It was one other powerful 12 months for the whisky nerds amongst us – which is, properly, all of us – as we tried to pare down the tons of of choices we reviewed all through 2023 and give you a listing of the ten that excited us probably the most. Sure, we heard your cries from final 12 months: Too many luxe unicorns, not sufficient attainable juice. We’ve tempered our style for four-figure spirits this time round, and whereas many of the whiskeys we picked for 2023 value greater than $100, just one lands in what we’d think about unicorn territory. That mentioned, it actually deserves to be represented right here, so we couldn’t go away it out. Need extra alternatives? Take a look at our vacation buying information.
As all the time, we’re revealing one whiskey every day over the subsequent 10 days till we hit #1 on Christmas Eve. When you’re making ready for the large reveal, be at liberty to take pleasure in a few of our earlier high 10 whiskey lists: 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, and 2017. You may also search a number of shops at wine-searcher to search out the very best costs on all these merchandise and extra.
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Keep tuned for tomorrow after we’ll replace the record with our #5 decide, counting down the highest 10 till Christmas Eve!
5. Teeling Single Pot Nonetheless Virgin Portuguese Oak Irish Whiskey – Dublin-based Teeling continues to hit them out of the park with its common releases at each the ultra-high finish and extra modest choices. Living proof, this current launch which blends malted and unmalted barley 50/50 and ages it in unused barrels constructed from oaks grown in Portugal. What a distinction switching issues up like this makes, the added tannin of the Portuguese oak including pepper, tobacco, and furnishings polish notes to what would possibly in any other case be a comfortable and ephemeral whiskey. Earthy and brooding on the end, it’s a wintry deal with that lingers within the thoughts as a lot because the palate. 100 proof. $99 -CN
6. Buckner’s Bourbon 13 Years Previous – Augusta Distillery’s Buckner’s Bourbon is a type of uncommon bourbons that seemingly got here out of nowhere and have become an immediate hit. After garnering widespread fanfare on the awards circuit and reward from seemingly everybody who was fortunate sufficient to style it, we managed to get our fingers on a bottle and, spoiler alert: It didn’t disappoint. What begins as a full throttle punch to the palate quickly mellows out to disclose decadent layers of taste that can preserve you coming again for extra with every sip. In a 12 months stuffed with ho-hum releases (alongside the gems, natch), Buckner’s 13 managed to buck the development and emerge as a excessive octane showstopper. 140 proof. $200 -FD
7. Johnnie Walker Blue Label Elusive Umami – Placing “Umami” within the title of $400 whisky looks as if a loopy alternative, however let’s hear out the Home of Walker, OK? A collaboration between Walker and Japanese chef Kei Kobayashi, there’s no sleight of hand on this one – it’s only a barrel decide, with Walker pulling whiskies from its assortment that characteristic these wealthy, meaty umami flavors – mushrooms, white pepper, sesame… all of the stuff of an excellent Asian meal, simply in whisky kind. The expertise isn’t as overblown as a few of these taste notes would possibly counsel; that is nonetheless a vibrant and sunny expertise – only one that delights in its complexity. 86 proof. $369 -CN [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR]
8. Bruichladdich Octomore 14.2 – Whereas current expressions have come extremely shut to creating our record lately, Octomore hasn’t made an look in our high 10 since our inaugural record in 2017, when the second model of the 10-year-old knocked our socks off. There’s been fairly a little bit of time and plenty of choices between every now and then, and ultimately we arrive on the masterpiece of model 14.2. The distinction of 14.2 to its siblings 14.1 and 14.3 is sort of compelling. A comparatively low stage of peat (128.9 ppm) lets notes of spiced fruitcake, tobacco leaf, and purple berry shine by earlier than the standard coastal notes of campfire, seaweed, iodine, and lemon zest oscillate their approach to a lingering and extremely satisfying end. It doesn’t have the no-nonsense, uncooked phenolic throat punch Octomore normally doles out, however extra experimentation alongside these traces is a most welcome expertise. I’m sure we’ll be seeing Octomore once more on this record earlier than 2030. 115.4 proof. $260 -RT
9. Cragganmore Distillers Version 2023 – Perennially underrated, Cragganmore is likely one of the finest offers in Scotch whisky due to its poor title recognition – and with this particular version from the 2023 Distillers Version assortment, it will get even higher due to ending in Port-seasoned American oak casks. It’s not too heavy on the fruity Port notes, because the malt at its core does the heavy lifting, plus it’s a mere 80 proof, which additional ensures a mild, easygoing expertise. These searching for a brand new every day dram from the world of single malt received’t discover a higher possibility launched this 12 months. 80 proof. $90 -CN [BUY IT NOW FROM RESERVEBAR]
10. Filibuster Triple Cask Bourbon Tokaji Completed – I needed to combat fairly arduous to get this whiskey on the record over numerous different wonderful contenders, however since I’m the boss round right here, I received the battle in the long run. A part of that combat stems from the truth that this was a restricted launch that’s more and more arduous (however not unimaginable) to search out. And it’s a pity, as a result of it’s one among my favourite bourbons of the 12 months, mixing Filibuster’s Virginia-born distillate with some MGP inventory and letting all of it simmer in a Hungarian Tokaji wine barrel to complete issues off. The outcomes are magical, making for an intensely candy, nutty, fruity, and fragrant whiskey that can problem every part you assume you realize about bourbon. Right here’s hoping Filibuster tries one thing related once more subsequent 12 months. 112.8 proof. $120 -CN
Extra reporting by Drew Beard, Frank Dobbins, and Rob Theakston.
