I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that Whisky Santa was good to you.

2015 comes to a close, so it’s time for my Top 10 Favorite Whiskies of 2015. But first of all, we need some preliminaries, just so we are all on the same page:

It goes without saying, but I have by far not reviewed every single whisky that have come out in 2015. So I have missed out on some really great whiskys. I know this. But I am perfectly fine with that, given the fact that I run this blog on my spare time, besides my studies and part-time job, and have limited resources at my disposal. With all that being said, I still managed to review 160 whiskys this year, which is not too shabby in my books. And that brings me directly to my next point.

For the sake of simplicity, I didn’t only include bottlings that were released in 2015. Every bottling was eligible to make it on the list, regardless of its actual release, as long as I have reviewed it in 2015, and regardless of its type: single malt, blend, bourbon, rye or whatever – it didn’t matter, as long as it was a whisky of some sort. The only limitation was that a distillery can be represented only one time, in order to make it as diversified as possible.

One last thing. Please keep in mind that this list is just my very personal opinion. I didn’t simply pick the rarest, oldest or most expensive whiskies nor the ones with the highest ratings. I just went through my notes and thought to myself “OK, if I really, really wanted to buy ten whiskys for my cabinet, regardless of availability and price, which ten would I chose?”. So hard decisions had to be made, but after some back and fourth, I am confident that I picked the ten best of 2015:

10. The Six Isles 10 Years Old Petrus Gaia Finish ( 2003 / 2014) – 90 points

Yes, there are indeed some superb blends out there, and this is one of them. This Blended Malt (or Vatted Malt in the good old days) is made of six different single malts, each one from one of the whisky producing Scottish islands, and was finished in wine casks from the Pertus Gaia vineyard in Bordeaux. The strong smokiness on the one side and the soft sweetness on the other side go well along with each other. Pretty much the best of both worlds.

 9. Aultmore 2007 (A. D. Rattray) – 90 points

Young single malts can be great as well, as shown by this truly great Aultmore. Different for sure and not the expected young sherry bomb, but very, very complex for its age.

 8. Dalmore 1990 (Cadenhead ‘Wood Range’) – 90 points

Rum finishes can be pretty tricky, and quite frankly, I didn’t expect that Dalmore and rum casks can work so well together. Oh boy was I wrong! This wonderful dram clicks (almost) all the right buttons for me. 

7. Elmer T. Lee Single Barrel – 91 points

Deep and rich, yet very accessible. Nothing is overpowering, everything is in the right place. A truly well-balanced bourbon of subtle elegance, named after the now passed away Elmer T. Lee, a true icon and pioneer in the world of bourbon whiskey. 

6. Clynelish 1996 ‘Single Cask Seasons – Spring 2015′ (SV for Kirsch Import) – 92 points

I am still not sure if this a typical spring-like whisky but, whatever the case, its a pretty excellent dram. A stunning combination between fruitiness, spiciness and waxiness.

5. Ben Nevis 1991 (SV ‘The Un-Chillfiltered Collection’) – 92 points

Robust and complex, even a bit maverick if you will – a text book example of  a great Ben Nevis.

4. KAVALAN Ex-Bourbon Oak – 92 points

To me, hands down, the best Single Malt from Kavalan I had so far. Just one gorgeous combination between first-fill bourbon casks and Kavalan’s signature exotic fruitiness.

3. Glenfarclas 1981 Port Pipe Edition – 93 points

It doesn’t have always to be sherry! No doubt, Glenfarclas also knows how to make port matured whisky. A highly pleasant and harmonic single malt with the right amount of complexity. Extraordinarily good!

2. Balcones Brimstone (BRM 14.8) – 95 points

Brimstone is made from 100% Blue Corn like other whiskys from Balcones, too. In a distinctive process not the grain but the whisky itself is smoked using sun-baked Texas scrub oak. This whisky rolls over you like an uncompromising bulldozer but in a extremely satisfying way. No prisoners taken! 

1. Laphroaig 2001 Old Particular Feis Ile Bottling 2015 (Douglas Laing) – 96 points

Douglas Laing’s first ever Feis Ile Bottling, a 14 Years Old Laphroaig from a refill butt, combines all the features of a classic Laphroaig with a rich sweetness for the extra “oomph”. An Absolutely brilliant and outstanding bottling and my personal favorite of 2015.

What were your whisky highlights of 2015? Comment below, let me know! And don’t forget, new episodes will come out on January 7th. Happy New Year!

I do not want to make this introduction too long so if you want to know more about my whisky related background you can have a look here. Anyway, my name is Christopher but you can also just call me Chris. I am 28 years old and live in Berlin. When I am not in the blogosphere I am a full time student.

I am big whisk(e)y enthusiast for over two years now. At the beginning of the year I decided to record my journey through the whisk(e)y world in the form of a blog. However my first blog (in German) had only a short life span of a few weeks due to reasons not really relevant here. Anyhow I decided to start a new blog and the result is dramlicious.com. As you will see I am quite avid when it comes to the “water of life” and place great value on honesty and independence in my tasting notes. However all those notes are just my very personal opinion. So please feel to disagree with me if needed because I do not see myself as some sort of self-proclaimed expert or guru. I am just here to share my experiences and to learn more about whisk(e)y and who knows, maybe some of you have fun to follow my constant search for dramlicious whiskies and whiskeys.

So without further ado, let’s see how I will structure this search. In order to give you all as much variety as possible I will blog a range of different series throughout the week:

• American Monday: All about Bourbon, Rye and Co. US Whiskey is still often underrated but every Monday I will try to show that there is not necessarily a need for doing so.
• Tasty Tastings: Every Tuesday and Thursday I will present non peated whiskies and whiskeys from Scotland and Ireland.
• Worldwide Wednesday: Nowadays there are more and more whisky producing countries. So join me every Wednesday on my expedition around the globe to discover interesting bottlings from those upcoming whisky nations.
• Peaty Friday: As the name already suggests its getting peaty every Friday with peated whiskies from Scotland (and Ireland).

Besides that I will provide all the information needed about regions, distilleries and independent bottlers. You can also check out the glossary if you like.

And if you do not have already enough of me you can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter. You can also get into direct contact with me using the contact form.

What else is to say? As you might can tell by now I am not a native English speaking person. However I hope my English is decent enough to make this here not a complete torture to read.

I guess that is all for now. Thanks for reading and I hope you will be back soon.

slàinte mhath!

Chris