Your Top 5 of 2015

Seagram's VO; Schenley Golden Wedding; Black Velvet; Wiser's Deluxe; Canadian Club Premium.

Just kidding, I was channeling Jim Murray.

What - I have to choose just FIVE ?? :-D

5° W.L Weller 12 4° Glendronach 1993 21yo Single Cask Oloroso 3° Glentauchers ’89 25yo (Cadenhead Small Batch) 2° Laphroaig 1995 15yo (‘The Whisky Agency’) 1° Talisker 25yo (2006)

It's difficult to remember everything I've had this year but I'll weigh in with these offerings in no particular order:

Amrut intermediate Sherry

Laphroaig 10 CS (batch 007)

Kilkerran WIP 7 Bourbon Cask 54.1% abv

Redbreast 12 CS

and finally Glentauchers 1995 G&M Cask Strength Collection

I've got great memories of all these expressions!

Longrow Red 12yo. Kilkerran WIP 7 Sherry cask. Benriach 18yo Dunder. Nikka Whisky from the barrel. Glendronach 15yo Revival.

I tried many good Whiskies this year but my Top 5 of readily available are:

1. Teeling Whiskey Port Cask 2002/2015
2. Benromach 10
3. Kilkerran "Work in Progress" 7 Bourbon Wood
4. Compass Box Flaming Heart 15th Anniversary
5. Port Askaig 16yo (2015)

Nikka Whisky From The Barrel

A'bunadh Batch 49

Hibiki 12 Year Old

Ardbeg Uigeadail L13-276

Balblair 2002

I don't live as high on the hog as many here with deeper pockets but these while not all 2015 releases were certainly enjoyed during the past year. Also was able to taste some very nice samples from a couple ofconnosr buddies

Of all the stuff I've had THIS year:

Amrut single Cask (Bourbon)

Amrut Peated CS - tasted first in Dec. 2014 but enjoyed a lot this year

Booker's 2015-01

George T. Stagg 2010 - Thanks @Victor for the taste

Springbank Claret wood 12 YO CS

Amrut Intermediate Sherry

Elijah Craig Cask Strength

Booker's 2015-02

Balblair 2002

High West Rendezvous Rye

HP 12 A'bunadh batch 50 Wild Turkey Rare Breed Blantons SFTB Four Roses Single Barrel

First year drinking whisky and intend opening Bookers 2015-02, Hibiki 12 and Glenfarclas 15 on Xmas day so may change before the end of the year.

Sorry forgot to double return for lists.

2015 top 5, in this order: 1. Highland Park 18 2. Ardbeg Uigeadail 3. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 4. Amrut Portonova 5. Deanston 12

Lagavulin Distillers Edition 1999/2015 is waiting for me at Christmas time.....

To date, the standouts for me in no particular order: Port Charlotte Jurancon Cask bottled by Rest and Be Thankful, SMWS 119.14, SMWS 120.7, New World Whisky PX Cask (yet unbottled cask sample) & 1995 Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak.

@mscottydunc, even the very thought of limiting myself to picking just five whiskies is physically painful to me. I will give it a go, though:

2010 George T. Stagg. Thank God my sister still has some of it around and she lets me drink it.

2015 William Larue Weller. I've tasted it now, and I wish I had a dozen bottles of it.

Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured Single Malt. What sherried Scotch should and once did taste like.

Booker's Batch 2015-01. I'll put in a plug here. This is my all-time favourite batch of Booker's.

Ardbeg Supernova 2010. I haven't yet gotten into my bottles of SN2015 and SN2014.

anCnoc 12yo, 40.0% Ardbeg '1815' 33yo, 50.1% Bruichladdich 'Black Art' 4.1, 49.2% Karuizawa 1985/2009 24yo, cask #7017 Miyagikyo 1999/2013 14yo, 61.0%, cask #67223

Buffalo Trace, Maker's 46, Maker's Mark Cask Strength, Wild Turkey 101, and George Dickel No 12.

@FMichael

not much into bourbon, are you?

;)

I tried lots of great whisky this year, but I am only going to list five that I tried in 2015 that were good enough to warrant multiple purchases .

5) Whistlepig 10YO Cask Strength Single Barrel - Bottled for Bill's Package Store in Clarksville, TN. 116.8 proof. This was cheaper than the standard 10YO. Quite a bargin. I have been enjoying a few ryes this year: SAOS 8YO CS, HWMWND, both good, but this hit a nice sweet spot and there is a lot of it. No lines, no allocations or waiting lists. That warrants a spot on my list.

4) Kavalan Vihno Barrique - Found in TN at a good price - I guess no one else was too interested as they sat on the shelf for a while. While I have not tried my bottles, I have tried enough from other bottles to know that this is great. I got to compare this to the Sherry Soloist, Bourbon Soloist, and the Fino. The Vihno and the Fino were the clear winners, but the Fino is twice the price.

3) Glenfiddich 14YO Bourbon Barrel Reserve – Probably the best Glenfiddich I have ever had. An absolute sweetie, full of wood, honey, and sweet liquors like Amaretto and Frangelico. Reminds me a bit of Glenmorangie Ealanta, but not as much peaches and cream. I plowed through a bottle of this quicker than anything in recent memory.

2) Compass Box Flaming Heart 15th Anniversary - This was so much better than the first Flaming Heart I tried. The 2012 had a strong agave tasting vegetal peat. Not present in this one. This is smoky and quite spicy, with a good bit of pepper and honey. Luckily, no one else in my neck of the woods was interested, so I had no problems securing a few. I prefer this to the less smoky, but also tasty, This Is Not A Luxury Whisky.

1) Exclusive Casks 2002 13YO Irish – For some reason, every good liquor store in my area got several bottles each of this. Note that this release is multiple barrels, so be sure to check barrel numbers if you are looking for a particular one. I have worked my way through a bottle of #20022, and liked it enough to buy a couple more of that same barrel. But I am working on a bottle of #20021, and it is also good. With the exception of Redbreast, I am not a big fan of Irish in general. But whatever this is (distillery not disclosed), it is CS and phenomenal. You get green apples, oatmeal, honey, and at the end, just a hint of milk chocolate and mint. Best of the year for me for sure.

@Onibubba, thank you for the excellent information on these selections, some of which are seldom mentioned, and the circumstances surrounding each. Informative and entertaining.

@Onibubba

If you like the Solist Vinho, I highly recommend the Solist Sherry.

A couple of my standouts this year has been a Springbank raw cask 18, Laphroaig 25, Ardbeg Corryvreckan and actually Aberlour 16 at a local bar. As this year draws near it's end I'm thankful for all opportunities I've had to enjoy the hobby and look forward to an even better 2016. Cheers!

My top five, in no particular order:

•Kilkerran WIP #7. Cask strength, baby!

•Kilchoman 100% Islay CS single cask #344 from K&L. Huge! Still available and a steal at $80.

•Laphroaig 2015 Cairdeas. Absolutely classic. Worth a bunker bottle.

•My first-ever bottle of Armagnac (2001 Chateau de la Grangerie from K&L). Tasty & good value. This blows mezcal out of the water as a malternative for Ol' Jas. I can see buying a new bottle of Armagnac each year around Christmastime. It might even get hard to justify an annual sherried single malt when this is available instead.

•Talisker 57. Whoo! What Talisker 10 ought to taste like.

Honorable mention: Caol Ila 12 for being much better than the last bottle I had in 2013; Old Grand Dad 114 for competently scratching my very small bourbon itch for pocket change; a 6 YO peated Bunnahabhain IB that's much better than its specs promise; and standard Jameson for emerging as pretty decent in my (surprisingly) first-ever bottle.

Oh shoot—I forgot the 1997 Springbank Madeira! It's so funky and delicious. To squeeze it into my top five, I'll bump the Armagnac.

@OlJas Interesting that you mention Jameson. I've just had one in which the pot still character was absolutely stunning.

Springbank 14 CS Fino

George T. Stagg

Lagavulin DE

Ardbeg Oogie/Corry

Amrut CS

If I had to choose the best 5 tasted this year:

5) Highland Park 18 y/o 4) Glen Ord 30 y/o 3) Oban 32 y/o 2) Brora 30 y/o 1) Port Ellen 20 y/o

So this has been another bourbon year for me. The malts have had to take a back seat. I've got loads of bottles I haven't tasted yet but this is my list for now:

1. Four Roses Small Batch Limited Edition 2015
2. Colonel EH Taylor Straight Rye
3. Four Roses Single Barrel
4. Blanton's Gold
5. Elijah Craig 18 (bottled '97) (6. Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Scottish Barley Peavily Peated)

Jamesons also blew my mind this year. Stunning fruity pot still character. Redbreast 12 disappointed (I probably should have got the cask strength), WL Weller 12 was great, anything Blantons was great

I probably have way more than 5 in my top 5 this year. A lot has happened. I've tasted less whiskies this year but I've appreciated them more. And I quite like that.

One thing I'm glad for is my new found appreciation for Kilchoman. Even though they're not in my Top 5 they certainly made 2015 extremely enjoyable.

In no particular order :

Port Ellen 1979 32 Years Old 11th Release Ardbeg Almost There Benromach 10 100 Proof Laphroaig 25 2014 Yamazaki 25

@OlJas

"•Talisker 57. Whoo! What Talisker 10 ought to taste like." Agreed :-D

This is always my favorite thread to look forward to, each December. It took me some thought, but in no particular order:

• Teeling Silver Reserve 21

• Redbreast 21

• Octomore 6.3

• Kilchoman Port Cask Matured

• Auchentoshan Solera

As a bonus, I'll just mention I did agree with the WWA's selection of Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique, which I was lucky to nab before it disappeared due to earlier reviews on this website. And (as I sometimes point out) if anyone missed a recent similar discussion, here are some more suggestions for you: reddit.com/r/Scotch/…?