All bacon is tremendous. It doesn?t matter if you get it from a convenience store or buy the premium stuff at a farmer?s market. ?Even vegans have mock bacon. It?s the only food in the world where people who can?t eat it, find a way to at least pretend they?re eating it. With that said, whisky is the one spirit where a poor one is just as rare. It has been an incredible year all across the world for this noble spirit. The Scottish and American distillers continue to blaze trails. Irish whiskey is just as lively and exciting with Canadian whisky having its most electrifying year in decades. Sweden, France, Germany, Japan and India have continued to release world class whiskies proving that all whiskies, no matter what flag they are made under, are good. Here is a small selection of some of my favorites for 2012.
McKenzie Bourbon Whiskey
Thomas Earl McKenzie approaches distilling with the craft of a Michelin Star Chef. He takes only the best local New York ingredients and carefully creates spirits that are packed with flavor. McKenzie Bourbon is just one of many outstanding spirits coming out of Finger Lakes Distilling.? This bourbon is aged in 10-gallon barrels (with new batches containing whiskey aged in 53-gallon barrels) that have been finished in Chardonnay casks to round it off. It?s also whiskey that closes the books on the small barrel debate proving that if you put time into your hand crafted approach, the spirits going into the barrel under the close supervision of a master will come out of the barrel as bliss. Keep Calvin Klein away from this whiskey because its nose is so beautiful that he?ll want to wear it as cologne.
Read more about McKenzie Bourbon here.
Forty Creek Port Wood Reserve
Though I am not ranking my favorites for this year, I have to admit this would be my choice on a deserted island. Whisky maker John Hall has been on fire this year also releasing his Copper Pot whisky (which I?d also like to include as a favorite) and his Whisky Cream. This Port Wood Reserve goes through a secondary aging process in, you guessed it, port barrels. I had the chance to try some of the port coming out of these barrels from John?s private stash and that is precisely the moment when I understood the meaning of life. This is what a Beethoven symphony would taste like if he composed it on a roller coaster while juggling sunshine. It?s pure joy and excitement from the first aromas all the way to the long finish.
Read more about Port Wood Reserve here.
Maker?s 46
How did they make babies before Barry White? Maker?s Mark Whisky, that?s how.
It took nearly 50 years before Maker?s Mark released a new expression of their iconic whisky. This one starts as Makers Mark but additional toasted French oak staves are added to the barrel for the aging process. It worked so well that they catalogued this wood recipe as number 46 hence the name. Rich, bold, refined and soft. They?ve found a way of making the Goldilocks of whisky except this time all three bears are into mouth-watering big flavors and would guard this bourbon with their lives.
Read more about Maker?s 46 here.
Pike Creek 10 Year Old
This Canadian Whisky has been on hiatus for the past ten years but 2012 marks its return. It?s kind of like a jazz musician that disappears for a long time then comes back to school the rest of us on how it?s done. The spirit spends time mingling in white oak barrels but gets its personality when it?s finished in vintage port pipes giving it a spicy fruitiness through the entire drinking experience. So elegant you?ll wish you took it to the prom.
Bernheim Original Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey
Some people are sensitive to gluten. I get it. Take me for instance, I?m sensitive to pepper spray and that?s why I avoid being arrested. Recently I tried a gluten free cupcake and I can?t lie. It sucked. I?ve concluded that gluten is delicious and since wheat is loaded with it, whiskey made with wheat can?t be anything but one of the most special things on the planet. So when Heaven Hill Distillery made a whiskey this tasty, you?d think it was chock full of gluten. Not the case since distillation eliminates most of these elements. Now if only someone would use this whiskey to make a decent cupcake?
Read more about Bernheim here.
Alberta Premium Dark Horse
For the gambler, you can bet on this dark horse. If you were to take Canadian whisky in front of a Congressional hearing to figure out why it?s been such a good year then I?d suggest making Dark Horse Exhibit A. However, you won?t find any banned substances in this one ? just loads of robust rye.
Mackmyra Brukswhisky
The Scots do a really good job with single malts, they have it covered. That?s what I used to think before I tried the Swedish Mackmyra Brukswhisky. This whisky is simplicity in its beauty with beauty in its complexity. I?ll stop getting philosophical letting this whisky speak for itself. After all, the Swedes do a really good job with single malts, they have it covered.
Read more about Mackmyra here
Lot No. 40 (2012 Release)
You don?t have to be a legend to enjoy this legendary 100% rye grain whisky. Every time you pour a glass, you?re going to discover something new with heaps of earthy and baked rye leading the charge toward a trace of honey candy, oak and dried fruits. I also discovered enlightenment and world peace in my glass. This is a whisky our world leaders obviously haven?t discovered yet.
Read more about Lot 40 here.
Ballantines 17 Year Old
Back in the late 80?s the heavy metal band Winger had a creepy hit song called ?Seventeen?. I?m going to pretend they were singing about this whisky and not a girl. However, this blended whisky is so delicious and perfect that it reminds you that scotch doesn?t have to be a single malt to be good. Truly a tremendous whisky that can carry a tune.
Redbreast 12 Year Old
There?s always that 12 year old child prodigy that does everything better than us and they are generally instantly annoying. However, here?s a 12 year old Irish whiskey that is a prodigy and isn?t annoying since it?s one of the few single pot still whiskies still available. Single pot stills differ from single malts in that they use partially unmalted barley and are conventionally distilled three times. This one won?t make you play the piano like a child prodigy but it might just give your piano playing a bit of soul.
Blair Phillips
Toronto Canada
blair_phillips@yahoo.com
Follow on Twitter: @Blair_Phillips
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Source: http://drinkingmadeeasy.com/blog/whisky-would-be-bacon-if-it-were-food-a-selection-of-2012s-best/
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