There were many great whiskies released in 2010, and it’s good to know that (in an era of rapidly increasing prices) several of them are less than $100. Eight of the whiskies below were rated “Classic” status (95 points or higher); two more just missed it, with ratings of 94. Here they are, listed alphabetically:
Buffalo Trace Experimental Collection, 1995 Vintage, “American Oak Chips Seasoned,” 45%, $47/375ml
Surprisingly light and fresh for a 15 year old whiskey. Crisply spiced, with hints of dried fruit, kissed with light honey and a wisp of smoke. Balanced and clean throughout, and very drinkable.
Compass Box Flaming Heart (10th Anniversary bottling), 48.9%, $105
A marriage of seven different whiskies from three distilling regions (Highland, Islay, and Island) aged in both American and French oak casks. It demonstrates the advantage of marrying whiskies from more than one distillery. More smoke and tar on the palate than the nose, yet always in balance. Well played!Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve, 40%, $70
Perhaps the finest Canadian whisky we have ever tasted. Creamy and seamless from beginning to end. Forty Creek whiskies have always been very good, but none have ever had the right stuff to reach classic status. Until now, that is. An outstanding, very distinctive whisky!George T. Stagg, 71.5%, $70
Very close to last year’s release in personality, with great balance between the sweetness, spice, and fruit. Nicely structured too, with clearly defined flavor notes. A great value, considering it’s almost the equivalent of two bottles of bourbon if diluted.GlenDronach Grandeur, 31 year old, 45.8%, $700
The new ultra-mature release, following its 33 year old predecessor (bottled by previous owners). It’s nice to see the higher ABV. Very soothing. Quite deep on the nose, and viscous (almost sappy) on the palate. I like that it’s sherried, and the sherry is kept in balance.Glenfarclas, 40 year old, 46%, $460
Glenfarclas has a solid reputation for aging very well. This new 40 year old is proof. It’s complex and well-rounded, with great depth and no excessive oak. A classic, well-matured Glenfarclas — and a very good value for its age.Glenglassaugh, 40 year old, 44.6%, $2,525
An excellent example of a very mature, sherried whisky done the right way. Much darker and more decadent than its younger siblings. Tasting this whisky, you know it’s old, but you also know it’s very good.The Glenlivet Cellar Collection, 1973 vintage, 49%, $1,250
A marriage of three casks, one of them an ex-sherry butt. The sherry is certainly evident, and this one is more sherried than many of the Cellar Collection whiskies. Polished and seamless, with no trace of excessive oak. One of the richest — and finest — Cellar Collections to date.Sazerac Rye, 18 year old, 45%, $70
An impressive whiskey, and an improvement from last year’s release. It’s soft (for a straight rye), well rounded, and easy to embrace, with tamed spice, subtle date, and polished leather on the finish. An excellent example of a very mature rye whiskey.William Larue Weller, 63.3%, $70
Very similar to last year’s release. (A good thing, since that one was wonderful!) Very smooth, with layered sweetness, dark fruit, cinnamon, and polished oak on the finish. A whisky of elegance and sophistication. A benchmark wheated bourbon.
When John offered me the chance to be a guest blogger, I thought great here is a real chance to say what we are doing to an appreciative audience which is mainly USA based but then I started to think well what does he want me to say – there was a very good article by David Wishart which appeared in Malt Advocate last year and to which I couldn’t add much. I decided to approach John and ask him for his thoughts but he just said “take us behind the scenes and tell us what is happening” but he also stressed he did not want a sales pitch.
We hadn’t planned to sell our new make spirit but were requested to consider doing so by customers in Europe. The fact that we were producing a spirit that both Graham and I felt was better than any other which we had come across made the decision to release the spirit in a bottle relatively easy. However we wanted to make it a bit different and so we decided to capture all the spirit from a single mash making this a limited edition individually numbered product, different from other new makes which are available. We were also careful to ensure that they labelling complied with all Scotch Whisky legislation and so have been very careful to stress that it is not whisky on the label and to further underline the fact we have called it “The Spirit Drink that dare not speak its name” and finally we have disguised the distilleries name Glen____gh to ensure that the consumer could not be confused into thinking that it was whisky.
We decided to try and sell some of these smaller casks to people who followed my blog and we were very surprised by the high level of interest, mainly from the northern European countries. The casks, octaves, hold only 50 litres and we expect that the whisky will be ready for bottling within 3 to 7 years and as we bottle all of our products on site then the cask owner can have the whole process carried out here. With the high level of initial interest we decided to open this up to other interested people and have had a continuing very good response.
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