Wee Malt Dram of the Year 2013.

 

 

Well I never told anyone about this. So you readers are the privileged few. I thought since every man and his dog and his cat and his budgie is doing it why not join in and decide what dram was my best this year. So without further adoooo let’s get it over and done with.

My whisky of the year for 2013 is......Drum roll.....

 

Ok first some crap on how I picked it, this was the criteria:

Easily accessible
Affordable
Readily available
Reputable distillery

And yada yada yada

 

There were a lot to pick from so here we go…..

Malt
Whisky of the year 2013 is:

Glenlivet's Nadurra – Non chill filtered and at cask strength, bottled at 54.8% ABV

 

 

 

Now this is a Glenlivet that is worth talking about, I tried this purely by accident as the Glenlivit bottling’s mainly run of the mill. After trying it I was blown away, what a Dram, I picked this as this just shows you what one of the big guns can do when they put their mind to it, they were always criticized in the past for going the safe route of chill-filtered watered down whisky, it doesn’t mean I have to like it or agree with it. But they have come back with a mighty bang; this is aged 16 years and matured in first-fill American oak casks.

Gaelic for ‘natural’, ‘Nadurra’ is a non-chill-filtered cask strength beast that still holds the delicate Speyside charm.

It’s a Dram that benefits enormously from this strength.  Sticky toffee pudding with dollops of vanilla, black peppered chocolate with a hint of ginger and the Speyside orchard, not overly complex but the flavors are well-integrated. Adding a teaspoon of water would be the limit. This is just a great Dram.

 

So there u have it.

Who cares but enjoy.

Happy New Year!