2018 in Review—Whiskey Awards and Highlights

December 31, 2018December 31, 2018 J.R. Bergey

I’ve been debating whether or not to post a 2018 whiskey awards column this year. I have mixed feelings about awards. For the most part, they are meaningless click bait. The major awards are often influenced by ad revenue or some other bit of bribery, which obviously diminishes the authenticity of the awards (and this issue is hardly unique to the whiskey industry). And even if awards are fairly awarded, people put way too much credence into award winners—it’s crazy that a prominent award can turn a whiskey from a shelf turd into a best seller overnight. I don’t really want to be part of that madness (not that I’m big enough to have any sort of influence in that way… I’m certainly not). On the other hand, awards are kinda fun. I decided to err on the side of fun. And so here we are, my 2018 whiskey awards.

2018 was a good year for me on the whiskey front. MeadeMule.com is growing steadily, with more users and page views every month, and now ranks in the top 100 whiskey websites in the world. A small achievement, but an achievement nonetheless. I’ve had some truly amazing whiskey experiences this year, whether it was helping to pick a single barrel of Knob Creek, visiting a bunch of different distilleries, or sampling some truly fantastic and rare drams. I can’t complain about the year I’ve had. Oh, and the Eagles won the Super Bowl earlier this year… have to mention that as a Philly area native. Yep, it was a pretty exciting year.

Awards aside, one factual bit of information I can give you about 2018 is a list of my top whiskey reviews based on page views for the year. This is a pure popularity contest based mostly off of search engine results, but it is pretty interesting (at least to me). These are the top 5 most popular posts on MeadeMule.com in 2018:

An interesting list. Elmer T. Lee is the surprise top bourbon review (and a review that was originally posted in 2017 at that)—for some reason, I continue to see quite a few hits on that review. If it had another few weeks (or maybe even days), Nikka From the Barrel would have knocked out Mac #3 for the fifth position. Ever since it won a major award earlier this month, it’s been easily my best performing page (far more views in December than any other post).

As for these awards—or highlights, as I’d prefer to call them—they are based on my own personal experience and my experience only. I have not sampled every whiskey out there. I certainly haven’t bought bottles of every limited release (or standard release for that matter). Every one of these whiskeys are bottles that I personally own. So what value does this really provide? Just fun. Just fun. Like I’ve said about whiskey review scores, don’t put too much value in anyones whiskey awards, whether it’s a small blog like me, or a major publication. This is just a glimpse into what I love about whiskey and what kind of whiskey I love. Perhaps you’ll get something from that, perhaps you won’t. At least here you know that I’m not taking money or any other form of bribery when it comes to selecting my awards or scoring my whiskey. Can the big publications and websites say the same? With one notable exception, no I don’t believe they can.

So, let’s give out some damn awards.

Best Affordable (and Obtainable) Bourbon

1792 Small Batch

Last year I gave this award to Henry McKenna Bottled in Bond, which then went on to be named the world’s best bourbon at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. I could easily give this to McKenna again, but thanks to the notoriety of the San Francisco Award, McKenna has become harder to find and has gone up in price in some places. But for fans of easy to find, under-appreciated bourbon, all is not lost. 1792 Small Batch goes for $30 a bottle and is easily found all across the US. And it’s delicious.

Best Affordable (and Obtainable) Single Malt Scotch

Craigellachie 13 Year

It kinda blows my mind that you can still find an age stated, non chill-filtered, 46% ABV single malt of good quality for under $50 in the US today. Craigellachie 13 isn’t just some entry level snooze fest either—it’s a distinct and characterful malt with quite a bit of complexity going on. Truly a bargain malt that can be enjoyed by beginners and veterans alike. I could have a dram of this 13 year old every day and be perfectly happy.

Best Limited Edition Bourbon That You Might Actually Be Able to Get

1792 Full Proof Store Picks

Yep, I’m double dipping with 1792. Can’t help it. 1792 has really been killing it lately, with so many quality offerings at reasonable prices and that are generally easy to get. Full Proof store picks may be a bit harder to find for some people, but they’re far from Pappy level, or even Old Weller Antique level, of allocation. I’ve bought three different store picks this year, and all were excellent. That said, the one I reviewed from Elixir Spirits was by far my favorite (and quite possibly my favorite bourbon I bought in 2018).

Best Limited Edition Single Malt Scotch

Talisker 8 Year Cask Strength

I was tempted to say “none” here, as most of the major 2018 limited edition single malts from Scotland were big disappointments to me. Laphroaig Cairdeas? Awful. Balvenie Peat Week? Disappointing. Ardbeg Grooves? OK, but mediocre. Kilchoman’s Red Wine Cask was great, but it was a 2017 release, so I’m not counting it. Same with the Hazelburn 13 Year Oloroso Cask, which I really enjoyed. But Talisker 8 Year Cask Strength, Diageo’s newest addition to their annual special release range, really is deserving here, as it was quite the enjoyable dram. It’s unfortunate that it was such a limited release (and UK only) and sold out fairly quickly, but I figure if I managed to get a hold of a bottle, it must not have been that hard to get for those of us that really wanted it. Hopefully Diageo will make an 8 year old cask strength Talisker a regular (and worldwide) release in the near future.

Best Reasonably Priced Rye

Willett Family Estate 4 Year Small Batch

The two best rye whiskeys I had this year were unicorns—Van Winkle Family Reserve Rye and Lot 40 12 Year Cask Strength. Van Winkle Rye is even harder to get than Pappy bourbon (in other words, basically impossible). Lot 40 is somewhat obtainable (especially if you live in Canada), but awfully tough to get ahold of for most people. Another great rye I tried this year was Kentucky Owl Rye Batch 2, but with a retail price of close to $200, I ruled it out quickly. Instead, I’m going with the new 4 year version of Willett’s own make rye. Good stuff at a reasonable price. I wish more craft distilleries took a page out of Willett’s book, rather than coming out with very young whiskey at ridiculous prices (cough, Peerless, cough).

Best Distillery Tour

Dad’s Hat (Mountain Laurel Spirits), Bristol, PA

I went on at least ten different distillery tours this year. None of them were bad, but a few stood out. Willett and Catoctin Creek were two of my favorites. George Dickel is fun too. But my tour of Dad’s Hat was my favorite. The Kentucky distilleries are all strangely uptight about actually tasting whiskey. At most of them, you’ll get a small sample of one or two of their core products that you’ve almost certainly already had, along with some other concoction they’re trying to peddle, such as bourbon cream or (gasp) vodka. It’s a bit of a downer. That’s not an issue at Dad’s Hat Distillery in Bristol, PA though, where a tour includes a very nice tasting both during and after the informative tour of the small but growing craft distiller. Plus if you’re lucky, you might even get a chance to taste some whiskey drawn straight from the cask (insider tip—be sure to book the last tour of the day). I find that craft distillery tours are usually more fun than the big bourbon tours—you get to see the whole process and hear about it from people who are truly involved in the success of the company, rather than just a tour guide. That’s certainly the case at Dad’s Hat. If you’re in the Philadelphia area, a stop by the Bristol-based distillery is a must.

Beer of the Year

Single Tree Hickory by Scratch Brewing Company

I don’t write about beer much anymore, but if there were more beers like this, than I may stop drinking whiskey. Single Tree Hickory from Scratch Brewing Company is nearly indescribable. A little sour, a little sweet, rather herbaceous, and with loads of complexity, this sour ale is nearly perfect. Hell, it is perfect. One of the absolute best beers I’ve ever had.

My Favorite Whiskey of 2018

Amrut Bengal Tiger

I don’t like giving awards to limited edition whiskeys that most people won’t be able to find, but I also want to be honest about my favorite whiskeys. That’s why I have a variety of different categories here, including easy to find and limited releases. But my favorite whisky that I purchased this year, one that I like so much I bought a second bottle (which doesn’t happen very often any more—there’s just so much out there to try, and my whiskey closet is already overflowing), and one that, while limited in quantity, is actually still out there on some store shelves in the US… it’s Amrut Bengal Tiger. Yes, this marks the second year in a row I’ve given this award to an Amrut product (last year was Spectrum 004). But there really was no other competition here. Bengal Tiger is just a fantastic dram, combining sweet port cask influence with smoky peat smoke in flawless unison. It’s one of the best peated drams I’ve ever had, and it comes in at a reasonable priced considering the quality of the pour. If you see a bottle on the shelf or in a bar, I highly recommend it.

Well, there you have it, my 2018 whiskey awards. Let’s hope 2019 has many more terrific drams in store!