Innholdsfortegnelse for Summer 2021 i Whisky Advocate

In Herbert Asbury’s 1933 book “The Barbary Coast: An Informal History of the San Francisco Underworld,” he reports on the most popular drink in San Francisco during the 1870s, the Pisco Punch. “Its base was Pisco brandy, which was distilled from the grape known as Italia, or La Rosa del Peru, and was named for the Peruvian port from which it was shipped,” Asbury writes. “It was thus described by a writer who first tasted it in 1872: ‘It is perfectly colorless, terribly strong and has a flavor somewhat resembling that of Scotch whiskey [sic], but much more delicate, with a marked fruity taste.” As Diego Loret de Mola, founder, director, and master distiller of Barsol Pisco points out, “Since the very first time pisco landed in the United States…

With 1 in 10 people in the U.S. claiming Irish heritage, there’s a natural affinity with Ireland, and it extends to Irish whiskey. Some stateside distillers have also created their own take on Ireland’s classic whiskey styles. At Black Bear Distillery in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, master chef and distiller Victor Matthews produces an Irish-style whiskey and a sherry-finished Irish-style bourbon, which he describes as a fusion of Irish-style whiskey and wheated bourbon. Inspired by his great-grandfather’s Irish ancestry, he fought and won a two-year campaign with U.S. and Irish regulators to use the term “Irish style” for this 100% American-made whiskey. Ten years ago, Meagan and Patrick Miller, co-founders of Talnua Distillery in Arvada, Colorado, set out to produce American single pot still whiskey after tasting Redbreast in a…

Free Spirits Co. The Spirit of Bourbon • $37 THE CLAIM “A rich, oaky, caramel-kissed non-alcoholic alternative to a great Kentucky bourbon.” It contains “functional ingredients,” including vitamin B3 and B6 and taurine. IN THE GLASS Bubble gum, yellow cupcake, and gummy bears on the nose, with flavors of French vanilla creamer and tingling spice. RECOMMENDED USE Hot Toddy with lemon juice, honey, and a cinnamon stick. Lyre’s American Malt • $36 THE CLAIM There’s no such thing as a “bourbon malt,” but that’s what Australia-based Lyre’s says it’s emulating with this umber-hued beverage. IN THE GLASS Aromas of light spice, hay, and cotton candy give way to a palate with the syrupy sweetness of vanilla and orange. RECOMMENDED USE In a no-ABV Boulevardier using Lyre’s Aperitif Rosso and Italian…

Distillery-Direct Auctions on the Rise Increasingly, distilleries are skipping the liquor stores and taking their new releases straight to auction instead. For the collector, the advantages of these one-of-a-kind creations, like Macallan Red Collection or Macallan 1967 Anecdotes of Ages: A New Era of Advertising, a collaboration with Sir Peter Blake, are provenance, exclusivity, and convenience: There's no need for a ballot, waiting in line for hours, or being judged for eligibility based on your customer loyalty. Bottled specifically to meet the objective of being old, rare, and expensive enough to justify their own auction, these whiskeys have the disadvantage of being sold as collectibles before collectors have bestowed the aura of collectibility upon them. A gladiatorial contest is not always guaranteed: Sotheby’s, New York attracted just a single bid…

I have four glasses of whisky in front of me. No, I am not in the middle of a tasting—comparative, vertical, or otherwise. Neither am I guilty of some sort of whisky attention deficit disorder. In fact, my quartet of glasses—a snifter, Riedel, Old Fashioned, and Glencairn—all contain the same whisky, Lagavulin 8 year old. My experiment is much less about the whisky and far more about my emotional response to the glassware. But perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. Back in the dark ages, when I was a novice whisky imbiber, I experimented with a variety of glasses, from what I then called a “rocks glass,” but would today term an Old Fashioned, to a variety of stemware, and what would be best described as glorified juice glasses. Because…

94 Midleton Dair Ghaelach Knockrath Forest 56.5% • $320 Lemon, vanilla, meringue in creamy custard, and spices 92 Glendalough 7 year old Black Pitts Porter Barrel-Finished 46% • $50 Dark chocolate, dark fruits, honey, roasted peppery spices, and praline 92 Method & Madness Chestnut Cask-Finished 46% • $90 Toasted cedar, spruce, spice, pecans, almond cream, and lemon 91 The Whistler Imperial Stout Cask-Finished 43% • $40 Chocolate orange, milky coffee, pepper, ginger spice, and dark fruits 90 Jameson Caskmates IPA Edition 40% • $37 Coconut macaroons, apple, spices, stewed fruits, and chocolate 89 Tullamore D.E.W. Cider Cask Finish 40% • $40/liter Sugared golden apple slices, crisp cider, caramel, vanilla, pepper, and clove 88 West Cork IPA Cask Matured 40% • $33 Honey sweetness, citrus peel, lime zest, pepper, ginger, dark…

97 Midleton Very Rare Silent Distillery Chapter 2 1973 53.6% • $45,000 Chocolate orange, pot still spice, and gingersnap 96 Teeling Vintage Reserve Collection 24 year old 46% • $500 Orange flan, brown sugar, spice, and hints of smoke 95 Bushmills 28 year old The Rare Casks Cognac Cask (Release No. 1) 46.7% • $500 Orange, grapefruit, lime, peppercorn, and clove 94 Midleton Very Rare Vintage 2021 40% • $208 Orchard fruits, spice, bananas in custard, and caramelized sugar 93 Redbreast 27 year old 54.6% • $500 Raspberry, cherry, plums, and active spices of pepper and chile…

Show Your Bottles Off While wine is typically stored horizontally in a cellar to allow for more space, this room is all about your whisky, so show off those labels by displaying whisky bottles standing up. Plus, if whisky is stored laying down, the cork could alter the flavor over time and you certainly don’t want your spirit to be tainted! Lock ‘Em Up A whisky collection is no cheap endeavor, and you’ll want to keep your bottles safe. A vault or locked cabinet can be perfect for a small selection of rarer bottles that you want to protect—just make sure not to lose the key! If you’d rather lock up your entire collection, like Baljit Gill did with his whisky room, you should consider glass-front cabinets that lock, so…

The Buying Guide provides ratings of whiskies from around the world with an emphasis on new releases available for purchase in the U.S. Complete tasting notes are provided for all whiskies scoring 84 points or more (on the Whisky Advocate 100-point scale). Lower-scoring whiskies are included at the discretion of the editors, and some may appear exclusively on whiskyadvocate.com. RATINGS AND PRICES Ratings are to provide a relative comparison of quality with reference to both directly competing products and whiskies in general. Price is not a consideration when arriving at ratings. Prices shown reflect the suggested retail price or a representative retail price. Actual retail prices may vary. Whiskies sold in the U.S. have prices marked in dollars; any whisky priced in other currency is not presently available in the…

Shibui aspires to be recognized as a brand that takes an innovative approach to Japanese rice whisky, perhaps seen in the same light as Compass Box with blended scotch or High West with bourbon and rye. Shibui draws on a wide variety of cask types to produce a range with distinct personalities, and regards these products as grain whiskies, though they originate from a number of distilleries specializing in awamori, a traditional distilled rice spirit that has been made on Okinawa since the 15th century. Awamori is made from long-grain Indica rice fermented in a single step with an indigenous black koji mold and yeast, and has a strong tradition of being aged before consumption. 92 Shibui 15 year old Sherry Cask Matured, 43%, $216 Double distillation in stainless steel…

Even with so many bars shuttered during the pandemic, Happy Hour has persevered. We were still going to drink at home (that was never a question) but we upped our cocktail game by going deep on mastering the classics and perfecting technique. Raising our glass to the laptop camera to toast these end-of-day virtual hangouts with friends and family off ered a much-needed release. We found a way to keep the comradery and community of Happy Hour alive, even without the literal elbow-rubbing. Where you celebrate Happy Hour is often determined by convenience. There’s always the place near your job for post-work decompression and another near home filled with neighbors and friends. And Happy Hours run the high-low spectrum, with equal appreciation for a bourbon-and-ginger served in a plastic cup…

It wasn’t until I ducked into a tent to escape a sudden squall at a Memphis barbecue contest some 20 years ago that I got wise that smoked meat goes perfectly with bourbon. It took long enough. I’m a lover of both, having written a book on the former and been a lifelong devotee of the latter. If you haven’t been, the Memphis in May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest is the biggest barbecue bash on the planet. Some 250 teams with fanciful names compete lavishly along the Mississippi. Participants, some costumed in pig masks, cook on huge grills that resemble everything from locomotives to airplanes and refrigerators. Elaborate competitors’ booths can reach three stories high. I was looking for such a shelter when Lenny, a local pilot for FedEx,…

WHISKEYS OF THE WEST Dear Whisky Advocate, Just a quick note to say how much I enjoy your magazine. There are great articles, but there’s one problem I see: You do not show any whiskey made in Idaho. I would love to see an article about the small distilleries from Idaho and Montana. Thank you for your time and consideration. Leonard Counihan Dear Leonard, We’ve covered a few distilleries in Montana—Montgomery, Willie’s, and Wildrye Distilling—though it’s been a few years. As for Idaho, you are right, and we will definitely keep it in mind. We love the West and its whiskeys! KOSHER RULES! Dear Whisky Advocate, As a whisky lover who maintains a kosher diet, I very much enjoyed the “Kosher Rules” article in the Winter 2020 issue. And I…

Barsol Mosto Verde Quebranta Pisco 41.8% • $43 Made from 100% quebranta grapes, this Peruvian pisco has aromas of pastry notes, caramel, butterscotch, red apple, pear, apricot, toasted almonds, and dried fruits, with hints of citrus. On the palate, the aromas are confirmed, along with light herbal notes and honey flavors that a Highland single malt fan will appreciate. The lingering finish introduces cacao, dark chocolate, toasted nuts, and cereal that may draw in a rye whiskey or high-rye bourbon enthusiast. Capel Moai Reservado Pisco 40% • $27 This Chilean pisco, which is aged in American oak for four to six months, will likely please a rye whiskey fan. Double distilled from muscat, Pedro Ximenez, and torontel grapes, it has fresh fruit aromas with hints of oak that give way to intense…

Collectible Irish whiskey represents a vital strand in Ireland’s renaissance as a whiskey nation. Ireland-based online auction houses first began appearing in late 2018, opening the gates for a domestic secondary market for Irish whiskey that shows no sign of slowing. Internationally, that’s not yet the case: Irish whiskey’s presence on the world auction stage is still tiny compared to that of single malt scotch or Japanese whisky. In 2020, less than 2% of the lots at Scotch Whisky Auctions were Irish whiskeys. U.S. auction houses handled hardly any bottles at all, and Irish whiskey was almost non-existent in the salerooms of Hong Kong. Yet a glance at the action in Ireland could persuade you that Irish whiskey could be the next thing, considering the amount of money changing hands…

We tend to think of the American whiskey industry as cyclical, but is it? If it is, we have no idea what a “normal” cycle would be. The post-WWII expansion lasted 25 years, from 1945 to 1970. Bourbon’s decline and fall lasted 30 years. We are in the 21st year of revival. How long will it last? Who knows? We don’t have enough data to form a prediction. The pandemic has thrown a wrench into everything. It is impossible to know what its long-term effects will be, but it seems likely it will affect just about everything going forward. That isn’t necessarily dire—the future can be bright. It’s just that the deck has been shuffled and new hands are still being dealt. Before all this, tariffs slowed export growth, and…

93 Kilbeggan 43% • $45 Citrus peel, orange, apricot, vanilla, roasted hazelnut, and fizzing pot still spices 92 Drumshanbo 43% • $63 43% • $63 Pear, apple, dried citrus, lime, plum, toasted coconut, and pot still spiciness 91 Blue Spot 7 year old 58.7% • $80 Toffee, tangy citrus, apple, walnut, and peppery spices 91 Teeling 46% • $75 Apple, pear, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, ground almond, and caramel 90 Glendalough Single Pot Still 43% • $55 Caramel, dried apple, clove, pepper, and bakery treats 88 The Busker Single Pot Still 44.3% • $30 Grilled muffins, biscuits, spice, vanilla, and toasted granola…

1 Ballykeefe 2 Blackwater 3 Blacks 4 Boann 5 Burren 6 Bushmills 7 Cooley 8 Clonakilty 9 Connacht 10 Copeland 11 Crolly 12 Dingle 13 Dublin Liberties 14 Echlinville 15 Glendalough 16 Glendree 17 Great Northern 18 Hinch 19 Irish American 20 Kilbeggan 21 Killowen 22 Lough Gill 23 Lough Measc 24 Micil 25 Midleton 26 Pearse Lyons 27 Powerscourt 28 Rademon Estate 29 Roe & Co 30 Royal Oak 31 Slane 32 Sliabh Liag 33 The Shed 34 Teeling 35 Tipperary 36 Tullamore 37 Waterford 38 West Cork…

What defines a particular whisky—what makes it a blended scotch, straight bourbon, or single pot still Irish—usually involves the rules that govern where and how it can be made. Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the United States, France, and many other countries have regulations that delineate their native whisky styles. But Japan, despite its renown in the whisky world, has never had a set of guidelines to define its whiskies—until now. In February, the Japan Spirits and Liqueurs Makers Association published a set of labeling standards for spirits that bear the name “Japanese Whisky” (see sidebar). They closely hew to the guidelines for scotch whisky—unsurprising given the history of modern whisky making in Japan, which sprang from the work of Masataka Taketsuru. In the 1920s, this young chemist learned distilling in Scotland…

Benriach Distillery sits in the heart of Speyside, the world’s most famous whisky region, and yet has always been overlooked. It produces both peated and unpeated whiskies, and much of the peated expressions’ appeal lies in their refined profile. Instead of packing the medicinal, iodine explosion like most of Islay’s peat bombs, Benriach’s peat notes are gentle and sweet. The secret is in the local Speyside peat, which is vastly different from the peat of Islay. That alluring sweet smoke wowed our tasting panel last year, when Benriach The Smoky Twelve emerged from the pack as No. 3 in our 2020 Top 20 Whiskies of the Year. 95 Benriach The Thirty, 46%, $740 Benriach digs into the vaults for this rare gem, and it’s a tour de force. The maturity…

I’m officially out $125.93 in maraschino cherries, not counting sales tax. Could be more by the time you read this, depending on where we are pandemic-wise, but that’s my latest tally. And it’s not even my fault. I’d blame it on the Steadfast Monica, and rightly so, but it’s really the fault of a steakhouse bartender in Iowa. Return with us to a pre-COVID autumn in the Heartland. We were in Iowa City, home of the fighting Hawkeyes, to celebrate the 50th birthday of my nephew Daniel. He lives right here in Chicago, actually, but he graduated from the University of Iowa and never quite got over it. (His dog is named Herky—Google it.) So we headed west for a destination birthday party. We arrived the night before, because you…

As an FDNY fire fighter, Angelo Silecchio knew he had a high possibility of being exposed to COVID-19. To be safe, he had his wife and 1 year old daughter go to live with his in-laws in March of 2020. So as the worst days of the pandemic raged through New York, not only was Silecchio stuck at home, he didn’t have his family with him either. Trying to keep his mind occupied and himself busy, he used the opportunity to finally fulfi ll a dream: building a home bar. “I’ve always wanted one,” he claims, ever since his parents bought a house that had a very small, dry bar counter with one shelf behind it, back in 2009. “That put the seed into my head to one day have…

Leather Travel Bar Exclusive to Frontgate, this classy leather case serves up an ice bucket, room for two bottles, a drawer that includes nine cups, and basic tools to serve up your favorite whisky. $500; frontgate.com Manhattan Cocktail Case Create a classic cocktail from this seemingly vintage suitcase. The leatherette exterior encases a velveteen-lined interior that protects two bottles, and includes a shaker, bar tools, and two glasses. Available in black or mahogany. $300; picnictime.com Bartender’s Backpack Cocktails to go! This canvas backpack holds four bottles, includes a laptop case, and has straps to secure a bar tool roll-up (sold separately). $100; cocktailkingdom.com Bar Backpack Perfect for happy hour by the lake! This insulated backpack carries three bottles, and comes equipped with 16 bar tools, including a cheese board and…

Sustainability can take many forms in the whisky world, from recycled grains to closed-circuit water systems, and it’s a hot topic for whisky makers. For whisky drinkers, the impact is most visible in the bottle itself. Last July, Diageo announced plans to introduce a 100% paper 700-ml bottle for Johnnie Walker Black Label, set to roll out later this year. In April, Diageo also completed a pilot project using waste-based biofuels to cut the carbon footprint of bottle making for its Black & White brand by 90%. Other companies have been following suit. A few months after the Johnnie Walker reveal, Dewar’s announced a similar initiative. Alternative packaging is on its way, and it has a chance of making a significant impact. Bacardi Looks to Paper Bacardi plans to replace…

With many whiskies presenting lovely stone-fruit qualities, it’s no wonder that the spirit pairs so nicely with Luxardo Maraschino liqueur, which exudes bright aromas and flavors of the marasca cherry distillate, along with roasted nuts, dark chocolate, vanilla, and orange marmalade. The liqueur has been made the same way since its inception in 1821: The leaves, pits, stems, and skins of marasca cherries infuse in larch wood vats for three years, it’s then distilled in copper pot stills, and matured in ash wood vats for a year, with simple syrup added before bottling. “Luxardo Maraschino is round, rich, and floral, with hints of marzipan, and it mixes well with whiskies across the spectrum in slightly different ways,” says Eryn Reece, head bartender at Banzarbar in New York City. “It can…

DAILY DRINKER Amrut Portonova and Peated Cask Strength THE ONE HE DREAMS OF TRYING Single Cask Nation’s independent bottling of 5 year old Amrut bourbon cask (Cask No. 2635) at 62.8% ABV. THREE WORDS THAT BEST DESCRIBE HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH AMRUT Family, love, devotion MOST MEMORABLE AMRUT MOMENT Cutting the ribbon on Amrut’s new distillery expansion in 2018. MOST EXTREME THING HE’S DONE FOR AMRUT When a friend got the chance to buy one of four bottles of Amrut Greedy Angels 12 year old exported to Sweden, within 24 hours Steckel had traded him a 1972 Macallan bottled by Gordon & MacPhail—a whisky worth about $800 more. He opened the Amrut to taste it the very same day.…

There’s nothing like a good whisky, except, perhaps, another good whisky. Yet even whisky lovers may decide to take a break from time to time for medical, religious, or other reasons. Whatever the motive, abstaining no longer means a choice of just soda or seltzer. Now there is a range of alcohol-free alternatives for when you’re off the sauce or just want to lighten the proof load of your usual tipple. “The vast majority of consumers are not necessarily vigilantly sober daily,” says Lauren Chitwood, who co-founded Spiritless in 2019 and serves as its CEO. “They’re really just looking to curb consumption and increase moderation.” Spiritless’s first product, Kentucky 74, is a dealcoholized “whiskey” that’s made in a two-step process. First, grain neutral spirit and oak are combined in a…

WORLD RECORD Midleton Very Rare 2009 Hammer Price: ¤6,000 /$7,282 Irish Whiskey Auctions, Ireland, Feb 2021 Bidders smashed the previous vintage 2009 record of .2,350 set in May 2020 at Irish Whiskey Auctions, making this the third-highest price ever paid for a Midleton Very Rare vintage, behind vintages 1988 and 1989. Blended by Midleton's legendary master distiller Barry Crockett, the 27th edition in the series was released during the depths of Ireland’s economic depression and produced in smaller quantities than other years. WORLD RECORD Bushmills 28 year old The Rare Casks Cognac Cask (Release No. 1) Hammer Price ¤2,010/$2,440 Irish Whiskey Auctions, Ireland, Feb 2021 Release No.1 from the Rare Cask Collection retailed at $500 a bottle, and was a Whisky Advocate collectible pick in Winter 2020, receiving a 95-point…

Friends of Laphroaig (FoL) was founded in 1994, but now Laphroaig is revamping its fan club with a tiered program that focuses on upscale experiences and exclusive offers. The Islay distillery will now reward loyal drinkers based on their engagement with the brand. The upper tiers of membership unlock greater benefits, higher status, and bigger surprises. Rather than wait for the new details to be revealed, I’ve pitched in with my own fantasy ideas. Here’s my Lovers of Laphroaig (LoL) plan, with all the perks a Laphroaig fan could want: Tier 1: Peat Positive. Join with 20 points and under and treasure your own square inch of Islay. The digital team sends out a welcome tweet. Wear your exclusive LoL pin with pride. Your spouse will smile upon the simple…

Single Malt Smooth, sweet, and malty Single Pot Still Spicy and distinctively mouth-coating Single Grain Sweet, light, with floral top notes Blended Irish Whiskey Flavor profile varies, but generally smooth, mellow, and silky A blend is a mixture of two or more styles of Irish whiskey. There are no specific names to differentiate between blends made from malt and grain, pot still and grain, malt and pot still, or even malt, pot still, and grain.…

100% Japanese Whiskies that are made in Japan following the new guidelines aren’t always easy to distinguish from others, but one good indicator is the name of a working distillery on the label, like Hakushu or Yoichi. Beginning March 31, 2024, all producers that are part of the association will be allowed to use the words “Japanese Whisky” only on those whiskies that meet all the requirements. For now, these are some sure bets. 94 Mars Komagatake Limited Edition (2020 Release), 50%, $175 Mars Shinshu, Japan’s highest whisky distillery, produces several slow-maturing single malts, including this luscious whisky that’s rich with dark fruit, cocoa, peppery spice, and nuts. 93 Yamazaki 12 year old, 43%, $125 The first and oldest single malt distillery in Japan, located in Osaka, produces this in-demand…

Best Values Whiskies with solid scores, modest prices, and wide availability. IRISH BLENDED 90 Kilbeggan Traditional, 40%, $25 Cereal-led aromas on a classic Irish whiskey nose with wood shavings, straw, crisp spices, hints of honey, burlap, extra virgin olive oil, and other savory notes. A scrumptious palate of lemon, white chocolate, soft-serve vanilla ice cream, and sweet honey followed by tangerine, gentle peppery spices, hints of lemon and lime, and an ebullient spicy aftertaste. Perfect for a lazy Sunday: There’s very little wrong with this.—JM BLENDED SCOTCH 88 Loch Fyll, 43%, $20 Bakery shop character through-out, starting with raspberry thumbprint cookies, hazelnuts, orange peel, and crème brûlée on the nose. The creamy palate is sweet with black and white cookie, frosted vanilla cake, coconut pudding, and chocolate covered frozen banana,…

Known as the Spirit of Belfast, Dunville’s story began in 1808 when William Napier and John Dunvill opened a wine and spirits merchant. (Dunvill, like the word whisky in the original Dunville’s, didn’t use an e). Five generations of the family steered Dunville’s Irish whiskey to considerable fame and fortune throughout the 19th century, sourcing much of it from Royal Irish Distilleries in Belfast. The brand disappeared in the 1930s, but was revived in 2012 when Echlinville Distillery in Northern Ireland became the new custodian of Dunville’s and set about restoring one of the most famous names in Irish whiskey to its former glory. 91 Dunville’s 1808, 40%, $30 Named after the founding date of Dunville’s Irish whiskey, this stellar blend combines barley, honey, finely ground pepper, nutmeg, and aniseed…

Coveted top-shelf American bourbons for your top-shelf whisky bar. Only the best of the best ever clear 90 points on Whisky Advocate. The few whiskies that do are forever part of an elite club. The high hurdle of 90 points is strictly awarded to those that are remarkable examples of their category and the overall craft. Savor these sought-after whiskies as you refine your palate.…