I was excited when I saw the headline in the Business Insider that they were talking about the 18 best bottles of scotch in the world.
I mean, I have my own personal preferences, and I can appreciate a great glass of scotch, but my wallet isn’t in any condition to afford anything on a “best scotch list”, that’s for sure.
But I still like to read about it. And so I did.
And I was shocked by some of the selections that were on the list. Stupefied. Blown away.
Here’s some of what’s on the list:
Laphroaig 18
What, are they smoking crack? I don’t care what year it is. This stuff is undrinkable. It smells like embalming fluid and tastes worse. I can’t even have this stuff in my house it smells so bad.
Johnnie Walker Black Label 12
Um, seriously? Johnnie Walker? One a list of the 18 best scotches in the WORLD? I’ve had their Blue Label, and it tastes like battery acid. I wouldn’t take a bottle of the black label if you gave it to me.
The Glenlivet 21 Year Old Archive
Now this is an interesting one. I like this scotch. It has a good taste, a good feel on the tongue, and a good clean finish. It’s light and it’s drinkable. But – Glenlivet is like the vanilla ice cream of single malt scotch. Even the 21 year. It’s entirely without a personality. Which makes it a very strange choice to have on the list of the 18 best in the world.
The Balvenie Single Barrel 12
This is another surprising one. It’s a great scotch. Great taste and great finish, decent price, and a nice one to have as your daily ration. But to have a 12 year make the list is a bit odd to me. This is really good stuff, but top 18?
Oban Highland Single Malt 14
While I haven’t tried every scotch on their list of 18, I’ve tried a few. And this one is my favorite out of all of them. And it’s my second choice to have at home after my Macallan. It’s a nice middle of the road scotch. Not too light like some of the “trainer” scotches, and not as heavy as some of the fuller bodied brands. It’s a great daily drinker and it’s always popular with guests. It’s a great choice for the top 18.
Here’s part of the article. The link to the full article is below.
Last month, the world’s distilleries did battle at the International Wine and Spirit Competition.
The event, now in its 44th year, aims to “promote the quality and excellence of the world’s best wines, spirits and liqueurs,” according to its website.
The judging process at the competition is rigorous. Wines and liquors are subject to both professional blind tasting and chemical and microbiological analysis.
The best bottles score between 90-100 on the judges’ scale, but a few receive special recognition: Gold Outstanding.
And as a result, they received elegantly-written endorsements such as: “A treasure chest of liquid gold!”
From blends to single malts to single barrels, 18 Scotches took home a Gold Outstanding award at last month’s competition.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/18-best-bottles-of-scotch-in-the-world-2013-8
