Every year, several books or compendia of the best whiskies are published and nominate various whiskies from all over the world as their top 20, or top 10, or top five, whiskies—and newspaper headlines broadcast whatever the top nominee is. And very often the whisky is not Scotch.
There is nothing surprising about this. Other countries produce very good whiskies (Scotland has no monopoly on them) so it is perfectly likely that a fine bourbon or Japanese whisky will grab the top spot. Sometimes, but not always, they are single–cask bottlings of what is an exceptionally good whisky anyway and that cask is the crème de la crème.
There also tends to be a tradition that no whisky ever wins the top spot twice in a row (that would spark comments of “fix” or possibly “It’s Buggin’s turn again,”) so previous winners can rest on their laurels and new ones bask in their sudden stardom.
This year’s top pick in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible is a bourbon, Colonel EH Taylor Four-Grain 12-Year-Old Bottled in Bond, from Sazerac’s Buffalo Trace distillery. It is made from four grains—maize, rye, wheat and malted barley—based on an ancient recipe from the distillery founder 150 or more years ago. Certainly, the accolade had an astonishing effect on prices: it normally sells in the US for $70 a bottle, but that soared to $700 on the internet with just a few days.
I have never tasted Colonel Taylor’s prize bourbon and doubtless never will, but I regard Buffalo Trace as one of the best bourbons and always keep a bottle of it in my drinks cupboard. I have poured it for friends who normally never drink bourbon and they have loved it. It is available at various supermarkets at around a comforting £20 a bottle.
What is more, I know many people who prefer bourbon to Scotch and the presence of Jack Daniels on every bar shelf proves whiskies from across the pond are appreciated here. Jack Daniels, being distilled in Tennessee, does not qualify as a bourbon: they have to be distilled in Kentucky.
Anyway, it will be interesting to see which whiskies win gold in 2018. One never knows: it might even be a Scotch.
