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Hi all, if you are really interested in learning about whisky, I recommend you attend some tasting classes, at such places as The Oak Barrel in Sydney, which has sessions every month or I so. I have been going to these for several years, and have accumulated tasting notes for over 200+ different expressions. Better still, come to the Sydney Whisky Fair, held in September each year, and you'll get the chance to try pretty much anything imaginable, they have about 130 options on hand!
I have started running my own tasting nights for clients and friends, and it is great fun to share the love of what is known as "the water of life".
My obsession has led me recently to join the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. For those really keen on single malts this is the way to go - they buy barrels from distilleries all around Scotland, and store them in their own warehouse in Leith until ready. They have about 5000 barrels at any one time, and release about 100 expressions each year at full cask strength. Glorious stuff, but not cheap, ranging from $200 to $1000 per bottle.
Sadly once a taste is acquired for cask strength whisky with all of its complexity, most of the widely consumed high profile whisky that floods the market tastes somewhat, well, bland.
Blended whisky is generally an elaborate exercise in trying to hide inferior poor tasting whisky amongst OK whisky. Ballentine's 17 year is quite nice.
This is my current top 20:
Glenfarclas 30 year old
Bowmore Springtide
Old Pulteney 21 years
Glendronach Single Cask 1992
Ardbeg Ardbog
Longrow Rundlets and Kildekins
Bruichladdich Octomore 6.0
Glennalachie, Single Malts of Scotland
Glengoyne SMWS 123.8
Ardbeg Uigeadail
Ardbeg Corryvreckan
Amrut Intermediate Sherry
Glendronach Single Cask 1991
Glendronach Single Cask 1990
Glendronach Single a Cask 1978
Glenfarclas 40 years
Old Malt Cask Ardbeg 1991
Bruichladdich Octomore 5.
Nant Cask Strength
Mortlach Adelphi 26 year old
In this list there are 18 from Scotland, 1 from Australia (Nant) and 1 from India (Amrut). I have tried many bourbons, but the top one only comes in at 27 (Booker's Noe).
Amongst Scotland's finest is Glendronach distillery and Glenfarclas (both the sherry butt style), and Ardbeg (peated). Dan Murphy's stocks Some Ardbeg and Glenfarclas, you'll have to go to more specialists stockists to get Glendronach.
Slainte!
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