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- Yamazaki 18 was named Supreme Champion Spirit at the 2025 International Spirits Challenge in London.
- It marks the third consecutive year a Yamazaki whisky has won the competition’s top honor, a first in the event’s history. Suntory was also recognized as Japanese Whisky Producer of the Year for the sixth year in a row.
- The International Spirits Challenge, now in its 30th year, remains one of the world’s most prestigious competitions, with blind tastings across more than a dozen spirits categories.
The International Spirits Challenge (ISC) announced its overall top winner for 2025. At the annual awards ceremony, held in London on September 25, Yamazaki Single Malt Whisky 18 Years Old was named Supreme Champion Spirit, surpassing all other category winners among this year’s entrants.
It’s the third consecutive year that a whisky from the House of Suntory has won the top-tasting award, joining Yamazaki 25 Years Old (2023) and Yamazaki 12 Years Old (2024) in this achievement. No other brand has ever achieved such a three-peat. Suntory was also named Japanese Whisky Producer of the Year for the sixth straight year.
The winning 18-year-old single malt is one of the flagship whiskies from Yamazaki, which was established in 1923 and is Japan’s first and oldest commercial whisky distillery. Like other age-stated whiskies in the core Yamazaki line, the 18-year-old Japanese single malt is aged in a combination of American, Spanish sherry, and Mizunara oak casks before bottling.
To determine the Supreme Champion Spirit, the competition’s judging panels identified their top-performing entrants in each category. These trophy-winning spirits were then re-tasted in a separate session by category chairmen. The spirit with the highest score in the final tasting is awarded the title of Supreme Champion Spirit. All tastings are conducted blind.
Competition judges highlighted Yamazaki 18 Years Old for its “wonderfully well-aged, perfectly rounded” character and ability to excel even among other top performers.
Courtesy of Suntory Global Spirits Inc.
“We taste over 1,000 whiskies, so it’s a big job to find our category winners and our Supreme Champion. They’re all judged blind, of course, but Yamazaki 18 Years Old stood out,” an ISC spokesperson said.
Now in its 30th year, the International Spirits Challenge remains one of the most prestigious competitions in the drinks industry, featuring categories spanning whiskies, brandy, agave spirits, vodka, rum, gin, baijiu, shochu, aquavit, liqueurs, and premixed drinks. Judging for the whisky portion of the competition is led by Richard Paterson, OBE, along with other industry experts (listed with their respective company affiliations):
- David Stewart, William Grant & Sons
- Billy Leighton, Irish Distillers
- Bill Lumsden, Glenmorangie
- Gordon Motion, Edrington
- Hiromi Ozaki, the Nikka Whisky Distilling Co.
- Shinji Fukuyo, Suntory Ltd.
- Jota Tanaka, Kirin Brewery Co.
- Randy Hudson, Triple Eight Distillery on Nantucket
- Julia Nourney, freelance
- Frances Jack, Scotch Whisky Research Institution
- Angela d’Orazio, freelance
In addition to tasting awards, the annual competition also recognizes excellence in design and packaging. Design firm Stranger & Stranger was named “Supreme Champion” in that category for its work redesigning the Tequila Ocho range, which is owned by Heaven Hill.
Fast Facts: Yamazaki 18
ABV: 43%
Origin: Yamazaki 18 Years Old is a Japanese single malt whisky from Japan’s oldest operational distillery. It’s aged in Spanish sherry, American oak, and Mizunara oak casks before being blended and bottled at 86 proof. Yamazaki 18 is considered one of the most sought-after Japanese whiskies on the market today, with retail prices in the United States often exceeding $550.
David Thomas Tao
2025-09-29 08:01:00