exotic fruits, brioche, berries, cacao and vanilla.

Deanston 18 Year Old

Matured in hogshead casks and finished in first fill Kentucky bourbon casks, this Highland Single Malt hails from Deanston distillery on the banks of the river Teith. Aged for 18 years in the former cotton mill that acts as Deanston's warehouse, this expression is non chill-filtered and presented at natural colour.

Showcasing Deanston's signature profile, this 18 year old is sweet with honeyed fruit and a deep, rich finish, distinguishing itself with aromatic and balanced notes of American oak and hints of tobacco and nutmeg.