Your Whisk(e)y of the Year Award

If I could also narrow it down to three: They are all what might be called easy drinking whiskies which appeal to my peat non appreciation taste buds. They are all co-incidentally 12 year olds which may mean something if I were ever to get on the old trick cyclists sofa (my mental age maybe?) They are Bunnahabhain 12yo, Glengoyne 12yo and Auchentoshan 12yo. And the winner is.................Glengoyne 12yo..........ripple of applause.............And the reason, I had the pleasure of visiting their distillery earlier this year and found it fascinating, friendly and the samples were very generous measures. Shallow I know but there you go. Cheers for an interesting discussion thread.

@IainVH Thanks for that- Perfectly sound reasoning. "Never mind the quality, feel the width" as my Mum says! And by the way, I've already made the A'bunadh the bookies favourite for next year's title. Simply sublime....

@smokeybarrels I'll put a few quid on that.

Unlike with Jim Murray, my whisky tasting has to date run only to the hundreds, not to the thousands, of sampled whiskies. If the award is to go to the most outstanding whisky find of the preceding year, regardless of type, then, according to my own flavour profile preferences, my top favourite is the Abraham Bowman 10 yo Rye Whiskey, The Party Source Private Barrel, at 138.8 proof/69.4% ABV. The taste is fantastic, and the flavour intensity on nose, palate, and finish is enough to make your head explode. I call this one "George T. Stagg Rye", because of the proof/ABV and also because of the intensity of the flavours. And it does bear direct kinship with George T. Stagg, because the Bowman Distillery has been part of the Sazarac Corp./Buffalo Trace empire since 2003. The Bowman whiskeys are, to the best of my knowledge, mostly currently distilled at Buffalo Trace Distillery, then redistilled and aged at Bowman, which is in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

@Victor There's some seriously good stuff coming out of that Buffalo Trace distillery at present then. I'll drink to that! Thanks for your thoughts....

My Whisky of the Year award goes to Balvenie 17 Year Madeira Cask. Amazing malt.

@smokeybarrels...I'm in a similar position to you...basically one year (if I stretch it) of experiencing the joys of whisk(e)y in all its' forms. I will throw out two categories from my personal experience, with picks based on personal preference:

Best Value Whisk(e)y (Quality x value) nominees: Evan Williams 'Binny's Handpicked' Single Barrel (2000), Te Bheag, Auchentoshan 12, with Bushmills Black Bush as an honorable mention.

Te Bheag's range of bold flavours in its profile edges out Auchentoshan's very well balanced profile, largely on it being a bottle that was $11 cheaper (at the purchase prices...Auchentoshan has since gone up another $8 in Ontario since I bought my bottle). Yes, I am comparing a blend to a SM...my cabinet is not yet big enough to split this category! :)

Best whiskey...very difficult to narrow down the contenders here...nominees: Lagavulin 16, Highland Park 18, and Parker's Heritage 4th ed. 10 yo wheated bourbon, with Booker's Small Batch Bourbon and Port Charlotte 'An Turas Mor' getting honourable mention.

Lagavulin 16 is the winner. It is the one that first got me hooked (obsessed?) on whisky as a hobby in January and revisiting it over the past couple of months has consistently re-confirmed that my initial impressions were true.

I also feel compelled to have a separate category for 'unique' whiskey...a single sample of Old Potrero 18th Century style rye whiskey blew the doors off of my perceptions of the range of flavours that could be presented in a whiskey. As I noted in @Victor's review of said bottle, it was like drinking a grain silo, and for my preferences...that was more than a good thing!

@rwbenjey thanks for your response- this bottle is high on my wishlist.

@Pudge72 Thanks for that. Highland Park 18 is for me probably the finest whisky I have tasted to date, however at around £60 a bottle it is a special occasion dram for me. The Old Pulteney 12 is often available at £20 over here which is why it has become one of my regular go-to's and subsequently lifted this year's trophy. I am adding the Lagavulin 16 to my wishlist now that you have bestowed this honour upon it- cheers!

For me, there need to be three categories. Overall Best Whisky (so I can also name the unobtainable and unaffordable), Best Affordable Whisky (which any mortal can get) and Best Toshan (what did you expect?). After having tasted about 650 whiskies in the last two years, my Overall Best Whisky award goes to the Glen Garioch 1971 for Samaroli, Best Affordable Whisky would be BenRiach 30 Year Old for LMdW and Best Toshan would be the Auchentoshan 30 Year Old 1978 Bourbon Cask Matured.

@smokeybarrels...did I just experience a 'Murray Moment' in reading that you have added Lagavulin 16 to your wishlist, based on my award mention? I expect the worldwide supply of the bottle to sell out by the end of this week! :)

Seriously though, you cannot go wrong with that one...I have had several drams of it over the past two months and have found at least one (usually multiple) new flavour/aroma notes each time! For a 16 yo it is decently priced, by LCBO standards, @ CAN$110. If it was less expensive, I would have plowed through my current bottle by now and have purchased another without hesitation.

I've been lucky with HP18, being able to have a couple of drams from a friend's bottle that he bought as his first 'homerun' bottle, on my recommendation no less! I didn't recommend the Lagavulin 16 at the time only because I wasn't sure if his tastes ran to the Islay end of the spectrum...he has since discovered that they do!

OP12 is on my radar, though the LCBO has it priced at least $20 higher than it really should be (relative to pricing in the US), so I am taking my time in picking it up.

@markjedi1 Thanks for expanding this award to cover more categories, which makes sense, particularly when you have had such a comprehensive range to compare and contrast. And it was only a matter of time before you started the 'Toshan of the year award!! My vote for this goes to he Classic, which is the only one I've tried. I can feel your disapproval from across the North sea, so I will address this in 2012 :)

@Pudge72 Well I did buy the HP18 on the back of reading your review of it so this wouldn't be the first time. Im intrigued buy the Lagavulin but must confess to being less of an islay fan than many. I love the lightly peated/smokiness of the HP range and other island whiskies such as Jura (though a lot less than HP), but the Islay's so far have left me cold. Maybe the Lagavulin could be the one to change all that.. you'll love the Old pulteney expressions Im sure, well worth checking out. Cheers!

@smokeybarrels No disapproval on my part, sir, but indeed make sure you try some more expressions for next year's Toshan Awards :)

@markjedi1 I have the 'toshan Valinch coming. It might be here in time to be included in the 2011 awards. The 18 is pretty tasty. But for my picks:

Arran Sherry Cask 1996, cask 1785, USA exclusive, 56%. Simply the best and most enjoyable sherried whisky on the planet. The deep red color is gorgeous, the nose takes you places you've never been and where you never want to leave, and on the mouth it's rich, viscous, and smooth as glass.

Rye whiskey: High West Rendezvous Rye. A real treat.

@two-bit-cowboy It sounds like I need to get a bottle of this- will make a note of it for my next visit to the US of A. Thanks..

@markjedi1 I am not sure about your selection for the Best affordable whisky ?!?!? A 30 years old does not seem to fit in the same sentence than the word "affordable" !

If I want to do my own selection based on your categories, it would go like this: The best overall would be: Laphroaig 25 years old. (see my review of this baby!) Best Affordable would be: Aberlour Abunadh. Best Toshan: I only tried the Toshan 21 years old that I got one year ago, so it wins by default, but it is very very good. And a new category of my own...Best Islayer under 100$: Ardbeg Uigeadail (simply fantastic !) It is not under 100$ in Quebec, but I can find it in the USA for 80$.

@smokeybarrels best hurry; it's a single cask: 165 bottles

@Kutter You make a good point! Indeed, the BenRiach 30 YO is about 300 USD. So it may not be affordable to everybody. But your solution is the best: the Toshan 21 is indeed both affordable and very good. Thanks for pointing that out.

@smokeybarrels ...that is quite a compliment regarding your purchase of the HP18, and I am glad that you have found it to be so rewarding.

As for the Lagavulin 16, since you state a hesitation with Islays, might I recommend trying it at a trusted establishment or picking up a sample or mini-bottle (Diageo has put out 200 mL bottles of at least Lagavulin 16, Talisker 10, and Cragganmore 12 in Ontario) at a retailer, so that your investment is not significant, should you not find it to your liking.

My first impressions of a 'campfire in a glass' (i.e. relatively heavy on smoke to begin with) have stuck with me, but I have discovered a wide range of notes in subsequent tastings (mint - something like spearmint gum, pine, and orange rind are some that come to mind). For someone who is a fan of bold profiles, this one hits a bunch of positive notes! I would see Lagavulin 16 as a bit of a gateway to smokey whiskies as it does not have the medicinal quality that Laphroaig QC and Ardbeg 10 seem to have. Enjoy!

Well, I must say that over the last year I have stretched my hands out and tried many different whiskies as well as styles of whisk(e)y. If I were to give any awards to the trials of the last year it could never go to just one whisk(e)y. As like the late M. Jackson, I feel that if the time and effort was put in to make something of a certain character, it should be judged with apprehension and to it's peers.

So without further adieu: my favorite Bourbon sampled this year was Jefferson's Reserve, sampled at a bar with my one malt mate Pat per bartender rec. My winner in the Irish Whiskey catagory has to be Redbreast 12yo, first and one of only 2 pure potstill style Irish whiskey, the other being Greenspot, unavailible in the states. Runs $40-50 american and will be a staple in my cabinet from here on out. As for Canadian, I remain firm with Crown Royal. It's the best I've found but I'm very open to suggestions for Canadians. Best Rye, hands down Templeton Rye. It encompassed everything I dreamed a Rye should be. And finally the scotches, my personal favorites in the whisky world. Blended has to be the Famous Grouse 12yo Gold Reserve. It is a blend of mostly Macallan and Highland Park and I fully recommend this blend as the Price is fair and it makes for good flask whisky out on the river. Now the Single Malt Scotch Whisky... drumroll please... Lagavulin 16yo, no questions asked. Now it is expensive $90 a bottle plus local tax in Chicago, but the sheried peat smoked complicated intense Islay malt is wonderful. Strong and profound, this year it met no equal in the world of Single Malts.

Sorry for the long winded responce but I felt that whisk(e)y, like other things, should be judged based on where it is from and what it was produced to taste like.

I've decided to give myself 4 value linked categories for this now as 1 didn't seem right..

£0-20 Buffalo Trace £20-40 Old Pulteney 12 £40-60 Tomintoul 21 £60+ Highland Park 18

From my stack at home: Talisker 192 distillers edition. Quite spicy but well balanced. Most remembered (tasted): Glenrothes 1992 12 yo bottle taken from the sample room. Extreme toffee, caramel and utter smoothness.

Several Whiskies impressed this year: There was an Ardbeg 10yo. that was very good but just a little too civilized (never thought I'd be able to say that), an HP. 18yo. that was probably the best Whisky this year but in line with the OP's question, My Whisky of the Year; Aberlour A'bunadh batch #19. There have been slightly better expressions than #19, but not this year.