The World’s Best Whiskey is From Canada (We’re Not Joking)

You can’t call whiskey made by our neighbors up north “brown vodka” anymore. 

Canada has always been a bastion of good things. After all, it brought us Neil Young, Pamela Anderson, Drake, Wayne Gretsky, Rush,Trailer Park Boys, Arcade Fire,Vice, and the gravy-smothered french fry delicacy known as poutine, just to name a few notable contributions. But let’s face it: Canada isn’t exactly known as a stronghold for fine whiskey.


Nope, our northern neighbors’ famously sketchy distilling process once caused snooty connoisseurs to malign their whiskey (or “whisky” as the Canadians call it) as light-bodied stuff best suited for mixing, aka “brown vodka.”  Which is definitely not a compliment. But it turns out that Canada has produced the very best whiskey of 2015. 

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, a Canadian malt whiskey, was awarded 97.5 points out of 100 by renowned spirits writer Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible, earning it the lofty title of World Whisky of the Year. You may have thought Crown Royal was cool just because it came in a sweet purple velvet pouch, but its finest expression is some damn fine hooch, indeed.

Congratulations, Canada. And while America isn’t number one this year, at least it claims two of the top five slots (Scotland didn’t even crack the top five, the poor bastards). Here are the cream of the crop, as judged by Whisky Bible. Collect them all, and see if you don’t agree.

1. Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye (Canada)  $49.99

2. Pikesville Straight Rye (USA) $49.99

3. Midleton Dair Ghaelach (Ireland)  $270

4. William Larue Weller Bourbon (USA)  $97.50

5. Suntory Yamazaki Mizunara  (Japan)  $67.50