2021 Year in Review
The idea of writing up an overview post has crossed my mind more than a few times— whether in celebration of passing specific milestones or just celebrating the inextricable march of time. The whole idea sounded fun to read, but I found writing it less than fun. In the spirit of trying something new, I sat down and came up with a first annual year in review.
I have included a few sections for my inaugural end-of-year review. A by-the-numbers overview, perhaps best viewed on the infographic I made, and then a few award categories: Worst of the Year, Best Whisky of the Year, Favorite Imagery, and Best & Worst SMWS since I reviewed a lot of bottles from that label.
By the numbers
In total, I posted 233 reviews in 2021 which was a slight increase from 2020 when I posted 206. The ways in which the pandemic has disrupted life— curtailing nights out, eliminating my commute, and minimizing the errands I run— have left me with a lot more time and opportunity to sit and mindfully taste and review whisky when the mood strikes. Even with limited tasting events— our local whisky group did maybe half a dozen this year— I still tried quite a bit of whisky thanks to friends and colleagues.
Of my 233 reviews, 206 were Scotch. Only nine reviews were of blends or blended malts. Broken down by region, the vast majority were from Speyside (68), Islay (57), and the Highlands (49). From the Highlands 15 of those were from the Islands, and 2 were Highland Grain whiskies. I only reviewed 15 from the Lowlands, 8 of which were single grains, and 8 from Campbeltown.
In the World Whisky category, I reviewed 17 whiskies from 9 different countries. One from Australia, two England, four India, one Ireland, four Japan, two Spain, one Sweden, one Taiwan, and one Wales. I also reviewed 10 American single malts from four different states; New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.
Of the 214 whiskies I reviewed with an age statement, the oldest this year was a 38 Year Auchroisk from SMWS, and the youngest was a Balcones for K&L at ~2 and a half years. The average age across those 214 whiskies was 14.5 Years.
By date of distillation, the oldest whisky I tried— with a stated date— was a 1971 North Port from the Rare Malts Collection and the oldest as measured by the amount of time it spent sitting in a glass bottle somewhere (I assume under someone’s kitchen sink) was a 1971 Dewar’s White Label.
Worst Bottles of 2021
1. Riverflow Speyside Single Malt
3. Ardnamurchan AD/04:21 Paul Launois
I typically do not go out of my way to drink things I will not like, so it has become uncommon to score a whisky very low. I did not give out a single one this year— though there were a few bottles that scored an abysmal two. The Riverflow was a blind sample, while the Liber was part of a distillery vertical. Those were easy choices— the mental imagery alone should explain why: “Cleaning the Rabbit Hutch” and “Revenge of the Burnt Popcorn,” respectively.
The third spot was a bit more complicated. I scored several whiskies with a three, so I elected to go with the one I had had the highest hopes for and found the most disappointing. I know some did enjoy this particular unpeated Ardnamurchan, but I think I will stick to just their heavily peated malt from now on.
Best Bottles
1. Glenlossie 29 Year (1978), Gordon and MacPhail
2. Springbank 27 Year; Whiskybroker, IAAS Group Bottle
3. Mortlach 25 Year (1994), Connoisseurs Choice
I feel a bit age-obsessed looking at these top three. I do not usually drink lots of twenty-year plus whiskies, and I scored plenty of them as relatively bog-standard and certainly not very advantageous considering price/quality. Yet, these three blew all of that up. I have no idea the price of the Glenlossie, but I would be tempted to spend stupid money on anything I score a ten (though let me acknowledge it is easy to say this not knowing the price), especially as it was my first one since 2019 (though there were plenty of 9s in 2020, and the difference is maybe not that great). The Glenlossie was incredibly complex with layers of earth, meat, fruit, and wood, leading to my mental image of “Tropical Hunting Lodge BBQ.” There was so much going on that I could never be bored with this bottle.
My other top two were both 9s and quite old. The “Its All About Springbank” bottle was incredible and easily the finest Springbank I have ever tried. It had lovely layers of fruit with a faint creamy-floral funk that brought to mind an “Upcountry Maui Cheeseboard.” The Mortlach wrecked all subsequent expectations I have for the distillery. After that point, it was impossible to review any further Mortlachs without referencing back to this Gordon and MacPhail bottle. The sublime mix of spice, gamey meat, fruit, and chocolate surfaced candlelit memories and, thanks to Muskox, the wonderful image of “Happy Valentines’ day, Bison!” I honestly do not remember if this was a Street Fighter reference or a personification of the evening meal.
Favorite Imagery
1. Murad IV’s Clandestine Coffeehouse (Glen Garioch 23 Year (1992), Blackadder)
2. Chocolate Bundt Cake at a Salmon’s Dinner Party (Laphroaig Lore)
3. Bigfoot’s Chocolatier and Art Studio Emporia (Starward 3 Year Cask 3329 for Drammers)
My favorite part of every review is coming up with a mental image that encapsulates the dram's experience. Sometimes it is effortless and while I sip on a dram my mind flies like an arrow toward a specific experience. Sometimes it is hard— either I am torn between different memories and impressions, or I get nothing, and the dram does not strike me in any particular direction. Sometimes whisky is just whisky. When I first started, my mental image descriptions were several lines long; however, they quickly became abbreviated to the point where they now often resemble the pithy SMWS bottle names.
There were a lot of great names this year, and these three were my favorites. At the top spot, the Glen Garioch 23 Year was a delicious whisky, and I loved the image of a Turkish coffee house speak-easy during the reign of Murad IV, who famously banned coffee shops (or attempted to anyway). I love when I can mix a bit of history into my mental imagery, and I had a few other examples with the Battle of the Nile or Franco-Prussian Field Hospitals this year. Laphroaig almost always brings out interesting imagery. I love the idea of an anthropomorphic Salmon throwing a dinner part with a chocolate bundt cake— that’s a proper prompt for an absurdist painting.
As to the final image, I thought imagining Bigfoot running an artisanal chocolate shop and art gallery to be pretty satisfying.
Best & Worst SMWS
1. Laphroaig 25 Year SMWS 29.273 “Do not go gentle into that good night”
2. Longmorn 15 Year SMWS 7.247 "Minty seahorse bandage”
1. Bunnahabhain 9 Year SMWS 10.192 “Deep and complex, sweet and earthy”
2. Loch Lomond Glen Douglas 8 Year SMWS 122.35 “Marshmallows in a Fruit Bowl”
That 25 Year Laphroaig was just nudged out of my top three for bottle of the year and just nudged out in the top three of my favorite mental images (Yog-Sothoth Exhibit at the Cabo t Museum of Archeology). There was no way it was not going to be at the top of my favorite SMWS bottles this year.
Coming in second place was an unusually maritime Longmorn that beat out some even more intensely maritime Caol Ila and Bunnahabhain, which I also scored at an 8. I love an excellent maritime profile, and I thought the typical Longmorn tropical fruits and subtle ocean were a divine combination.
On the other side of the scale was a 9Y Bunnahbahain that tasted like cat urine to me (apparently p-mentha-8-thiol-3-one might be the compound responsible for that which can also taste like blackcurrants), and an incredibly sweet Loch Lomond whose SMWS codename should have been a fair warning for what to expect.
I used to score a lot more SMWS on the lower end of my scale, but as our whisky group has matured (and maybe SMWS selections have improved), there have been fewer total misses. I am sure selection bias plays a big role there, but sometimes I still run into these bottles that did not work for me.
Cheers to the end of 2021 and the coming of 2022.