Whisky of the Year 2018

During the year, I am fortunate to taste many new whiskies. Some are not bad, and some I never want to taste again. Just search for “Ordinary” on this blog, and you will find quite a few examples of these. However, now and again, I taste something that blows my mind.

Something so delicious that I want to go out and buy many more bottles.Sometimes these Divine drams are limited releases, and when my bottle is finished, there will be no more. But sometimes they are standard releases that are readily available.

And this has been such a year. I have tasted 4 whiskies that we rated Divine. And each of these is readily available. They are not mindbogglingly expensive; they are quite affordable actually. But they were stand out drams that I loved.

And as always, at the end of each year, we gathered a few friends and blind taste-tested the year’s Divine whiskies to choose the Whisky of the Year 2018. The friends who helped was Roelia from Boozy Foodie and her hubby Jan from Social Savage.

The process is similar every year, a blind taste test and then every person individually ranked the glasses from 1 to 4. This gives us our Whisky of the Year. Here are the 4 whiskies in alphabetic order.

Best Single Malt: Ardbeg An Oa Whisky

It was with great fanfare that Ardbeg launched an extension to their core range – Ardbeg An Oa. The first permanent expression to join the Ardbeg core range since Corryvreckan in 2009. I have been less impressed lately by the Ardbeg Day releases, so I was rather sceptical about this new release.

Was this just another premium-priced release that does not live up to the hype? Oh Hell No. This Islay dram was just perfect. It warms you up with the traditional peat and smoke, but it is elegant and smooth. The Ardbeg An Oa single malt Scotch whisky is not the salty, TCP and strong tar pole notes of an Ardbeg Uigeadail, but a softer, more classic version of it.

Notes of peat, creamy honey, salted liquorice with hints of cough syrup. Bits of toasted nuts and pine needles mixed with vanilla, lemon pepper and chocolate.

Best Bourbon: Blanton’s Gold Edition

Blanton’s bourbon whiskey was launched in 1984 as a Single Barrel Bourbon. It is part of the Sazerac Company and distilled in Frankfort, Kentucky at the Buffalo Trace Distillery. What makes the Blanton’s bottle unique is the eight different stopper designs.

The stoppers feature a figurine of a racehorse and jockey in eight different scenes of a horse race, from standing at the gate to crossing the finish line with a win. I was wondering if this will be the only stopper in my collection, but after tasting this delicious bourbon, I am going to be looking for more bottles.

The Blanton’s Gold has notes of oak, warming rye, condensed milk, hints of sun-dried oranges and vanilla. It is rich and creamy bursting with a complex mix of tastes. There are notes of toasted oak, fudge, cinnamon, chocolate-covered oranges, Sichuan pepper with faint hints of cherries. And with an impressive ABV! A beautiful finish that leaves you with fudge, cinnamon, pepper and hints of orange peel.

Best Blend: Johnnie Walker Black Label

Affordable, available all around the world and an icon! Johnnie Walker Black Label is a blend of about 40 whiskies from all around Scotland. Smoother and more drinkable than its little brother the Johnnie Walker Red, the Black Label has reached cult status. And I can understand why.

It offers a consistent, delicious experience which I keep on going back to. The Johnnie Walker Black label Scotch whisky has notes of smoke, red berries, fruit, citrus flowers, oak and malt. A toffee sweetness with hints of spice. You don’t even need to add water, but water releases a bit more sweetness.

This Black Label is an all-together impressive dram. I always have a bottle of this in the house, and I love this (FAR) more than the more expensive Johnnie Walker releases I have tried.

Best World Whisky: Paul John Classic Cask Select

Paul John is a brand of Indian single malt whisky and single cask whisky, manufactured by  John Distilleries in Goa.  John Distilleries was founded by Mr Paul P. John in 1992, when they began producing several spirits, including Indian molasses-based ‘whisky’.

In 2008, John Distilleries attempted a single malt whisky, and the rest is history. Paul John Single Malt was launched in 2012 in the UK, and there was an overwhelmingly positive response to the golden liquid from this Indian distillery. And I am so glad that it is readily available in South Africa too.

The Paul John Classic Select Cask is an unpeated single malt that has been matured in ex-bourbon barrels and bottled without chill-filtration at cask strength. Again it comes at an impressive 55.2% ABV. The Paul John Classic Select Cask has notes of freshly baked apple pie sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, barley, faint hints of vanilla and candied fruits.

Hints of toffee, oak with warming cinnamon and soft pepper nicely balanced with honey sweetness. It has a delicious finish rich with oak, cinnamon and fruit. This year, the winning whisky and the runner up was only 1 point apart. But in the end, there can only be 1 winner.<

And the winner of the Whisky of the Year 2018 is…

The Ardbeg An Oa whisky was rated as the best by all 4 the participants. It’s a fascinating and glorious mix of aromas and tastes. It’s complex, subtle and different all at once. It has a finish that is a mile long and lingers around you like a favourite old jersey. Just perfection.

I have to mention the runner up – it was the Paul John Classic Cask select. A delicious dram. From a distillery that I will be exploring more of! Well, that it is for 2018. Thank you for all your support this year. Wishing you many wonderful glasses of whisky in 2019. Early next year I will start again. But now it is time to sit back and relax and enjoy a glass of An Oa.