The 'World's Best' whisky is from Victoria

There's nothing like being the greatest on Earth, the finest on the planet, the most preeminent of the realm.

Macaloney's Island Distillery in Victoria knows the feeling because it just won 'World's Best Pot Still Whisky' at the World Whiskies Awards in London, England.

That means the Macaloney's Kildara Signature Expression Whisky ($125) is tops in its field and is keeping company with such famous past winners as Johnny Walker and J.P. Wiser.

"Winning World's Best Pot Still for our Kildara...was breathtaking," said founder and whisky maker Graeme Macaloney, a Scot expat who now calls Victoria home.

An astounding amount of craftsmanship goes into making a world's best whisky.

Macaloney's starts with the finest Canadian barley and Vancouver Island water, uses traditional Forsyth's copper pot stills to triple distill a spirit that then spends time in four different types of oak barrels -- Kentucky Bourbon, Spanish Oloroso, virgin American and Spanish Pedro Ximenez.

The result is a complex, layered, smoother, balanced and fruiter whisky with mind-blowing aromas and flavours from dried fruit cake, roasted nuts, vanilla creme and brown sugar to butterscotch, orange, milk chocolate and Vancouver Island ocean breeze.

As a fine and expensive whisky, Macaloney's Kildara Signature Expression is best sipped neat or with a splash of water or on the rocks if you feel it has a bit too much heat after the first sip.

It would border on sacrilege to mix such an exceptional and pricey whisky with Coke or ginger ale or in any other cocktail.

But, hey, if you want to do so with a $125-a-bottle craft spirit, that's your call.

The full name of the business at 761 Enterprise Cres. in Saanich is Macaloney's Island Distillery & Twa Dogs Brewery.

So, yes, in addition to making 10 different premium whiskies, it brews beers with names like Keekin' Glass Pilsner, Life & Liberty Pale Ale, Raspberry Creme Brulee Strong Ale, Parting Kiss Bourbon Barrel Ale and Love Gose 'Round Sour Beer.

Macaloney is no stranger to accolades at the World Whiskies Awards.

"With our prior World's Best New Make and World's Best Young Spirit awards in 2019 and 2020 for our peated spirits, we are the first Canadian craft distillery in history to take an unprecedented three World's Best gold medals in blind tastings at the prestigious World Whiskies Awards," said Macaloney.

At the 2023 edition of the contest, Macaloney also won three other gold medals for Best Canadian Single Malt for the Siol Dugall Signature Expression, Best Canada Single Cask Malk for The Peat Project: Single Cask Portuguese Red Wine Barrique with Washington Peat and Best Canada Pot Still for the aforementioned World's Best Kildara Signature Expression.

Macaloney also gives a shout out to two other Victoria winners who picked up trophies at the 2023 World Whiskies Awards -- Devine Distillery's Glen Saanich for Best Canadian Small Batch Single Malt and Clive's Classic Lounge in the Chateau Victoria for Best Hotel Bar.