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
Glenfiddich 15
age: 15 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
price: 43-45€ (70cl)
website: www.glenfiddich.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 94.5/100
my rating: 8/10
notes: the best in Glenfiddich family. much better than 12yo and 18yo. a lot of honey and vanilla.
Glenfiddich 18
age: 18 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
price: 52-54€ (70cl)
website: www.glenfiddich.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 95/100
my rating: 7/10
notes: a bit smoky. better than Glenfiddich 12 but still no excitement. though the price is almost doubled.
Glenfiddich 12
age: 12 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
price: 28-30€ (70cl)
website: www.glenfiddich.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 85.5/100
my rating: 6/10
notes: nice but no excitement.
Knockando 12 (1997)
age: 12 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 43%
price: 38-40€ (70cl)
website: www.malts.com
Jim Murray’s rating: not rated
my rating: 7/10
notes: 1997 is not rated by Jim Murray but 1994 is 86/100, 1995-71,5/100 and 1996-76/100. it’s as good as 18 yo Knockando so there’s no point to overpay for older one. shiny and light. typical Speyside.
Benromach Traditional vs. Speyburn 10
Benromach Traditional
age: not specified
kind: single malt
region: Scotland
strength: 40%
price: 33-35€ (70cl)
website: www.benromach.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 86/100
Speyburn 10
age: 10 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland
strength: 40%
price: 29-31€ (70cl)
website: www.speyburn.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 82/100
and the winner is … Speyburn 10
Benromach Traditional - my rating: 6/10
Speyburn 10 - my rating: 8/10
notes: Speyburn is what I like. fruity, smooth and clean. Benromach has too much peat for me. not my style. verdict was easy.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Auchentoshan 12 vs. BenRiach 12
Auchentoshan 12
age: 12 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Highland
strength: 40%
price: 38-40€ (70cl)
website: www.auchentoshan.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 81/100
BenRiach 12
age: 12 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 43%
price: 35-37€ (70cl)
website: www.benriachdistillery.co.uk
Jim Murray’s rating: 78.5/100
and the winner is … BenRiach 12.
BenRiach 12 - my rating: 8/10
Auchentoshan 12 - my rating: 7/10
notes: both are great though Jim Murray’s rating doesn’t confirm it. both are light and very interesting. but BenRiach is much tasty, with full of fruits flavours. goes smooth. just perfect.
Tomatin 12
age: 12 yo
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
price: 30-32€ (70cl)
website: www.tomatin.com
Jim Murray’s rating: 85.5/100
my rating: 6/10
notes: just another quite cheap single malt. no excitement. light. good for evening drink.
BenRiach “Heart Of Speyside”
age: not specified
kind: single malt
region: Scotland, Speyside
strength: 40%
price: 30-33€ (70cl)
website: www.benriachdistillery.co.uk
Jim Murray’s rating: 86/100
my rating: 8/10
notes: beautiful smell. light and smooth. love at first taste.
