The Whisk(e)y World at ISW
Golden times for the whisk(e)y market and a Herculean task for the jury of Meininger's International Spirits Award ISW. Almost 200 whisk(e)ys from all parts of the world filled the glasses of the spirits experts - 59 of which were awarded a medal.
Whisk(e)y still represents the supreme discipline of distillates for many spirits fans, and the category more than lived up to this reputation at this year's ISW Whisk(e)y Tasting. A record total of almost 200 entries from a wide variety of countries were on the agenda of the tasting experts. From India to Denmark and Germany to the great whisk(e)y nations of Scotland, Ireland and the USA, there was plenty to discover. The level was high across the board. A groundbreaking 13 major gold medals alone give an idea of the quality that met here. In addition, 41 gold and 5 silver medals were awarded at this year's tasting.
"My jury and I were really lucky this year! Our 58 samples were all very good - some just better - but I can hardly remember tasting so many good flights at a stretch."
Bourbon of the years 2021
HEAVEN’S DOOR BOURBON
Tennessee bourbon matures in new oak barrels for at least eight years before it is tested and released for bottling by none other than Bob Dylan. The young brand of the musician and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature does not currently have its own distillery, so the whiskey is bought in from unknown distilleries in Tennessee and masterfully blended. In the glass, everything you would expect from a bourbon arrives in the end: a subtle sweetness of vanilla and nougat, spicy accents between toast and walnut, and fruity hints of peach and pineapple.
Scotch Whisky Blended of the year 2021
BIG PEAT BLENDED ISLAY MALT
It should no longer be a secret that blended whiskies can hold a candle to the more common single malts in terms of taste. At least when a blender knows his craft as well as Douglas Laing. The Big Peat brings together the full flavor of the island of Islay and combines distillates of the distilleries Ardbeg, Caol Ila, Bowmore, as well as the closed Port Ellen distillery. The result is accordingly characterized by multilayered smoke and is underpinned by sweet-salty overtones of honey-salted almonds. Like all the blends in the series, Big Peat is bottled without cold filtration or dye.
Scotch Whisky Single Malt of the year 2021
OLD PULTENEY 18 YEARS
18 years and an extensive finish in Oloroso sherry casks give Old Pulteney its voluminous aroma and oily, velvety mouthfeel. Christmas spices around orange chocolate, honey sweetness with the freshness of green apples and everything that oak has to offer come together here. The single malt from the small inner-city distillery in the far north of Scotland is not chill-filtered and brilliantly shows with a pleasant 46% vol. what Highland whiskies have to offer.
Irish Whiskey of the year 2021
BUSHMILLS 21 YEARS IRISH WHISKEY
Irish whiskey is often somewhat overshadowed by its big Scottish brother - but with Bushmills 21 Years there is absolutely no reason for this. The all-around harmonious whiskey from the Northern Irish distillery - the oldest distillery in the country - was distilled three times in pot stills in typical Irish fashion and was allowed to spend a full 21 years in three different casks. Especially the two-year finish in Madeira barrels underpins the intense malt sweetness with fruity-spicy accents of raisins and orange marmalade. An exquisite headliner that serves as Ireland's premium whiskeys' proud flagship.
German Whiskey of the year 2021
STORK CLUB FULL PROOF RYE WHISKEY
Spreewood Distillers and its Stork Club are no longer strangers to the dynamic German whiskey world. Unlike most traditional distilleries, they focus exclusively on rye as the raw material for distilling - and it pays off. Spicy and harmonious comes the strong whiskey with 55% Vol., which was stored in both American and German oak barrels. Pithy rye bread and dark berries rise to the nose and remain present for a long time. If nothing else, Stork Club Full Proof Rye was designed for use at the bar and gives traditional American rye whiskeys some top-notch competition.
Whiskey international of the year 2021
SEVEN SEALS PEATED PORT WOOD FINISH
The surprise of the year comes from Switzerland. Seven Seals has been making headlines in the whiskey cosmos for several years now with a patented and well-kept secret for optimized acceleration of barrel aging. True to the credo "Time doesn't matter, taste matters," the goal is to be able to extract the aromas of a static barrel aging of ten and far more years in just a few years. Few details about the process are known, but the result is convincing all along the line with the Single Malt Port Wood Finish. Multi-layered peat smoke harmonizes with the heavy dried fruit sweetness from the port cask. There is still a lot of potential hidden in Switzerland.
All results as well as more information to the awarded whisk(e)ys can be found on the following pages.
The best whisk(e)ys of the year are presented in the following video, moderation by Director Degustation Christian Wolf with the two whisk(e)y experts Bernd Schäfer and Tim Allgaier (German language only):
