Explore the layers of this malted rye. It is herbaceous and minerally throughout, with aromas of licorice, chamomile, ginger, tarragon, incense, cooked pears, bread dough, cinnamon, and soil. The flavors express grain, minerals, and earth—tarragon, licorice, peppercorn, roasted peaches, walnut shells, and assertive but not overpowering oak. This young whisky’s flavors are from the field, fermenter, and still, not the barrel. Unique, complex, and exciting. (450 bottles)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2018)

This expression has returned to the shelves after a three-year absence due to a shortage of stock. Matured in Pedro Ximénez and oloroso sherry casks. The nose offers rich sherry, ripe cherries, walnuts, milk chocolate, and marzipan, with a savory hint. Full-bodied, with a palate of spicy damsons, cinnamon, dried fruits, and dark chocolate. The finish is long, with cloves and blackcurrants. Luscious!

Reviewed by: Gavin Smith (Winter 2018)

An implacable tide of sherry aromas, succulent sultana and currant fruit, dried apple, bara brith tea cake, treacle, black tea, and fabulous baking spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. A thick, chewy, malty mouthful with chocolate, Horlicks, coffee notes, and that well-honed Penderyn spice character woven in among the dark fruit. A sweet swan song of clove and peppercorn meets espresso, molasses, dark toffee, and burnt staves. Quite a gem, this one. (600 bottles for U.S.)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

Master blender Bill Ashburn invited five Forty Creek fans to help him create this year’s special release. It is one of the tastiest new whiskies in recent years from Forty Creek. Rich, luscious caramels, grape jelly, sultanas, sweet red wine, and hot rye spices, with a round and velvety mouthfeel. Forty Creek’s annual releases are collectors’ favorites in Canada and the U.S. Some editions sell in the thousands of dollars, and Unity seems poised to become one of these classics. Number 12 in the 2018 Top 20 

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Winter 2018)

After blending, 21 year old Canadian whisky was finished in French and Hungarian oak barrels for added zest. This brought hints of nutmeg and candied Christmas cake fruits to berries, green fruits, pineapple, kiwi, spearmint, lush caramels, exotic wood, charred firewood, applewood, and lovely clean barrel notes. Glowing heat, leather, tobacco, furniture polish, and a creamy body. Beautifully complex, peppery, and balanced. (Canada exclusive) $100 CAD

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Winter 2018)

Marmalade, almond, and cinnamon buns, this is a grand interpretation of rich and dry fruit, with an extra layer of lush fruit from the cognac cask. It is thoroughly integrated and the cognac is respectful of the scotch. The palate is luxurious with rich, dark fruits and toffee, velvety smooth, with the cognac fruit encircling the blend, and wood spice on the finish. The perfect dram for frosty winter nights.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

Autumn in a glass: dried apples, earthy leaves, marzipan, grilled pears, and white pepper mingle with lemon-herb tea, saline, and a whiff of incense. Malty, with a pleasant oiliness, the palate showcases lemon peel, juicy clementine, poached pears, grilled apples, chamomile, salt water taffy, and a delicate, perfumed savoriness—almonds in rice pilaf. Complex and balanced, with a lengthy oak finish. Virginia Distillery Co. combines its own single malt with blended malt from the Highlands of Scotland. Batch 2 of Cider Cask Finished scored 90 points, indicating strong consistency. Number 13 in the 2018 Top 20 

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2018)

This blend of Scotch whisky and Virginia Distilling’s own-make whisky is finished in cider casks for 8 to 20 months, and has layers of flavor. There’s light peat, campfire, and fragrant meadow on the nose, along with sweeter notes of vanilla coulis, applesauce, marzipan, pears, and cinnamon-spiced almonds. The palate offers polished oak, clementine, grilled apple, and almond pudding. A lengthy finish adds brown sugar, grilled fruit, dark chocolate, espresso, and white pepper.

Reviewed by: David Fleming (Winter 2018)

This truly outstanding Canadian whisky is sold exclusively in the U.S. The Crown Royal blending lab has so perfected the art of blending that each whisky becomes a seamless unit. Blenders’ Mash is a rare opportunity to taste a component of that unit. Distilled from 60% corn, 36% rye, and 4% malted barley, then matured in new oak, this whisky is massive and bourbon-like. It ages slowly in Canada’s cold winters for 13 years, becoming very complex, yet not too woody. Rather, it is packed with creamy caramels, vanilla, gingery white pepper, dark fruits, floral tones, and accenting barrel notes. Number 5 in the 2018 Top 20 

Reviewed by: Davin de Kergommeaux (Winter 2018)

Swirls with the smells of a county fair—candy apples, peanuts, caramel, spiced cookies, and old barn boards, redolent with maturity and complexity. More childhood favorites appear on the palate: cinnamon Red Hots, grape soda, blackberry candy, chocolate-covered caramels, candy apple, and roasted corn, with lush oak rounding out into a peppery finish of cherry cola and roasted pecans. Given the barrel proof, this takes water well. Nelson’s Green Brier Distillery bottles the Belle Meade line of bourbons, sourced from MGP Distillery. Each batch of Cask Strength Reserve averages around 1,000 bottles; ABV varies between 55% and 60%. Number 10 in the 2018 Top 20 

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2018)

Oak, corn sweetness, and tropical fruit collide in this powerful bourbon that suggests grilled pineapple and charred corn on the cob. It handles the proof well, but be prepared for a no-holds-barred tongue lashing of licorice, bitter citrus pith, and oak, before a heaping spoonful of butterscotch pudding quells the heat. Reveals even more flavor with water—blueberry muffin, clove-studded orange, and cedar shingle.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Winter 2018)

No doubt about the sherry finish here: Toblerone, brown sugar, raisins, Fig Newtons, and hazelnuts on the nose, along with a hint of sulfur. The palate is oak-driven and chocolaty, with dried figs, raisins, cherries, blueberries, candied ginger, cloves, black pepper, and almonds. A supple, moreish finish with dark chocolate and lengthy polished oak. From the same undisclosed distillery as Kirkland’s 18 year old. (Costco)

Reviewed by: Susannah Skiver Barton (Winter 2018)

Like two people talking at once; one telling you about the malt biscuit, orange cake, and honey, the other espousing dark chocolate cookies, cocoa powder, and black fruits. It’s an articulate dialogue, not an argument, and they find consensus. Substantial dark chocolate, black fruit, honey, mixed peel, roasted peppery spices, and praline are a treat for the taste buds. Active spices and bitter chocolate conclude the conversation. (12,000 bottles for U.S.)

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

While this offers no age statement, it revels in the renewed respect for bottled in bond whiskey which assures us it is at least 4 years old, 100 proof, from one distillery, and one distilling season. This new appreciation is for good reason. Toasted oak, chocolate-covered banana, vanilla, and apple meet hints of coffee and cinnamon on the nose. The high-rye recipe delivers the requisite cracked pepper and baking spices on the caramel-laden palate laced with licorice. This widely available bourbon seems to dwell in the age sweet spot, is nicely balanced with oak, and comes at a price that leaves little cause for hesitation. Number 9 in the 2018 Top 20 

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Winter 2018)

Sun-bleached driftwood, iodine, curry spices, and hot asphalt, with a highly charged, aromatic smokiness: a combination of peat kiln and crackling moorland blaze. There is serenity too, with soft cream, ripe citrus, and key lime pie. Thick and glossy, it’s an intense, mouth-puckering, cask-strength prospect. Chocolate, cinnamon, and mint collide with a barrage of clove and barrel char. Booming spices reverberate in the grip of an extremely long finish. £155

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

This smells of rich toffee and caramel draped over leathery oak, and warm apples, with a touch of paraffin that evokes age. The body is quite generous—full and creamy—as flavors of maple candy and chocolate-covered cherry are nicely punctuated with red-pepper spice. Dense fudge-like flavors and lively citrus oils lead to a finish of black pepper and baking spices.

Reviewed by: Jeffery Lindenmuth (Winter 2018)

The subtle sweet smoke, like singed rocks around a beach fire, becomes more pungent if left unattended. Underneath, aromas of sweet lemons, tropical fruits, lemongrass, and smoked olives abound. Juicy sweetness, with a real concentration of mango, papaya, and sugary boiled candies melds into flavors of vanilla and Battenberg cake. After a concluding rush of pepper, the smoky fumes permeate through the back end. Oh boy! Ridiculously good! €115

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)

Blender Anup Barik follows up his No. 5 whisky of our Top 20 of 2017 by deploying a Pedro Ximénez sherry-butt finish to the same winning formula. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, tiffin, honeydew, cherry, cinnamon, nutmeg, and hints of vanilla. A mouth-clinging concoction of swirling honeys and caramel, kumquat, redcurrant, banoffee pie, chocolate ganache, and cinnamon, with emerging pepper and clove, highlighting the blender’s enhancement of flavor by the finishing vessel.

Reviewed by: Jonny McCormick (Winter 2018)