Japanese single malt whisky and cross country skiing

Norway is the home (and birthplace) of cross-country skiing.  Scotland is the home of single malt whisky.  So when a champion is crowned from outside the region it is a shock.  This just happened in the case of single malt whisky.  A Japanese whisky (Yamazaki) was deemed, by a prominent expert, to be the best in the world.  In this category, "the best" is a subjective choice, but a wake up call nonetheless.  Arguably this is as good for the growth of the category as a non-Norwegian champion may be for cross-country skiing.
For the record, I still like Macallan, Lagavulin and Aardbeg...and Ole Einar Bjørndalen, but will definitely give this a try!
Daily Telegraph whisky article