THE 2010 SCOTTISH FIELD WHISKY CHALLENGE

This is the tenth year of the prestigious Scottish Field Whisky Challenge awards, and a landmark moment for us. In the past decade, the impact of the awards has far outstripped our expectations, with the annual ritual of defining the best whiskies quickly establishing itself as something of an institution. The challenge is now an event which is eagerly awaited by the whisky industry, by aficianados and especially by occasional ‘drammers’ looking for fresh experiences and new expressions to try.

The reason for the success of the Scottish Field Whisky Challenge from its inception has been its unimpeachable credibility. Ten years ago, we appointed the most respected figures in the whisky world; men and women whose credentials, nose and provenance are impeccable, to be our judges.

Then we asked these yodas of whisky to nominate the malts and blended whiskies that have impressed them the most in the previous year. This was followed by a ‘blindfolded’ nosing and tasting, with each whisky given a final score. With thousands of whiskies tasted over the past ten years, each year this has been an exhaustive process – but then it needs to be if we’re to stand in judgement on the best examples of our national drink.

Once again this year, we have a fabulous panel and have expanded the number of judges to eleven. They have used skills built up over a lifetime to bring you the nominees and the winners in three categories: under £30, £30-£75, and over £75. This then leads to our overall winners: Distillery Bottling of the Year, Independent Bottling of the Year, and Blended Bottling of the Year. Any whisky that appears in these pages is guaranteed to be a goldstandard dram.

Finally, stellar whisky deserves writing and analysis to match so we’ve asked Charles MacLean and Ian Buxton back to fill us in on what’s been happening in the whisky world over the past year. All in all, we think it’s an unbeatable package, and hope you’ll agree.