The Hit List of my personal favourite single malts started out in the 1990's as a
complete 'best to worst' list of all the malt whiskies I had sampled at the time.
As my '
malt mileage' increased, I eventually had to distill the Hit List back to a
selection of the very best single malts I tried so far, scoring at least 90 points.
I also had to prune the '
Bang For Your Buck List' of malt whiskies that offer
the best value for money to a careful selection. Fortunately, the Shit List of
avoidable malt whiskies hasn't grown much longer over the years...
This 'Hotlist' is a relatively recent addition to the mAlmanac. To make sure that
exciting new releases don't fall between the cracks of my Liquid Log I decided
to add an overview of some recent discoveries to the mAlmanac. Most of the
entries on this list are batches of (relatively) widely available official bottlings.
Balblair 40yo 1965 (47.7%, The Single Malts of Scotland, Cask Strength, Bottled June 2007)
Nose: Woehaah! Passion fruit, a bit like Bowmores from the late
1960's. Sweet wood. Glue. Candy coconut. Organics.
Taste: Passion fruits here as well, and a powerful mouth feel. Evolves into 'old fruits' with a gentle tangerine bitterness.
Score: 90 points
- excellent stuff; this is by far the best Balblair I've ever sampled - although it's 'on the edge'.
Balvenie 17yo 'SherryOak' (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007)
Nose: Woody and sherried - classic. Old cigar smoke? Undertones of furniture polish.
Taste: Big and woody, then smoky. No sweetness or peat to balance the smoke. Strong tannins.
Score: 83 points - just a tad too extreme on the palate for my tastes. Great style, but lacks some body.
Benriach 21yo Authenticus (46%, OB, Peated Malt, Bottled +/- 2007)
Nose: A little farmy. Peat & organics. Slightly musty with a hint of oil. Opens up
beautifully with celery and other spices.
Taste: A lovely sweetness with a hint of antiquity. Some salmiak & pepper? Very enjoyable.
Score: 85 points
- highly reccommendable, but the 'quality' difference with younger expressions isn't massive.
Bushmills 16yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007, Ireland)
Nose: Fruits, diesel & spices; a weird but interesting combination. Tropical fruits. Subtle with a
lot of depth.
Taste: Very smooth start followed by a sweet and smoky centre. Aged fruits. Sweet coffee? Meaty. Leather? Flat finish.
Score: 83 points
- an excellent mouth feel, but the finish is just a tad flat. Still, great for a 'standard' Irish.
Convalmore 28yo 1977/2005 (57.9%, OB, 3900 Bts.)
Nose: Heavy & fruity, but little 'definition' at first. Rapidly growing spiciness, organics
and complexity. Almost ike a liqueur.
Palate: A surprising pinch of peat on the palate in between the sherry and fruits. Lots of improvement with time.
Score: 87 points
- and if I were one to factor in the effects of a great 'retro' label design it might have been 88 or 89 points...
Dalwhinnie 20yo 1986/2006 (56,8%, OB, Refill European Casks)
Nose: Shoe polish. Coffee beans. Faintest hint of smoke. Some spices. Distinguished profile.
Taste: Gentle start, quickly followed by a big fruity attack. Good, solid centre. Toffee. Gentle, chewable tannins.
Score: 86 points
- very surprising; my favourite Dalwhinnie so far, together with the 36yo 1966/2002 (47.2%, OB).
Aberlour A'bunadh Batch #20 (60,5%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007)
Nose: Sweetness and dark fruits. Some nuts and polished wood as well. Hugely enjoyable,
classic sherry profile.
Taste: Very hot. Sweet fruits. Raisins. Hint of eucalyptus? Almost like a cognac, although it's not overly woody in the finish.
Score: 90 points
- this may be the most perfectly balanced batch of the A'bunadh I've tasted so far. A masterpiece...
Most of the 'standard' malts like Glenfiddich 10yo or Bowmore 12yo are produced in large numbers.
Once every few weeks or months, the contents of several casks
are 'vatted' together to produce
a new 'batch' of the whisky. Because every cask is unique, there is bound to be 'batch variation'.
Connemara NAS (40%, OB, Peated, Bottled +/- 2007, Ireland)
Nose: Subtle peaty start with light fruits. Evolves into candy sweetness. Raspberry fruit cake
glazing?
Taste: Sweet and peaty. Excellent balance, but a tad weak. Peaty burn in the finish.
Score: 81 points - not too complex, but an excellent dramming whisky for peat lovers.
That's it for now - but check back again in a few weeks because this list is updated constantly with my most recent discoveries.
On the Hit List you can find an overview of my all-time favorites, but you shouldn't take (just) my word for it. You can find fresh tasting notes on WhiskyFun every day while the Malt Maniacs Matrix provides and overview of more than 3,000 different whiskies that were sampled and scored by at least four different malt maniacs. One of the great things about the matrix is that it sometimes allows us to see 'trends' in a certain direction over the years, because we try to distinguish between various batches. However, on most official bottlings, the bottling year isn't specified - so it's not exactly an exact science...
Springbank 35yo 1971/2007 (59%, The Whisky Fair, Sherry, 239 Bts.)
Nose: Light and a little floral. Then fruity complexities and organics emerge. Whiff
of citrus? Great development over time.
Taste: Smooth start, growing big and fruity. Passion fruit? Tannins start very early on. Sweetness and wood. Quite lovely.
Score: 90 points - this one needs water...
Talisker 10yo (45,8%, OB, Bottled 2007)
Nose: Light & fruity start. Faint chloride. Hint of citrus. Spices and organics but no trace on the peat I
found on the palate.
Taste: Smooth start, a little nondescript. The peat only shows itself in the centre. Liquorice and smoke in the finish.
Score: 85 points - but it needed time to reach the upper 80's...
Tamdhu NAS (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007)
Nose: Starts off fruity, followed by grain attick and dust. Fresh dough. A beautiful round profile.
Taste:
Fairly weak start, needs some time. A little chalky. Nice, solid centre - but weaker in the finish.
Score: 75 points
- which is a bit below the ordinary 'Hot List' bandwidth, but the great price puts it on this list.
Tullibardine 1975/2007 (52,7%, OB, Hogshead #1009, 194 Bts.)
Nose: Sweet, big and sherried. Some oil in the background? Yeah, but here it doesn't
bother me so much.
Taste: Big on fruits and woods. Sweet centre - very enjoyable. Passion fruit? Something herbal in the smoky, tannic finish.
Score: 86 points
- A great mouth feel. The only thing that bothers me is the faintest hint of perfume...
Tyrconnel 10yo Sherry Finish (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007, Ireland)
Nose: Big and fruity - and surprisingly complex. Shoe polish? Too subtle in the
background on a bad nose day.
Taste: Sweetish start, big solid centre. Fairly harsh, 'bourbony' finish. Big, spirity burn.
Score: 81 points - the Irish are moving up...
Yamazaki 25yo (43%, OB, Japan, Bottled +/- 2007)
Nose: Smoky, fruity richness. Cinnamon cookies. Aged fruits. Raisins. Honey sweetness in the
background. Hint of rubber?
Taste: Wobbly start, before growing extremely smoky & woody. Hint of soap perfume? Bitterness & tannins in the finish.
Score: 88 points
- teetering on the brink of destruction by wood, but if you give it time to grow on you, it's magnificent.
Laphroaig 27yo 1980/2007 (57.4%, OB, 5 Oloroso casks)
Nose: Oooh.. Wonderful wood. Wet dog. Spices. Tertiary fruits. Celery and other spices after 15
minutes. Organics.
Taste: Brilliant mouth feel; smoke and candy sweetness. Coffee bitterness in the finish - and the smoke.
Score: 94 points
- amazing complexity in the nose and the taste isn't half bad either. Too bad about the 500 GBP price tag...
Scapa 14yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007)
Nose: Light and fruity with a hint of dust. Gentle sweetness. Cheese cake?
Taste: Smooth start, solid fruity
centre. Fairly harsh burn in the finish, almost pulling the score back out of the 80's.
Score: 80 points - a solid presence, worthy of a score in the 80's - but only just.
Singleton of Glendullan 12yo (40%, OB, Bottled 2007, 75cl)
Nose: Light and sweetish. Bakery notes. Grains. Sweet spices. Very faint burnt notes.
Taste: Sweetish but fairly weak at first. Apple? Very light tannins in the finish - and perhaps a hint of smoke?
Score: 80 points - not very satisfying on the palate; sticky finish drags it down.
Singleton of Glen Ord 12yo (40%, OB, Bottled 2007)
Nose: Subtle sherried character. Faint organics. Vague farmy notes in the distant background.
Something rotten?
Taste: Quite weak. Sherried, but only marginally so. A little fruity. Feels thin on the palate. Caramel? Coffee in finish?
Score: 80 points - improves after some breathing. Needs time...
Hakushu NAS (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007, Suntory Japan)
Nose: Deep & sherried. Polished wood and old fruits. Hint of cinnamon? My kind of profile,
but fairly harsh on the nose.
Taste: Becomes very smoky with salmiak in the centre. Liquorice. Chewy tannins in the finish.
Score: 84 points - uncompromising and quite extreme - I like it...
Highland Park 12yo (40%, OB, new presentation, Bottled 2007)
Nose: Coastal and fruity - but fairly restrained at first. No idea what happens in the
background - too subtle for me.
Taste: Hint of passion fruits. Lovely subdued smokiness. A bit like an early 1970's Ardbeg on the palate.
Score: 83 points
- weird; it almost feels like an overproof of +/- 50% on the palate...
Karuizawa 12yo Pure Malt Whisky (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2008, Vatted malt, Japan)
Nose: Round, sweet and fruity with a faint whiff of smoke in the
background. Distant meaty notes. Gunpowder. Spices.
Taste: Soft and smooth start, with a very solid centre. Sweet. The smoke dominates the fruit here. Smoky rather than peaty.
Score: 83 points
- and that's just because the finish was slightly thin and underwhelming....
Lagavulin 1990/2007 Distiller's Edition (43%, OB, Bottled 2007)
Nose: Antiquity. Wood. Peat & fruits. Organics and some smoke. Very distinguished.
Needs time.
Taste: Sweet start, quickly followed by lots of woody notes and smoke. Excellent mouth feel with a hint of peat.
Score: 89 points
- My kind of malt, but perhaps a little extreme for some people. Great tannic finish.
Bowmore NAS 'Darkest' (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007)
Nose: Just like previous batches, malt, sherry, smoke and some peat are the most obvious
components in the nose.
Taste: Much better than previous batches, but still lingering hints of soap and detergent. Astringent aftertaste.
Score: 80 points
- even though this batch could have earned a 'green' seal of approval, batch variation keeps it down.
Bunnahabhain 27yo 1979/2007 (46%, The Single Malts of Scotland)
Nose: Starts off sweet and surprisingly light, almost citrussy. Faint organics emerge -
spices too. Great stuff.
Taste: Quite fruity on the palate as well, followed by a long and sustained sweetness. Fruity candy from my childhood.
Score: 87 points
- a smooth sweetness improves the palate, rounding out some of the harsh woody undercurrent.
Caol Ila 22yo 1984/2007 (55.9%, The Whisky Fair, Sherry, 287 Bts.)
Nose: Very rich, with interesting old fruity notes. Becomes extremely rich and complex
after a while. Faint fruity & candy notes.
Taste: Tobacco. Rich fruits. Leather. Some salt at the bottom. Then the smoke is released. Beautiful. Almost perfect balance.
Score: 90 points
- a beautiful marriage of smoke and sherry; of the spirit and the cask. Tastes like a Kildalton whisky.
Batch variation in official bottlings is a tricky phenomenon.
It's often more a change in profile
than a change in 'quality'.
As such, batch variation is a phenomenon occurring between
consecutive batches that are released mere months or even
weeks apart. Long term trends
are an entirely different topic;
they can only be analysed over the course of a few years.
Glenmorangie 15yo (43%, OB, +/-2006)
Nose: Sharp & quite grainy with a hint of apple. Softening up quickly with more fruits, spices & chloride
emerging.
Taste: Starts and stays remarkably smooth. Bitter undercurrent with flashes of wood. Minty fresh finish.
Score: 80 points
- a well made malt, but not quite expressive enough for my tastes. Nevertheless, I'd recommend it...
Glenrothes-Glenlivet 16yo 1990/2007 (57,3%, Cadenhead's Authentic Collection, Rum Butt, 588 Bts.)
Nose: Old, deep fruits. Lovely polished profile.
Cinnamon? Coffee? Spices. Organics. Tobacco. Some farmy notes.
Taste: Serious sherry. Wonderful hot & smooth centre. Coffee bitterness in the finish, evolving into wood - lots of wood.
Score: 90 points
- becomes extremely complex in the nose over time. Beautiful...
Glen Grant 36yo 1970/2006 (53,2%, Blackadder, Sherry Cask #7216)
Nose: Like the very dark colour suggests: woody & smoky. Sweet & fruity;
raisins and blueberries. Lovely complex fruits.
Taste: Delightful fruits. Very solid centre with a touch of liquorice & smoke. Cough syrup? Brilliant mouth feel! Smoky finish.
Score: 93 points
- an 'amazing discovery', but after doing very well in the MM Awards bottles will be hard to find...
Glengoyne 21yo Sherry Matured (43%, OB, Bottled +/- 2007)
Nose: Woody and oily - an unusual combination. Organics. Maggi? More subtleties and fruits
emerge.
Taste: Very sweet start - is this a finished whisky? Very smoky centre & finish. Something feels artificial.
Score: 88 points
- almost too extreme at first sight, but the character really grew on me over time.
Glengoyne 'Billy's Choice' 18yo 1989/2007 (54,1%, OB, Amontillado Hogs C#1202, 249 Bts.)
Nose: Woods and dark fruits and a wonderful
sweetness. Asian spices. Celery & organics. Hint of tea leaves?
Taste: Fits the nose like a glove; fruit and wood - and some tea. Grows smokier towards the finish.
Score: 92 points
- responds very well to a few drops of water, pushing it from 91 to 92. Smidgen too extreme for some?
Glenglassaugh 23yo 1984/2007 (46%, Wilson & Morgan 'Barrel Selection', Butt, Cask #187)
Nose: Shoe polish. A little musty. Organics. Lovely
farmy & fruity profile, but it needs some time to develop.
Taste: Second of weakness, then the woods and fruits power up. Big sweet fruity centre with some toffee. Hint of smoke.
Score: 88 points
- a great Glenglassaugh with strong tannins on the palate. Needs time to get to 88 points though.
Glenfarclas 1969/2007 (56,2%, OB 'Familly Casks', C#3184, 148 Bts.)
Nose: Beautiful old sherry style; fruits and woods. Vague hint of rubber?
Cinnamon? Fantastically complex and complete.
Taste: First sweet and complex fruits, then more wood and some smoke. Cinnamon. Quite extreme in the finish.
Score: 95 points
- Whoweeee.... What an amazing beauty... only 148 bottles though, so most will now be gone.
