Top Picks Of 2018

By Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas, Owner-Editor

Best New Whiskey, Heaven Hill 27 Year Old Bourbon: This survivor of the greatest American distillery disaster of modern times, the 1996 Heaven Hill fire, is more than just a magnificent pour of ultra aged bourbon. It also somehow got to the grand old age of 27 years, ancient in bourbon terms, without becoming over-oaked. Thus, it gained in sophistication rather than barrel-driven flavors.

So here is a word of advice: if you know your bourbon and you know you don’t like oaky whiskey, and you’re shopping for a bottle of Pappy or Stagg at market price, skip those and pick this one up instead. Last I checked, the market price was $1,000 a bottle. If you were going to spend several hundred or over a thousand on a bottle of bourbon anyway, this is the bottle you want.

Best To Pass My Lips, Exclusive Malts Cameronbridge 25 Year Old: This single grain, single cask, cask strength whisky went into the Sherry butt light and came out a rich, moody, Sherry-driven glory. It really is a must-acquire for both Sherry-heads and single grain fans. For the next year or so (or until it ceases to be available at retail), I will point to it whenever I hear someone talk ignorant smack about how grain whisky is lousy. It’s that good.

Kurt Maitland, Deputy Editor

Best New Whiskey: I’m going to cheat so many ways over and declare a tie, and not just a tie but a tie between two new series/line ups that were introduced in 2018.

A: The new GlenAllachie range now owned by Billy Walker. Briefly, Billy Walker (former owner of BenRiach, Glenglassaugh, and GlenDronach) recently bought GlenAllachie and these are the first releases under his stewardship. I always felt GlenAllachie was a hidden gem and it is great to see that is going to be a regular release and available in the US. Think of it as another chance to see a master at work.

B: The revamped Glenrothes line up. I got a chance to taste through the lineup (now moving from vintage to age statements) at the Whisky Show London and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m looking forward to my next taste and to see where they go, especially after being sold back to Edrington (the owner of Highland Park and Macallan).

Best To Pass My Lips, Glenfarclas 1973 Family Cask: Lots of amazing drams were had in 2018, but the Glenfarclas 1973 Family Cask that I had at the distillery this fall is the one that stands out.

Emma Briones, Senior Contributing Writer

Best New Whiskey, Redbreast Dream Cask 32 Year Old: One of the things I like most about whisky is its capacity to trigger memories both through the nose and the palate. The Redbreast Dream Cask 32 took me instantly to my grandma’s kitchen and her Sherried meat. It was a wonderfully balanced whiskey, full of sherry notes and I’d settle with having just another dram of it.

Best to Pass My Lips, Brenne Single Malt: Getting to taste Brenne Single Malt was one of the best surprises of 2018. It wasn’t my first time trying french whisky but this is something else. Brenne is a whisky to challenge what you think and expect from whisky. It felt like being a kid at a candy store: full of marshmallow and strawberry bubblegum. It’s a whisky to keep in mind.

Father John Rayls, Senior Contributing Writer

Best New Whiskey, Laphroaig Cairdeas Fino Cask

Best To Pass My Lips, Garrison Brothers Balmorhea

Randall H. Borkus, Contributing Writer

Best New Whiskey, Four Roses 2018 130th Anniversary Limited Edition Small Batch: To celebrate Four Roses 130th anniversary in 2018, Master Distiller Brent Elliott created an outstanding limited-edition whiskey utilizing four of their ten distinct mash bill recipes which includes a 10-year-old OBSV (30%), a 13-year-old OBSF recipe (40%), a 14-year-old OESV (20%) and a 16-year-old OESK (10%) bottled at barrel strength of 54.2% ABV (108.4 Proof). Truly, it’s one of the best whiskies I have ever imbibed.

Best To Pass My Lips, Hibiki 21 Year Old: This is excellent blend, and really made me sit up and take notice of Japanese whisky. It is made using single malts from Hakushu and Yamazaki and grain whisky from Chita that were aged in a combination of American (ex-bourbon), European (ex-Sherry) and Japanese (Mizunara) Oak. Each component aged for at least 21 years before being selected and blended to create this whiskey.

The result is one of the most well balanced, viscus full bodied whiskies I have ever tasted. If I could find this whiskey, I’d buy multiple bottles at retail price, but unfortunately what is available is only secondary market, thus for the time being unreachable for most of us. These days finding high-end Japanese whiskies has become the true unicorn hunt.

Elizabeth Emmons, Contributing Writer

Best New Whisky of 2018, Caol Ila 15 Year Old “Unpeated Style” (2018 release): This was released in 2018, as one of Diageo’s annual special bottlings. The 2017 release was an 18 year old (also excellent) while the 2018 release was a 15 year old, which is delicious as well.

Caol Ila fans know they can count on smoke from this distillery, but this annual release looks at what they produce less of: unpeated-style whisky. This release spent time in refill and rejuvenated American oak hogsheads and ex-bodega European oak butts, which makes this one Sherry-forward. These unpeated releases give us a sense of the other flavors usually hidden behind the peat of the standard release such as apples and vanilla, and remind us that Caol Ila is a much more complex whisky than many people give it credit for. This one is also cask strength which is certainly appreciated; water softens it and opens it up a bit, but it also tastes great as is.

Best Whiskey to Pass My Lips, Betsy Ross decanter bottled by McCormick Distilling Company out of Missouri (released 1976): This bottle was issued as a limited edition decanter in a set of 8 in 1976 to celebrate American patriots as part of the 200th anniversary of America’s founding. I was lucky enough to have attended a “bring something interesting” tasting one evening, and a man showed up with Betsy. He had bought the decanter, full and unopened, for $5 at an estate sale in New Jersey! I have no idea how long the whisky had been aged (I can’t imagine too long based on flavor), but it was memorable, especially coming out of such a fun bottle. Woody and nutty on the nose; pecan pie, maraschino cherry, and tarragon on the palate. Definitely a 2018 highlight and luckily, Betsy was able to come home with me.

Contributing Writer, Andrew Graham

Best New Whiskey of 2018, Angel’s Envy Cask Strength 2018: I’m not sure that it gets much better than this year’s Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon release, finished in Port barrels. The flavors that Angel’s Envy looks for in their cask strength release vary from year to year. This year, to me, it was milk chocolate, ripe figs, and molasses. If you can find it, sip it neat, even though it’s 62% ABV, and enjoy the intense traditional bourbon flavors that support all of its nuance.

Best Whiskey To Pass My Lips, Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie: Peat seems to have a monopoly on contemporary scotch drinkers, but I feel like it shouldn’t. I had drank unpeated scotch before, but until recently I had never had Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie, the blue bottle of hooch sitting behind many a bar, for whatever reason.The story here is the minerality. Salt and sea water hit on the nose, along with a charred sugars. Then a bread-like, salty flavor that sticks to the mouth. This whisky is made with conviction and it is accessible. Have some.

Contributing Writer, Paer Johansson