Canada Beats Scotland For World's Best Whisky Title

Scotland might be best known for its centuries-long history of whisky production — the first known distillation of whisky in Scotland took place in 1494, and the country now has five distinct regions that produce what has come to be known as its national drink — but a Canadian whisky has now been named the best whisky in the world, for 2016 at least.

Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye, a Canadian malt whisky, has been named the world whisky of the year, with a score of 97.5 points out of 100 in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible, which profiles thousands of the world's whiskies each year.

This year, as with last year, not a single Scottish whisky made the top five whiskies in the world. For 2016, the United States took two of the top spots — Pikesville Straight Rye and William Larue Weller Bourbon, at second and fourth place, respectively — while Ireland's Midleton Dair Ghaelach placed third, and Japan's Suntory Yamazaki Mizunara took fifth place.