5 Whisky Picks to Warm You Up This Winter
In our spare time, we attend the occasional whisky tasting club. Among our number is Brendon Lawry, Chief Executive of Liquorland Ltd. Apparently he isn’t above sampling the merchandise because he had a lot to tell us about these whisky picks.
The Glenlivet 12
The Glenlivet was the first legally licensed whisky in Scotland’s highlands. The distillery dates back to 1822. After getting his legal paper and falling out of favor with the illicit distilleries, the founder, George Smith, was well known to always carry a pair of pistols and had a reputation of not being afraid to use them.
I think this whisky has great levels of complexity. This is classic for its style. It has been finished in American Oak, which gives it a hint of vanilla, along with a fantastic balance and good depth of flavour. I think this is a whisky you should always have at the ready. It is a great whisky to start people on their premium whisky journey.
Retails for $70 – $80
Longmorn 16
First released in 2005 to replace the Longmorn 14, this whisky can be hard to find. Chocolate and orange flavours are what I think make this such a famous hallmark of this great Speyside distillery. Notably known in the industry as the distiller’s whisky. My view this is a rich, syrupy, whisky with butterscotch on the nose, a pretty decent tongue burn at 48%! You get nuts, nougat, chocolate, and small amount of orange peel. You cannot go wrong!
Retails for $120 – $140
Johnny Walker 18
This is an incredibly complex whisky to make. Not only is the youngest of the whisky’s in here18 years old, but there are also 18 distilleries blended into the bottle. Maybe one of the most well-known and famous brands in the game, which weirdly means many “whisky people” enjoy giving this a bit of a hard time. My favorite thing to do with this is actually leave it in the freezer and serve it with rich chocolate desserts. You find a rich aroma of sweet fruit with hints of toffee and caramel (think apple pie), you get warm, malty cereal and smooth creamy vanilla, (think porridge with brown sugar and cream) and it finishes (I think) with hints of chocolate which is why this is such a great dessert whisky.
Retails for $100 – $120
Chivas 18
Chivas 18 is a complex yet refined whisky. The experts tell you that there are 85 different flavors in every bottle. I love whisky but must be honest I cannot get close to picking 85. While I cannot find 85, I think this has real complex multi-layered flavours from fruit to butter and toffee, even a bit of saltiness. I think this is a great expression of why the team at Chivas say: blended is better, in life and in Scotch.
Retails for $80 – $90
Royal Salute 21
Drinking Chivas’s Royal Salute 21-year-old in memory of Prince Phillip while not initially part of the plan, as it was originally in the line up to show the power of masters of their craft at work blending an amazing dram! It was a fitting end to the tasting and nice to toast the prince. Royal Salute 21 has been around for quite some time – 1953 to be precise. Introduced to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation, the name derives from a gun salute – a barrage of 21 cannons or artillery fired as a military honour.
As it’s 21 years old, it has mellowed quite a bit, while I hate the description, smooth (as what the hell does that mean), this is probably pretty accurate. You get a soft blend of spice, citrus and, if you hold old to it, you get hints of chocolate. It has a small amount of smoke but I think rounds this out and gives you a mature, well-rounded delicate whisky.
Retails for $180 – $220