Favorites of 2021

 "What a year.  Good thing there is whisky!" That was the first line of last year's year-end review and it is seems like a good first line for the 2021 review as well.  

This past year I had the pleasure of trying 104 new whiskies, 38 new distilleries, and 51 new brands, and I gained an appreciation one particular type of whisky.  The results are based on comparing year end 2020 and 2021 scores and and if you want to geek out on my ranking methodology check out my Whisky Rankings page.

New Discoveries

Local Whisky Enthusiasts

I have to start with this one.  We moved in 2019 and I lost my local whisky friends.  Then we were locked down and unable to gather in groups for the better part of 2020.  But this situation resolved itself this past year and I was able to trade more samples and drink in person with real people on a monthly basis!  Spending more time with real people decreased my time on social media and blogging about whisky.

Whisky of the Year: Cassiopeia I

Let's start off at the the top.  I have a new favorite.  It is the Cassiopeia I bottled by Scotch Universe.  This is 121 month old speyside whisky from a distillery founded in 1891.  Bottled at 62.5% and aged in a first fill Oloroso sherry hogshead this one is a stewed fruit bomb on the nose and more herbal on the palate.  

This one is a success of drinking with friends.  A friend handed me a sample when at his place, then we split a bottle, then I bought a bottle to stash away!  It is a refined version of another of my favorites, the Glenfarclas 105.  If you are a fan of the 105, I doubt you will regret picking up a bottle of the Cassiopeia I.  

New Whisky Brand of the Year: Scotch Universe

The Cassiopeia was definitely the highlight of the year, but Scotch Universe is also my favorite new brand of the year.  According to their website the whiskies "are from carefully selected casks that were filled separately in Scotland. And: None of our whiskies are chill-filtered or coloured, and they all have a high, cask strength alcohol content."  They are also all named after celestial objects, have sleek labels, and a numbering code that gives you enough information about what's in the bottle.  Perfect for geeks like me.

But most importantly, the whiskies I tried were good!  Besides the Cassiopeia, I also ordered three samples: 

Ganymede I - a 5 1/2 year old peated Islay (likely Bruichladdich) aged in a maderia barrique.  It currently has a score of 58/100

Gliese I - a 6 year, 7 month old speyside (likely Glenfarclas) aged in an Oloroso Sherry barrel.  It currently has a score of 80/100

Lunar Crater Picard - a 11 year old speyside, (likely Linkwood) aged in an Oloroso Sherry barrel.  It currently has a score of 72/100

While I can't say these three were phenomenal, Scotch Universe is on my "to buy" list.

Revisiting Old Favorites

Favorite Distillery: Linkwood

Linkwood earned the honor of being my favorite new distillery of 2020 and after trying two new new expressions this year it earns the honor of being my favorite distillery.  

For each of my daughters birthdays I celebrate by opening up a bottle of the whisky corresponding to their new age.  The first Linkwood I tried this year commemorated my daughter's 9th birthday and is finished in a tawny port cask bottled by The Vintage Malt Whisky Company under the Cooper's Choice brand.  At the time of writing this bottle has a win - loss record of 29 - 11, a Colley Score of 78/100 and ranked 58 of 559.  

The second Linkwood was a sample bottled by Scotch Universe.  (Read on for more on Scotch Universe!)  The Lunar Crater Picard ended up with a 6-4 record and score of 71.  Not bad for my least favorite Linkwood.

Honorable mentions for favorite distillery go to Carsebridge, Invergordon, Royal Lochnagar, and Glen Scotia.  But I have only sampled one whisky from each and do not want to make a judgement on one data point.

Most Improved:  Irish Whiskey

Irish whiskey never did it for me.  It was fine, but I just did not understand the hype given to it by others.  Bushmills 16, Jameson Black Barrel, and Tyrconnel 16 Oloroso & Moscatel Finish were the top three in my rankings; Red Spot and Writer's Tears were fine, but I found them average.  And there were plenty of lesser drams as well.

But this year I had the pleasure of discovering Redbreast, specifically the 12 and 15 year old.  The 15 was first as part of a blind tasting of 15 year olds.  Then a friend gave me a sample of the 12 followed up by pours at a bar.  Love them both and they have scores of 75 and 87.  In addition to Redbreast, a friend also gave me her Flaviar samples of Jameson Blender's Dog and Green Spot Chateau Montelena... and I loved each of these as well and they have scores of 84 and 85 respectively. 

These four, as well as a few other average drams from Ireland boosted the overall score of Irish whiskey 7 points up to a total score of 49.  Still slightly below the midway point but is in good company right in between Kentucky (score of 51) and Tennessee (score of 47).

Most Consistent: Blends

What do you know?  Whisky blends, known for consistency, are consistent in my rankings as well.  Togouchi 15, Ichiro's Malt and Grain World Blend, and Compass Box Hedonism were tops for the year, and I am not going to advertise those that were on the opposite end balancing them out!  

One sub-par blend worth noting though is the sixth version of my own Sippable Unsippable series.  This is my effort to take whiskies I do not like on their own and blend them into something I like more.  See the Sippable Unsippable page for more info!

I hope you enjoyed the brief tour of my whisky adventures in 2021!  Hit me up on Twitter, Instagram, or WhiskyBase @WhiskyRanked or send me an email WhiskyRanker@gmail.com if you are interested in trading samples.