February 27th, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Lifetime Achievement Awards”

John Hansell

Evan Cattanach

Evan Cattanach has spent over 40 years of his life in the Scotch whisky industry, all the more impressive since he got a relatively late start at the age of 25. He has worked at fifteen different distilleries, in four of the six Scottish whisky areas, including managing operations at Oban, Cardhu, Lagavulin, Caol Ila, Dalwhinnie, and Cragganmore. In 1985, he was involved in the selection of distilleries for the Classic Malts series, a project he has been associated with ever since.

That’s where master distiller emeritus Cattanach, proud Scotsman Cattanach, and flamboyantly personable Cattanach has made his mark with the public. That same year, he became the first master distiller to walk outside the distillery as a brand ambassador, beginning a whirlwind of travel that has not slowed down, despite his having “retired” in 1993.

Today Evan Cattanach — the retired fellow! — continues to represent the Classic Malts around the world, leading tastings in 200 cities, celebrating Burns Day with whisky fans, and regularly presenting a popular seminar at WhiskyFest. He’s even raising a 6 year old son! We celebrate Evan Cattanach’s lifetime of whisky achievement, which continues today.

Fritz Maytag

In a life that looked headed for the contemplation of Asian culture, Fritz Maytag took a sharp turn when he learned that the Anchor brewery was about to go out of business. He enjoyed their beer, and decided that since he could save it, he would. Maytag’s action would not only save Anchor and re-establish several types of beer that had vanished from America, it also led directly to the craft beer revolution.

Amazingly, it also led to the craft distilling explosion and the resurgence of rye whiskey. By the early 1990s, when Maytag developed an interest in making his Old Potrero rye whiskey, Anchor’s reputation lent substantial gravitas to his distilling. There was none of the confusion and ridicule that greeted many early brewing attempts; this was Fritz Maytag. This was Anchor. This thing must be serious.

Indeed it was, and it was good, too. Fritz Maytag had helped to jump-start a second craft industry, an amazing record of achievement. We honor his courage and determination.

Angelo Lucchesi

The very first salesman for Jack Daniel’s? That’s right, and Angelo Lucchesi just celebrated his 90th birthday. He started selling Jack Daniel’s in 1953, and put the black label brand on the map, dragging the rest of American whiskey right along with it.

Lucchesi’s powerfully positive personality made him effective on the personal level where whiskey sales work best. “Belly to belly marketing,” he called it; making friends for the whiskey by making friends with consumers and retailers. One of his greatest coups was fielding a call from Frank Sinatra, who couldn’t get a steady supply of Jack. Problem solved, and soon Jack Daniel’s was The Drink of The Rat Pack.

Though he’s retired, he still speaks to people around the world about the brand; a true ambassador and an icon in brand development — one belly at a time. It’s been said that Malt Advocate and WhiskyFest made rock stars out of master distillers; the people who make the whiskey. Angelo Lucchesi proves that you can’t make whiskey unless you make friends and sell it. Cheers!

And last, but not least, tomorrow ‘s post will conclude the 17th Annual Malt Advocate Whisky Award announcements: our “Top Ten Whiskies” for the past year. Enjoy!

Category: Awards Tags: 6 Comments

February 26th, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Distillery of the Year”: Heaven Hill

John Hansell

Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc.

We’ve honored whiskeys from Heaven Hill; we’ve honored Heaven Hill’s revered master distiller, Parker Beam. For years, we’ve talked about the integrity and service of this independent, family-owned and managed distillery (one of the last, of their age and size). They make and import other spirits but Heaven Hill remains, and always will remain, a whiskey distillery.

It’s about time we honored that. Heaven Hill has persevered through the biggest distillery fire in recent memory (including the loss of their Bardstown distilling plant), and found a new home in Louisville. Smart whiskey lovers know their reputation for delivering great value in their whiskey brands. They just celebrated their 75th anniversary in a big way, by filling their six-millionth barrel of whiskey.

They’ve been pioneers with their Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage series and the Bernheim Original wheat whiskey. Parker Beam’s skills are celebrated with the eponymous and often stupendous Parker’s Heritage Collection, particularly the tour de force that was last year’s Golden Anniversary release: a blend of bourbons from five decades. The latest Parker’s Heritage release shows that Parker Beam quickly absorbed the idea of making wheated bourbon ten years ago, and brought his years of skills to bear on it. They have been at the spearhead of the rye resurgence, maintaining availability of their value brands (Rittenhouse and Pikesville) and also rolling out an amazing trio of ultra-aged ryes.

Heaven Hill takes whiskey seriously. They deserve nothing less.

Tomorrow’s post will feature the “Lifetime Achievement Award”. Be sure to check back!

Category: Awards,Bourbon,Rye whiskey Tags: , 18 Comments

February 25th, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Industry Leader of the Year”: Glencairn Crystal

John Hansell

You might have a great whisky, but if you’re not drinking it out of a proper glass you won’t fully appreciate it.  This is true for any fine beverage. That’s why there are brandy snifters, sherry copitas, glasses designed specifically for Cabernet Sauvignon, and so on.

A decade ago, when it came to whisky, there was very little glassware to choose from.  Most consumers drank their whisky out of a traditional sturdy tumbler or “rocks” glass. More “refined” individuals drank it out of a brandy snifter. In the industry, master blenders were using “nosing glasses” that narrowed toward the top, but they are fragile to the point of not being practical for everyday consumer use.

What we needed was a whisky glass that was sturdy like a tumbler, but was shaped like a nosing glass. The few designs that were on the market didn’t (in our opinion) incorporate both concepts.

About a decade ago, Glencairn Crystal worked with leaders in the whisky blending industry to design a glass that would properly capture all the nuances of a fine whisky, while also being functional. And that’s exactly what they did. It has a sturdy, masculine base. The side isn’t thick and clunky — you can see all the whisky’s attributes, and it narrows toward the top to capture the whisky’s aroma. (As any blender will tell you, you can smell more than you can taste, so this is very important.)

The Glencairn Crystal whisky glass is now used by nearly all the major whisky companies in all the major distilling countries. It is also the leading whisky glass at various whisky festivals worldwide (including Malt Advocate’s own WhiskyFest). Glencairn didn’t just make the glass. They tirelessly promoted it to the industry and whisky consumers so it could be properly recognized and appreciated. (Okay, and maybe so they could make a buck or two in the process. Fair enough!)

True, there are other very nice whisky nosing and drinking glasses on the market, but none have become this much a fixture in the whisky world. And for good reason — it’s a great whisky glass. Congratulations to Ray Davidson, managing director, and everyone else at Glencairn for what you have done for whisky.

The “Distillery of the Year” will be announced here, tomorrow.

Category: Awards Tags: , 34 Comments

February 23rd, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “World Whisky of the Year”: Amrut Fusion

John Hansell

This is a new award category for us. It includes all of the whisky distilling nations outside the major ones (United States, Canada, Scotland, and Ireland). We created this category to recognize that there are some wonderful whiskies being produced in countries like Japan, India, Sweden, England, and many more, but there aren’t enough whiskies made in any of these countries (and imported to the United States) to warrant their own category.

India’s Amrut distillery changed the way many think of Indian whisky — that it was just cheap Scotch whisky blended with who knows what and sold as Indian whisky. Amrut is making whisky, and it’s very good. Also, because of India’s very warm climate, the whisky matures very quickly, making it relatively affordable. Indeed, the Amrut whisky being sold in the U.S. (while bearing no age statement) is generally not over six years old.

Amrut finally began exporting their whisky to the U.S. in 2010. We’ve tasted our way through the various expressions (peated, sherried, cask strength, etc.) and we enjoyed them all, but the one that really impressed us was Amrut Fusion.

Fusion shows balance, complexity, and surprising maturity for its age — these are the defining characteristics for what is the best Indian whisky we have ever tasted. Combining Indian malt and peated Scottish malt, this whisky shows a sweet side, but is never cloying, with rich caramel, vanilla custard, and fruit cocktail in light syrup, balanced by vibrant — almost floral — dried peat smoke, delicate white pepper, and a hint of tropical fruit.  We look forward to more great whiskies from Amrut.

(Editor’s note: A second generation of Amrut will be in distribution in the United States by the time you read this. Compared to the original release, it comes across as being a little smokier, slightly drier, and perhaps not as rounded, but it’s still a very nice whisky.)

Tomorrow the “Pioneer of the Year” will be posted.

Category: Awards,Indian whisky Tags: , 33 Comments

February 22nd, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Scotch Whisky Single Malt of the Year”: Glenfarclas 40 year old

John Hansell

Now in its 175th year of whisky-making, Glenfarclas is one of the few distilleries that IS still family owned and operated. Family ownership has its advantages. They can do as they please, without having a corporate board to answer to. To our benefit, this means they can put out as many different expressions as they want, And indeed they have. From the Glenfarclas 10 year old, through to their newest (and oldest) 40 year old, there’s sure to be a whisky to satisfy your palate and budget.

However, one of the disadvantages of being family owned is that there usually isn’t a massive marketing budget to make the whisky known to all the people who might enjoy it. In many respects, the Grant family (who owns the distillery) relies on the whisky itself to do the talking. (When you ask a relatively new whisky enthusiast what brand they like, they usually mention one of the more famous whisky brands with a similar flavor profile. Ask them, “But have you tried Glenfarclas?” We don’t recall anyone ever being disappointed.)

In addition to the lack of massive marketing spending, the Grant family also eschews fancy packaging, once again letting the whisky itself do the talking. The minimal spending in marketing and packaging means that the savings can be passed down to you, the consumer.

This brings us to our award winner, Glenfarclas 40 year old. In an era where 30 year old whiskies with fancy packaging are going for $1,000 and higher, a 40 year old whisky for $460 seems like a steal! (But don’t tell the Grant family we said so. We’ll let this be our little secret.) It makes an “ultra-luxury” whisky affordable to a much larger audience. That’s what whisky was meant for: drinking, not collecting!

Of course, none of this would matter if it didn’t taste good. Indeed, it tastes very good. It’s complex and well-rounded, with great depth and no excessive oak. Lush, candied citrus (especially orange), old pot still rum, maple syrup, fig, roasted nuts, and polished leather, with hints of mocha, candied ginger, and tobacco. A bit oily in texture (which we find soothing) with good tannic grip on the finish. A classic, well-matured Glenfarclas.

Check back tomorrow. The “World Whisky of the Year” award winner will be announced.

Category: Awards,Scotch whisky Tags: , 33 Comments

February 21st, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Scotch Whisky Blend of the Year”: Compass Box “Flaming Heart”

John Hansell

Artisan blender John Glaser is no stranger to the most passionate whisky consumers. For the past ten years, this ex-marketing manager for a very large whisky company has turned the blended Scotch whisky category on its head by creating high-quality, small batch, blended Scotch whiskies.

Rather than staying with the predominant concept of blending whisky, marrying single malts with grain whisky (which he indeed does quite well), he has expanded the art to more unfamiliar territories (and perhaps more uncomfortable territories, when it comes to the consumer). For example, he produced a blend of only grain whiskies (Hedonism), blends of only malt whiskies (Flaming  Heart, Peat Monster), and also tinkers with whisky infusions (Orangerie).

To celebrate Compass Box Whisky’s tenth anniversary, he created this next generation of Flaming Heart. Always a blend of single malt whiskies (i.e., no grain whisky) and always laden with a good dose of peat smoke, this third Flaming Heart release (and second to make it to the U.S.) is his best one yet. The reason why? Balance and complexity.

Flaming Heart (3rd edition) is a marriage of seven different distilleries 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. It’s vibrant, with a complex array of fruit (orchard fruit, sultana), sweetness (light toffee, marzipan, honeyed malt), spice (creamy vanilla, mocha, warming pepper), smoke (tar, smoked olive, coal), and lesser notes of toasted almond and beach pebbles. There’s more smoke and tar on the palate than the nose, yet THEY ARE always in balance. A classic, smoky blended whisky!

Our “Scotch Whisky Single Malt of the Year” will be announced tomorrow.

Category: Awards,Scotch whisky Tags: , 29 Comments

February 20th, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Irish Whiskey of the Year”: Redbreast 12 year old

John Hansell

What makes Irish whiskey unique? Some say because it’s triple distilled, and Scotch whisky is only distilled twice. Others note that it is not smoky like Scotch whisky. But there are Scotch whiskies that are triple distilled and others that aren’t smoky, and there are smoky Irish whiskeys and Irish whiskeys that are only distilled twice.

However, pot still whiskey — the process of making whiskey in copper pot stills from both malted and unmalted barley — is unique to Irish whiskey, and we think it is what gives many Irish whiskeys their character. Jameson, Tullamore Dew, Power’s, Paddy, Redbreast, Midleton Very Rare, and many other Irish whiskey brands contain a portion of pot still whiskey.

Only two whiskeys currently on the market, Redbreast and Green Spot, are 100% pure pot still Irish whiskeys and only Redbreast is available in the States. Redbreast has, for many years, been sold only as a 12 year old.  This past year, a 15 year old was introduced to the U.S. for the first time. Knowing how great Redbreast 12 year old is, we eagerly awaited the arrival of its older sibling. Could it actually be better than the 12 year old? That’s a pretty high hurdle to jump.

Well, in our opinion, it isn’t. It’s not that the Redbreast 15 year old isn’t a great whiskey. It is. It’s just that we still like the 12 year old better. In fact, we like this most recent bottling so much, it’s our “Irish Whiskey of the Year!”

Redbreast 12 year old is deftly balanced, very elegant, complex, and stylish. It’s honeyed and silky in texture, with toffee, toasted marshmallow, nougat, maple syrup, banana bread, and a hint of toasted coconut. The bright fruit and golden raisin blend in nicely with the layers of sweetness. Classic Irish whiskey, and affordable too!

Next to be announced is our “Scotch Whisky Blend of the Year”. See you back here tomorrow.

Category: Awards,Irish whiskey Tags: , 26 Comments

February 19th, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Canadian Whisky of the Year”: Forty Creek Confederation Oak

John Hansell

John Hall, whisky maker and owner of Kittling Ridge Distillery, is a leading pioneer in the Canadian craft whisky distilling movement. His unique method of making whisky — distilling single grain whiskies (corn, rye, and barley) and blending them together after they have been aged, as opposed to the simpler and more traditional method of making one whisky from a multi-grain mashbill — got the industry’s attention. It was the richness and flavor of his whiskies (especially relative to other Canadians) that won the consumer’s attention.

Starting with Forty Creek Barrel Select, his flagship whisky (and lovely in its own right), he began experimenting with special, limited-edition releases, like Small Batch, Port Wood, and Double Barrel Reserve. They were always very good, but we knew that John had the potential to make not just a very good whisky, but really great whisky. It was only a matter of time, and that time has now come.

Put simply, Forty Creek Confederation Oak Reserve is a benchmark Canadian whisky. It’s also unique. Instead of aging his whisky in more traditional American oak (i.e. used bourbon barrels), he aged this whisky in Canadian oak barrels from trees growing only 40 miles from the distillery. The Canadian oak provides a slightly different flavor profile.

We love the whisky’s creamy texture, along with its gentle sweetness (praline, marzipan, maple syrup) and lovely fruit (orange creamsicle, sultana, and coconut macaroon).  Both distinctive and very drinkable, it’s an outstanding effort!

Tomorrow, the Irish Whiskey of the Year will be announced.

Category: Awards,Canadian whisky Tags: , 35 Comments

February 18th, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “American Whiskey of the Year”: Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (2010 Release)

John Hansell

Roll these names off your tongue: Stagg. Handy. Weller. Sazerac. Eagle Rare. Now wrap it all up with Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. Collectively, these are the bottles that American whiskey lovers go nuts for every year, tracking them down on shelves three or four states away, swapping and trading for them.

They drink them, they don’t just collect them, because these are really good whiskeys. Any one of them — three bourbons, two ryes — has the potential to snag this award in any given year, and some years they have. But one’s usually a lot better, and sometimes one is under par that year, and that’s kind of good: you don’t have to buy all of them.

This year, though…the stars are aligned, and you’d better get out your checkbook. This is probably the strongest Antique Collection as a collection since Buffalo Trace started sending out allocations of these five excellent spirits. Weller: layers of lusciousness. Stagg: finely-carved power. Eagle Rare: beautifully balanced corn and oak. Handy: barely-restrained youth. Sazerac: smoothly spicy. (See full tasting notes here.)

Can we pick five whiskeys as “best”? Of course we can. When they’re all this good, when the Collection comes together like this, how can we do anything else?

photo courtesy of Buffalo Trace Distillery

The “Canadian Whisky of the Year” will be announced tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Category: Awards,Bourbon,Rye whiskey Tags: , 36 Comments

February 17th, 2011

Malt Advocate Whisky Awards “Artisan Whisky of the Year”: Kilchoman (Summer 2010 Release)

John Hansell

The Artisan Whisky of the Year recognizes small production distillers making hand-crafted whisky, regardless of where they distill. Sometimes, artisan distillers peacefully coexist with larger, higher production distillers. So it is with Kilchoman, located in a rural farmland setting on Scotland’s famous distilling island, Islay.

Operational only since 2005, the owners of Kilchoman began bottling their peat smoke-infused whisky in small batches shortly after the whisky became legal at three years of age. We were blown away by it. The inaugural release (three years old, 46% ABV), occurred in the fall of 2009, but the first whisky exported to the United States was the Summer 2010 release.

Summer 2010 is this young distillery’s fourth release and it’s aged entirely in bourbon barrels. Previous releases that we have tasted and reviewed (the inaugural release and the Autumn 2009 release) were finished in sherry casks. We miss the sherry, to be honest. It softened the whisky, added a new dimension, and perhaps even masked some of its youth. Still, this is a very nice whisky: brisk, vibrant, and bracing, with plenty of raw peat smoke and tar, along with pear, citrus, vanilla, licorice root, bourbon barrel char, clove, bitter chocolate, and suggestions of olive brine and high- end mezcal.

In addition to the standard Summer 2010 release, there were also two single cask, cask strength bottlings purchased by two specialty retailers. They take everything that is good about the standard release and give it to you “right out of the barrel.” 

If you like smoky whiskies, and you like them youthful, vibrant, and bracing, then Kilchoman is the whisky for you.

Be sure to check back tomorrow. The “American Whiskey of the Year” will be announced here!

Category: Awards,Scotch whisky Tags: , 58 Comments

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