1 January 2010 Ruben * Whisky News

A new whisky year

I hope you enjoyed 2009 as much as I did and I wish everyone a happy new year full of interesting whisky releases!

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)

7Comments

Add yours

1

aw on 1 January 2010 at 18:00

Funny, I never even heard of the Lp Triple Wood before – probably because it’s available mainly thru Travel Retail and I only came across your site half way thru 2009. At £66 for a litre bottle (e.g from TWE) I think I’ll stick to the Quarter Cask.

In addition to Google Analytics it’s also possible to measure the “Ruben effect”. E.g. within a day or two of your review of the Brora 30yo 1976, all the sites that carried bottles had sold out!

Really enjoyed the Glenugie, which I bought before your review. I’m looking forward to the Mannochmore, whose purchase was influenced by your (and others) review.

My New Year’s Resolutions: to not stick with the drams I know and love, but to explore more expressions, and distilleries that are new to me (so I’d better try and get past the Quarter Cask).

My New Year Resoutions wish for the whisky companies:- that those who haven’t caught up yet start bottling without artificial colouring and chill filtering, and at a minimum strength of 46%.

Happy New Year!
2

Ruben on 1 January 2010 at 18:20

Hi Andrew, thanks for your reply. I agree with the chill filtration and the “golden” strength of 46%, but the colouring is a tricky one. There’s an interesting experiment (by Bert Bruyneel) about colouring / filtration in the latest Malt Maniacs newsletter. The conclusion of the experiment is that caramel can add depth and complexity and that nearly everyone prefers a coloured version when tasted blind!
3

aw on 1 January 2010 at 20:36

Ruben, thanks for the heads-up; that’s an interesting read. My instinct/feeling is that caramel can add depth and complexity to certain drams (e.g. Lagavulin 16) but can detract from others (e.g. Bunna 12). In the end I’d like to see it removed from all whiskies – let the spirit and the cask(s) stand on their own. Like Paul Dejong, I prefer an ‘honest’ product. If caramel were cut out of the equation, maybe a better wood policy and more careful cask blending can make up for what (in some cases) is lost?
4

Ruben on 1 January 2010 at 23:25

It’s easy to prefer honesty or craftmanship of course, but on the other hand there’s no point in blocking evolution… Cars would be more ‘honest’ without all those electronics, but would the overall driving experience be better? What’s the point in prohibiting caramel if every other aspect of distillation is computerized, analized and standardized nowadays?
I’m partly playing devil’s advocate of course, I don’t have a clear cut opinion about this ‘honesty’, certainly if it doesn’t necessarily lower the complexity / quality. There are other unconventional (now illegal) manipulations such as the wood staves used by Compass Box. The result was great, so why bother really? I just want whisky with the best possible taste.
5

Jeff H. on 4 January 2010 at 22:44

Hi Ruben,
I really enjoy your concise, consistent reviews. You really helped me out in my whisky discovery quest this past year.

Keep up the great work, and I look forward to more fantastic reviews.

Cheers,
Jeff
6

Ruben on 5 January 2010 at 11:48

Thanks Jeff, I’m glad my reviews were helpful.
Keep up the good work yourself.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related posts