Traditionally, I have a look at my Google Analytics data to reveal some trends. In general the number of visitors has more than doubled this year (around 23.000 a month now). A big thank you to all you loyal visitors.

Ardbeg and Laphroaig are still the most visited brands, but Port Ellen has overtaken Highland Park in third place. Port Ellen is less rare than bottlers want us to think, so expressions are seen more regularly on the shelves than a lot of active distilleries.

Although it has gone down a bit, Laphroaig Triple Wood was still the most popular release. Ardbeg Rollercoaster was the most visited 2010 release. The GlenDronach single casks are traditionally very popular as well.

I’ve had a lot of glorious whisky last year. Some of the best bottles were released before 2010, like the Karuizawa 1967 cask #6426 for LMdW & TWE or the Laphroaig 1964 by Berry Bros.

For the real newcomers, this would be my shortlist:

• Regardless of price:
  Longmorn 1972 by The Whisky Agency
  Glenfarclas 1968 (49,7%, OB 2010 for Thosop, cask #702 & 5240) 
• Price-conscious selection:
  Amrut Double Cask
  Clynelish 1982 (Malts of Scotland cask #5895)
  Glen Keith 1990 (Malts of Scotland cask 13678)
  Springbank Claret Wood
  Big Peat 
• Most interesting bottlers:
  The Whisky Agency
  Malts of Scotland 

BenRiach 1976 33yo cask #8795
(53.2% – bourbon hogshead)
BenRiach 1977 33yo cask #1033
(52.2% – Pedro Ximénez finish)
BenRiach 1978 32yo cask #4417
(50.4% – Tokaji finish)
BenRiach 1979 30yo cask #7511
(47.9% – Bourbon Barrel)
BenRiach 1980 30yo cask #2532
(51.1% – Virgin American Oak finish)
BenRiach 1981 28yo cask #2589
(51.6% – bourbon barrel)
BenRiach 1984 25yo cask #493
(54.1% – bourbon hogshead)
BenRiach 1984 25yo cask #4052
(51.7% – peated / tawny Port Finish)
BenRiach 1991 19yo cask #4389
(54.9% – Virgin American Oak Finish)
BenRiach 1993 17yo cask #7420
(5637% – Gaja Barolo Finish)

The new release celebrates the sixth anniversary of the first bottling of BenRiach under its new independent owners. Master Distiller Billy Walker has selected ten highly distinctive casks from 1976 to 1993 for BenRiach aficionados.

Bottled in July 2010, the ten are all  cask strength, natural colour and non chill-filtered. They are individually numbered and presented in a gift tube.

These are this year’s Special Releases from Diageo:

• Brora 30yo
• Caol Ila 12yo unpeated
• Lagavulin 12yo
• Port Ellen 31yo
• Talisker 30yo

The Brora and Port Ellen are always highly anticipated of course. No Talisker 25yo apparently. This year we also see four uncommon releases:

Best Single Malt Whisky: Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Best Blended Whisky: Hibiki 21 Years Old
Best Blended Malt Whisky: Taketsuru 21 Years Old
Best American Whiskey: Rittenhouse Straight Rye 100 proof
Best Whisky Liqueur: Wild Turkey American Honey
Best Grain Whisky: Greenore 15 Years Old
Best New Release: Parker’s Heritage Collection Golden Anniversary

This year’s winners are probably less common than in previous editions. Rittenhouse is a rye whiskey, Greenore 15yo normally doesn’t get high scores (apart from Bert Bruyneel who gives it a consistently high score) and most of the American whiskeys can be pretty hard to find in Europe anyway.

Is Ardbeg Corryvreckan really the best single malt whisky of last year? I’m afraid not (at least not for me), but bear in mind that the World Whisky Awards only score high yield releases with a big focus on official bottlings. It would have been nice to publish a list of all the entries to get a better idea of the competition.

First, because the festival in Gent was held at the same time as Whisky Live in Spa. If festivals want to compete over such a small country, they have to realize that eventually both will lose. Some interesting distributors chose to go to only one festival (e.g. Malts of Scotland was present in Spa, not in Gent). Other distributors didn’t even go to either of the two this year!
The Nectar, one of Belgium’s most interesting distributors and independent bottlers, was not present. Neither were the brands they represent, such as Arran, Karuizawa, Springbank, Duncan Taylor or GlenDronach. There were no Moët Hennesey brands either (Ardbeg & Glenmorangie). Where will this end?

Second, because the organisation decided not to give 5 complimentary coupons with each entry ticket but instead have one free bottle available at every stand. Of course, these were only entry level malts (Macallan 12yo, Glenrothes Select Reserve, etc.) which just made the festival more expensive for whisky lovers who already know the standard stuff. This also meant I couldn’t use the coupons of my girlfriend (who drinks water) – how about a “driver’s ticket”? Overall I had the feeling more cash was needed to buy less quality whisky this year.

As a side note, there seemed to be less new bottlings than other years. Anyway, let’s summarize the things we’ve tasted… (no real tasting notes, because the environment is just not right for it).

Old Ballantruan (50%, OB 2009)

The peated version of Tomintoul. Very malty, quite floral and gently peated. Not sure who this is aimed at… fans of Speyside whisky will probably not like the peat but there’s not enough peat to entertain peatheads. Around € 30.

Tullibardine 1993 Sauternes finish (46%, OB 2009)

Sweet nose with hints of apricots. On the palate very coating and candied with lots of honey. Most of the Sauternes shines through in the finish. Not bad, but we already knew Sauternes can work very well. Around € 45.

BenRiach 18 yo Moscatel finish (46%, OB 2009)

Another sweet wine finish, maybe even more succesful than the Tullibardine.  Fruity, sweet. Very round and candied. A perfect match for the toast with haggis that was served at the festival. Around € 60.

Yamazaki Sherry cask (48%, OB 2009)

From first fill sherry butts only, said to be 12-15 years old. Very punchy with raisins, cocoa and slightly sourish red fruits (raspberry). Big whisky and the first glass I actually emptied. Around € 70.

Connemara Sherry finish (46%, OB 2009)

A limited Small Batch bottling. Sweet notes of dried fruits, balanced with smoke and a light farminess. Rich and promising. A detailed review of this one will follow. Around € 55.

Benromach Organic ‘Special Edition’ (46%, OB 2009)

Bio whisky. Quite simple with huge hints of breakfast cereals and muesli. Quite a lot of wood as well. Rather mono-dimensional. Not my kinda whisky. Around € 45.

Banff 32 yo 1976 (40%, Gordon & MacPhail Conoisseurs Choice 2008)

A good Banff with different flavours: flinty notes, fruity notes, toffee, burnt wood… Quite rounded overall. Around € 100. Recommended.

Highland Park 16 yo Calvados ‘Drouin’ finish (46%, Alchemist 2008)

Finished for 2 years in a calvados cask. Honeyed with hints of baked apples. Not much smoke. Uncommon for a Highland Park.

Glen Grant 23 yo 1985 (55,8%, First cask – Whisky Import Netherlands 2009, cask #10182, 187 btl.)

Glen Grant the way we like it: very balanced, very fruity with the right amount of spices. Fruit marmalade galore. Around € 130. Highly recommended.

Bunnahabhain Toiteach (46%, OB 2007)

A young profile, quite some peat and smoke but very simple. Hints of pears? A bit uninspired. Around € 40.

Greenore 8 yo (40%, OB 2009)

Single grain Irish whiskey. Sweet with vanilla and banana. Uncomplicated, light and elegant. A summer’s day whiskey? Around € 30.

I also bought a sample of the legendary Bunnahabhain 1968 Auld Acquaintance and a Macallan 12 Years old HKDNP, a Hong Kong exclusive distilled in the 1970’s. These two will be reviewed in depth. Thanks to Marc Segers for making available his impressive collection of oldies.

The start of a new year is always a reason to look back. A quick look at Google Analytics reveals a lot of data:

• Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Highland Park were the most visited brands on my blog last year.
• Laphroaig Triple Wood was the most popular release. Ardbeg Corryvreckan came in second (only half the number of visits though).

Personally, I would choose other releases as the highlights of my year. They may not have received the highest scores, but they were surprisingly interesting in some way or another:

• Brora 30yo 1976 by Douglas Laing of course
• BenRiach 39yo 1970 (PX finish cask 1035)
• Mannochmore 18yo 1990
• Glenugie 27yo 1982 by Douglas Laing
• Ardbeg 1998 single cask #1189
• Springbank 21yo (not a 2009 release, but still a discovery for me)