Iconic Whisky (by C.Malt and A.Vingtier)

Andyvans · September 9 2018 at 5:43AM

Picked up this book on sale today. The authors provide their personal rating on a scale of 1 to 9. Most whiskies over 18 year old are rated 6 to 9. Which is understandable. But those usually are the pricy ones. I was more interested in something more affordable. I found that rating of 5 usually corresponds to most of my favourites in under $100CAD group. So I made a list of names from mid price range with ratings 5+. Though you might find it interesting. Ratings are listed in brackets. Interestingly, some of my current favourites, like Highland Park 12, Dalwhinnie 15, or Tomatin 12 were only given 3 marks. So, keep in mind that everyone’s taste is different. Anyhow, do you find any of your favourites in this list?

SCOTCH WHISKY

Arran 14 (5)

Glencadam 15 (5)

Glengoyne 15 (5)

Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or (5)

Talisker 10 (6)

Talisker Storm (5)

Talisker 57North (5)

Aberlour A’bunadh (6)

Balvenie 12 Single Barrel (5)

Benromach 10 100 Proof (5)

Glenfarclas 105 (5)

Glenfarclas 15 (5)

Tamdhu Batch Strength (5)

Ardbeg 10 (5)

Ardbeg Uigeadail (7)

Ardbeg Corryvreckan (7)

Port Charlotte (5)

Kilchoman Loch Gorm (5)

Lagavulin 12 CS (7)

Lagavulin 16 (5)

Laphroaig 10 CS (7)

Laphroaig QC (5)

Springbank 10(5)

Longbow Peated (5)

IRISH

Redbreast 12CS (6)

JAPAN

Hibiki Harmony (5)

Nikka from the Barrel (5)

Nikka Coffey Malt (5)

Note: all Yamazaki expressions are 5+

US BOURBONS

Evan Williams Single Barrel (5)

Rittenhouse 100 proof (5)

Elijah Craig 12 Small Batch (5)

Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel Select (5)

Baker’s 7 107 proof (6)

Booker’s 6-8 121-127 proof (7)

Maker’s Mark CS (5)

Michter’s Unblended (5)

Eagle Rare 10 (5)

Blanton’s Original (5)

Blanton’s Gold (7)

Wild Turkey Rare Breed (6)

CANADA

Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel (5)

Gibson’s Finest 18(5)

bedlamborn · September 10 2018 at 2:24PM

I think that there are some strange peculiarities. If I saw a rating system between 1-9 and they gave it 3 I would say it would be considered not good. I quite like Tomatin 12 as it is a easy drinking whisky which is good for days when you don't want a complex whisky.

For me it is strange to see Lagavulin 16 rated with 5 while the Lagavulin 12 is 7. Meanwhile Talisker 10 is 6. I think that both Talisker 10 and Lagavulin 16 are two highly quality whiskies that whiskies should be compared to.

I found several whiskies here that i like.
Glengoyn e15
Tamdhu Batch Strength
Talisker 10
Lagavulin 16
Laphroaig 10 CS (very expensive although)
Benromach 10

For the Bourbons I found also several such as
Bakers
Blanton Gold
Rare Breed

Andyvans · September 12 2018 at 3:57AM

@bedlamborn

Well, their rating marks go like this:

1 - Acceptable

2 - Noticeable

3 - Good

4 - Very good

5 - Remarkable

6 - Excellent

7 - Magnificent

8 - Exceptional

9 - Ultimate

Usually 8 and 9 is given to 30-40 year old expressions. And since the book only includes some of the best brand names, it makes sense that practically all whiskies are quite good by default.
So with that in mind, 3 and 4 is not bad at all, just not remarkable (which is 5). I like Tomatin 12 for the same reason as yours, but we would probably both agree not to rate it as remarkable. So now that I think about it a bit more, I am getting more in agreement with their choices. Which make expressions with 5-7 ratings more attractive for next purchase. So I will stick with this list as a purchase guide. Springbank and Benronach were at the top of my list anyway. And I really want to try that Baker's, it seems to be always on a "highly recommended" list when it comes to bourbons.

As to Lagavulin 12, I believe it is cask strength, and I saw many people raving about it over L16. In our stores, the 12 is about 50% more expensive than the 16. So even I haven't tried it myself, I can see why it could be rated higher.

bedlamborn · September 12 2018 at 3:28PM

@Andyvans

That looks like a very logarithmical scale as usual. The difference between the higher ones are very small compared to lower one.

I have tried the Lagavulin 12 YO and the Lagavulin 16Yo and I prefer the 16yo myself. So it is a matter of taste. Because what are tehy rating for? power? Complexity? and so on.

I have both the Blantons Gold and Bakers open at my home. They are both good but i would not rate them higher than Talisker 10 or Lagavulin 16. But if the author loves Bourbon he would rate them very highly.

Bakers is good one, can't go wrong on that one.

Andyvans · September 12 2018 at 8:35PM

@bedlamborn

I agree with you. Any list will be very subjective when it comes to taste preferences. But some people who feel overwhelmed with the choices on the store shelves might still find it useful. At least it narrows down the options to something a bit more manageable. And for that reason I though I would share it here. It doesn't matter what the actual number is. It just gives a bit more reassurance that the whisky from the list will most likely be at least very good. Some people might appreciate it.

Of course, there are probably hundreds of options out there that were not even included in the book. A great example happened just yesterday. My wife was on a business trip to Chicago and picked up a bottle for me that represents their local distillery - Koval Single Barrel Bourbon Whisky (94 proof). I've never heard about it, it is not in the book either. But it turned out to be quite remarkable. I would definitely give it 5 or 6 on that scale. The mash bills includes millet instead of rye, which is Asian grain used for fermentation. This give it a rather unique character, which reminded me both Blanton's and Nikka from the Barrel when I first tasted them. So there you go, just one example out of hundreds of something really good which is not on anybody's list.

bedlamborn · September 14 2018 at 2:10PM

@Andyvans

So many choices to choose from. I find allmost all distilleries first agestatement sngle malts offering to be a good start, except some like Jura.

So a list is good for people starting out.

I would find it interesting to see how they have set the grades for some. Like Lagavulin 16 has a consistent quality over the years so it is easy to rate but how do you rate single barrel expressions like Blantons gold? have they tried ten different and come up with that rating or was it just one? Interesting to know.