In 2024 the World's Best Single Malt was not a Scotch, it was an English whisky: The English Distillery Sherry Cask. In 2025 English producers collected medals across multiple categories. The direction of travel is clear.
World whisky has moved well beyond novelty. Australia has over 220 licensed craft distillers producing bold single malts shaped by heat, wine casks and serious ambition. The Nordic countries are finding their own voice, using local grains and native techniques rather than mimicking Scotland. Denmark has gone further than most: ten distillers came together in 2025 to launch a formal whisky manifesto, setting out what Danish whisky stands for. That kind of collective confidence is exactly what turns a curiosity into a category. And India is producing some of the most exciting whisky anywhere in the world right now. Indri, which sits in the Mangrove portfolio, is a case in point: genuinely premium, a compelling origin story and liquid that earns its price point without apology.
Being new is no longer enough. The world whisky producers cutting through right now are doing so because the liquid earns its place, not because the label is interesting.
American whisky is having a difficult moment. Tariffs have created real uncertainty, and the premium end is soft. I would acknowledge it, move on and use the shelf space more productively.
World whisky can feel unfamiliar to customers; that is understandable, but the answer is not a lengthy explanation. One confident tasting note opens the door – what does the climate do to the taste? A whisky shaped by the heat of Rajasthan or the wild coastline of Tasmania is a story most shoppers have never heard. Told well at the counter or on a shelf card, that story turns curiosity into purchase and purchase into a regular customer.
Andy Marino/Gemini
The Mangrove portfolio spans world whiskies from Japan, India, Mexico, Ireland, Denmark, Scotland and England, across a range of styles and price points. Some of these bottles are beautiful enough to stop customers in their tracks before they have read a single word on the label. Whatever yours are curious about, there is something genuinely worth reaching for.
Scotch pays the bills. But should it be doing all the talking? Walk past most independent spirits sections and the whisky story is a familiar one. You’ll see Scottish regions, a token Irish, maybe a Japanese. They’re safe, solid and not exactly stopping anyone in their tracks.
When did your spirits shelf last say anything new about whisky? Be daring and re-assemble it.
Nick Gillett Photo: Handout