Glenmorangie Ealanta Whisky of the Year 2014

@SquidgyAsh, no doubt Mr. Murray has his own personal taste with his own personal favourite whiskies and his own personal favourite flavour profiles. I've never believed the insinuations of commercial bias against him, though. He is way too cantankerous to be anyone's lackey...I am not sure he is even capaple of being anyone's ally. Are you listening, Jim?

@SquidgyAsh I still have a little bit of that Handy left....

@Victor I agree - I have heard terrible things about him as a person (and as a colleague from people who have worked with him) - and I find the general tone of his work very arrogant and self-aggrandizing - but he is always interesting and he is a very good writer. And he does have professional integrity.

Hey, can we please stay on the topic of Ealanta, please? This discussion was meant to discuss the relative merits of this very intriguing Glenmorangie offering. I, for one, would very much like to see us stay on topic without straying into territory that casts doubt on the integrity of the man who propped up Ealanta on such a high pedestal. If we aren't discussing whisky, then I really don't see the point of such digressions.

Just kidding! Eh, gotcha! Keep the dirt rolling! It's damned interesting and also educational. The whisky industry, like stock markets, is built on a lot of opinion and one person quoting another. In fact, call me crazy, but I think a lot of sites out there are probably being run by people who couldn't blind taste test their way out of a whisky soaked paper bag. Then again, that's a very controversial thing to say. Oh well. C'est la vie.

@rigmorole I, for one, would love the opportunity to blind test my way out of a whisky soaked paper bag. In fact, I'm going to try to do that…right now. See ya!

Gratz to Glenmorangie. My only annoyance is that the Ealanta is a limited edition bottling. So, it's great to award such whiskies with these titles, but they aren't available to the general public unless you were either quick off the mark or very lucky. Everywhere seems sold out so its pretty difficult for the average whisky lover to get to try the Whisky of the Year 2014. Consideration should be given to awarding whiskies that are freely available I think.

Since we're on the subject here's what I think. When I first started down the long and slippery whisky slope I would invariably rely on Jim's scores to guide me. The Bible was my constant companion. I refused to buy anything unless it was rated in the 90s by him. And it fared me well, to be honest.

And then I had the opportunity to meet him. Personally I dislike the man largely because of his overly lecherous behavior towards the women in our malt society. Including an incident where he called a lady on stage and proceeded to make innuendos about her pussy (cat) and made every one largely uncomfortable. His off-stage antics included hitting on the wives of some of the members who organized a private dinner for him at an upscale restaurant.

Sometimes it's better to let the mystique remain.

Professionally, I think the man has some credence. He is, by and large ,right on the money. But I personally don't think it's a very hard thing to do. I'm sure the majority of us agree on what's a good whisky and what's not.

What he chooses to name Whisky of The Year is his prerogative. I think anyone who espouses an opinion, because it is just that - an opinion, should be taken with a grain of salt.

I have from a credible source that he was given the same spirit under two different names by a leading distillery (which I cannot name) and he came back with two different scores. Now does that mean he's a fraud or he felt differently when rating them we'll never know.

What I do know is that, thanks to him and his book, more and more people are coming into the single malt fold.

And if we, the experienced palates, start taking him too seriously we'll lose our minds. So I say let the old man lead his crusade. He's doing more good than harm, in my opinion. And, frankly, at least he's doing something.

@phoenix, all of this scarcity talk made me just pull the trigger on buying a bottle of Ealanta. We had about 130-140 bottles of it here in my county 2 weeks ago, and down to 40 today, make that 39 now. If Mr. Murray calls it World # 1 it isn't likely to be bad. Otherwise I don't like spending $ 90.46 on something I haven't tasted. (no my county will not ship spirits)

@Jean-Luc Help! Could you work your digital magic and make these recent contributions appear in the Connosr searches? When we type "Ealanta", this discussion does not show up. Nor do recent Ealanta reviews. (Actually, it seems no review written after October 25th shows up!!!!!)

All I have to say is when I found out that Murray crowned the ardbeg 10 whisky of the year, I knew this was a hoax. Ardbeg 10 is at best a B whisky. Even though, I know this, I'm still interested in trying the new crowned whisky because of the title. Who are we? that we care what others think.

In Murray's defense, he does declare in the 2014 book that the reader should form his own opinion if what constitutes as a good whisky. My wife bought me the book by the way.

Anyway I have been following Murray's Whiskies of the Year irregularly over the years. I recall I have had a bottle each of the Ardbeg 10, Ballantines 17 YO and that was it. Nice drinking but not Whiskies of the Year to me. Couldn't be stuffed hunting for the Old Pulteney 21 YO and I still have an unopened bottle of the early batch Uigeadail some where.

As for the Ealanta, tried a few drams and fell in love. I then went and got two cases worth to stash away before the fanatics/speculators drove the prices beyond reason or diminished stock. It is a malt that I can see myself drinking from time to time throughout my lifetime. A very versatile drink that is good for the everyday fare as it is not really heavy yet has plenty of depth and character to satisfy as a contemplative dram. All this for a fair price too.

Maybe it is the virgin oak maturation which makes it unique. While my usual preference will be for the sherried style with the occasional peaty ones when the mood calls for it, I find I am also gravitating towards this style too since trying the Benromach Organic at the Whisky Live earlier this year. Not sure if it is a new thing but could it be that virgin oak maturation is increasing in popularity?

Ardbeg 10 in 2008 is not the Ardbeg 10 of today. The whisky inside the bottle today couldn't be more different. That's worth remembering. It's also unclear to me if Murray was evening drinking a 10 that was bottled in 2008. For all I know, the one he crowned could have been bottled prior to mid 2007 when the recipe changed.

Most of us have been conditioned as consumers to think that scotch inside a bottle with the same label on it stays the same. It doesn't. Distillers change hands, old hands retire, accountants that are handy with the numbers can also step in and muck up a good thing in order to turn a better profit.

Scotch is a Chimeric type of creature. The spirits elude us. Try stopping the sea's tide with a broad sword. You would have just as good a chance of doing that as you would of cracking open a bottle of scotch that was good fifteen years ago for various reasons and find it the same essential stuff today. It might be just as good, but the scotch inside will be a different animal. Such is the nature of the beast.

It ain't all Scotch, @rigmorole, and it's as true of all distillers of whisky, as it is of Ardbeg and Talisker. If you find something you like, you better stock up on it. Even George T. Stagg ain't always up to the same quality. People around Connosr seem keen to find the psychological security of a "once and for all" quality in a whisky brand. There is no such animal. All things on earth are perishable.

Hence my going deep on the Ealanta. There shouldn't be much batch variation for a supposed limited release number.

@sengjc, nope, the bottles of Ealanta should all be just about the same, unless the corks are bad, etc. If I liked it as much as you do, I would stock up on it too.

Just as well I did, the place I got it from sold out in a matter of weeks! I think stocks are depleting Australia wide at a really rapid rate too once word got out.

Some very thought provoking conversation in this thread. A good read.

I am fond of Glenmorangie and picked up a bottle of Ealanta on blind faith a few months ago here in Sydney. Glad I did as I'd kick myself for not trying it. I am yet to have a taste, I will crack it open soon-ish.