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Could This $18 Supermarket Whisky Win 'Best Scotch in the World'?
We're willing to find out.
For just £13.49, or $17.83 USD, you can get your hands on some of the finest Scotch there is to offer.
The modest malt at the top of the heap is the Queen Margot Blend Scotch Whisky, produced by none other than Lidl, the affordable German supermarket which also has locations in the U.S., including New Jersey and Delaware.
According to a panel of more than 40 experts at the annual World Whiskies Awards, which looks for “the very best in all internationally recognized styles of drinks,” the 8-year-old Queen Margot was the favorite in the 12 years-and-under category of blended whiskies, beating out more expensive contenders like the 12-year-old Johnny Walker Black Label, which retails for around $30.
Per Lidl, the Queen Margot is created using traditional methods like malting and mashing, to produce a whisky that is “smooth with a rich sweetness and depth of flavour, leaving a warm, lingering finish,” with the “soft aroma” of dried apricot and plum.
Importantly, the Queen Margot has a few more rounds of competition to go before it’s potentially named the “Best Overall Blended Whisky” and “Best Overall Whisky,” but it could happen. Those results will be announced March 28, 2019 at the Whisky Magazine Award dinner in London.
And while it may seem like quite a long shot, don’t forget that this isn’t the first time a humble bottle of supermarket booze has pulled an upset like this. In 2017, a $10 sparkling wine, again from Lidl, won the Silver Outstanding award at the International Wine & Spirit Competition, as did a $60 bottle of Veuve Clicquot. And there was the time that an $8 dry rosé from Aldi took home its own Silver Medal during the International Wine Challenge’s Great Value Awards, known to some as the “Oscars of the wine industry."
If you can get your hands on a bottle of Lidl’s good stuff, let us know if it’s worth the hype—and no matter what, let’s raise a glass to cheap Scotch that hits the spot!
Written by: Karen Lo
Popular on Food52
14 Comments
https://www.forbes.com/sites/felipeschrieberg/2019/02/28/fake-whisky-news-no-that-lidl-whisky-is-not-the-best-in-the-world/
Personally, my favorite non-bourbon is Black Bush, but Queen Margot is decent stuff (even the white label). I wouldn't be surprised if it wins in its category.
It isn’t saying you can buy whiskey in New Jersey nor Delaware at Lidls. Hard liquor is tightly controlled in most states to sure those $$ state and federal taxes are paid.
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