Another year is going by and this year was especially really important for me as I moved to the US from my precious country Turkey to follow my whisky passion in a land of excitement and opportunities. Every year on the last days of December, I gather my top whiskies I had that year and pick 10 incredible ones.
This year was so hard as I tried hundreds of whiskies from every continent of the world of scattered age and distilleries. I had whiskies of 40+ age from historical Scottish distilleries, but I also tasted a bunch of young craft distillates from California or rising stars from India.
All of the whiskies in this list are tasted at least two to three occasions in different mediums to be as fair as possible. Don’t forget that all of the rankings here is personal, taste can differ from person to person. Choosing 10 whiskies as the best whiskies is not the best thing a lad ever can do but it is a tradition now. So here is the Best Whiskies of 2017 for me!
Again an incredible whisky from Balvenie! It is a marriage of 10 Sherry buts and 13 first fill American oak barrels. Balvenie Tun 1509 Batch 4 is an exceptional example of stock management and my only whisky purchase in December!
This expression has a rich character starting from a malty nose with honeycomb and fruits. Palate is incredibly intense and develops every second with lots of chocolate, dried fruits, herbal notes and ginger!
If you find a chance to taste one, you won’t regret paying for that!
I tasted Midleton Dair Ghaelach at an exclusive tasting at Mourad in San Francisco! Irish whiskies are my sweet gems and I would like to keep the good ones as secret, though I had to share this as it was way too good to keep to myself. The impact of new oak is amazing.
Detailed Tasting Notes
If you are talking about best whiskies of any year, you have to consider Campbletown Region no matter what. I want to thank to my dear friend Özgür Özlen for this great bottle that we had with Istanbul Whisky Club. Having those dried fruits with the signature Springbank notes are unbelievably well balanced. We enjoyed this great bottle, which was one of 600 and had a great time.
Detailed Tasting Notes
Jura 30 was a total surprise for me. Thanks to Craig Bridger, I had a nice time trying this lovely dram. Tropical fruits in the nose were incredible like the jammy feeling in the palate. Finish had spectacular chocolate notes!
Detailed Tasting Notes
I thing no words are needed to tell about this one. I was lucky to sip from one of the 2984 bottles. Reminding me of a well crafted Sauternes wine, this wine offers you a big, bold and rich profile. Citrus, pine, sea breeze, smoke, sweetness… It is all included in the fun!
Detailed Tasting Notes
Bourbon which is finished in Armagnac, Cognac and sherry casks. Sounds delicious doesn’t it? Indeed it was so delicious that it made into this list. Great earthy, chocolate and oak spice notes. Extraordinary nose with some winey feeling!
Trust your senses and dive into this whisky! Compass Box Phenomenology is a new, outstanding expression from John Glaser. He introduced this whisky to me before the release and I was stunned. Two months later, when I was tasting Compass Box expressions again and again (I never get bored of it 🙂 ), Phenomenology shot me instantly. Great craft, great malts, genius mind result in an extraordinary whisky!
Detailed Tasting Notes
Another monster in the list. When its age is considered, this is a price/performance master. A delicious dram with a coaty texture which makes your palate rich every second. Slow distillation show its merits in Linkwood 37. A clean cut with malty, floral, fruity feeling.
Detailed Tasting Notes
I was suspicious before tasting the Glendronach Kingsman Edition because of all that PR campaign before the release. After the release, even Rachel Barrie was searching two bottles to buy online. At last I had the chance to get my portion of the dram and I fell in love. Read the tasting notes and your mouth will crave for it.
Detailed Tasting Notes
And the winner is… Glenfiddich 20 years old, Spirit Of Speyside 1995 Cask. I admit, I have some feelings into this dram since I filled it with my own hands back at the Glenfiddich Distillery in 2015. Superb whisky with a chewy texture. A big time sherry bomb.
Detaylı Tadım Notları
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