BEST Single Malt Whisky 2023
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- Опубликовано: 14 дек 2023
- I've had hundreds of whiskies this year, and these are my top best single malt whisky brands for 2023.
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Disclaimer: This video is only a reflection of my personal opinion and perspective. 
Хобби
Enjoy your video. Took your advice and subscribed. My 2 whiskys for 2023 is Lagavulin 16 and Ardbeg 10 (love them both, cannot decide which one so I chose two). I love Islay whiskys.
Nice video, as always!
Another great video 🥃
Solid choice 👍
Pastel de Nata! yea!! Sim!! Great choice! Cheers from Portugal!
Most excellent choice!!! I love that dram and reach for it when I want to treat myself to something special. Not that easy to get here in Ontario, Canada, but I make sure I always have one on the shelf. Salute!
Great video as always. Love it when a video comes out. My WOTY is Red Breast 12 🥃
nice list. I got Kilchoman Machir bay. Great one too.
Banger of a video!! amazing visuals and editing .. Sanaig is indeed a wonderful liquid 🥃
Also my favourite for the past year!
100% Agree on the Kilchoman!! Thanks again Phil for the great video. Cheers & enjoy!
excellent joice. Bougt a Sanaig a few months ago and was blown away after opening it. The neck pour already was whisky of the year stuff. Incredible. And this paired with the price? An absolute no brainer.
Love me some Sanaig! Great picks!
Love the Sanaig, oily and great sherry peat christmas bomb!
As always a great video and content, I love the way you put these videos together. Thanks Phil.
Appreciate that! Thanks for watching along
Your videos on whiskies are a delightful blend of knowledge and entertainment.
Keep the golden content flowing! 😁
Thanks so much for the superchat! Grateful to have you watching. Will keep it flowing
I have loved the Sinaig for a bit. It has a tremendous nose. Love it very much.
A truly brilliant Whisky of the year.I'm a Kilchoman fan boy and love the Sanaig,Loch Gorm and the PX Cask.
See you next year mate 👍
Great list my friend, good to see some different stuff others aren't mentioning.Great winner mate, Haven't had a bad Kilchoman.
My list will be out very soon! (Kilchoman Islay Barely was a contender)
enjoy your videos - thanks very much. I just subscribed and liked which I normally forget to do. I am really trying to appreciate whisky properly after 30 years of drinking whisky water (1/3 whisky and 2/3 water) as that is how my father enjoyed it. It is a big change for me.
Damn I really gotta try the Lindores and Cotswolds releases. Great list, buddy. Sanaig is excellent stuff. 🥃
I was a little shocked with your fave! My fave is Ledaig 10 or Ballechin 10. More videos please! Really love your content.
Great choice, a lovely dram. I had a bottle quite a few years ago and after many good words here on RUclips recently, I got myself a new one and cracked it open the other day, really great stuff, a little splash of water a some time in the glass....really great.
Merry Christmas and Happy New year 🎅....and keep up the good work
Great reviews as always, great to see Cotswolds up there , the arran is agreat pick too . My whisky of the year would have to be Glenallachie 4year old peated. If you havnt had the chance of a dram seek it out 👍
Great choice Phil. The Sanaig is my OB core range whisky of the year as well. My indi and overall favorite was the SMWS 149.3 from Ardnamurchan.
After your message I discovered that I wasn't subscribed. This situation has been rectified.
Great picks, Phil. Yep, Kilchoman has come a long way with the quality of their core range over the last decade. Sanaig just keeps getting better. Also greatly appreciated your comments about Lagg. When I visited the distillery my first impression of the stills was short and squat like Lagavulin. Always knew they were going to distill some real first-class "bruisers" from that set up. Love the Kilmory ex-bourbon maturation and the Corriecravie ex-sherry expression - both released as part of the core range at reasonable prices. Definitely a distillery to watch in the coming years.
Cheers and all the best for 2024.
Had a miniature of Lagg Kilmory as a freebie and was very impressed. Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batch 015 for me this year.
Any day we get new Phil is a good day indeed.
Fantastic choices 😍
I have had Kilchoman Sanaig as my go-to whisky for a long while. And then I have the Swedish company Agitator's Whiskys, they do some really good Whiskys, aged in Islay casks, chestnut and bourbon casks etc. Then they do singel malt and blended Whiskys. They destilles in high pressure so the get the liquid in lower temperature and that gives the whiskys another taste. They even does a Rye Whisky that's amazing, and it's called Blind Seal.
Awesome choice. That's a top 5 "desert island" bottle for me. Cheers!
My whisky of the year is Kilchoman Machir Bay. Can't find the Sanaig here in Wisconsin... YET.
My favourites for 2023. Port Charlotte Heavily Peated 10 Years and Talisker Wilder Seas. 😋
thanks for the picks and also supporting ARRAN, my favorite distillery of all time. i know theyre well thought of by people who are actually into whiskey, but theyre overlooked by everyone else. nice content phil.
Thank you, Phil. A good job as always.
Amrut Fusion Single Malt is my best discovery 2023. Lots of depth and character from the Indian distillery.
Hands down the best whisky video content maker!
From a Portuguese here, great attempt on the pastel de nata mate! 😄 great video as usual, I just added more bottles to the list and you just confirmed how badly I need to try the craigellachie 13!! The sanaig I finished a bottle this summer and loved it.
Cheers mate and merry Christmas for you and the family! 🎄🥃
Just picked up a Benromach 15... so good. Cotswolds still one I haven't tried... need to remedy that!
Great video and fantastic choices! Have a happy new year 🥃
Happy new year!
Excellent choices all round Phil. Thanks for all the informative videos. And great to see a good range available in NZ. Cheers from Wellington.
Finally, someone talks up the Arran Amarone Cask! It’s been flying under the radar for years, and I don’t get how! It’s so obviously good 😅
Just think how good Ardnamurchan, Lagg, Torabhaig, Lochlea, Kingsbarns, Glasgow, Lindores, Raasay etc are going to be in a couple of years.
gesundheit
@@randomfpv22toured Toraphaig last year and enjoyed the tasting
@@brentkasl6510 I bet it was amazing
Especially Ardna
Ardnamurchan will be massive, but I also have high hopes for the Isle of Harris distillery.
I’ve been in an American whiskey ‘rut’ this year, exploring bottles that I’ve passed on for years. So my bottle of the year this year is the Sagamore Rye, double oak. Close second to Wild Turkey Rare Breed NCF
Great list Phil, I'm happy to see Lagg make it to the list which is my pick for 2023. Here's to a great 2024, cheers!
Love your editing. Really good.
Hi Phil, my favored Whiskies for the year would be Benromach 15, Port Charlotte 10, Edradour 10 (but the edition from Signatory Vintage with 46%) and the Ledaig 10. The Craigellachie 13 & 17 as well as the Sanaig are also very good ones.
Cheers from Germany
Uwe
Benriach 10 was number one this year triple distilled what a treat 🥃
So interesting. I had the Sanaig pegged as Ralfy’s WotY. I wonder if you’ve stolen his thunder? 😅 Interestingly I ordered a Sanaig online but instead I received Kilchoman’s Madeira cask which is almost twice the price (it’s excellent, btw!) so I’m still waiting to pick up a Sanaig. Definitely on the list for next winter’s pick.
Sanaig is my WOTY as well. Good choice. Enjoyed Raasay as well. Keep up the good work in 2024.
Agree Kilchoman Sanaig is a great dram and still affordable. My WOTY is between Craigellachie 13 and Kilkerran 12. I can't pick between the two. I haven't tried the Benromach 10 but have the Contrasts Cara Gold which is really good. The Arran Amarone is on my "to buy" list. Others I'm enjoying at the moment are Indri Dru Cask Strength, Kingsbarns Dream to Dram, Ardnamurchan AD Sherry Cask, Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength, Compass Box Orchard House, and Benrinnes "The Benn" Cask Strength 10-year-old.
More great Christmas prezzy ideas 😊 One bonus feature of the Senaig is its durability when the courier drops the package on the concrete right in front of you. The bottle is a tank.
Amazing video. They way you put these together is insane! I have no idea how you find the time, but I really appreciate it and know your subscribers do too! Shocked at #4, I did not enjoy their releases this year, however #2 is a constant favourite for me. Like, always around here. As for your pick! LOVE IT! Thanks again for sharing. Cheers!
Agreed! Great choices! I think my personal favorite of the year was the Kilchoman Fino Cask 2023 Release. Such a wonderful combination of Kilchoman peat and a more herbal style of sherry. Cheers!
5. Ledaig Rioja cask - better flavour than the 10, just lacks the finish.
4. Kilchoman Senaig - once it had oxidised a little in the bottle and Sherry influence was stronger than the smoke I loved it.
3. Ardnamurchan Sherry cask release - it just pushed Springbank 10 out of my top 5. THIS is how you do a 50/50 peated.
2. Kilkerran 8 Sherry cask - really, really good blend of flavours.
1. PC 10 - I bought 2 more for the stash before I’d finished the first bottle.
Hello from sunny Phoenix Arizona. It's crazy how small the world has become that a guy from NZ can have a chat with a guy from AZ USA about his favorite scotches. I recently watched your underrated scotch video and was able to locate and purchase 2 from your list, Speyburn 15 and Aultmore 12. A group of us are planning a trip to Scotland next year so we are trying to discover new and awesome pours. Living in Arizona, we have plenty of access to the many wines of California. One of the fun things we do each year is to try to find the best $10 bottle of wine. We have found that there are so many wines from California that you do not have to spend $50 a bottle for good wine, there are plenty for $10. I am finding scotch is quite similar in that there are many hidden gems out there that are quite affordable. You have made it easier to find these gems. I just placed an order from my local liquor store, Total Wines for some of your years best recommendations. Tomorrow I will be receiving the kilchoman sang, Craigellache 13, and benromach 10, all $60-$70US. Could not locate the others on your list. Thanks for the help and Merry Christmas bro.
Great to have you watching! Yeah crazy we can enjoy the same thing on different sides of the world
thought you were saying Glendronach, had to do a double take to see what you were saying lol.
For me to best value whisky I had this year was the Deanston Virgin Oak, I think I only paid $58NZD for it, and it was my go to evening dram until the bottle was gone. I also really liked the Rock Island Shery Cask blended malt, the Edradour Caledonia (a bit pricey now though), and the Ardnamurchan CS AD/02.22. But my top dog was the Benromach Contrasts: Heavily Peated Sherry Cask. Again, really good value, and ticked all notes for me. Thanks for your content Phil, I really enjoy it, especially as you're representing the Aotearoa NZ styles!
Yeah I was shocked with how good that tasted considering the price. I got one for about $60NZD. Amazing value.
Kilchoman has done a couple of Machir Bay cask strength special editions, but I would really like to see a Sanaig cask strength. That could be a Uigeadail killer.
That would be amazing!
Your whisky of the year is indeed a beauty. I agree with the ones you enjoyed in 2023. Benromach peat smoke releases are excellent and Craigellachie 13 is a great value bottle. Cheers for the holiday season Phil!
Some fine whiskies there. Kilchoman & Craigellachie are superb. Would also give a big shout out to my local distillery, Lindores. Very rarely put a foot wrong.. their Friar John Corr chapter II is simply stunning if you can get it. A distillery to watch over the next few years I think.
Many thanks Phil, your choices are all excellent ! Well done 👍 ciao 👋 S.
Ps: my favourite whisky 🥃 was Craigellechie 13 until I tasted Ardnamurchan AD 09/22 cs which is now one of my all time favourites. Thanks 🙏
I continue to really enjoy your content, Phil. That is why I've been subscribed for a long time and tell everyone your channel is one of the best, especially for people early on their whisky journey. This is a great list-- every single whisky mentioned is worthy of space in my cabinet (but are not all in there right now). Great line-up and great final choice! I'm a Kilchoman fanboy, and I think you probably have picked the best of their core range for value and broad appeal. However, the Loch Gorm is my favorite and I consider it one of the few "splurge" bottles I will always have in my cabinet. Great year of content, Phil. Happy holidays and I'm looking forward to following you in 2024.
Cheers Bud!
My three pics of what I most enjoyed this year. The Gladstone Axe which is an American oak blended malt. Amazing whisky for a blend. My number 2.. Benriach The 12 Single Malt Speyside. And my absolute favourite dram for the year, I actually got it as a Christmas gift in 2022... Glenmorangie The Cadboll Estate 15y aged in America oak bourbon casks. It's is the most delicious whiskey I have ever had. I'm still not the biggest smokey whisky fan so this year I want to try my hand at a few more smokey whiskys. Thanks for the channel. This has been an awesome find.
Great as always for me Ledaig 18, but as a result of the OSWA's fell in love with Thompson Bros SVR5 8yr at 48.5% ucf nat colour, second bottle in just great stuff £31.00 uk 🙂
All the best.
Love your videos, Phil! I started watching you this year and have really been enjoying all your content. I think my favourite this year was a tie between Nikka From the Barrel and the Bunnahabhain 12. They're the ones I kept going back to the most. I'm curious, have you tried anything from Macaloney's Island Distillery here in Canada? I tried a few this year--they only started in 2016 so the spirit is young, but they make some interesting stuff (with Canadian barley, not grain like most of what you find here). Cheers!
Great list! As a single malt newbie, I appreciate the list of findable bottles. One off topic question, where do you find those tasting note videos you insert? 😅
Thank you for the video!
The thing about the sanaig for me. Is that the smoke is centered around a very prominent ash note. I like it a lot. But makes it very difficult to pick up any other notes.
On another note, I need tips on how a regular joe can afford to taste all these varieties of liquid gold without getting scolded by my better half 😅
Thanks for another year of great whisky stories Phil. So glad you mentioned Craigellachie 13... What a dram.
My whisky of 2023 must be Ardbeg An OA.
The Pro version of ardbeg 10 indeed.
All the best in 2024 keep them videos coming.
Hi Phil, great video! I've only had the Arran Amarone and Kilchoman Sanaig from your list, but have yet to be disappointed by any offerings from either distillery.
My top 5 available whiskies for 2023 were:
1. Port Charlotte PAC:01
2. Laphroaig 10 Sherry Oak
3. Glencadam 13
4. Aberlour A'Bunadh Alba
5. Compass Box Orchard House.
My overall favourite that I tried this year however was the Glengoyne Teapot Dram batch 5 that a friend poured for me a couple of times. So far it's my ultimate sherry bomb!
Keep up the great work and I hope that everyone who watches your videos come to their senses and subscribe!!!
Thanks Peter!
Great presentation and as always entertaining keep on the good work
Joyeux fêtes! from a French Canadian
P.S. You probably reviewed Australian Morris Rutherglen (not found) at 44% it is a discovery for my this year (worth trying)😉🥃
A recent entry into my whisky palate was the Ledaig 18 this November, and I have to say it was devine.
For the year: 3) Kilkerran 8 Bourbon CS, 2) Hazelburn 10, 1) Deanston 15 Organic. Honorable mention: JP Wiser 27y. Your choices look very good though.
I got into whiskey in 2020 during a tasting, and even though I got very tipsy I managed to keep a list going so I could remember my favourites. The Sanaig was my whiskey of the day and I ended up getting one. It's the whiskey that got me into whiskey and is still my favourite. Lovely to see that it's loved by many 😁
Enjoyed the Ardbeg wee beastie quite a bit this year
my favorite whiskey of last year was the makers BEP , huge fan of wheated bourbons and the things they are doing with their finishing series and the various staves at barrel strength are fantastic for my taste profile.
For me the Springbank 15 was phenomenal! Blinded it against springbanks 18 and I preferred the 15.
I am really happy to see Cotswolds on the list. Been to their distillery twice as it's not that far away from where I live. Not only do they make great whisky, but they make great gin too (and rum, apparently). And they have an excellent attitude towards their product, towards quality, and towards their customers.
+1 - their bog standard 46% is superb too and often on offer for £25-30 over here, I think it even gives Arran 10 a run for its money
Craigellachie 13❤️
Just opened a bargain bottle of 10year old WormTub batch 4. Just a splash of water and I am in tasting heaven.
Kilchoman is a great distillery one of my faves! Cheers!
Good choice for WOTY Phil. Got to get me another bottle at some point. My WOTY would be either Benromach CS or AnConc 18. If you like the Benromach 10 try the 15, an excellent malt and even though it’s only 43% punches well above it’s weight. As always,an awesome video, wishing you and your family a happy Christmas.🥃slàinte Phil
Kilkerran 8 was my favorite of the year, however there are so many great whisky's out now it's getting very difficult to choose.
I always struggle trying to come up with candidates for "whisky of the year", especially if it is restricted to only single malts. Can it be something I only tried at an event/in a bar? (The Glendronach 1991 Kingsman Edition 25-year-old at The Bon Accord was pretty special...) Or does it have to be something I managed to buy a bottle of? (Bladnoch 15 Palo Cortado Hogshead Cask 1022, perhaps?) In that case, a lot of them are not easily available or affordable... So I'm going to ignore the single malt restriction and recommend the TB/BSW 6-year-old Blended Scotch Whisky from the Thompson Brothers at Dornoch Distillery (which does contain a very high percentage of malt for a blend...). Hope that's OK.
As far as new distilleries are concerned, I've been most impressed by Holyrood and Isle of Harris very recently and Lochlea, Torabhaig, Isle of Raasay, Nc'nean, Dornoch and Kingsbarns going back a little further. I do agree with you about Kilchoman Sanaig, Arran Amarone (although I've had my bottle since 2020) and Cotswolds Founder's Choice. Not quite sure about Lindores or Benromach (I like some expressions, but not others...).
Great recommendations, thanks for your insights! Funny enough: I just ordered (before watching your video :) the Kilchoman Sanaig for myself for x-mas. I have been years ago at the distillery when they just started off and they had basically “only” the Machir Bay (which I like too)
Hope you enjoy it!
You know I love the Loch Gorm....but I think the Sanaig is even better....and that says something
Thanks Phil and Hapoy New Year. My favorite 2023 whiskeys are: #5 - Glenmorangie Nector D'or, #4 - Glenglassaugh Evolution Single Malt, #3 - Bunnahabhain Stiuireadair, #2 - Craigellachie 13 Year Single Malt, and #1 - Glenglassaugh Torfa. Onward with 2024! Slàinte Mhath!
The Whisky I liked this Year ….Starward Octave Barrels 👌
Great list man! Love that you included the Benromach 10! Too many people fixate on 43% with the age stated range but they are missing out. The 10 and 15 are solid. Yes, I'm thrilled with the cask strength 2013 batch 1 but that doesn't mean I ignore how good the 10 and 15 are. Also I'm all aboard the Kilchoman train. Love the Sanaig and Machor Bay CS, but my personal favourite Kilchoman is the 100% Islay. It's an incredible achievement. Great picks Phil after another great year of content. Merry Christmas and happy new year man 🎄🎅
Interesting choice for WOTY, good to see Kilchoman get some recognition.
Cheers Dave!
Craigellachie 13 is definitely one of my favourite whisky as well!
I also love Benromach 10.
And...I spend one month deciding if buying Kilchoman Sanaig or PC10...I choose the second one...😢
But overall, fantastic content Phil!😮
Great vid elevated to excellent by your attempt to say 'pastel de nata' 🤣 Merry Xmas!
Fav Whisky 2023 by a mile: Glen Garioch 15 Sherry Cask
I really want to get my hands on this!
Great content! Sanaig is definitely on my list!
It's so good!
My whisky of the year 2023 is Ledaig 10yo. Just discovered your channel. Hi from Oz.
As usual, I’m right there with you Phil. If I was picking an unpeated whisky of the year, it would be Arran remnant renegade. That stuff is magical. But for a peated whisky, it would absolutely be the Sanaig. It’s better than it has any right to be as an NAS at its price point. Kilchoman is my favorite distillery on Islay, and it’s not close.
I drank about 3 bottles of eagle rare this year so guess that makes it my whiskey of the year 👍
Love your videos! You do a great job. One problem…I am unable to find any scotch locally (Florida) from your 2022 or your 2023 picks. Not your fault! I will keep watching.
Great choice, Phil. The Sanaig completely blew my mind in the past year. Shockingly complex for a young whisky. A humble masterpiece, really. The Benromach 10 was one of the whiskies that made me fall in love. Since the rebranding a few years ago I've been apprehensive about trying it because the reviews made me think its distinct mid-level peatiness is pretty much gone now. Also it's not that available where I am anymore. Slainté!🥃
agreed, I can't get over the fact how good the sanaig is. It's dangerous stuff because it's complex but also so addicting that you could drink 3 pours in a row. I usually always only drink one pour of a scotch per session, but that one leaves me wanting for more.
Funny… I’m sitting here sipping a Craigellachie 13 side by side with a Ardnamurchan AD. For me the AD comes out as the winner of the two, but the whiskey of the year for me (and I’m new to whisky this year) have to be the Clynelish 14. It’s amazing for the price here in Norway.
All excellent choices!
@@FirstPhilWhisky Absolutely. I have always thought I didn't like Whisky. Mostly because of JW Red Label 😂 Then this summer I was on a trip to London with work, and one of my British colleagues insisted that I should taste her Glen Livet Founder's reserve. I fell in love, and have since then bought more than 25 bottles 🫣 On top of that I have this great colleague in Norway with more than 200 bottles that have been "feeding me" all these old and special samples. I have had samples of 38 years distilled before I was born, Japanese and Irish, single cask independent bottelings and what not. I love this journey 🥰
And by the way. Thank you for a huge amount of knowledge 😊