Aberlour A'bunadh Batch #15 (59,6%, OB, Bottled +/- 2005)
TOP SHERRIED DRAM AWARD 2006 Oddly enough Aberlour never submitted their A'bunadh for our Awards.
Odd, because if they had checked the matrix or the monitor they would have seen that most maniacs consistently scored earlier batches in the upper 80's. So, this silver medal is no surprise. In fact, Davin, Krishna, Peter and Craig all felt it deserved a gold medal. My notes say: 'Rich & sweet. Polished. Right up my alley, a sherry monster. Some water unlocked the organics together with a touch of liquorice. Loads of wood on the palate, along with fruits. Highly recommendable in my book.' Davin wrote: 'Beautifully balanced sherry and licorice. Yummy, yummy, yummy.'

Adelphi 13yo 1992/2006 'Breath of Islay' (57,5%, Adelphi, C#5346, 275 Bts.)
Olivier, Peter and Ho-cheng were ready to go for gold on this one, but nine others felt that silver was enough.
I classified this as 'a gentle peat monster' and thought I found some similarities with another Awards entry that turned out to be a Caol Ila. Ho-cheng wrote: 'Beautiful fruity and smoky one. Well balanced.' Indeed - and it really performed well for its relatively tender age. Craig wrote: 'Another solid Islay. Ointment, liniment, lime, pine, bbq hotplate then tar and rubber- then peanuts and fresh lime juice. Syrup, tar rubber and some bitter citrus and burnt meat. Finish is more of the same- tar, rubber, cold fireplace and some charry metal. Has to be Ardbeg or Caol Ila or a peated Bruichladdich.'

Adelphi 15yo 1991/2006 'Breath of Speyside' (60,2%, Adelphi, C#5642, 615 Bts.)
With 7 votes for silver and 5 for gold this entry still made it to an average of gold. Four of the silver voters did so for the thickest medal possible: 89 points. Luc was one of those four jurors and wrote about the nose: 'Balsamic vinegar sherry nose, calvados apples, sour apples, caramel sauce, some toffee, brown burning sugar, smells like a Calvados, brown apple skin, the sherry is really clean, the Mon-Chérie is underneath, nicely melted.' I voted for gold and wrote (among other things): 'Hoolala! Beautiful! A sweet & fruity sherry monster. Tea? A tad rubbery? Incredibly interesting. Whiff of menthol or tiger balm. Leather, smoke & tannins on the palate. Quite extreme'. Probably the most affordable gold medal winner ever!

Adelphi 20yo 1985 'Breath of the Highlands' (54,8%, Adelphi, C#1065, 176 Bts.)
With nine nominations for bronze the medal is as solid as they come. There were just three notable exceptions; while Luc and Bert (who have 'a system') didn't think it was medal material Ho-cheng voted for silver. He wrote: 'Vanilla, citrus, fresh and robust, Very crispy feel'. My own notes say: 'Relatively restrained nose, but very pleasant with deep fruits on the palate. Sweet & solid. Loads of wood - but not too much. This one earns most points on the palate. The nose isn't too complex or expressive, but the balance on the palate and the mouth feel are great.' At the end of the day, the oldest of the three 'Breath' bottlings from Adelphi that won medals received the lowest (but still respectable) average score.

Aberlour 10yo (40%, OB, Bottled +/- 2006)
BANG FOR YOUR BUCK AWARD 2006 This 'standard' expression managed to beat quite a few 'premium' bottlings that were submitted this year. Eight maniacs felt this was 'medal material' and Craig, Peter & Bert even voted for silver. It's nice to see that in these harsh times, some of my old favorite sherry treats from the 1990's are still going strong. Craig wrote: 'Toffee, polished wood, oak, tobacco, leather, sweetly oaky rich sherry toffee and cream in palate. Orange zest, nut skins and orange bitters in finish. Speyside - maybe a Macallan.' Not quite, Craig - but for everybody living in parts of the world that only get 'Fine Oak' Macallans are available this is a pretty good alternative for the late great 12yo.

Ardbeg NAS 'Airigh Nam Beist' (46%, OB, Distilled 1990)
Craig was the only member of the jury not to nominate this for a medal, but with 79 points he came as close as possible. He wrote: 'Clean fruit and peat - palate has sour citrus and some bitterness, OK but nothing special'. Well, the opinions about that were divided... Serge voted for gold, as well as Ho-cheng who wrote: 'Fruity and sweet peaty malt. Thick body. Finished long and well.' I was fairly impressed as well and joined in the majority vote of six silver medals. My notes on this malt say: 'A polished Islay malt. Light and pleasant peat in the nose with more organics later on. This one grew on me over time. Dry and leathery on the palate - a smoker's whisky? It needs time but it's worth the wait.'

Ardbeg 'Still Young' 1998/2006 (56,2%, OB, 2nd Release)
Scores for this Ardbeg varied a lot (two votes for gold, five for silver and six for bronze) but at least everybody agreed that it deserved a medal. Krishna later admitted that his score of 93 points may have been just a tad generous - when he tried the same whisky in Vienna when he just arrived for the awards dramming he gave it 88 points. Craig wrote: 'Sweet peat and green notes (nettles, ferns, moss) then ointment smoked bacon, tar and carbolic. Big tar and white rubber in palate then green (ferns and resin) notes in back palate. Might be Laphroaig, Ardbeg or vatting.'
Quite right Craig - this was an Ardbeg that landed on the good side of bronze...

Arran 10yo (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2006)
Interestingly enough, this standard expression received the same average score as the NAS 100 Proof version. The 'standard deviation' was much less though, with this one receiving six votes for bronze and three for silver. Just like all other jurors that voted 'no', Craig came very close to bronze with 79 points. He wrote: 'Solidly fruity with tinned pineapple syrup dominant. Sweet and syruppy palate with nutmeal, toffee and quite unctuous. Oaky and nutty, with lots of bitter metal in tail. Nose is bronze but rest of package is not as good'. Be that as it may, the young Arran distillery has finally enough mature stocks to deliver a medal-winning 'standard' expression. Three cheers for Arran!

Arran NAS '100° Proof' (57%, OB, Bottled +/- 2006)
Davin's comments for this recent release were short and sweet; 'Real sippin' whisky - 89 points'.
I'm afraid that's the top score it got in the competition, but it received enough support for a bronze medal.
Serge wrote: 'Nose: strong, powerful, grainy and rather mashy at first nosing. Quite some vanilla crème, mashed potatoes, cereals. Faints hints of baby vomit (that's not negative), yoghurt sauce … nicely flowery (daisies, hints of lilies of the valley). Notes of sorrel and cider apples, a little mead and a slight farminess. As close to 'raw whisky' as it can get but certainly better than most of the crazy 'aromatised' versions. … It's good but I like the new regular 10yo a little better.'

Arran NAS 'Lepanto PX Finish' (59,4%, OB, Bottled 2006, 705 Bts.)
Arran has joined the brigade of distilleries that offers a wide range of relatively young 'finished' whiskies.
With some of the maniacs being devoted 'anti-finishing fundamentalists' it took balls to submit a finished whisky to the MM Awards, but this Gonzales Byass Brandy Finish made it. In fact, Peter voted for gold and it received three votes for silver as well - including 86 points from Craig. His notes say: 'Old & classy but a spirit bite in the nose and palate and bitterness in the tail take points off. Almost certainly 20+ years and interesting but not great'.
Erm... Considering Arran only started distilling in 1995, it can't quite be over 20 years old, Craig ;-)

Auchroisk 26yo 1979/2006 (56,7%, Signatory, Sherry C#25427, 592 Bts.)
This Auchroisk from Signatory Vintage didn't convince all maniacs, but thanks to four votes for silver and one for gold it still ends up with an average of bronze. Krishna was the golden boy this time and wrote: 'It is like medicine, herbal. Since I found the Indian overripe guava fruit for the first time in a malt I vote for gold (91 points)'. I personally gave it 84 points (almost silver) and wrote: 'A little weird… Hints of smoke. Something vaguely fruity. Opens up with time. More complexity after time when the sherried character becomes more obvious. Not quite silver in my book, though...'
Serge wrote: 'Bold notes of torrefaction, dry tealeaves and nougat, then quite some rum and raisins'.

Ayrshire 30yo 1975/2005 (48,9%, Wilson & Morgan, C#3376, 223 Bts.)
BLAST FROM THE PAST AWARD 2006  Seldom seen; a bottling from the long extinct Ladyburn distillery!
Luc gave it no less than 93 points (one of his highest scores) and wrote: 'A lovely dram, really a pleasure'.
Ho-cheng also voted for gold (just like Bert) and wrote: 'Vanilla & apple, Minty & malty. Creamy palate. Fruity one'.
I'm a fan of this bottling as well, although under the strain of the competition tasting by initial (disclosed) score of
90 points became a very solid (blind) 89 points. I wrote: 'Phew. This is pretty unique. Very old (rotting?) leather in the
nose. Oil on the palate. Seems not terribly expressive at first but shows a lot of subtle complexities if you pay attention.'

Ballechin #1 NAS (46%, Signatory Vintage, Burgundy matured, 6000 Bts.)
The 'magic formula' that we used to translate the individual scores into medals pushed this one just outside of silver territory - although some would argue that it actually deserved silver with seven votes for silver and even one for gold. However, most of the maniacs that didn't like it actually disliked it quite a bit. Scores in the 60's from Ho-cheng and Peter dragged it into bronze territory. Peter wrote: 'Extreme rubber' while at the other end of the love spectrum Krishna (the only one to vote for gold) wrote: 'Oh, this is an excellent stuff revealing itself in instalments'.
Well, this is clearly a love-it-or-hate-it whisky...

Benriach 10yo 'Curiositas' Peated Malt (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2006)
With four votes for silver and two for gold this was indeed a contender for a silver medal for a while.
Unfortunately Davin, Luc and Robert all ranked it as 'below average', pulling it down to an average of bronze.
Both votes for gold came from Asia; Ho-cheng and Krishna. It was actually the first gold medal candidate that Krishna encountered during his blind tastings. He wrote: 'Peat and syrup, Vitamin B complex, sweet licorice, organics in the rear. Port Ellen or Laphroaig?'. Not quite, Krishna, but although this particular expression didn't reach gold a lot of Benriachs actually did. Many of them were a bit older, but as far as young Benriachs go we were especially pleased with...

Benriach 11yo 1994/2005 (59,7%, Signatory Vintage, Port Pipe Finish)
(Heavily peated, Cask #05/355/1, 863 Bottles) Some maniacs are 'allergic' to finishes and generally speaking there were quite a few finished whiskies that didn't earn a medal at all this year. However, this was an exception to the rule. Davin gave it 90 points and wrote: 'Islay delight or damn good Islay wanna be'. Indeed! I have to admit I voted for gold as well (91) - and so did Luc and Bert. With seven more votes for silver this earns a very solid medal. All in all the peat monsters didn't do quite as well as in previous years (are our palates developing?) but on the overall hit list this one beat the latest batch of the Laphroaig 10yo Cask Strength - one of the big competition winners of last year.

Benriach 21yo 1984/2006 (55%, OB, Oloroso Sherry C#2712, 658 Bts.)
Peter found 'ozone' in this whisky and I noticed that comment in more tasting notes this year. A trend?
Davin (who voted for a big fat gold medal with 92 points) was his usual concise self and wrote: 'Beautifully integrated nose - sherry, malt and peat smoke'. Craig wasn't quite as impressed but still managed to write a few lovely tasting notes of his own; 'Sour leafiness, some sweet berries, some blackberry vine, ointment and raspberry - might be a wine finish. Palate is syruppy with sour leaves and leather, some peat and ointment. finish has some burning leaves, tar and a reprise of sour berries - a port finish? Has some artificial berry sweetness in the nose - but pleasant enough overall'.

Benriach 25yo (50%, OB, Bottled +/- 2006)
Those Belgians certainly love Benriach. Luc nominated five of the Benriachs that were submitted this year for a gold medal (Bert went for four) but in this particular case Luc was the only one to vote for gold. Davin wrote: 'I probably should have rated this lower but I love dill pickles'. Well, rest assured that your score of 82 points was actually close to the overall average of 83 points, Davin. I guess this is a perfect illustration of the adagium that older isn't neccessarily better - three younger expressions (the 10yo and 21yo OB's and the 11yo Port pipe finish from Signatory) earned a higher average score than this 25yo. But then again this wasn't the only fairly disappointing 25yo OB this year...

Benriach 26yo 1980/2006 (55%, OB, New oak C#2535, 238 Bts.)
Davin found berries in this malt - Craig found those in the 21yo - and described it as 'Oddly wonderful'.
As such, he voted for gold, together with Peter and Luc, I must admit I wasn't quite as enthusiastic but still liked it; 'Soft and sweetish nose at first. Very pleasant but not terribly expressive. Starts sweet on the palate as well, with a lovely sherried center slowly evolving. Silver - but not the upper 80's. A tad too woody for my tastes - not the best wood'. You want a second opinion?. OK, how about Craig's: 'Nose starts nice (oaky, nutty vanilla toffee) but gets rattier and oily - palate is very young and aggressive - big oaky finish with Speyside metal - bitey with aggressive spirit'. I guess it's the new oak...

Benriach 29yo 1976/2006 (56%, OB, Hogshead #8084, 194 Bts.)
Blind tasting can give you the craziest ideas. Luc guessed this was an Arran. Not quite, Luc - when this was distilled Arran wasn't even built yet ;-) This one received four votes for gold. Together with Peter, Craig was the only maniac NOT to nominate this for a medal. He wrote: 'Woody with cedar, straw, oak, polished wood and some tinned pineapple. Palate has lots of sour grass, resin and herbs. Back palate is very sour and finish is more soursobs, sour wood and cream toffee. Has to be Irish and more likely a potstill than a single malt. Has those green grassy unmalted grain notes'.
Oh, Craig.... Irish? It's always dangerous to write down your guesses - they might come back to haunt you.

Benriach 30yo (50%, OB, Bottled +/- 2006)
Confronted with this one Ho-cheng wrote: 'Sherry influence, plum, cream chocolate, fishery, spicy, unusual style. Elegant'. Well, elegant it may be - but that's not always everything the maniacs look for in a malt. I couldn't help but notice that the 26yo and 29yo official single cask bottlings earned higher scores. Nevertheless, I loved it to the tune of 88 points and wrote: 'Rich and polished. Whiffs of peat, diesel and organics lurking in the background. Tea? Lapsang Souchong. Very refined, deep fruitiness on the palate. Beautiful! Almost like a 'liquid jam'. Touch of wood and some leather as well - just enough to add to the balance. The wood grows a little too dominant towards the finish for me, though'.

Benriach 37yo 1968/2006 (52%, OB, Hogshead #2712, 157 Bts.)
SUPREME PEATED MALT AWARD 2006 No less than 8 maniacs nominated the oldest Benriach in the competition for gold. I gave it a whopping 93 points and wrote: 'Woody, Polished. Some strange fruits. Cassis. Strawberry jam? Faintest hint of peat? Clynelish? Relatively subtle in the nose but I like it. The nose is a tad light for my tastes but it's definitely hugely enjoyable. Black currants? Quite unusial how the 'cassis' dominates. Over time more organics in the nose. Very interesting. The tannins are lovely. Quite unique. Reached the 90's after I gave it enough time (and water!). Great stuff...'. Hey... I found 'jam' in the 30yo OB as well. Could that perhaps be a 'marker' for old Benriachs?

Benrinnes 1993/2006 (57,9%, Jean Boyer, BCoSC, Sherry cask)
(Best Cask of Scotland Collection). Was this actually 'the best cask of Scotland' - or at least one of them?
Well, not according to Peter who gave it only 50 points! Craig, Luc and Robert didn't see this as medal material either, but fortunately the rest of the jury disagreed. In fact, Ho-cheng's fancy was particularly tickled. He voted for a gold medal and wrote: 'Very nice nose, nutty with white chocolate. Highland style. Very strong in palate'. Craig found other interesting traits here: 'Initially sweet and woody but gets dirtier - sour nectarines. Palate has a woody bite and sour fruit then a strange metallic fruit fizziness. Finish is woody and tingly. Something suplhurry in the in the back palate'.

Blair Athol 15yo 1990/2006 (61,4%, Blackadder Raw Cask, C#7161, 483 Bts.)
(First fill bodega sherry cask #7161, 483 Bts.) All Davin wrote was: 'Rich and hot and sweet and delicious'.
He went for a score of 91 points - just like Bert. Like five others I voted for silver myself, writing: 'Quite subtle at first. Big, sweet and fruity on the palate - and quite hot. Clear and present tannins. It gradually climbed to 88 points. A splash of water dulled the nose at first, but after a minute some extra layers emerged. Rubber. Too bad there's something perfumy or soapy on the palate keeping it from the 90's'. Craig voted for silver as well and wrote: 'Very very interesting - probably of venerable age and at cask strength. Spirit gets a tad bit aggressive in the nose - but a mighty dram for all that'.

Blairfindy 30yo 1976/2006 (49,4%, Blackadder Raw Cask, Sherry C#4)
(Sherry Cask #4, 296 Bottles) Luc - who scored this the lowest of all jurors - wrote on the nose: 'Nice fine kinda leathery sherry, a bit tired smell, rum-nut-chocolate but, shift downwards, wet dog fur, wet hay, humus, odd nature aroma's'. His notes for the taste say: 'Meaty kinda taste with a bitter undertone, a bit of the bad sherry kinda taste here, the wet dog animal notes come thru quite heavily, a tad too dirty for my palate. 71 points'. Really, Luc? But... Isn't your nickname 'Mister Glenfarclas'? And isn't Blairfindy a code name for Glenfarclas? Fortunately, with seven votes for silver (and two for gold) this one landed comfortably in 'silver' territory. Personally, I actually preferred it over the 40yo expression.

Blairfindy 40yo 1965/2006 (51,7%, Blackadder Raw Cask, Sherry C#1850)
(Sherry Cask #1850, 194 Bottles) Luc Timmermans (Mr. Glenfarclas) was convinced he tasted a Benriach.
Afraid not, Luc - a Glenfarclas by any other name... Interestingly enough, this ended up just a notch below Blackadder's 30yo expression on our overall 'Hit List'. So, if you're looking for 'Bang For Your Buck' that's probably a better alternative. However, you don't find a lot of 40yo whiskies these days - especially ones that were not taken over by the wood.
Craig wrote: 'Toffee nougat, bit of wood prickle. Sweet wood, cream and cherry ripe. Palate is sweet and sour with good weight - quite unctuous. Cherries, nutskins, metal tingle, cream and then woody metallic. Pretty clean and balanced package'.

Bowmore 15yo 1990/2006 (53,1%, Spirit Safe, Hogshead #3351, 270 Bts.)
Comparing the results for the two Bowmores that were submitted this year is a very interesting exercise.
While the scores for the 1991 SSMC bottling were 'all over the place' (3 x gold, 2 x silver and 6 x bronze) this Spirit Safe bottling received nine votes for silver. Craig wrote: 'Cream and light peat. A whiff of ozone then some tequila like sour grass fresh fruit (apples & pears) and cream. Slightly sour tropical fruit, zingy citrus cream and metal but very quick - a ghost palate. Bitter lemon-oak, white rubber and a hint of metal in a fading finish - very light - almost a gin and tonic'.
Davin wrote: 'If this had more colour I'd swear it was a finish. It's strange, the smoke comes and goes'.

Bowmore 1991/2005 (59,6%, Scotch Single Malt Circle, C#575)
Luc found this Bowmore 'too bizar' but Serge absolutely loved it with a 'gold' score of 94 points.
And he kept going on and on and on about it too. He wrote: 'Nose: lots of power, really explosive, starting on gingerbread, leather and pipe tobacco. Hugely complex... Superb notes of espresso coffee, balsamic vinegar, bitter caramel, wine and meat sauce, cocoa. Goes on with hints of game… Really beautiful and really special. With water: gets a bit farmier as often, with notes of 'good' manure, horse stable, new plastic (which is nice here), brand new car… And also lots of clove ... gingerbread and leather. Amazing. A fabulous whisky in my books ... and one that will put you in a good mood just like that'.

Brora 24yo 1981/2006 (59,3%, Signatory, Sherry C#1517, 597 Bts.)
With six votes for silver, three for bronze and three for gold this lands firmly in the middle of silver territory.
Together with Krishna and Luc, Ho-cheng voted for gold. He wrote: 'Start fruit? Unbelievable. Very nice and reminds you of some old memories'. Of course, Serge liked it too, writing 'This one is very demonstrative right at first nosing, starting a Clynelishesque waxiness plus lots of fruits (mostly bitter oranges), getting then rather farmy (wet hay, grain barn). Truly superb. Then we have something resinous coming through, with notes of pine resin and tiger balm… And then fresh apricots and almonds. Again, superb. Very good – there wasn't only peat in Brora's life!'. And that's just on the nose...

Brora 30yo (56.3%, OB, Bottled 2005, 3000 Bts.)
HIGHLANDS AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2006  Two earlier releases of Brora 30yo (2003 & '04) both won gold.
Now this third release makes it a hat trick... This one received nine votes for gold, making it the second highest scoring whisky of the 2006 Awards. Yes, we obviously all love this expression of Brora. Well, except for Craig who gave it just 73 points and stands by his score to this day. Well, I guess that's something we agree to disagree on. I wrote: 'Smooth nose that suggests loads of hidden complexities. Hint of coffee? Leathery. The faintest hint of baby vomit at first, but that vanishes soon. Subtle peat & organics. Fruits as well. Gold! A lovely package; well integrated and entertaining'.

Bruichladdich 12yo (46%, OB, Second Edition, Bottled +/- 2006)
It's no secret that Serge is one of the biggest Bruichladdich supporters amongst the maniacs. However, in this particular case the only juror to vote for gold was Bert. This Laddie received one vote for silver as well (Krishna) but the majority put it at bronze just like Serge, who wrote: 'Nose: fragrant, fruity ... huge notes of gooseberries, melons, tangerines, bananas plus a little acacia honey and orange cake. As fruity as it can get – a designed whisky indeed. Mouth: very coherent. Lots of citrus fruits, oranges, honey, even mangos ... nutmeg, white pepper. Vanilla. The finish isn't too long but balanced and clean, with an enjoyable oaky dryness ... Very sweet – much sweeter than the 10yo - but certainly well made'.

Bruichladdich NAS '3D3' (46%, OB, The Norrie Campbell Tribute, 3rd Edition) 
Three medals for Bruichladdich this year - and this one came closest to silver. In fact, five jurors actually voted for silver (Serge, Krishna, Michel, Bert & Thomas) but a majority of seven said: bronze. Michel wrote: 'Nose: Peaty, farmy, stingy cedar wood, tobacco leaves, black pepper. Hints on chloride. After a while some blue smoke emerges, chervil, dried chives. Some smoked cheese, over-ripe melon, chartreuse? Dark notes on honey. Water brings in an ultra cleanness. The chloride gains some power. Palate: Quite peaty & smoky, honey, creamy malt, sweet licorice, ultra creamy mouth feel. Straw, old sweet wine, humus, cedar wood, lime skin. Finish: Peppery malts, oak, vanilla, crème brulée, Lovely oilyness'.

Bruichladdich 'Fifteen' 2nd Edition (46%, OB, Bottled +/- 2006)
Four votes for 'thick' silver (Serge, Krishna, Ho-cheng and Peter) couldn't help it to an actual silver medal.
Michel didn't even think it was medal material and wrote: 'Nose: Malty, a tad rough, some vanilla, hints on soap, lemon peel, brown bread, subtle mandarin juice in the back ground. Lemon grass as well. Water brings out some dried sausages, lemon grass, curry leaves. Palate: As the nose suggests, malty, a tad soapy, hints on pine resin, vanilla, white pepper and some sharp oak. Water brings out heathery malts, the soap gets a bit more powerful. Lilacs, hints on bergamot oil. Finish: Quite severe burn, too much oak for the spirit to stand up to. Water brings out a less severe oak and brown bread'.

Bunnahabhain 12yo (40%, OB, Second Edition, Bottled +/- 2006)
TOP PURE DRAM AWARD 2006 A bronze medal winner may not look like the most likely candidate for one of the coveted Malt Maniacs Awards, but the six 'daily dram awards' focus on the affordable and easily available entries. And in that respect this Bunnahabhain performs very well. Craig was responsible for the lowest score (still an 'above average' 78 points) and wrote: 'Nose starts like an Islay on the cusp of Silver (probably Caol Ila) but there's something dodgy in the palate - a wood fault. There's a metallic zinginess that indicates a wood fault'. Well, it seems most jurors liked it just fine, Craig. I still have an instinctive craving for peat in my islay malts, but it's a great, affordable dram.

Bunnahabhain 27yo 1978/2006 (55,6%, Signatory, Sherry C#2542, 509 Bts.)
Only Bert Bruyneel didn't feel this was medal material, but since he didn't spend nearly enough time with some of his awards malts I don't think we should take his 59 points too seriously. Serge was one of eight maniacs to vote for silver here (clearly the majority vote) and wrote: 'Nose starts on ambergris and quite some vanilla. Also something slightly metallic (copper saucepan), lilies of the valley, mastic, argan oil, suntan lotion, paper, plastic (new car)… Wet stones and chalk, seltzer… And then the sherry comes through, after a good five minutes... more classical: sultanas, rancio, soy sauce, parsley, a little fresh mint, caramel crème… Very entertaining if you give this one a little time!'. See, Bert?

Bushmills 1993 (56,5%, OB for La Maison du Whisky, Bourbon C#298, Ireland)
(Official bottling for La Maison du Whisky Paris, Bourbon C#298) The Irish didn't do quite as well as the Japanese this year, but the mere fact that a 'simple' Irish whisky wins a silver medal is a surprise in itself. In fact, Olivier, Krishna and Michel all voted for Gold. Luc thought it could be a Longmorn and I can see why - this single cask bottling has a 'Scotch' complexity. Craig wrote: 'Spirit grapefruit zest, talcum powder, icing sugar sucrose - syrup rounded but a bit fiery and some bitterness. Cream and fruit bitters and lingering sour herbs - another Irish?'. Indeed Craig, you spotted it!
And a good one too - quite different from the regular Bushmills bottlings I've tried so far...

Caol Ila 12yo 1992/2005 (50%, Douglas Laing OMC, 388 Bts.)
Our sponsors submitted almost a dozen Caol Ila's this year and except for this one they all won silver. And as bronze medals go, this Old Malt Cask bottling received a fairly 'thick' one with an average score between 83 and 84 points. I went for 83 points myself and wrote: 'Light, fresh & peaty nose. Not terribly complex but very enjoyable. Some subtle organics emerge over time. Very nicely defined peat on the palate. The 'young' tannins are very apparent in the finish'. The golden boy for this malt was Ho-cheng with 90 points. Craig wrote: 'Sweet peat, citrus, dry rubber, peanuts & sweet lemon sherbet & some clean fresh cream. Peat tar rubber, citrus pith - a bit bitter. Tar, fireplaces, some metal. Long & warming'.

Caol Ila 1994/2005 (58,2%, Gordon & MacPhail Cask, C#12423 & 12424)
(First fill sherry butts #12423 & 12424) Together with Bert I actually voted for gold, but the majority vote said silver. Luc was the only juror who didn't like it, writing: 'Must be a Port Ellen from the 1980's'. Oh, how these blind tastings shame us sometimes ;-) Meanwhile, Craig liked it a little better (bronze), describing it as: 'Berry sweetness early, then nuttiness, meatiness roast meat, roast capsicum skins, baked pork with apples, bacon and tar. Big winey notes on palate then tar rubber and smoke. A wood finished Islay - almost certainly another weirdski.' Erm... No, not finished I think, Craig - but I have to admit that judging from their notes a few other jurors struggled to identify it as a relatively young Caol Ila.

Caol Ila 1995/2006 (58,2%, Jean Boyer, BCoSC, 300 Bts.)
(Best Cask of Scotland Collection, Re-coopered Hogsheads, 300 Bts.) Just like the 1994 G&M bottling this one received two votes for gold - from Ho-cheng & Peter this time. And again the majority vote put it at silver. As always, Ho-cheng's comments were short and sweet; 'Deep and peaty. Strong. Simple but good'. Meanwhile, Craig was a little more articulate with his words of wisdom: 'Tropical fruit, cream, very light, some paper and a whiff of coal smoke - some struck match swampy marsh gas character, palate is a bit hot with some chargrilled lemon- finish has charcoal and ash, citrus, and bitter metal - more lemon notes with water. OK but a bit light, too hot and bitter'.

Caol Ila 1996/2006 (57%, Berry Brothers & Rudd)
Michel & Thomas were the only maniacs who didn't think this deserved a medal. Well, with six votes for silver (and even two for gold, courtesy of Olivier and Ho-cheng) it clearly does. I personally kept bouncing between bronze and silver for a long time and wrote: 'Light. Melon. Paint? Hint of light smoke. Very pleasant on the palate - hey, is that peat? Indeed, loads of peat on the palate. but it's a light style like Bruichladdich or Caol Ila - or a very young Kildalton malt perhaps? The amount of peat suggests Caol Ila. Enjoyable, but this is another one that needs time'.
Ho-cheng wrote: 'Grassy, mint banana, light peat. Gets peatier when adding water'.

Caol Ila 1993/2005 (46%, Wilson & Morgan)
This offering from Italian bottler Wildon & Morgan received one vote for gold and seven for silver. Krishna was the only maniac that didn't nominate it for a medal and even then his score was very close to medal territory with 78 points. Davin wrote: 'A solid Islay workhorse'. Craig was the golden boy here, writing: 'Big peat, sweet, hint of lemon, tennis shoe rubber, coriander leaves, lime zest then tar. Potato pie, some Asian egg dish. Palate has lemon, white rubber and tar. Fireplaces, dry coke with a metallic note in the tail - BBQ meat fat. Most probably Ardbeg and could even be the OB 10. But very nice'. Ah... NOT the Ardbeg 10yo Craig (to me it seemed a tad too clean for that), but indeed very nice.

Caol Ila 15yo 1991/2006 (56,7%, Dewar Rattray, Bourbon C#743, 315 Bts.)
Another Caol Ila to receive a nominations for gold along the majority vote of nine silvers. In this case Davin was the golden boy, inspired to write this cryptic comment: 'Drinkin' in the hay pitch'. I don't know what that means, but I assume it's something good ;-) Craig wrote: 'Straw, fruit acid, subdued peat which grows stronger - slightly medicinal - lemon dishwashing liquid, tonic water and ginger - peat more obvious in the palate with white rubber - could be an Ardbeg'. Well, I can see why you thought that, Craig. Most young Caol Ila's tend to be fairly clean and transparent, but this one showed a lot of the 'organics' I generally find in the Kildalton whiskies; Ardbeg, Lagavulin and Laphroaig.

Caol Ila 15yo 1990/2005 (55%, Wilson & Morgan, C#4709/4710, 600 Bts.)
This was one of Peter's favorite Caol Ila's this year (he voted for gold) and with nine more votes for silver this earns a very solid medal. Overall, it was the 4th highest scoring Caol Ila in 2006. My notes say: 'Fairly restrained nose opening up quickly. Peat! Pretty solid on the palate with plain peat, although it doesn't really have a unique style of its own. Pleasant tannins in the finish… Good but a little simple - it feels just a tad too rough on the palate for my tastes'. Craig (85 points) wrote: 'Ointment, smoked meat, tar sweet unguent sweet rubber, dry perfumed smoke. Tar and spirit, creosote and coking coal, oily and phenolic palate. Spirit, charry notes old fireplaces, some burning leaves'.

Caol Ila 21yo 1984/2006 (58,5%, Dewar Rattray / Nectar, C#6266, 251 Bts.)
ISLAY AWARD OF EXCELLENCE 2006  (Dewar Rattray for 'The Nectar' in Belgium, Refill Bourbon cask)
None of the Caol Ila's that were submitted this year managed to win gold, but this one came closest. In fact, it even beat the Kildalton 'establishment' (Port Ellen, Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Lagavulin) at this year's MM Awards. Serge wrote: 'Nose: Whiffs of manure & horse dung. Smokiness & minerality, ... black currants (fruits & leaves), violets, liquorice, incense. Seltzer, stones and horseradish and probably an added farminess but no butter this time. Top class Caol Ila, it seems. Another punchy Caol Ila for true big boys, showing that Caol Ila gets even better when above twenty years of age'.

Caol Ila 25yo 1979/2005 (58,4%, OB)
The only official bottling in the line up of Caol Ilas this year was distilled in 1979 - just like the two next expressions on this list. But I'm afraid that compared to the 'thick' silver of those two, this one fell just a little bit short. Craig voted for bronze (just like four other maniacs) and wrote: 'Varnish, pine oil, citrus, sweet peat, tonic water, peanuts and honey then lots of sour grass. Lots of resin and sappy wood notes. Palate has syrup, honey & some tart fruit, sour citrus then tar and rubber. Tastes like a peated Irish'. Oh Craig, your notes always sound so erudite and thoughtful - right up to the very end when you often shatter those illusions with a wild - and in this case incorrecct - guess ;-)

Caol Ila 26yo 1979/2006 (62,8%, Signatory Vintage, Hogshead #05/848, 217 Bts.)
This was our second favourite Caol Ila of almost a dozen that were submitted this year. Eight jurors voted for silver and Olivier even went for gold. Serge wrote: 'Nose: Starts on notes of caramel and parsley, celery… Even less peat and smoke but more resin, fern, moss, wet leaves. Quite some marzipan as well, candle wax. Smoked tea. Gets even meatier with time, also notes of old books. With water: much more peat now, hints of manure, wet hay, porridge. More fresh herbs as well, parsley, lovage. Mouth (neat): slightly sweeter, than the OB, with notes of sherry, something slightly sour and again quite some salt. Finish: rather long again, with notes of something like tequila, walnut skins'.

Caol Ila 1979/2006 (61,8%, Jean Boyer, BCoSC)
(Best Cask of Scotland Collection, Re-coopered Hogsheads) The self-applied title 'best Cask of Scotland' might be just a tad presumptuous, but this still came in as our third favorite Caol Ila this year. This independent bottling managed to beat some old Islay favorites like the Lagavulin 16yo and the Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Yes, Caol Ila is still on the rise and it seems 1979 must have been a particularly good year at the distillery. Luc gave it the highest score of all jurors (92 points) and wrote: 'Lovely Caol Ila that is multi-dimensional and clean and austere, and very long in the finish, a true Islay expression with a nice farmy undertone, I love it!'. Indeed Luc, you got this one right! Agreed, lovely Caol Ila...

Cardhu 22yo 1982/2005 (57,8%, OB, 3600 Bts.)
Hmmm... I have to admit that I didn't even nominate it for a medal (and neither did Craig, Michel and Luc) but on the other hand there were also four maniacs (Serge, Krishna, Peter and Bert) who confidently voted for gold. So, this was a contender for the 'Love-It-Or-Hate-It Award'. The jurors that loved this Cardhu loved it enough to help it reach the very top of the bronze list - as close to silver as possible. Craig may not have nominated it for a medal, but he still found stuff to love and wrote: 'Sour fruit, some wood, fruit tingles, some charry notes and some savoury dough nose gets more sonorous. Lemon pith and chewy oak in palate. Bitter melon, metal and a hint of honey'. 

Carsebridge 1965/2006 (46%, Berry Brothers, Rare Reserve, Single Grain)
A very solid silver medal; nine scores in the upper 80's. For a moment we even thought this won the 'grain award'.
In fact, this was one of the rare cases where EVERYBODY on the jury agreed it deserved a medal. The lowest score (still a respectable 81 points) came from 'new kid on the block' Robert. I liked it a lot and wrote: 'Clay. Some light spices & organics? Smoke? The nose is a little bit weird, but very interesting. Smooth (VERY smooth), sweet & solid on the palate. Toffee? Salmiak? Hint of leather? There's a smoothness (vanilla?) that reminded me of the Greenore Irish grain'.
Luc wrote: 'This must be a grain whisky and it is a nice one' - and then picked it as a Girvan ;-)

Chieftain's 'The Cigar Malt' 12yo 1992/2005 (51,5%, Chieftain's Choice)
(Cask #90201, Speyside, Port Pipe, 900 Bts.) Scores and opinions were strongly divided here; Ho-cheng went ga-ga over it with 92 points and wrote 'Apple, citrus, very sweet, seems like Port finish. But I still like it'. Meanwhile, Luc had an entirely different opinion: 'I simply don't like this camouflaging whisky style I'm afraid.... Stop this finishing please!'. Davin also thought this might be a port finish during the blind tastings. Well spotted, fellows. And although there's still disagreement amongst the maniacs about the 'concept' of finishing the results speak for themselves it seems. Actually, Luc... looking over the 'bronze' list I noticed that this actually out-scored your beloved Glenfarclas 21yo ;-)

Clynelish 1997/2006 (43%, Jean Boyer, BCoSC)
(Best Cask of Scotland Collection, Re-coopered Hogsheads) Luc was the only juror to nominate this Clynelish for gold (91 points) and wrote: 'Great dram, enjoyment in pure lime, spring aroma's'. Serge and Bert enjoyed it a lot too and voted for silver - but the majority opinion eventually put it at bronze. Michel wrote: 'Nose: Grassy and lemony. lemon grass, subtle lime juice, cake dough, vanilla. Some licorice, canvas ropes. Added water brings out a heathery, soapy feel even more lemon now. Palate: Quite neutral. some subtle vanilla, butter, lemon grass, hay, white pepper and licorice. Added water brings out soapy malts and heathery oak... Finish: Some citrus skin, white pepper and faint licorice. Not very impressive'.

Clynelish 11yo 1994/2005 (58,9%, TWE The Single Malts of Scotland, C#4011)
(The Whisky Exchange, Sherry cask, 367 Bottles) This wasn't the highest scoring Clynelish amongst the six medal winners this year, but considering that the two other silver medal winners and the gold medal winner were three times as old this one performed VERY well. Serge wrote: 'Nose: A little clean & smoky, less yeasty and also more on hot butter and pastry, plus 'waxiness'. Mouth: hot and spirity, with the sherry adding another layer. It then calms down a bit, letting some nice notes of dried oranges and wax coming through, as well as, again, cloves and pepper – even chilli and harissa. But it doesn't get as bitter… Now, it does need a few drops of water otherwise it's too burning (Tabasco is easier to drink, err…)'.

Clynelish 1992/2005 (46%, Berry Brothers, C#7168)
This Clynelish actually came quite close to winning a silver medal (as Olivier, Ho-cheng and Michel felt it should), but it turned in as the 9th highest scoring bronze medal winner. And I should probably point out once more that 'bronze' at the MM Awards isn't a 'consolation' prize. In order to earn bronze, the average score (determined by a dozen individual BLIND scores from the jury) has to be at least 80 points - which means 'recommendable' in our book. And also keep in mind that the 'medal' is an AVERAGE. In this particular case, Serge and Peter both voted for a gold medal with their scores of 90 points. I wrote: 'Bubblegum? If it had been any sweeter I would have thought it was a liqueur'.

Clynelish 32yo 1972/2005 (49,9%, TWE The Single Malts of Scotland, C#15619)
(The Whisky Exchange, Hogshead #15619, 226 Bts.) Olivier (who voted for a whopping gold medal with 96 points) guessed this was either Glenfiddich or Clynelish. Right! Ho-cheng who scored it at 89 points wrote: 'Apple and orange, medium peat, A little bit soapy but not bad. Long finished'. Craig really didn't like this and was the only one NOT to vote for a medal. He wrote: 'Quite sour and bitter - grapefruit, underripe melon, lime and cream, then syrup and honey - solid but a little dull. Palate syrup, citrus pith, quite bitey sour lemon and some tonic water. Finish is warming with citrus, metal some sour stone fruit metal and herbs. Probably a Lowland OP. OK but lacks a bit of interest'.

Clynelish 32yo 1974/2006 (58,6%, The Whisky Fair, 266 Bts.)
SUPREME BOURBON CASK AWARD 2006 (Bourbon Hogshead, 266 Bottles) Ho-cheng's comments on this malt were short and sweet as usual: 'Extremely good palate & finish. Big and matured well'. I have to admit I wasn't quite as blown away as Ho-cheng (who gave it 94 points) but still liked it a lot. I wrote: 'Subtle & delicate. Most of the interesting stuff happens quietly in the background at first. Faint pinch of peat on the palate? Some very subtle fruits as well before the tannins kick in. With a splash of water the nose quickly opened up. Hey, now I got some leather in the nose. A little delicate for my tastes but hugely interesting and enjoyable. I think you need a good nose to enjoy this to the fullest, though'.

Clynelish 33yo 1973/2006 (54,3%, Prestonfield, C#8912, 405 Bts.)
Bert really didn't like this expression (he gave it an astonishing 62 points and called it 'the grimace whisky) but most maniacs disagreed - Serge and Luc even to the tune of 95 and 94 points respectively. This whisky perfectly illustrates that a medal in the MM Awards is an average of the opinions of a dozen different maniacs. Sometimes those opinions are in almost perfect alignment, but in other cases we just have to agree to disagree. I voted for bronze and wrote: 'Nose: Light & gentle, with some added depth. Maybe just a tad forgettable? The fruits on the palate are beautiful though, almost like a cognac. Very obvious wood on the palate - a bit much for me. Great whisky, just not really my 'style'.

Compass Box NAS 'Eleuthera' (46%, Compass Box, Bottled +/- 2006)
Although this expression from John Glaser's Compass Box received 'just' a bronze medal, all but one juror agreed it deserves a medal. That one juror was yours truly, I'm afraid - but I still gave it 78 points which is pretty close to bronze. Two other jurors voted for silver (Michel & Thomas) and all others agreed on bronze. The Eleuthra is a vatted malt that earned an average score not far behind our overall favorite of the three Compass Box whiskies, the 'Peat Monster'. Michel wrote: 'More peaty than smoky. Subtle notes on nutmeg, fresh tobacco leaves. After a while it gets more sweet and heavy. Develops clean sulphur after a while. Palate: As the nose, more peaty than smoky. Some gun powder'.

Compass Box NAS 'Hedonism' (43%, Compass Box, Bottled 2006)
Here's something you don't see every day: a vatted grain whisky... It doesn't reach the heights of some of the single grains that were submitted this year - but then again I imagine this is in a much 'friendlier' price category.
Robert wrote: 'First impression is flour sugar. Then more sugar and then lots of ripe sweet pears. Super candy and obviously very bourbonish. Also slightly grappa-ish in the nose, young? But not bad. Tastewise it doesn't live up to the sugar tooth nose. It turns into less ripe pears and instead of fruity it turns malty, slightly dour and spirity. Edgy.
Still the end result is lifted by the nose to almost medal material in my book'.

Compass Box NAS 'The Peat Monster' (46%, Compass Box, Bottled 2006)
When we had to decide on which 'awards' to hand out this year this bronze medal winner came into view as a possible 'Prime Peaty Dram Award' winner, together with Wilson & Morgan's House Malt. However, the rules for the 'daily dram' awards say that the bottles have to be 'easily available everywhere' - and it seems both are relatively small batches. Consequentially, that award went to the more expensive Laphroaig 15yo - but if you stumble across a bottle of this 'Peat Monster' it's certainly worth a try. If it happens to be the same batch we received, you can drink the whisky that enticed Peter to nominate it for what must be the thickest gold medal ever with 98 points! So, this hit the spot for Peter...

Connemara NAS (40%, OB, Peated single malt, Ireland)
It's nice to see the Irish (in this case Cooley) manage to earn themselves a few medals as well this year.
It's no secret that many maniacs (and therefor many members on the jury) like peaty whiskies and for a while I worried that the fairly 'gentle' peaty style of Connemara might cause it to fade into the background. Fortunately not; this received nine votes for bronze and even one for silver (85 points from Bert). Luc wrote: 'Nose: Fairly simple sweet, malted barley, some wet grain, warm bread with a touch of peach, nice but simple. Palate: A bit weak on the palate, you get the malted barley, the grain, the bread, warm peaches a whiff of pepper, nice but fairly simple. An ok dram, but simple'.

Connemara NAS Cask Strength (58,8%, OB, Peated single malt, Ireland)
Ho-cheng described it perfectly when he wrote: 'Peaty & malty. Young, light body. Enjoyable, you don't need to think'.
I have to agree here. Maybe this Irish peated malt isn't such a peat monster as some of the entries from Islay (or even mainland Scotland) but it's a perfect 'easy' peated malt that should go down relatively smoothly, even with people that may not usually be fond of heavily peated whiskies. Robert wrote: 'Pears (I always find pears) and other more exotic fruits in slight amounts. Also a certain saltiness combined with some darker tones, "stable" makes it quite interesting indeed. Unfortunately the taste is a tad simple. Malty sweetness, veery slight fruits and it feels quite strong. That's it'.

Convalmore 28yo 1977/2005 (57,9%, OB, 3900 Bts.)
Krishna and Luc voted for gold here, as well as Ho-cheng who wrote: 'Heather, light peat. Beautiful flower nose, hint of mint. Young but has lot's characters, you really feel some touching moment'. With three more votes for silver and five for bronze, this averages out as a silver medal. Craig wrote: 'Lots of bourbon wood character toffee syrup and honey. Palate is shows spirit, syrup and sour herbs. Finish has metal and cream honey and oak - long and warming - gets points for palate presence'. I voted for silver too and commented: 'Fruity start. Hint of clay? Liqueurish start, then more chemical quickly. Diesel? Hey, a surprising pinch of peat on the palate inbetween the sherry and fruits. Lots of improvement with time'.

Cragganmore 20yo 1985/2006 (54,9%, Signatory, Hogshead #1877, 242 Bts.)
Ho-cheng voted for gold and wrote: 'Very nice sweet herb palate, light peated. Very nice yet quite a palate killer'.
Not everybody found peat here - I do