DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 27 April 2026

🥃 DramMaster Daily Whisky News — 27 April 2026

Root Shoot Beats Scotch and Bourbon to Win World's Best Whiskey 2026

In one of the bigger upsets of the awards season, Root Shoot American Single Malt has been named World's Best Whiskey at the 2026 London Spirits Competition, scoring 97 out of 100. The 4-year-old, bottled-in-bond expression from a small craft distillery in Loveland, Colorado retails around $42 — and it bested entries from Scotland, Ireland, Japan and Kentucky. American Single Malt only became a formally recognised US category at the start of 2025, so this is a significant credibility moment for the still-nascent style.

Glengoyne Launches Signature — A New NAS to Push Highland Growth

Ian Macleod Distillers has unveiled Glengoyne Signature, a non-age-statement Highland single malt at 40% ABV, aimed squarely at UK grocery and off-trade. Tasting notes lead on apple, vanilla, pear and plum, printed directly on the label to help shoppers self-navigate. It's a calculated move: Glengoyne is the fastest-growing single malt brand in the UK off-trade among £1m+ players, and the Highland sub-segment is up 3% in a £66m market — one of the few areas of growth left in Scotch.

Diageo Pushes Scotch Toward Sweeter Drinkers With Johnnie Walker Black Ruby

Diageo has launched Johnnie Walker Black Ruby, a fruit-forward, sweeter twist on Black Label engineered for cocktails and new whisky drinkers. The play is straight out of the Crown Royal Blackberry playbook: that flavoured Canadian variant grew 3% in volume in 2025 while core Johnnie Walker volumes fell 3%, and one in four Black Berry buyers were brand-new to whisky. The catch — Black Ruby has to deliver that profile without adding fruit, or the SWA will pull its right to the word "scotch."

Elijah Craig Drops a 108-Proof PGA Championship Edition at $37

Heaven Hill has released the 2026 Elijah Craig PGA Championship Commemorative Edition, a small-batch bourbon bottled at 108 proof (54% ABV) to honour the 108th PGA Championship in May. Built on Heaven Hill's classic 78/10/12 mashbill and pulled from the N and S rickhouses, it lands at an MSRP of $36.99. That's 14 proof points up on the standard Small Batch — and at this price, it's quietly one of the year's best-value higher-proof bourbons.

DRAM5 Reframes Scotch as a Premium Unboxing Experience

A new UK startup, DRAM5, is betting that the future of premium scotch is theatre as much as liquid. Profiled in Forbes this week, the brand pairs curated single-cask whiskies with bespoke glassware and a designed unboxing ritual, targeting collectors and gifters in a market where standout shelf presence increasingly drives purchase. With Scotch volumes under pressure globally, premium-experience plays like this are where the category is finding its margins.

---

Got a tip or story we should cover? Tag us @DramMasterApp.