The whisky year 2015 in review

Today Whisky Saga actually turns 4 YO! I never quite expected it to last this long when I started my first few (horrible) articles in early January 2012. Now here I am, typing up my review of 2015. It's been one fantastic ride so far, and I have no plans of stopping just yet.

2015 in numbers

• 800+ whiskies tasted
• 320+ articles posted
• 300+ whiskies reviewed
• 17 distilleries visited
• 8 festivals attended
• Many new friends and acquaintances acquired

The Best of the Best

The whiskies I gave the highest score in 2015:

1. Karuizawa 1984 29 YO Cask #7802 Cask by Cask 96p
2. Highland Park 40 YO (2008) 94p
3. Bunnahabhain 1973 40 YO The Birthday Dram 93p
4. Highland Park Odin 16 YO – The Valhalla Collection 93p
5. Port Ellen 1982 31 YO Cask #1511 (Mackillop’s Choice) 93p
6. Hakushu Sherry Cask 2012 92p
7. Highland Park 1973 Vintage 37 YO 92p
8. Highland Park Thorfinn 92p
9. Springbank 1999 11 YO Local Barley Society Bottling 92p
10. White Horse The Old Blend of the White Horse Cellar 92p
11. Yamazaki 25 YO 92p

I have had a chance to try a lot of old and rare Highland Park this year (and I visited the distillery), and this is reflected in the list. I am also very fond of Japanese whisky, and will try anything I come across - some of these are liquid sunshine indeed! The number 1 spot is held by a Karuizawa release exclusive for Norway and Sweden. The surprise addition to the list, maybe, is the White Horse blend. This was a special bottle though, bottled in 1940!

Affordable and Available

These are the Available & Affordable whiskies I gave the highest score in my reviews in 2015:

1. Hudson Baby Bourbon Whiskey (NOK 599) (88/100)
2. Bunnahabhain Ceòbanach (NOK 725) (87/100)
3. Glengoyne 15 YO (NOK 695) (87/100)
4. Baker’s Bourbon (NOK 700) (87/100)
5. Teerenpeli 8 YO (NOK 815) (86/100)
6. BenRiach 10 YO (NOK 675) (86/100)
7. Jack Daniel’s Single Barrel (NOK 620) (85/100)
8. Hazelburn 10 YO (NOK 720) (85/100)
9. Mackmyra Svensk Rök (NOK 435) (85/100)
10. Armorik Double Maturation (NOK 870) (85/100)

Most popular reviews

1. Ardbeg Perpetuum Distillery Release
2. Laphroaig 15 YO 200th Anniversary
3. Ardbeg Perpetuum vs Ardbeg Perpetuum
4. Ardbeg Kildalton 2014
5. Highland Park Odin 16 YO – The Valhalla Collection
6. Laphroaig Cairdeas 2015
7. Mars Whisky The Revival 2011 Komagatake
8. Karuizawa 1984 29 YO Cask #7802 Cask by Cask
9. Bunnahabhain Eirigh Na Greine
10. Aberlour A’bunadh batch #47

Ardbeg and Laphroaig reviews always get massive attention. On top of that I was the first to post a review of the Perpetuum DR version online - that did help, I guess. A bit surprised to see the first new release from Mars, after they re-opened, on the top 10.

Most popular articles (not reviews)

1. Visiting Chichibu Distillery
2. The world’s first Arctic whisky distillery officially opened
3. Nikka discontinuing their entire single malt line-up!
4. Glann ar Mor Distillery closing (luckily they did not have to close down after all)
5. Whisky Award winners - Stockholm Beer & Whisky Festival 2015

It is quite amazing the interest Chichibu gets. My article on visiting them was published back in August 2014, and still gets a lot of views every single day.

You - the readers

The top 10 countries you come from (position from 2014 in parenthesis):

1. Norway (1)
2. Sweden (2)
3. United States (3)
4. United Kingdom (4)
5. Germany (5)
6. Canada (7)
7. France (9)
8. The Netherlands (8)
9. Denmark (6)
10. Poland (18)

I find it cool that France is on the way up, and I have reviewed a few French whiskies in 2015. It is also great fun to see the huge increase of readers from Poland! I visit Poland on a regular basis through work (my day job), and love that country. I can also reveal that very soon now I will review two new Polish whiskies.

Japan fell out of the top 10 in 2015, down to 14th place. Denmark is falling for reasons unknown - although the actual number of readers from Denmark doubled (there's statistics for ya!).

OK, that's it then for the whisky year 2015 in review. I cannot spend more time on summarizing what has been - time to focus on what is coming up! Hope to see as many as possible of you out there in 2016. Do please continue to give me your feedback. I really do appreciate your continued support and readership!

Sláinte! - Thomas

2015 gold logo from WorldArtsMe.