Here's the quick summary - I've always had a thing for ranking systems and whisky so I combined the two and since 2008 kept records of side-by-side tastings. All this data is then combined into a rating using the Colley Matrix Method. The Colley method is used to rank college sports teams and only depends on a win-loss record and the strength of schedule. In other words, there is no need to score a whisky, I only to say whether I like it more or less than another whisky.
My top 50 are listed below and the full rankings are in this Google Sheet: Link to Google Sheet. Scroll past the ratings for more explanation and leave a comment.
Rating is the Colley rating normalized to 0 - 100.
W-L is the win - loss record of a whisky.
Benefits: The primary benefit of this method only relies on the win - loss record and the whisky's strength of schedule. No need to create an arbitrary score for each whisky. The whiskies are usually sampled under the same conditions so no need to worry about day-to-day changes in my palate. Only clear wins & losses are recorded if I am not sampling side by side.
W-L is the win - loss record of a whisky.
SOS Score is the Strength of Schedule rating normalized from 0-100.
Ranking systems have always fascinated me. When I was nine years old I saw my first AP and USA Today ranking of college basketball teams. It was that ranking, not the sports themselves, that kept me interested in College Sports and I am still intrigued by ranking systems today. The fascination for both ranking systems and whisky led to this.... the ranking of each whisky I have tried since 2008.
| Colley Rank | Whisk(e)y | Colley Score 0-100 | W | L | SOS Score |
| 1 | Glengoyne 30 | 100.0 | 13 | 1 | 71 |
| 2 | Cassiopeia I (Scotch Universe) | 98.4 | 60 | 1 | 55 |
| 3 | Glengoyne 25 | 96.0 | 17 | 1 | 60 |
| 4 | Port Charlotte CC:01 | 95.2 | 52 | 1 | 51 |
| 5 | Ben Nevis 26 (Signatory Vintage) | 94.8 | 8 | 0 | 63 |
| 6 | Ben Nevis 21 (Hidden Spirits) | 94.5 | 10 | 1 | 70 |
| 7 | Aberfeldy 1999 PX Cask 20665 | 94.4 | 17 | 1 | 61 |
| 8 | Cameronbridge 26 2022 Special Release | 94.0 | 8 | 0 | 62 |
| 9 | Balvenie 30 | 93.7 | 18 | 0 | 52 |
| 10 | Carsebridge 41 (Cadenhead's) | 93.5 | 146 | 3 | 48 |
| 11 | Whistlepig Boss Hog Samurai Scientist | 90.8 | 75 | 1 | 45 |
| 12 | Glenfiddich 21 Gran Reserva Rum Finish | 90.5 | 70 | 2 | 46 |
| 13 | Glencadam 23 (Connoisseur's Choice) | 90.4 | 8 | 0 | 55 |
| 14 | Jura The Paps | 90.3 | 30 | 3 | 55 |
| 15 | Bowmore 23 (2019 Feis Ile) | 90.3 | 18 | 1 | 53 |
| 16 | Invergordon 33 (A.D. Rattray) | 90.3 | 9 | 1 | 65 |
| 17 | Johnnie Walker King George V | 90.2 | 5 | 0 | 64 |
| 18 | Ben Nevis 17 (Gillespie Partners) | 90.1 | 12 | 0 | 50 |
| 19 | Bruichladdich 16 | 89.6 | 5 | 0 | 63 |
| 20 | Longrow 10 | 89.1 | 108 | 5 | 45 |
| 21 | Willett's Leap of Faith 3 Yr Rye | 89.0 | 6 | 1 | 73 |
| 22 | Longrow 11 (2007 Society Release) | 88.7 | 6 | 0 | 57 |
| 23 | Highland Park 11 (SMWS 4.317) | 88.5 | 5 | 0 | 60 |
| 24 | Lagavulin 12 Yr CS | 88.4 | 60 | 3 | 45 |
| 25 | Ardbeg Heavy Vapours | 88.1 | 5 | 0 | 60 |
| 26 | Aultmore 12 | 86.9 | 7 | 0 | 48 |
| 27 | Aberfeldy 20 (Cask 310629) | 86.4 | 13 | 3 | 65 |
| 28 | Lagavulin 20 (2020 Feis Ile) | 86.3 | 16 | 2 | 55 |
| 29 | Woody Creek Straight Rye | 86.3 | 6 | 1 | 49 |
| 30 | Dalwhinnie 30 (Special Release 2019) | 86.0 | 7 | 1 | 63 |
| 31 | Glencadam 10 (SMWS 82.41) | 85.7 | 14 | 0 | 41 |
| 32 | Laphroaig 15 | 85.5 | 18 | 0 | 39 |
| 33 | Whistlepig Farmstock Rye | 85.4 | |||
| 34 | North British 28 (Cadenhead's) | 85.2 | 4 | 0 | 59 |
| 35 | Ron Colon Salvadoreno 100% Rye | 85.0 | 28 | 3 | 48 |
| 36 | Pegasus VI (Scotch Universe) | 85.0 | 9 | 0 | 44 |
| 37 | Compass Box Artist #11 Pentology Wisdom | 84.8 | 6 | 0 | 50 |
| 38 | Aultmore 10 (SMWS 73.124) | 84.7 | 17 | 4 | 64 |
| 39 | Starward Fortis | 84.7 | 23 | 4 | 53 |
| 40 | Blanton's Gold | 84.7 | 4 | 0 | 58 |
| 41 | Glengoyne 18 | 84.5 | 21 | 3 | 50 |
| 42 | High West A Midwinter's Night Dram | 84.4 | 46 | 5 | 46 |
| 43 | Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12 Yr | 84.4 | 79 | 9 | 45 |
| 44 | Bunnahabhain 1990/2009 (A.D. Rattray) | 84.3 | 13 | 1 | 48 |
| 45 | Dailuane 16 (Flora & Fauna) | 83.9 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
| 46 | Glencadam 21 | 83.9 | 7 | 1 | 60 |
| 47 | Glenrothes Oldest | 83.8 | 16 | 3 | 56 |
| 48 | Oban Distillery Exclusive | 83.7 | 7 | 0 | 45 |
| 49 | Kurayoshi 12 | 83.5 | 6 | 1 | 63 |
| 50 | Talisker 25 | 83.0 | 8 | 3 | 74 |
How it works:
Every time I have a whisky I give it a win or loss compared to another whisky. Overtime each whisky builds up its own W-L record against other whiskies. The winning percentage is the base of the Colley rating but then a correction is added for the quality of the whiskies it "played" against. For example, a 1-1 whisky that I preferred ("beat") over the Glengoyne 18 but not as good as ("lost to") the Glengoyne 30 year old will have a much higher rating than a 1-1 whisky that beat Kessler’s and lost to Jack Daniel's. The end result is a unique rating for each whisky which I normalized to a 0-100 rating. You can read the full details of Wes Colley's methodology on his website: Colley Ratings
Every time I have a whisky I give it a win or loss compared to another whisky. Overtime each whisky builds up its own W-L record against other whiskies. The winning percentage is the base of the Colley rating but then a correction is added for the quality of the whiskies it "played" against. For example, a 1-1 whisky that I preferred ("beat") over the Glengoyne 18 but not as good as ("lost to") the Glengoyne 30 year old will have a much higher rating than a 1-1 whisky that beat Kessler’s and lost to Jack Daniel's. The end result is a unique rating for each whisky which I normalized to a 0-100 rating. You can read the full details of Wes Colley's methodology on his website: Colley Ratings
Benefits: The primary benefit of this method only relies on the win - loss record and the whisky's strength of schedule. No need to create an arbitrary score for each whisky. The whiskies are usually sampled under the same conditions so no need to worry about day-to-day changes in my palate. Only clear wins & losses are recorded if I am not sampling side by side.
Because the Colley ratings are based on the win percentage the ratings tell me which whiskies are my favorites, regardless of how many times I've had it. For example, I only small samples of the 25 and 30 year old Glengoyne. With less than 20 wins a piece they are clearly better than the Glenfarclas 105 with nearly 150 wins. The Glenfarclas 105 will be on my shelf again, the other two will not.
Why do it?
Besides scratching my personal itch to rank things, I use the rankings and scores as a buying guide. Not only do these reflect my favorite individual whiskies, but if I want to try something new I can quickly sort to find my favorite distilleries, brands, etc.
The scores also remind me that my tastes do not always follow the masses. For example, I had a dram of Elmer T. Lee along with a few other bourbons about 10 years ago. It was perfectly fine bourbon, but when compared head-to-head with others it didn't "wow" me. Will I pick up a bottle for MSRP if I come across one? Probably. Will I stand in line or pay secondary prices for one? Nope. I'd be happy picking up any number of other higher rated and cheaper bourbons instead.
Three points of sanity:
First, these are my own rankings and therefore only reflect my tastes. Yours will likely be quite different.
Second, there is uncertainty and I will not say that a lower ranking whisky will always lose. Looking at the 10 above and 10 below is a better gauge of whiskies I find comparable.
Third, just because a whisky has a lower ranking doesn't mean I don't like it! It just means I do not like it as much as others. There's really only a select few on the list below I would actually say no at any given time. See my Sippable Unsippable Blend page for what I do with whiskys of which I dread consuming an entire bottle!
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