It's almost impossible to pick a whiskey of the year. With so many releases, so many different palates and so many different prices it's a huge challenge. However, John Robinson and I did it anyway!
We approached this by taking our individual top ten whiskeys of the year, whittled that down to our top three and then tasted them blind to ensure we stripped out some favouritism. By the end of the process we had our whiskey of the year, two runners-up and three whiskeys that rounded out our top six. The list was very heavily Irish-focused, in keeping with the whiskeys we've tasted this year.
But first, some whiskeys that we really liked during the year - some we discovered; some we re-discovered.
Our bubbling under list:
Glendalough Double Barrel Cask Strength - delighted to try this as a secret sample at our Glendalough tasting. I bought this as soon as it was available in the shops!
Yellow Spot - an absolute classic that was revisited at our Spot tasting. Simply brilliant.
John's Lane Cask Strength - John's Lane is one of our favourite whiskeys and the cask strength version adds even more punch to a superb whiskey.
The Pillars of Creation (Two Stacks) - a brilliant Irish whiskey blending elements from Dingle, Echlinville and Killowan distilleries.
Powers Rye - another one from the Powers family, the Powers Rye is a fresh and herbal alternative to the heavy pot still tradition of the standard range.
Kilbeggan Distillers' Cask - a special edition available only from the distillery, this is a particularly great whiskey that could easily be missed. One to pick up if near the distillery.
Our runners-up:
Dunvilles 20-year old Oloroso finish - from the Echlinville distillery, this is a fantastic whiskey with huge flavour, enormous length and viscous mouthfeel. A layered whiskey with so much to discover, it's a must for anyone who likes Oloroso finishes.
Celtic Cask 45 - although launched a couple of years ago, we discovered this expression during 2024 and found it to be superb. It's another Oloroso finish (seven years in Oloroso casks after thirteen years in first fill ex-bourbon casks).
Our whiskey of the year:
Two Stacks Polaris 2.1 - a seven-year-old whiskey where the initial liquid came from the Great Northern Distillery then finished in Red Wine Tokaji casks for almost a year. We loved the boldness of the flavour, the depth of taste, the length and the consistency throughout. I remember tasting this as a sample at the South East Whiskey Fest and finding it excellent. It was difficult to get a bottle of it, and I was delighted to add it to my collection later in 2024. It was loved at our Two Stacks tasting too and it's a worthy winner of our inaugural whiskey of the year.
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