What was your favourite Whisky of 2012?

Hmm...tough one. I had a sample of Kuriazawa 27 multi vintage which blew my socks off. Minis from the 70's and 80's were pretty stellar as well...there was a Talisker and a Laphroaig.

For whole bottles I own, 2012 Stagg was great as was Glendronach 15 (though a single cask 19 was so sulphured I almost couldn't drink it). A IB Clynelish 1997 (first editions) was a surprise and something I probably would have overlooked if not for my whisky buddies, and a Glenfarclas 97 Family Cask bottled for a store in Calgary was so good I bunkered a couple of bottle.

Old standards continued to impress: Lagavulin 12, Abunadh (39), and Bookers.

I guess that's more than one...lol.

2012 was an exciting year for me whisky wise. I was able to try lots of different whisky's and bourbon's over the past year. The most enjoyable would have to be Lagavulin 16 yr. Why certainly not the most exotic of the whisky's I've tried but every time I sample a dram it brings back great memories of evenings spent with family and friends.

My favorite of the year was a blend, Black Bull 30 yo. Others I enjoyed for the first time include Glenfiddich Malt Master's Edition, Mortlach 15 yo (G&M), Highland Park '91 (Signatory), Balvenie Caribbean Cask, Thomas H. Handy Sazerac, and Redbreast 12 yo.

My old benchmarks continue to be Ardbeg Corryvreckan and Uigeadail, HP 18, GlenDronach 15 yo, and good ol' Laga 16.

Hands down my favorite was the Shackleton's replica Mackinlay's that my wife got me last Christmas. Sadly it didn't make it past the end of January!

Surely Aberlour Abunadh (batch 34),i fall in love everytime!!!!

Several exciting Whiskies but the 'hands down' winner for me was Aberlour a'bunadh Batch #9 for all sorts of reasons with nostalgia playing a major roll!

Best (& probably the most delicious) 'value for money' Whisky was without any doubt "Big Peat"! This along with W/T 101 Rye will be my every day drams and my cabinet will be well stocked with both.

The 'Big Peat' couldn't be any better and is quite disarming in that it looks like a pale Chardonnay; looks like but then the taste "Pow"! I live for exciting new Whiskies that really deliver and Big Peat is as they say the 'Real Deal'!

Slainte!

Fav of 2012 would be Ardmore Traditional Cask

I would say that my favourite Octomore, and a distant realative Lagavulin 16. Both were awesome and had major wow factor on the enjoyability scale. :)

Black Bull 40 and Ardbeg Corryvreckan, I was completely overwhelmed at a recent tasting - perhaps it was the convivial atmosphere; regardless, these are both outstanding! From my private stash I would nominate Longrow CV and Macallan 18 Sherry Cask and of course @ cpstecroix - Booker's.

Port Ellen 1978 32 Year Old 12th Release

No single favourite whisk(e)y for me for 2012, but the one that has a particularly special place for me this year is my bottle of Octomore Orpheus 2.2. Exquisite, and scarce enough now that I may not have the opportunity to replace it.

@paddockjudge I almost forgot about the Black Bull...wow, what a dram.

@Victor the Orpheus was really great. My favorite, from a series of top-notch Karuizawa, would be the 1976 Noh Cask #6719. It's not a mindless sipper; it's just awesome. Still, it's not the best/favorite spirit that I've had this year - that'd be an old Cognac.

Oooooo too many to count! I've just realized that I've been on Connosr for just a wee bit less then a year....feels like so much more time has gone by! (That's a good thing!)

Special whiskies: Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix for being the whisky that my wife and I mainly drank on our honeymoon and that made her fall in love with whisky.

Talisker 10 yr old for being the only whisky that we could afford on our anniversary and being such a kick ass whisky and really making that $9 count.

Sheep Dip Old Hebridean 1990 Vintage for being my first recommended whisky that I picked up off Connosr friends recommendations (Thanks Systemdown!) and just proving that blends can kick major butt!.

Macallan 12 yr old Fine Oak for being such a sexy little whisky at a reasonable price.

Hakushu 12 yr old for proving what oh so many people before me knew: Japanese whiskies rock!

Old Potrero 18th Century Rye for being a weird and awesome and just out there that Victor recommended to me!

Abbey's Secret Casks 40 year old Secret Speyside for being proof that I do win alot more things since I've moved to Australia and that I should enter more contests and for being just hands down one of the most awesome whiskies I've ever tasted.

Ardbeg Lord of the Isles for just walking into a bar and randomly spotting a bottle that sells for like $800+ AUS and being a bottle that I thought I'd never get to taste.

Limeburners M31 and M66 for being my introduction to single cask whiskies and being oh so sexy! Even better being whiskies that I got to enjoy with my wife on one of our first vacations together.

George T Stagg and Thomas H Handy both 2011 versions for proving to me and others that some whiskies are just that good and are totally worth the money, including my poor brother in law who started last year out saying that there was no whisky out there worth $300 a bottle and now regularly asks me to throw a Buffalo Trace Antique Collection bottle onto every international shipment I do.

Ardbeg Uigeadail for proving that burnt bandaids never tasted oh so good!

Rosebank 1981 25 year old cask strength for proving to me that there are reasons that the silent distilleries are so sadly missed and so very expensive, yet worth the money for the right bottle!

Yoichi SMWS 116.18 Amazing toffee, honey sweetness for being such as brilliant bottle for my wife's and I first Society tasting and once more proving to me that if I had more money then I'd just be more broke :D

Balvenie 21 Year old Port Wood Finish for being another recommendation from Victor and being a brilliant example of wine cask finishes on whisky.

There's more, alot more, but I have definitely gone far beyond the "one" best whisky I tasted this year, but I honestly didn't think I could just choose one or two!!

And as it comes close to a year to me being a member of Connosr I'd like to thank all the members in our little community here for accepting me and my odd little quirks so kindly. It's been a great whisky year and here's to many many more with all you guys and gals!

Favorite old bottling I first tried this year: Signatory Port Ellen "Scottish Wildlife" 10 YO Favorite affordable bottling released this year: Littlemill 1988 "Sympathy for the Whisky" from The Whiskyman Favorite premium bottling released this year: Port Ellen 12th release. My 2nd favorite PE of all time, after that Scottish Wildlife

2012 was a year where I re-discovered my love for whisky and thanks to forums like this every bottle I opened was great. It is a toss up between Ardbeg Uigeadail and Highland Park 18. Not sure how whisky can get better than these two, but I am sure looking forward to trying to find out.

@cpstecroix - Black Bull 40, wow for sure! There's a few that I may not quickly recall from that tasting, too many - need a refresher, must do that again!

Mine was the fine oak 12 year old only because I had never had any whisky at all outside of islays prior to 2012!! I still have not really had many at all, however I remember the first time I had Macallan's fine oak 12 during 2012 and I thought it was delicious! It was the first time I thought of whisky as actually being as nice as some good food!

@Jae That is a very nice whisky! I remember my first time trying it I felt like I was drinking some sort of tropical fruit salad....mmmmm I want some more now :D

Hey everyone, I am just starting my journey and love of Scotch. My grandpa passed away in March, with whom I was very close. He loved his Johnny Walker Red.

Shortly after he passed, I had a Red in his honor, and it piqued my interest. From there, I had my first Single Malt, a shot of Macallan 12.

Since then, I have been fascinated with the Water of Life and all it has to offer. I haven't had the good fortune of trying nearly as many as I would like to, but having the opportunity to sample The Glenlivet 21 was definitely the highlight of my journey thus far!

Having Scotch tastes on a Coors Light budget is hard, but man do I love the stuff. May 2013 bless you all!

@Jonhelmkamp - How fitting that you make reference to a "journey" and pay homage to your grandfather with a RED from "the walking man". Good luck in your quest.

@paddockjudge thank you form the kind words. My Grandfather was a wonderful man that I miss dearly. I intentionally went the route of The Walking Man and "journey" metaphor, but what do you mean by RED having significance? Looks like I was more clever than I thought I was! ;)

@Jonhelmkamp Welcome to Connosr my friend and the awesome awesome world of whisky! I'm sorry to hear about your grandfather's passing, it's always hard when we lose those closest to us. You're in for an awesome whisky journey and I don't think you're the only one in the "Single malt tastes, cheap beer budget" my friend, but the great thing about this site is that you can always get input from other members, especially on whether a whisky is worth "X" amount in their mind or not!

@SquidgyAsh thank you for the kind welcome! Yes, his passing was very hard... But from time to time I will grab a shot of Johnny Walker and remember him calling me a little shit for beating him at cards. You have to smile at the memories.

I just wrote my first review and would love some feedback!

For me, it would have to be the late addition (only released in November 2012) of the Auchentoshan 32 Year Old 1979 Sherry Cask Matured. What a stunner!

There are four that stand out: 1) Compass Box Spice Tree, at our June tasting event; 2) Laphroaig QC, which was an epiphany for me when it comes to peated whisky; 3) Highland Park 21, at our November HP Vertical; and 4) Talisker 57' North, at my birthday Talisker Vertical.

All were fantastic, but perhaps more important was the company!

Ardbeg Uiagedial and Lagavulin DE. Can't decide which one I like better.

@Maltmark Same for me plus Noah's Mill!

This is a great thread! I was fortunate to visit Scotland last July and my favorite whisky of the year was the souvenir bottle I filled at Laphroaig (cask 5171 distilled in 1999). Happy new year and slainte!

2012 was the year I fell in love with Glendronach. On a vacation to Scotland last year, I got a chance to visit their distillery and it was a great experience; plan on going back this year (thank you wife). My favorite of them all has to be their 18yo, a fruity sherry monster.