Michter’s has been named the World’s Most Admired whiskies 2026 for a fourth consecutive year, holding off Japan’s The Yamazaki and Hibiki on an unchanged podium. Published by Drinks International and voted for by an Academy of independent buyers, bartenders, writers and educators from more than 25 countries, the 2026 top 50 hands Johnnie Walker the Most Admired Scotch Whisky title for the first time. Nc’nean is the year’s biggest climber, up 32 places to eighth. Across the full list, nine countries are represented, from Islay to Isokyrö, with Denmark’s Stauning holding a place at number 50.
What is the World’s Most Admired Whiskies list?
The World’s Most Admired Whiskies is an annual ranking run by the trade publication Drinks International, first held in 2021. It is not a tasting competition with medals. Instead, a global Academy of whisky professionals who carry no brand affiliation each name the ten brands they most admire, in order, and those votes are weighted into a top 50.
The criteria are quality and consistency across a brand’s range, price-to-quality ratio, and the strength of branding and marketing. To keep any one country from dominating the ballot, voters could name no more than five brands from the same region. Voting took place across July and August 2026. It is, in short, a reputation ranking: what the trade rates, rather than what sells the most.
Why Michter’s keeps winning
Michter’s sits at the top again, and the scale of it is the story. The Kentucky producer took almost three times as many votes as the next bourbon on the list, in a year when American whiskey has faced a genuinely tough trading climate.
The reasons are not mysterious. The liquid is well regarded, the brand has a story that stretches back to Pennsylvania in the 18th century, and it shows up. At the major trade shows Michter’s is present, usually with a crowd of bartenders around the stand. That combination of quality and visible investment in the trade is exactly what an admiration vote rewards.
It is worth remembering how unlikely this once looked. When the ranking launched, the smart money was on the oldest Scotch names with centuries of heritage. Four titles later, an American whiskey brand has become the one to beat.
Japan holds firm and Chichibu climbs
The rest of the podium is Japanese and unchanged. The Yamazaki, the inaugural winner back in 2021, takes second for another year and remains the Most Admired World Whisky. Hibiki, Suntory’s flagship blend, holds third.
The bigger Japanese move comes just behind them. Chichibu climbs 12 places to fourth, a remarkable position for a distillery that only began production in 2008. Ichiro Akuto’s Saitama distillery has built its standing on small-scale production, meticulous cask selection and an unusually open, collaborative approach, and the trade has clearly noticed.
Johnnie Walker takes Most Admired Scotch for the first time
The headline for Scotland is Johnnie Walker, which climbs six places to fifth and claims the Most Admired Scotch Whisky title for the first time. Diageo’s investment in tourism and education appears like the Johnnie Walker Experience to be paying off, and the striding man now carries a distinction it had never held before.
What makes it notable is that Johnnie Walker is a high-volume brand that has won a reputation vote. Admiration and scale rarely sit together this comfortably, and the result is a strong signal that modern blended Scotch is being taken seriously by the trade, not just the supermarket shelf.
The biggest movers: Nc’nean and Woven lead a new wave
If Johnnie Walker is the establishment story, Nc’nean is the opposite. The Morvern distillery is the year’s biggest climber, leaping 32 places to eighth. Founded by Annabel Thomas in 2017, it became the UK’s first whisky distillery to achieve B Corp status, built around organic Scottish barley and renewable energy, and its Quiet Rebels series has shown that the sustainability story comes with serious liquid behind it.
Close behind is Woven Whisky Makers, up 28 places to 16th. The Edinburgh blender builds its reputation on combining whiskies from different distilleries with flavour, rather than consistency, as the goal, and opened new blending rooms in Leith earlier this year. Together, the two brands point to a trade that is increasingly admiring of the industry’s new directions.
There is fresh blood lower down, too. Spot Whiskey, Arran, Old Overholt, Bulleit, Archie Rose and Paul John all enter for the first time, while nine brands return to the list, among them Glenfiddich, Jameson, Midleton, Kilchoman and Stauning. The steepest fall belongs to Eagle Rare, down 20 places to 41st.
A genuinely global top 50: nine countries in the mix
For a publication that reads across the UK, Europe, the US, Japan and beyond, the most encouraging line in the 2026 list is its geography. Nine countries are represented across the 50.
Scotland leads on numbers, as it always has, with 26 brands spread across Islay, Speyside, the Highlands, Campbeltown and the islands. The United States follows with eight, Japan five, and Ireland four, led by Redbreast at 18th as the Most Admired Irish Whiskey once again.
Then comes the part that makes world whisky feel less like a footnote and more like a chapter. Taiwan’s Kavalan sits at 15th, two decades on from launch and now an authority in sherry-cask maturation in a hot climate. India places two, Amrut and Paul John, both proof that tropical ageing can produce depth at speed. Australia places two, Starward and Archie Rose, each building a distinctly Australian identity around local wine casks and grain.
And the Nordic presence is real. Finland’s Kyrö sits at 19th, the rye specialists whose idea was reportedly hatched in a sauna, and whose 2026 Game of Thrones collaborations put them in front of a new audience. Denmark’s Stauning holds 50th, the Jutland distillery built on local grain, floor malting and direct-fired pot stills. Two Nordic names on the trade’s most admired list is not a novelty any more. It is a trend.
What we make of it
We have poured our way through a good part of this top 50 over the years, and most of the rankings land close to where our own glasses would put them. A reputation vote can feel abstract, but when you have stood at the distilleries and worked through the core ranges, the list reads less like a popularity contest and more like a fair reflection of who is making whisky worth seeking out right now.
The names that moved are the ones we would point a friend towards this year. Nc’nean and Woven are doing something genuinely new with Scotch. Chichibu keeps rewarding the collectors who chase it. And seeing Stauning at 50 and Kyrö at 19 confirms what Nordic drinkers have known for a while: this part of the world is no longer just importing great whisky, it is making it.
How the list is voted
A quick note on method, because it shapes how you should read the result. The Academy is made up of buyers, bartenders, writers, educators and other specialists with no brand affiliation. Each named ten admired brands in descending order. A first-place vote was worth ten points, second nine, and so on down the ballot.
To avoid regional bias, voters were capped at five brands from any one region, and Drinks International weights the panel for gender balance and broad geographic spread. So a high placing reflects consistent admiration across a wide, international jury, not a single market’s enthusiasm.
The full top 50 at a glance
| No. | Brand | Country | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michter’s | US | Non-mover |
| 2 | The Yamazaki | Japan | Non-mover |
| 3 | Hibiki | Japan | Non-mover |
| 4 | Chichibu | Japan | Up 12 |
| 5 | Johnnie Walker | Scotland | Up 6 |
| 6 | Bruichladdich | Scotland | Up 1 |
| 7 | Ardbeg | Scotland | Down 3 |
| 8 | Nc’nean | Scotland | Up 32 |
| 9 | Compass Box | Scotland | Down 4 |
| 10 | Laphroaig | Scotland | Non-mover |
| 11 | The Macallan | Scotland | Down 3 |
| 12 | Maker’s Mark | US | Down 6 |
| 13 | Nikka | Japan | Up 2 |
| 14 | Springbank | Scotland | Up 6 |
| 15 | Kavalan | Taiwan | Up 17 |
| 16 | Woven Whisky Makers | Scotland | Up 28 |
| 17 | Bowmore | Scotland | Up 14 |
| 18 | Redbreast | Ireland | Up 1 |
| 19 | Kyrö | Finland | Up 19 |
| 20 | Hakushu | Japan | Down 11 |
| 21 | Woodford Reserve | US | Re-entry |
| 22 | Aberfeldy | Scotland | Up 6 |
| 23 | Jameson | Ireland | Re-entry |
| 24 | Caol Ila | Scotland | Up 13 |
| 25 | Spot Whiskey | Ireland | New entry |
| 26 | Buffalo Trace | US | Down 13 |
| 27 | Lagavulin | Scotland | Up 7 |
| 28 | Bunnahabhain | Scotland | Up 2 |
| 29 | Glenfiddich | Scotland | Re-entry |
| 30 | Glenmorangie | Scotland | Up 16 |
| 31 | Highland Park | Scotland | Down 17 |
| 32 | Amrut | India | Down 5 |
| 33 | Gordon & MacPhail | Scotland | Down 10 |
| 34 | Arran | Scotland | New entry |
| 35 | Old Overholt | US | New entry |
| 36 | Talisker | Scotland | Down 12 |
| 37 | Glenfarclas | Scotland | Down 8 |
| 38 | Benromach | Scotland | Non-mover |
| 39 | Starward | Australia | Re-entry |
| 40 | Craigellachie | Scotland | Up 9 |
| 41 | Eagle Rare | US | Down 20 |
| 42 | Jura | Scotland | Re-entry |
| 43 | Ardnamurchan | Scotland | Down 17 |
| 44 | Blanton’s | US | Re-entry |
| 45 | Bulleit | US | New entry |
| 46 | Midleton | Ireland | Re-entry |
| 47 | Archie Rose | Australia | New entry |
| 48 | Kilchoman | Scotland | Re-entry |
| 49 | Paul John | India | New entry |
| 50 | Stauning | Denmark | Re-entry |
The full 2026 report, including the write-ups for every brand, is published by Drinks International.
Frequently asked questions
What is the World’s Most Admired Whiskies 2026? It is Drinks International’s annual top 50 ranking of the whisky brands most admired by the global trade. An Academy of independent buyers, bartenders, writers and educators from more than 25 countries each names ten brands, judged on quality, price-to-quality ratio and branding. It has run since 2021.
Which whisky is number one in 2026? Michter’s, the Kentucky maker of bourbon, rye and American whiskey, is number one for a fourth consecutive year. It received almost three times the votes of the next bourbon on the list. The Yamazaki and Hibiki, both Japanese, complete an unchanged podium in second and third.
Which Scotch was named Most Admired Scotch Whisky 2026? Johnnie Walker, which climbed six places to fifth overall and took the Most Admired Scotch Whisky title for the first time. It is notable as a high-volume blended Scotch winning a reputation vote, a sign the trade is taking modern blends increasingly seriously alongside single malts.
Who was the biggest climber on the 2026 list? Nc’nean, the organic, B Corp certified distillery on Scotland’s Morvern peninsula, rose 32 places to eighth. Woven Whisky Makers was close behind, up 28 to 16th. Both are modern Scotch brands, and their rise reflects growing trade admiration for sustainability and experimental blending.
Did any Nordic or Danish whisky make the 2026 list? Yes. Finland’s Kyrö, the rye specialist, placed 19th, and Denmark’s Stauning held 50th. Stauning is built on local grain, floor malting and direct-fired pot stills in Jutland. Two Nordic names on the trade’s most admired list points to a serious, growing regional whisky scene.
How is the World’s Most Admired Whiskies list decided? Each Academy member names ten admired brands in order. A first-place vote scores ten points, second nine, and so on. Voters are capped at five brands from one region to avoid bias, and the panel is balanced for gender and geography. Voting ran across July and August 2026.
Leave a Reply