Top Picks of 2019

By Richard Thomas

Richard Thomas, Owner-Editor

Best To Pass My Lips, Booker’s 30th Anniversary Bourbon: Whereas the standard batches of Booker’s Bourbon and even some of the special releases of the brand are selected by committee, this Booker’s 30th Anniversary was a project of Fred Noe from start to finish. He brought in his son and apprentice Freddie as as a sounding board, but kept all the choices in his own hands. The result was he settled on using a 16 year old bourbon stock as his base, but drew on some 9 year old stock to round out the woodier aspect of that old whiskey. The result came out as a sublime example of what a cask strength (125.8 proof) bourbon can be. Bottles are still out there, with online retailers asking between $700 and $1,000.

Best New Whiskey, Old Fitzgerald 15 Year Old Bottled in Bond Bourbon (Fall 2019): Although my review for this whiskey isn’t scheduled until next week and in 2020, it was released and evaluated by me in 2019, so here we are. The fifth and oldest installment in the Old Fitz premium bonded series, the most interesting part of this particular release has thus far gone unremarked upon.

The well-informed should recall that Van Winkle bought some Bernheim-made wheated bourbon stock to help eek out the gap between their original Stitzel-Weller stock and their contract production at Buffalo Trace, which began after 2002. Because it’s a good guess that the middle-aged Winkle whiskeys were leaning on Bernheim stock in the ’00s, one could accurately describe Old Fitz 15 as a throwback to the Old Rip Van Winkle/Pappy Van Winkle 15 Year Old bourbons of yesteryear. In keeping with a statement like that, it’s excellent and in new release now.

Kurt Maitland, Deputy Editor

Best To Pass My Lips, Tomatin 30 Year Old Single Malt: This one is hard as I did a lot of whisk(e)y travel this year, with lots of festivals, distillery visits, and amazing drinks but one dram keeps coming back to me – the old-style Tomatin 30 that was poured for me by “Jonny Fiddler.” If you’ve watched Amazon’s The Three Drinkers, you will actually see Jonny and the trio on Loch Ness.

Best New Whiskey, The Perfect Fifth Cambus 42 Year Old Single Grain (Distilled 1976, Released 2019, 57.6% ABV): My rationale is often that it’s not about the age (even though that is impressive in and of itself), it’s more that it is an amazing showcase for an underrated style of whisky.

Emma Briones, Senior Contributor

Best To Pass My Lips, Caol Ila 35 Year Old Special Release Single Malt: This year I was lucky enough to taste, for the first time, from the Diageo Special Releases. And one sip of each was enough to understand why they are called Special Releases. Among them, I fell in love with one of the top whiskeys of the range: the Caol Ila 35 YO. This was not only a well-aged scotch with a perfect balance, but one of the most elegant drams I’ve had in my entire life. I’m still waiting for a winning lottery ticket that allows me to buy not one but a couple of bottles to enjoy on special occasions.

Best New Whiskey, Method & Madness Single Pot Still Finished In Acacia Wood: I usually like it when a whiskey gets to surprise me and makes me forget everything I know about it. But, sometimes, you just need a whiskey that doesn’t ask complicated questions and makes you feel comfortable at home. And this year I found the perfect one: Method and Madness Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey Finished in Acacia Wood. Sweet, dry and velvety, full of wonderful layers. One I wish wasn’t a limited edition release.

Randal H. Borkus, Contributor

Best Pass My Lips, Four Roses Limited Edition Small Batch Bourbon 2019:

The Four Roses’ 2019 Limited-Edition Small Batch is my favorite.

This Bourbon whiskey features a 21-year-old juice from the OBSV recipe, 15-year-old OESK, 15-year-old OESV, and 11-year-old OESV. This is the first time that a 21-year-old whiskey has appeared as part of the Small Batch collection.

The liquid is a dark brown amber and shows up oily in my glass. The nose is expressive blasting my senses with notes of crushed allspice berries, vanilla bean, butterscotch, and charred old floorboards from some favored rick house.

The mouth feel is warm and inviting; the front palate is a buttery smooth mix of vanilla and butterscotch with notes of soft caramel candy, warm chocolate sauce, nutmeg, and a hint of allspice. The oak influence is delightfully present, weaved in with a candy sweet profile leading to distinct herbal notes on my back palate. The finish demonstrates a beautiful barrel influence flavor of honey, hazelnuts, buttery soft caramel candy, topped off with a mature mocha-herbal essence. At a 56% ABV, the whiskey drinks incredibly smooth. It’s well-balanced and downright eloquent, making it the most impressive bourbon whiskey to pass by my lips in 2019.

Best New Whiskeys, Tie Between Parker’s Heritage 8 Year Old Heavy Char Rye (2019) and Wild Turkey Master’s Keep Cornerstone Rye:

Parker’s Heritage 13: The nose screams with loads of toasted wood carefully balanced on a pungent earthy-like essence flowing through the 105-proof juice. The upfront flavor offers lots of fresh baking spice, tobacco and charred oak. The mid-palate has a pleasant bite of heat and gives way to the heavy char which reminds me of a thrust of charcoal. The back palate transmogrifies into this surprisingly honied rye grain with lots of dried fruit reminding me of baked cherries, sautéed apples, apricots and drizzled with a light chocolate. The finish is smooth and very balanced with a slice of honeycomb wrapped in an oaky, slightly burnt sugar coating. This is amazing rye whiskey.

Master’s Keep Cornerstone: This is 109-proof of pure rye whiskey joy. The nose is bold with fresh baking spices, ginger candy and serious charred oak crying out “full proof for adults only.” The palate is hot upfront but opens quickly to a pleasant honey-oak sweetness, with notes of fruity vanilla, and whipped butterscotch candy with a side of chili peppers and mature sage. The finish is long and lingers with notes of dried cheery and apricot dusted with extra sweet baking spice and final serious oak char dryness. It’s just plain delicious and memorable.

Editor’s Note: These two expressions are why I called 2019 the year of peak rye in an October feature article.

Douglas Fraser, Contributor

Best To Pass My Lips, Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel Bourbon: A particular barrel from this brand yielded what has been hands down the best bourbon I have yet tasted. The copper-colored liquid is full of hints of vanilla, oak, cinnamon, and a little leather taste to finish. It is bottled at 45% ABV, but is so smooth it doesn’t nearly taste like it (tastes like 30-35%).

Best New Whiskey, Glendronach Master Vintage 1993 Single Malt: A wonder dram from Scotland that is aged 25 years in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso Sherry Casks. Full of hints of cocoa, nuts, dark chocolate, vanilla, dried red fruit, vanilla, and oak. The whisky has a wonderful balance to it and is a true Highland Single Malt Scotch. Bottled at 48.2% ABV, it is another splendid addition to the Glendronach history.

Andrew Graham, Contributor

Best To Pass My Lips, Yellow Spot 12 Year Old Single Pot Still: I reserved my seat on the Irish whiskey bandwagon after I had Yellow Spot. This amazing expression, a 46% ABV single pot still whiskey distilled at Midleton Distillery, is nuanced and complex, with flavors of Nutella and toffee lingering behind orchard fruit and banana. They’re using ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and ex-Malaga wine casks, the latter of which is the focal point of this expression.

Best New Whiskey, Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon (2019): My best-of pick for 2018 was the Angel’s Envy Cask Strength Bourbon, and at the risk of being redundant, I’m naming the 2019 expression as my best new whiskey of this year. The two whiskeys are quite different, and the 2019 release, at 61.2% ABV, absolutely gushes with rich flavors of dark fruit. It’s another bold release from a distiller that consistently makes excellent products.

Paer Johansson

Best To Pass My Lips, Ardbeg 1815 Single Malt: A wonderful expression of 33 years old Ardbeg from 1974 and 1975. The result is a wonderfully complex whisky with flavors of treacle and chocolate mingled with meaty smoke and an aftertaste of sweetness and exotic spices. Absolutely amazing!

Best New Whiskey, Laphroaig 30 year Old: The Ian Hunter Story, Book 1: This first bottling in the new 15 bottle Ian Hunter Story from Laphroaig is a great whisky. It has the traditional iodine (medicinal) flavors of Laphroaig that we all love (or hate for some), but the smoke is mild and leaves space for wonderful stewed fruit flavors not often tasted in Laphroaig. These flavors are accompanied by vanilla sweetness and some floral notes in the background. Cracking start of a series that is bound for whisky greatness.

At the suggestion of our contributor Randall Borkus, we’re trying a new category this year. Instead of celebrating our favorites, we’re calling attention to our disappointments. If you find Biggest Disappointments, our new take on Top Picks of the year, worthwhile, be sure to let us know in the comments.

Biggest Disappointments of 2019

Richard Thomas, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Bourbon (C-919): How much love I have for Elijah Craig Barrel Proof varies from batch to batch, but this particular one was just too hot. Even with a hefty splash of water it was too hot. The fire in the firewater kept me from finding the qualities I enjoy in the same measure as what I have come to expect from the brand, so while not a bad whiskey (this is something I need to emphasize, as I still gave it a B grade), it’s a mark below the normal standard for the line.

Randall Borkus, Elijah Craig 18 Year Old Bourbon: Every year I search out multiple bottles for my collection as for years this has been an all-time favorite because of the year in and year out flavor consistency. I found my bottle this year to be average whiskey at best and a huge disappointment. Overall, it was missing all the traditional Carmel and vanilla and sweet oak I’ve come to expect, instead it was tannic, dry and off putting. Barrel #4562 was a big dud in my opinion. I’ll need to think twice before I drop $200 next year.

Emma Briones, New Jura Whisky Range: Jura was one of the first whisky brands I ever tried, and I had nice memories about them. Maybe is the brand new focus on new consumers (which I am not), but the new range just didn’t click with me. All the whiskies in the range seem to be unfinished, like there is something missing and I surely can find more than a couple of brands able to give me much better whiskies for the same price (and under).