One of the great things about the end of the year approaching is we get a chance to create lists. Every paper, radio station and television programme has a succession of ‘best off 2011’ lists covering just about every possible area of popular culture.

So we thought it was about time we joined in. So in time honoured fashion here is our top ten whiskies of 2011.

1. The phenomenally successful Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix was the most popular and sought after bottle on SMD this year, a great piece of opportunist marketing and an excellent drop of whisky too.

2. Bruichladdich The Laddie Ten - the Islay independent doesn’t make many mistakes and it didn’t make one with this, the best from Islay in 2011.

3. The Highland Queen Majesty, a little known independent from mysterious Highland origins, but an exceptional 30 year old and well worth discovering.

4. Kilchoman 5 Year Old - The Islay farm/distillery is improving every year and this was their best yet.

5. Glendronach 21 Year Old Parliament - We’re fans, big fans, and this Speyside single malt was one of the highlights of the year.

6. Port Ellen 11th Release - there is rare single malts and then there is Port Ellen, a super Islay, we could have sold 100 times as much.

7. Dalmore Tweed Dram – it was a good year for Dalmore with a number of superb new bottles, this was our favourite but it was a close run thing.

8. Arran Amarone Cask Finish – still a relatively young distillery this was our choice from Arran this year, lovely finish.

9. Ardbeg Alligator – probably the most eagerly awaited single malt of 2011 and definitely the best named!

10. Knockando 25 Year Old 1985 – a very limited edition, a truly excellent single malt and proof that the big boys can produce great single malts if they try.

We’d love to hear your top ten or indeed your view on ours.

Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 2 is a very special Single Malt. It has been described as …” close to perfection as malt whisky gets”…. by whisky people who are not prone to grandiose verbiage. The Balvenie distillery in Speyside enjoys a very high reputation. Founded in 1893 it is by no means one of Scotland’s oldest distilleries but The Balvenie has a place in the heart of thousands of Single Malt lovers all over the world. The Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 2 demands the attention of anyone interested in the ancient art of Scotch whisky distilling. The Balvenie Malt Master, David Stewart, personally selected ten casks from the entire stock of aging whisky in the Balvenie warehouses. The casks varied in age from the nineteen sixties, seventies and eighties with some casks ex Sherry and others ex Borboun. David Stewart must have enjoyed that. Imagine actually getting paid to do that job. The whisky from all ten casks was then “married” for several months in a very large wooden Tun, hence the name. The result is a superb Single Malt fully justifying all the effort and experience behind its creation. Batch 1, the last time David Stewart did this, disappeared very quickly and is now no longer available so if you fancy a bottle of something truly special, don’t hang about.

Glendronach Distillery , started in 1826, is one of Scotland’s most respected producers of Highland Single Malts. The Glendronach 21 Year Old Parliament is a delightful single malt. One thing however should be explained. Scottish distilleries, particularly Scottish Highland distilleries, have never been known to cosy up to any parliament. The people in distilleries are practitioners and guardians of an ancient art and they are not the sort to flatter or fawn to politicians of whatever ideology. The Glendronach 21 Year Old Parliament is not named after any gathering of politicians, perish the thought. It is named after the Parliament of rooks who gather in the wood near the distillery. They are very much part of the atmosphere at Glendronach and their ancient dignified presence is celebrated by this fine Highland single malt.

Why are corners so interesting? It’s probably something to do with the fact that as you approach a corner you don’t know what you’re about to see. A visit to our Collectors Corner is just like that and you should treat yourself to a regular visit. The world of Single Malt Whisky is fascinating whether you just like always to have something interesting to share with your friends or have a very valuable collection. Both types are collectors, the difference is merely one of scale and that’s why our Collectors Corner is for you. It changes frequently and it always has interesting examples often very, very rare. Just click on “Shop” and you’ll find Collectors Corner. Take a look at the “Rare Auld” range we have. It’s chosen from all the Scotch Whisky regions and you’ll find wonderful Single Malts like Teaninich 27 Year Old , Mortlach 22 Year Old , Miltonduff 28 Year Old or Inchgower 29 Year Old . The Glenlivet 1974 from the Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection is there as is the Celtic Heartlands range selected by the legendary Jim McEwan. Enjoy looking at the Rarest Of The Rare , a selection of whiskies from distilleries no longer in operation, created to the standards set by Duncan Taylor. The Special Editions, Commemorative and One Off Bottles section is always interesting and shouldn’t be missed. Have you ever seen a bottle of Compass Box Hedonism Grain? Probably not but you’ll see it in our Collectors Corner and you’ll see a whole lot more.

Bunnahabhain 33 Year Old Mission is not a single malt that you will see everywhere. In fact you will do well to see it at all. Only 582 bottles came from this 1976 distillation. This particular Bunnahabhain was matured in oak Fino casks. Fino is the most delicate of sherries and the Bunnahabhain 33 Year Old was bottled at cask strength as part of the Murray McDavid Mission Series of cask strength whiskies. Bunnahabhain is of course an Islay distillery. The west coast of Scotland is a mass of islands, in total Scotland has almost 800, and Islay (pronounced Ayelah) is at the southern end. Here the Gulf Stream provides an almost perfect climate for the making of fine whisky. In addition to clement weather Islay also has wonderful water and excellent farmland. Like most of the island’s distilleries Bunnahabhain started in the 19th century but that of course isn’t the whole story. The ideal whisky making conditions on Islay have always been there and likewise the making of whisky. Licencing and legalization are, in the broad sweep of history, recent events. The craft skill behind Bunnahabhain is ancient and explains why Scotch Whisky, which in theory can be made anywhere given the correct ingredients, is the gold standard. Bunnahabhain 33 Year Old Mission is a superb Islay single malt. It’s more than a whisky. It’s an example of excellence without compromise. A very rare thing in today’s world.

The Ileach Cask Strength isn’t just for lovers of single malt whisky. It’s also for lovers of mysteries because the one piece of information that you won’t on the label of Ileach Cask Strength is the name of the distillery it came from. That doesn’t really matter when you know that it comes from Islay, the most famous whisky making island on the entire planet. When the world was being created Islay (pronounced Ayelah) just happened to get more than its fair share of whisky making conditions. Islay, despite being in a similar latitude position to Moscow, is protected from temperature extremes by the warm Gulf Stream and why that balmy current heads off to Scotland might mystify you, it helps the Scots in their belief that theirs is indeed a special land. If you were planning an ideal place to put a whisky distillery your design would look like Islay with its gentle climate, fertile farmland and its crystal waters. The Ileach Cask Strength is an Islay Single Malt classic. If you are wondering what cask strength means, in this case it means 58% ABV. The Ileach Cask Strength is not only a very special whisky, it has a very special name. Ileach is the Scottish Gaelic word for a native of Islay and on an island famed for its whisky output that name is a very high honour indeed.

Once upon a time there was a popular song which went something like “The stars at night, are big and bright, (heavy instrumental flourish) deep in the heaaaart of Texas”. And to most of us that summed Texas up. Everything there was bigger than anywhere else. They told us that you could put several European countries into Texas and they wouldn’t even be noticed, the state was so vast. Big cattle ranches, big cattle, big cowboys, big oil wells and big farms.

Well, now Texas has something else to sing about. An excellent whiskey distilled from blue corn. So good in fact that it won a double gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. It is the first whisky to be made legally in the state of Texas but it’s fair to assume that there is considerable distilling experience around the Lone Star State! For those of us who have never seen it a field of Blue Corn is hard to picture but in a similar latitude in the USA they have blue grass so blue corn seems fair enough. Packed with a rich, roasty nuttiness that is truly exceptional. It has the freshness and verve of a traditional corn whisky but with a refined complexity added by brief ageing in small oak barrels. It has a round nuttiness and roasty overtones with a smooth finish. Those who have tried Balcones Baby Blue Corn Whisky say it’s a good one which comes as no surprise as Texans just don’t seem to believe in failure.

]]> Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:00:59 +0000 http://www.singlemaltsdirect.com/newsandblog/Highland-Queen-Majesty-30-Year-Old/ Highland Queen Majesty 30 Year Old

Highland Queen Majesty 30 year old is the oldest of the beautiful Highland Queen whiskies. If you want a bottle of this superb single malt don’t hang around as there are only 2000 available and right now we have a £30 off special offer. As you will see, you can only order one bottle. That’s not due to the return of any sort of rationing; it’s simply down to postage weight. You can order ten, if you have ten friends that good, but only one at a time in separate orders. This is a splendid Highland single malt and you’ll be hard pushed to find any 30 year Old better priced than this one. It comes in a very attractive wooden presentation box and would make an excellent gift for someone special.

History is very important to the Scots and the historic figure after whom Highland Queen is named has a special place in Scottish hearts. The country’s past is absolutely jammed full of quarrelsome, angry men; most of them wielding huge swords, lopping off the legs and arms or cleaving the head of anyone with a different point of view. A brief study of Scottish history could persuade you that for centuries the glens and mountains echoed nothing but the clash of steel, war cries and the moaning of the wounded and the country was always run by somebody bad tempered who spent his invariably short life swathed in chain mail. Mary Queen of Scots was very different. She was born just six days before her father died, following yet another pitched battle. For a start she was a girl and she was lovely. She came from France, where she had spent much of her childhood, and she knew that life was to be enjoyed, not just endured. She spoke Latin, French, Spanish and Italian as well as English and her native Scots and she enjoyed music and refined company. Needless to say she had quite a challenging time during her short reign. Eventually she sought the protection of her cousin, Elizabeth 1st, Queen of England, who imprisoned her in a succession of impregnable fortresses before ordering her execution. The memory of this light hearted, happy girl is still held in great affection in Scotland and the oldest of a selection of Scotch Whiskies in her honour just has to be a very fine example of an ancient art.