Best whisky you tasted in 2016?

The first one that comes to mind is the Compass Box Flaming Heart Anniv Edition. The 2014 Talisker DE may surpass it once it airs out for a while. Both wonderful drams!

Tough call. Such a long year, and so many great whiskies::

• Redbreast 12 YO CS was an early favourite

• Benromach 10/100

• Ardbeg Supernova committee release 2015 (thanks to @Victor)

• MIltonduff 28 YO SMWS 72.38 (Thanks Igor of Scotch)

• Arran 12 YO SMWS 121.76 (Thanks to my in-laws for the gift!)

• Caol Ila 17 YO CS ("unpeated") that I happened upon because of an error in picking up the wrong bottle...

The best whisky I tasted this year was an Abraham Bowman Limited Edition Bourbon bottled at roughly 71% abv. My taste of this came from @victor, who I sincerely thank for allowing me to try such a fine spirit. Not to mention the tasting of the entire BTAC range. The GTS we sampled was a close second place to the AB.

Hard to say. Two that really stand out for me from the top of my head are Ledaig 2005 for whisky fässle and Blackadder raw cask Amrut peated. Fittingly I had one of them in januari and one of them in November, start and finish!

Beginning of year Four Roses Sm Batch 2015

Middle of year Port Charlotte CC01

End of year HP18

I had sampled a lot more 2015, whereas in 2016 I've mostly tried to work through my existing cabinet. Of my "new tries" this year: Bowmore Devil's Cask III and Green Spot Leoville Barton.

I guess Octomore 6.1? I was hoping to be blown away but instead, it was just very good. Laphroaig 10 CS can give it a run for its money (and for a lot less money) any day.

Many good ones to choose from. Here are my top 5:

• Compass Box Flaming Heart 15th. One of the best whiskies available at a reasonable price. Highly recommended!
• Balblair 1990 2nd edition. Smooth and elegant. A real gem that you still find at some places.
• Amrut Intermediate Sherry Cask. Must join everybody else that salutes this odd but wonderful whisky. It's different than many of my other whiskies and that is probably why I like it so much! The Portanova is equally good.
• Redbreast 21. Paid 110 Euros for this superwhisky, which is a bargain. Bought a couple of bottles of course. One of the best.
• Glenfarclas 1989 Christmas Edition (26 years) A gift to myself at Christmas. Opened it on Christmas Eve and I was really impressed. Have promised myself that it should last long. It has an average score of 90,8 at whiskybase.com and I understand why. A pity I only bought one bottle....

Anyone of these are great. If you find any of them at a reasonable price you shouldn't hesitate to buy a bottle or two!

Happy New Year!

Whiskies which were new to me and which drew my attention the most in 2016 were: 1) 2016 William Larue Weller, 2) Compass Box The Spice Tree Extravaganza, 3) Talisker 175th Anniversary, 4) Jefferson's Ocean Cask Strength, and 5) Longmorn 15 yo (yes, the sample I had of it was most impressive).

Do I consider every one of those the best I had in 2016? Not necessarily. These were the ones which surprised me the most in a positive way, except for William Larue Weller which is never a surprise. Also next on that list are 6) Elijah Craig 21 yo Single Barrel, 7) Laphroaig 25 yo, and 8) Compass Box This is Not A Luxury Whisky.

Striking too was having a dram of Van Winkle Family Reserve 13 yo Rye for the first time in a very long time and being reminded of how wonderful it is after the bottle is open for several years.

Addition to previous comment:

• Longrow 18. I've tried two versions this year. Quite different (one finished on Rum casks), but both really good!
• Kilkerran 12. A winner in the category "value for money". Unfortunately sold out at many places, so if you find one buy it! One of the best 12-year old whiskies I've ever tried, along with Redbreast 12 CS and Port Charlotte PC12.

@victor when did you get EC21? Haven't seen it here yet. we've had the new release of EC18.

@MuddyFunster, the Elijah Craig 21 yo Single Barrel was released about 2 or 3 years ago. I had the opportunity to taste it recently when the manager of a store with whom I am friendly invited my sister and me into their back room where they keep about 125 open bottles for sampling. When he or his boss do that sometimes we sample 5 or 6 whiskies, sometimes 10 or 12.

There was also a Elijah Craig 23 yo Single Barrel released more recently. I haven't tasted that one.

With all the trades I made this year and some first time purchases the list is too long, that said

WLW 2015 (won on the LCBO lottery) 2012 Thomas H Handy (Cost me a 2015 Saz 18) 2013 Four Roses Small Batch ltd edition 2012 George T Stagg (Acquired in a brilliant trade on my part as far as I am concerned :) Redbreast 12 CS (I may regret only buying 2 bottles of this gem) 2014 Bowmore Laimrig 2016 Four Roses Elliott's Select Single Barrel Glendronach 15 Revival Amrut Intermediate Sherry (3/4 of a bottle in only 4 months, luckily I have a back up) Wiser's Last Barrels, Canadian entry less I incur the wrath of @Paddockjudge

I am having a Redbreast 21 as I write this, spectacular, but that is a 2017 storey

Jeez,the format I wrote my list came out as the worlds longest run on sentence

@Astroke,

Incredible list! That looks a lot like one of our Epic tastings.

Last Barrels is a unique whisky and one which I enjoy. My 2016 picks for top Canadian are Canadian Rockies 21 Year Old and Lot No.40 Cask Strength.

@paddockjudge Does Lot 40 CS count if it was never released? If so then I have to count the Chinese spirit I tasted from the barrel in Xianjiang, even if it isn't whisky (it was THAT good)

I have tried a number of drams this year. Some were very interesting and thrilling drams with friends – including a notable tasting with @Victor and his sister. I got to try the Ardbeg Dark Cove Committee, and Ardbeg Perpetuum Committee Release HTH with the standard releases. (The Committee was far superior both times). I tried two batches of Amrut Intermediate Sherry, which are always spectacular (#2 and #5). I also tasted several of the BTAC from pervious years, and a few of the Van Winkle line. However, none of the BTAC, nor the Van Winkle’s, were from the 2016 releases. A lovely bottle of Johnnie Walker Black from the 1970’s was particularly memorable (and I would love to get a small sample for a proper scoring session).

However, for this year-in-review I am limiting myself to bottles opened and tasted during this year, in a controlled environment, with pen in hand, and with more than two tastings. While that is quite limiting I think it is only fair because some drams are heightened by both the company and conversation. And, while I am in complete support of good whisk(e)y and good company, it is hard to draw a fair comparison.

So, this year I gave my top scores with more than two tastings to:

Ardbeg Corryvreckan 57.1% 10/11/2014 = 96.5

Octomore 7yo Rest & Be Thankful 63.9% (258ppm) French Oak. Distilled 19/03/2008; bottled 6th May 2015. 54 of 316 bottles. = 96

Benromach 10yo Imperial Proof 57% 31/08/15 = 95

Redbreast 12yo Cask Strength 57.4% B1/15 = 94.5

Glenfarclas 40yo 46% (2010 release) = 94.5

Also notable:

Ardbeg TEN 46% 25/03/2015 = 94

Ardbeg Dark Cove 46.5% 09/02/2016 = 94

Yes, I am a peat freak. Yes, I am an Ardbeg fan boy. But that particular batch of Corry and Ten are simply fantastic for my taste (too much liquorish in the Corry for @Victor). I am thankful to a friend for picking up a second bottle of the Benromach 10yo Imperial Proof for me. Thankfully, it is the exact same batch as my open bottle (because it was from the exact same store). This is also the same friend who generously opened the Octomore 7yoin my presence, gave me a taste, and two sample bottles. It is easily my favorite Octomore to date. Very, very farmy.

In 2016 I've tasted many 'old' favorites. The favorite new one's for 2016 to mention are Amrut Peated CS & Amrut Intermediate (many thanks to @nozinan & @victor for mentioning these bottles on Connosr). Glengoyne 18 was a wonderful experience and Bushmills 21 got Ireland back on my radar. For 2017 I'm looking out for Redbreast 12 CS.

The one bottle I'd like to mention that's not among the 'usual suspects' on Connosr is Kilchoman Machir Bay 2014. It took me 2 years to buy this bottle, to many doubts along the way. I'm glad I got it in 2016 and really should bought it 2 years ago.

Well, 2016 is a remarkable whisky year for me, because I discovered Springbank, although on a modest level. Reviews did not evoke any enthusiasm at all, but 1000 Springbank lovers can not be wrong. So I bought the Springbank 10 Years Old and I fell in love. Lime, lemon and smoke. Then I rushed again to the store and got me Springbank 12 Years Old CS. That was even better. It became one of my favorites. Sherry, smoke, leather, curry... Talking about curry, Amrut Peated CS is a great one too. Well, it was too strong for me at first, but that changed overtime. Did an Amrut ever let you down ? Did it ?

@NamBeist

The only time Amrut let me down was when the LCBO dropped the price of its remaining single cask bottles to $40 and I couldn't get any...

@NamBeist If you have fallen in love with Springbank you must try Kilkerran 12. I can promise that you wont be disappointed!