This is my own whisky ranking. I'm an endorser and enthusiast of drinking whisky.
For comparison, I added a professional opinion of Jim Murray, well-known author of Whisky Bible.
My rating:
10 - whisky heaven
9 - excellent
8 - perfect
7 - very good
6 - worth to try
5 - nothing special
4 - drink if you got nothing else
3 - terrible
2 - better than shit
1 - shit
Catching Elephant is a theme by Andy Taylor
The Glenlivet 15
age: 15 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
price: 38-40€ (70cl)
website: www.theglenlivet.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 80/100
my rating: 8/10
notes: it’s much better than Glenlivet 12. smells and taste very nice but has not own, specific character.
Balvenie Golden Cask
age: 14 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
price: 53-55€ (70cl)
strength: 47,5%
website: www.thebalvenie.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 91/100
my rating: 9/10
notes: omg! that is it. i thought 47,5% vol. could burn my mouth. not. it’a great surprise after Balvenie Doublewood . fruity, vanilla, orange and of course smooth and beautiful in smell. very, very close to heaven.
As I know it’s available only in duty free shops on airports. i bought my bottle on Warsaw’s airport for about 40€ but people say that sometimes you can buy it in regular shops for the price mentioned above.
Glen Grant 10
age: 10yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
price: 27-29€ (70cl)
strength: 40%
website: www.glengrant.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 80/100
my rating: 8/10
notes: fresh, clean, gentle, smooth and full of honey. great quality for quite small price.
Bowmore 12
age: 12 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Islay
strength: 40%
website: www.bowmore.com
price: 38-40€ (70cl)
Jim Murray’s rating: 91/100
my rating: 5/10
notes: too smoky. only for Islay whisky endorsers. i bought a small 0,05 bottle. lucky me.
Bushmills 10
age: 10 yo
kind: single malt
region: Ireland
strength: 40%
website: www.bushmills.com
price: 35-37€ (70cl)
Jim Murray’s rating: 90/100
my rating: 7/10
notes: nice but not so fine as bushmills classic.
Glenfarclas 10
age: 10 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
website: www.glenfarclas.co.uk
price: 38-40€ (70cl)
Jim Murray’s rating: 80/100
my rating: 8/10
notes: great smell and beautiful honey taste. my new hero ;-) one more time i cannot understand Jim Murray’s low rating.
Johnnie Walker Green Label
age: 15 yo
kind: blended, pure malt
region: Scotland
strength: 43%
website: www.johnniewalker.com
price: 38-40€ (70cl)
Jim Murray’s rating: not rated (!?)
my rating: 8/10
notes: imho the best in Johnnie Walker’s family. blended from 4 well-known whiskies: Talisker, Caol Ila, Cragganmore and Linkwood. mixing smoky and hard ones from Islands and smooth whiskies from Speyside gives suprising effect. you would love it.
Singleton 12
age: 12 yo
kind: singlemalt
region: Speyside, Scotland
strength: 40%
website: www.diageo.com
price: 38-40€ (70cl)
top deal: ~30€ on BP petrol station in Warsaw, Poland.
Jim Murray’s rating: 71/100
my rating: 8/10
notes: don’t bother Jim Murray’s low rating. it’s nice, complex, lots of fruits and balanced between light and smoky malts. if you like Auchentoshan Classic you would love Singleton. not only because of similar “flat” bottle design.
My benchmark book has just arrived. Signed by Jim Murray of course.
Bushmills Original
age: not specified
kind: singlemalt
region: Ireland
strength: 40%
website: www.bushmills.com
price: 17-19€ (70cl)
Jim Murray’s rating: 80/100
my rating: 7/10
notes: nice surprise. light and full of fruity and vanilla smell. tastes very pleasant. gonna be one of my favourite blended whiskey. interesting alternative for classic ballantine’s if you prefer less smoky taste.
Kilbeggan Finest vs. Tyrconnell
Kilbeggan Finest
age: not specified
kind: blended
region: Ireland
strength: 40%
price: 19-21€ (70cl)
website: www.kilbegganwhiskey.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 86/100
Tyrconnell
age: not specified
kind: single malt
region: Ireland
strength: 40%
price: 29-31€ (70cl)
website: www.tyrconnellwhiskey.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 86/100
and the winner is … Kilbeggan Finest
Kilbeggan Finest - my rating: 6/10
Tyrconnell - my rating: 5/10
notes: i’m not a fan of irish whiskey. kilbeggan is softer with more fruity smell and taste. tyrconnell goes better after adding splash of water.
Tamnavulin 12
age: 12 yo
kind: singlemalt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
price: 45-47€ (70cl)
Jim Murray’s rating: not rated
my rating: 5/10
notes: one word - disappointment. whisky from closed distillery. now i know why it’s closed. strange smell. peppermint. strange taste. far from this beautiful and delicate known as speyside whisky.
Johnnie Walker Black Label
age: 12 yo
kind: blended
region: Scotland
strength: 40%
price: 19-21€ (50cl)
website: www.johnniewalker.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 95.5/100
my rating: 5/10
q2p: 25
notes: a bit worse than classic ballantines finest.
Macallan Fine Oak 10
age: 10 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
price: 33-35€ (70cl)
website: www.themacallan.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 90/100
my rating: 8/10
notes: this is what i love. delicate in smell and taste. sweet and smooth. just like benriach - heart of speyside. gonna be one of my favourite whisky.
Ballantine’s Finest
age: not specified
kind: blended
region: Scotland
strength: 40%
price: 17-19€ (70cl)
website: www.ballantines.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 96/100
my rating: 5/10
notes: not bad, not very good. it’s a bit smoky, a bit vannila. chivas regal is better.
