Which whiskey is better? Wrong question.

The question lands in our inbox every few months: which whiskey is better? The team keeps arriving at the same answer, which is that it's the wrong question.

Whisky Advocate calls its Top 20 "the top 20 whiskies of 2025 as selected by Whisky Advocate's expert reviewers." A useful compass, a shortlist, not scripture. The Bourbon Culture points to Woodford Reserve, noting that where Chris Morris "would never have given us both things at once," Elizabeth McCall "seems to be listening to enthusiasts, and Woodford Reserve is better for it." Proof and age, handed over at once, because someone read the room.

Style is the other half. World Whisky Day says the Irish camp has been "really good at adding personality," building whiskeys that "feel like a really chilled-out drink." The Guardian fills in the glass: "gently sweet and smooth, with apples and honey," a Double Oak with "more in the way of sweetness but with added spice," a Cask Strength reaching for complexity. Three different evenings, no podium.

So better is the one that matches the chair you're sitting in and the company you're keeping. A closing note for our own ledger: any American-whiskey shelf deep enough for a Woodford flight is, in our world, a shelf worth checking for a Boss Hog. The hunt goes on.

Travel like a Bause.