You have read a lot so far about my understanding of single malt whisky – I think you now really deserve to learn about the ten best whiskies that I tasted so far including my scores on my 20 points scale. Surprise surprise – the number one is no single malt but a single grain whisky. You doubt? Well, try to get a dram of this stunning Invergordon and fall into love…

1. Invergordon 38yo 1971, cask 3, Compass Box Hedonism, Limited Edition Bottling for 10th Anniversary of Compass Box Whisky Company, 120 bottles, 46% (18,75/19 points)
2. Ben Nevis 21yo 1990, cask 24, The Maltman, 46% (18,75/19 points)
3. Glen Elgin 35yo 1975, cask XX, The Whisky Exchange (18,75 points)
4. Talisker 20yo 1981, Limited Edition, 9.000 bottles, 62% (18,5 points)
5. Benrinnes 14yo 1996, cask 6463, 281 bottles, 56,1% (18,5 points)
6. Port Ellen 29yo 1982, The Golden Cask, cask CM 170, 60 bottles, 55,7% (18,5 points)
7. Bunnahabhain 32yo 1978, Murray McDavid Mission, 810 bottles, 52,3% (18,5 points)
8. Caol Ila 28yo 1980 Murray McDavid Mission Gold Series, 1.189 bottles, 55,4% (18,5 points)
9. Glenfarclas 9yo 2002 limited bottling for Kirchhellener Private Tasting Circle, casks 2655/2658, 667 bottles, 55,1% (18,5 points)
10. GlenDronach 9yo 2003 selected by and bottled for whiskykanzler.de, cask 3999, 702 bottles, 56,8% (18,5 points)

For those who are waiting ;-) Here is my additonal top 5 list of Original Bottljngs above 80 Euros. The reason why I post this top 5 separately from yesterday's list is simple: These bottlings here are great malts but they are surely not in the bang-for-your-buck category... And there is even a higher class like the Ardbeg Single Casks, Port Ellen, Brora or old Springbank, Bowmore, Lagavulin or Talisker OBs but so far in my life I haven't been able to try any of them as most of them go in the 500€ + region - too much for Schnaps in my humble opinion... not to forget my philosophy of concentrating myself only on available bottlings :-)

So here we go:

1. Highland Park 25yo (I loved the old version with 50,7%, my first expensive bottling with around 110 Euro, today it is much higher)
2. Laphroaig 25yo (I only tried the non cask strength version at 40%, a fantastic dram already - don't even imagine the cask strength bottling...)
3. Amrut Intermediate Sherry - fantastic sherried whisky, incredible taste - grab a bottle if you can, maximum recommendation and not too expensive (around 85-90 Euro)
4. Talisker 25yo (unfortunately the new bottling from 2013 is no longer in cask strength which will surely affect the quality - so try to grab one of the former versions)
5. The Glenlivet Archive 21yo (a very "aristocratic" dram, offers all you ask for in a good whisky, old school)

Please remind the headline – I do not claim that there are no better Official Bottlings. The ones I list are my personal winners in the category great value for money; you may have some completely different ones in your own list and that’s perfectly fine. So here we go - for prizes please check online, all are below 80 Euros (there will be another list within the next days with my 5 personal favorites going beyond this limit).

1. GlenDronach 15yo Revival - fantastic, big Sherry, full bodied
2. Springbank Rundlets & Kilderkins - very rich, malty, salty, light smoke
3. Amrut Fusion - try yourself, you will never believe that this is Indian single malt
4. Ardbeg Ten - a true classic, smoky, great whisky
5. Talisker Distiller's Edition - perfect balance, great combination of Talisker and Sherry (Amoroso)
6. Laphroaig 18 - replaces the old 15yo - a very complex Laphroaig, offering much more than just peat and smoke
7. GlenDronach Cask Strength - another one in this list... this one offers maximum sherry for a very friendly price
8. Lagavulin 16yo - will not be excluded from any best of list, I guess
9. Glenfarclas 21 yo - the best standard Glenfarclas in my opinion
10. Longrow CV - a very nice smokiness, salty and great balance

This is a very personal listing based on my experiences so far and surely far away from being complete. I only included indie bottlers here from whom I have at least tried five good bottlings in order to be able to give a more or less qualified statement. And following my search for the best value for money that offer great malts for reasonable prizes – there are fantastic series which I like pretty much which haven’t made it to my list because of their ambitious prizes. So don’t compare my listing with your own experience, see it as what it is – a personal list of one of all the malt aficionados out there looking for a good and fairly prized dram ;-) And don’t forget – I am focusing on the series rather than on the whole portfolio of these bottlers. Maybe one day I will be able to give an overview over the best indie bottlers – independently from the series they offer and the prizes.
Enough said, here we go (in alphabetical order, don’t interpretate too much ;-)):

• A.D. Rattray – Cask Collection: cask strength single malts, great bottlings around
• Anam na-h Alba: cask strength single malts, some very good bottlings
• Bladnoch Distillery – Bladnoch Forum Bottlings: cask strengts single malts
• Cadenhead – Authentic Collection: cask strength single malts from the oldest independant bottler from Campbeltown
• Caminneci & Schrauth – C&S Dram Collection: cask strength series, very nice single malts in this collection
• Meadowside Blending – The Maltman: single casks, bottled at 46%, new series by Donald Hart (former CEO of Hart Brothers)
• Murray McDavid – Gold and Silver Tin Series: mainly finished in wine casks, selected by Jim McEwan, godfather of Bruichladdich Distillery
• Signatory Vintage – The Unchillfiltered Collection: bottled at 46%, vatted bottlings, some rare and hidden gems around (I am specially thinking of a 15yo Imperial and a 14yo Glenlivet)
• The Whisky Exchange – Elements of Islay: THE Islay single malt collection at cask strength, unfortunately in 0,5l bottles
• Villa Konthor - Whisky & Chocolate Series: Very nice single cask bottlings in cask strength in combination with the right chocolate for each malt, made by a professional chocolatier – a great experience and highly recommended!

There are many others that offer fairly priced bottlings like Berry Brothers & Rudd, David Stirk's Exclusive Malts, The Golden Cask by Mr. Whisky, the Ultimate Whisky Company or Weiser Private Collection, but I wanted to focus on the ones from whom I have tasted enough bottlings to feel being in the position of fairly judging. As always, these are my own personal impressions, of course.