Get in the World Cup Spirit with the Master of Malt Football-Themed Release

As a kid growing up in the 90s, I still maintain that the 1990s were the golden age of football, not only in the UK, but all over the globe. We had legends winding down their playing careers and transitioning over to management, and we had youngsters coming up through the academy, who would go on to become legends themselves.

World Cups in particular, always had an aura of excitement about them. From Italia 90 to France 98, the home nations all created memorable moments in some form or another. With the World Cup now a matter of months away (as of this writing) summer 2026 is shaping up to be a fantastic few months for footy fans. Do you know who else is going to benefit? Yep, you guessed it – fans of whisky!

To help get in the World Cup spirit, our good friends over at Master of Malt have released a limited-edition range of five retro football-themed whiskies featuring labels and artwork inspired by the iconic kits of the home nations during Italia 90 and France 98. Here are my thoughts.

The Golden Age of Football

I’m probably showing my age now, but as great as football is today, it’s nothing like it was during the 90s. For me, 90s football was football at its peak. Retro undersized, and later, oversized shorts and kits, Mitre footballs, Umbro boots, questionable haircuts, footy albums and stickers, (if you got a shiny, you were truly blessed) no VAR spoiling the moment, and perhaps most poignantly of all, that sense of belief watching your team play, while hoping and praying that the game doesn’t go to penalties.

Two standout World Cup tournaments during that period were of course Italia 90, and France 98. Just talking about it is enough to evoke strong memories and emotions. I can still remember that Michael Owen goal against Argentina vividly, I remember Gazza’s tears back in the day, Stuart McCall being showered with Scotland scarves, Ireland showing a huge amount of heart against hosts, Italy in the quarter finals, and unfortunately, I also remember that incredibly soft red card for Becks.

Football is nostalgic. It brings you comfort, it takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions, and it stirs up feelings and memories you never knew existed. Just like whisky. In anticipation of the upcoming World Cup 2026, hosted in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, this five-bottle collection of drams from Master of Malt should certainly get you in the football spirit, and who knows, they may even have you believing once more.

Master of Malt World Cup Collection

With the World Cup right around the corner, the good folks over at Master of Malt have released a new bottling line featuring five limited edition bottles of whisky depicting retro styled labels inspired by the home nation’s home and away kits from the Italia 1990 and France 1998 World Cup tournaments.

The bottles feature labels designed in-house by Chris Gunter and Ben McKeown. The labels are certainly not carbon copies of the kits worn by the home nations, but rather, they pay homage to them. One look at the artwork and you can certainly tell which home nation is represented, and if you know your footy, which kit from which year.

In the words of Sam Simmons, Master of Malt’s Head of Whisky: ‘We created this range to celebrate two things that have always brought people together in a big way: world-class whisky and iconic football moments.’

The range itself features English, Irish, and of course, Scotch whisky. Make no mistake about it, this is no gimmick. The whisky, as always, is exceptional. Let’s meet the lineup:

An English Distillery 12 Year Old 2013 World Cup Edition

The first whisky in this line up represents England and hails from an undisclosed English distillery. The label represents England’s away kit during the 1998 World Cup in France.

It was distilled back in 2013 and was matured in a single bourbon cask before being bottled at a cask strength of 54% ABV. It’s bold, it’s complex, it’s fiery, and it’s packed full of common bourbon notes such as vanilla, oak, and caramel. These are joined by fruity, malty notes, with just a hint of dark chocolate.

Even if football doesn’t come home this year, this bottle certainly can with you, for just £59.95.

Adnams 9 Year Old 2016 World Cup Edition

The second dram in this collection is another English whisky designed to represent England’s home kit during the 1990 World Cup. This is evident from the artwork right from the offset. Even the number 9 depicting the age of the whisky is evocative of the number on the back of legendary Liverpool striker Peter Beardsley’s shirt.

It’s a nine-year-old rye whisky hailing from Suffolk’s Adnams Distillery featuring those prominent sweet, spicy, and peppery notes we’ve come to expect from a rye. These mingle beautifully with flavours and aromas of Victoria sponge cake, clotted cream scones with raspberry jam, stem ginger, honey, chocolate orange, and toasted oak shavings.

Bottled at 46.6% ABV, this is the cheapest dram in this lineup, available for just £39.95.

Ben Nevis 27 Year Old World Cup Edition

From one home nation to the next, we’re now heading further north, to our good friends in Scotland.

2026 is a special footballing year for Scotland, as it sees them back in the World Cup for the first time since 1998. Such a special occasion surely calls for a special dram from that very year? Well, they’ve got it here. Even the artwork pays homage to the Scotland squad’s home kit in France all those years ago.

This 27-year-old dram from Ben Nevis was drawn from one of the most special casks in their warehouse. It’s a 1998 vintage single malt that matured for close to three decades in a PX (Pedro Ximenez) cask. As you might expect, there’s a lot of sweet fruit here, with nutty, slightly spicy and creamy undertones. There’s candied peel, tropical fruits, creamy vanilla ice cream, Belgian waffles drenched in golden syrup, and zingy citrus with amazing mouthfeel.

This dram was bottled at 47.5% and can be yours for a very respectable £249.95.

A Highlands Distillery 12 Year Old 2014 World Cup Edition

The penultimate dram in this five-a-side squad also hails from an undisclosed distillery, this time from somewhere in the Highlands, so you know it’s going to be special (though that’s true of them all to be honest).

With Scotland looking sharper than ever in recent years, I’ve a feeling they’ll do well this year, and there will surely be plenty to celebrate. Which is handy, really, because this dram is the perfect way to do just that, or drown your sorrows.

Another sherry monster, this dram spent 12 years maturing in an Oloroso sherry hogshead, so again, there’s a great deal of fruity and nutty notes. It features heavy notes of candied peel, toasted almonds, plump sultanas, and creamy porridge oats with sweet and salty undertones to finish.

The label is styled after Scotland’s away shirt in 1998, and the whisky itself, which is available for £44.95, was bottled at an ABV of 46.3%.

A Highlands Distillery 12 Year Old 2014 World Cup Edition

The label is styled after Scotland’s away shirt in 1998, and the whisky itself, which is available for £44.95, was bottled at an ABV of 46.3%.

8 Year Old Irish Whiskey World Cup Edition

Finally, completing the lineup and featuring a label inspired by Ireland’s home kit in 1990 we have a cracking 8-year-old Irish whiskey from another undisclosed distillery, this time on the Emerald Isle.

While the luck ‘o the Irish may not have been with the squad this year, as they unfortunately missed out on qualification, fans can take solace in the fact that they have an exceptional whiskey to sip on as they watch the action unfold on the TV. Like myself, the folks over at Master of Malt clearly believed Ireland would do it, otherwise they wouldn’t have created this dram. Alas, it was not to be, but in some respects, I think that makes this bottle even more special.

To create this unique blended dram, two casks of Irish whiskey were combined. One was an 8-year-old first fill bourbon expression, whereas the other was a 12-year-old red wine cask finish. The end result is a complex marriage of flavours ranging from fruity and zingy to sweet and creamy. As you might expect, it also features that trademark velvet smooth finish we’ve come to know and love from an Irish whiskey.

Limited to just 66 bottles, this dram was bottled at 43.3% and can be yours for just £49.95.

If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at the diverse selection of unique whiskies we currently have in stock.

With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.

Tags: Football-Themed ReleaseMaster of MaltWorld Cup Spirit

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.