Oli Dodd picks out the best-scoring produts from the whisk(e)y categories.
Of all the whiskies tasted at the BBAs, it was the Americans that fared best and none was as big a hit with our judges as the category champion, Sazerac Rye.
Judges were impressed by the whiskey’s “great, timeless design” and deemed the rye “very good bang for your buck”. Its dual golds in value and taste accompanied a silver medal performance in the blind tasting, with judges finding a “very elegant” whiskey with “notes of red apples, cloves and a waxy finish”.
Another American whiskey, Eagle Rare 10 Year Old, took silver. “A textbook bourbon aroma, vanilla, charred oak and toffee,” it also grabbed a gold for value, with judges appreciating its “great value for an excellent example of bourbon”.
While a pair of Americans took the top two positions, it was Benromach 10 Year Old that scored highest of any whisky in the blind tasting. Judges found an “inviting, warm fireplace nose” and “enough character without being so rounded that it’s boring”.
Fourth spot went to Glengoyne White Oak, which was the second-highest performing whisky in the blind tasting and one of only two to receive a gold medal for taste.
Completing the top five was Buffalo Trace, a “really good Highball whiskey” with a “pleasant soft vanilla nose, mellow sandalwood and buttery palate”.