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Add Whisky Monkeys as a Google favoriteEvery year, the SIP Awards take place in the United States, where thousands of beverages are blind-tasted and the best are awarded medals. This year’s results revealed an exciting standout: India’s Paul John whisky has firmly placed itself on the global map.
- What are the SIP Awards?
An international beverage competition that includes whisky among other spirits.
- How many brands and whiskies participated?
More than 1300 beverages were rated during the show.
- What was the absolute top whisky of 2025?
Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky was named the top whisky of the year.
In California, the SIP Awards celebrated their 17th edition. The competition featured all kinds of drinks from around the world, not just whisky, bourbon or rye, but also gin, vodka and rum.
This year saw over 1,300 entries from 47 countries, tasted blind by a panel of 297 jurors. All samples were evaluated in NEAT glasses, ensuring a fair and consistent tasting process.
Medals were awarded in silver, gold, and platinum categories, with only the absolute best earning a Best of Class platinum medal.
What are the best whiskys of 2025 according to the SIP Awards?
Below is a selection of the best whiskys of the SIP Awards 2025:
| Whisk(e)y | Country |
| Crown Royal Single Malt | Canada |
| Four Roses Straight Bourbon | United States |
| 15 Stars Founder's Reserve | United States |
| Ezra Brooks 99 Kentucky Straight Bourbon | United States |
| Finvara | Ireland |
| Godawan Single Malt Rich and Rounded Artisan whiskey | India |
| Paul John Indian Single Malt Whisky Classic Select Cask | India |
| Uncle Nearest 1884 Small Batch Whiskey | United States |
| Templeton Straight Rye Whiskey | United States |
| Heaven Hill Black Velvet Reserve | United States |
Indian whisky brand loaded with prizes
The prizes above are for the absolute top performers tasted during the competition, but John Distilleries, the distillery behind the Indian Paul John whisky, has another reason to go home with a smile. The distillery has in fact won four major awards.
Not only did the Paul John Single Malt Whisky Classic Select Cask win a platinum medal, this was also a Best of Class Premium medal. In other words, this whisky has been awarded the title of best whisky of the competition.
In addition, the Paul John PX whisky has been rewarded with an Innovation of the Year Award and a gold medal. The latter medal also went to the Peated Select Cask whisky of the brand.
Many more whiskys and other drinks won prizes during the SIP Awards 2025. For a complete overview you can visit the competition's website.
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LATEST COMMENTS
- Thank you for the compliment. I really appreciate it.M0nkey31-08-2026
- I enjoyed reading the different approaches to building a whisky collection. Whether you collect by region, style, or limited releases, discovering new brands keeps the hobby interesting. Soorahi is another premium whisky worth considering for collectors looking to explore the evolving world of quality whiskies.dinesh04-08-2026
- There is no distillery equipment there and also no licences to produce or sell alcohol.TRC19-12-2025
- Hi Yvonne, Thank you for your response and for sharing the video. Unfortunately, the evidence you referred to consists only of two people talking about the whisky, without any explanation or identification. We have not spoken to the individuals in the video ourselves, nor can we verify who they are. We describe it as a Chinese whisky because it is released by a Chinese distillery. As you mentioned, the distillery has chosen to label the product as “pure malt” instead of “Chinese whisky.” Based on that, we do not believe they are doing anything illegal.M0nkey16-11-2025
- So - you have the proof......where's your write up?Yvonne16-11-2025
- You are absolutely right. Luckily that doesn't matter for the taste of the whisky. Have you tried it yet?M0nkey05-11-2025
- Guess what? Finland is not part of Scandinavia.Gray105-11-2025
- Throw in the towel? You mean restructure to compete and win in a challenging industry environment.WestwardFounder21-10-2025
- There is nothing legally to prevent the English whisky GI from coming into force, it complies with all the relevant laws and the single malt definition follows the precedent of Welsh whisky and US whiskyChefBear15-10-2025
- Three emails sent (two with videos, linked to a Google Drive Share). 1. The original video. 2. The video with subtitles as it was shared on YouTube 3. Screen grab of the YouTube channel where the video was blocked due to Pernod Ricard lobbying. The story was covered on Drinks Intel at the time - link here - https://drinks-intel.com/subscriber-news/pernod-ricards-the-chuan-pure-malt-whisky-not-sourced-solely-from-china-global-drinks-intel-exclusive/Yvonne10-10-2025