The Top Rated Whiskeys From January 2017

Palmetto Whiskey hails from South Carolina. The label is a reproduction of an old one from South Carolina Dispensary that from 1893 to 1907 was the state-owned liquor retailer monopolizing alcohol sales in South Carolina. The whiskey is distilled from a mash of corn, wheat, malted barley, and 21% rye. The distilled spirit is aged for around two years in new French oak barrels.

Bruichladdich Master Distiller Jim McEwan carefully chose the casks used to create this 100-proof Islay single malt distilled from 100% Scottish barley and heavily peated to 40PPM (phenol parts per million). This expression carries no age statement.

Amador Whiskey Co. Double Barrel Bourbon began its journey in Kentucky, where almost 300 barrels of 3- to 10-year bourbons aging in charred American oak were purchased. These barrels traveled to St. Helena, California, where Amador Whiskey Co (owned by Trinchero Family Estates) transfers the bourbon into the family's Napa Valley wine barrels for an extra 6 months of finishing. It's bottled at 43.4% ABV and was launched in the summer of 2015.

Created in 1872 by Taylor & WIlliams and named in honor of the national park, the Yellowstone brand has moved around from distillery to distillery since its creation. The current owner, Luxco, sources the bourbon from other distilleries in Kentucky; however, Luxco recently took a 50% stake in the Limestone Branch Distillery, run by Steve and Paul Beam. In February 2015, the Beams put the first batch of their new bourbon in casks, which they plan to release under the Yellowstone label. The Select is a selection of casks chosen by Steve Beam to reflect the heritage of the Yellowstone name, made from four- and seven-year-old, high-rye bourbons.

Old Pulteney Clipper Commemorative is a limited edition bottling released in July 2014. It was launched in recognition of their sailing crew's completion of the Clipper 2013-2014 Round the World Yacht Race. Both former American bourbon and Spanish sherry casks were utilized in the maturation of this no-age-statement single malt.

The peat used in the construction of this whisky comes from home soil in the Valley of the Giants in Western Australia, some 100-Kilometers outside of Albany itself. Matured in an ex-Bourbon American oak cask. This tasting was completed using bottle 035/294. Note: Not available outside of Australia

Wild Turkey Spiced is an 86-proof bourbon flavored with "island spices." It's a whiskey-take on spiced rum, if you will.

As stated on the bottle, chill-filtration was not used during the process of making this Aberlour. Distilleries sometimes use chill-filtration to remove residue and cloudiness in the whisky. This version of Aberlour 12 Year is also bottled at a higher ABV (48%) than their chill-filtered expression.

Ballantine's Finest dates back to 1910 and is the brand's oldest recipe in its current portfolio. It is blended using 40 different malt and grain whiskies from four different Scotch regions. Sandy Hyslop has been Ballantine's master blender since 2005.

Currently only available in travel retail, QA is shorthand for "quercus alba" meaning "white oaks" in Latin. This is in reference to the fact that after the initial period of maturation in ex-bourbon barrels, it is tranfered to charred American white oak casks.