TL;DR

The article lists five top whiskies from 2022, including Benriach Smoke Season, Redbreast Kentucky Oak, M&H Dead Sea, Compass Box Vellichor, and a rare 72-year-old Gordon & MacPhail expression. It highlights their unique origins, production, and flavor profiles.

Scotland, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Canada, and India are just some of the six nations that deserve their best-of whisky list this year. Even those nations that aren’t usually associated with producing high-quality whisky have created many excellent examples in 2017.

Therefore, this severely abridged list of 12 top whiskies from around the globe in 2022 should not imply that nations other than the United States were not up to pace.

Although you can get some of these bottles at your local wine shop, others are challenging. That’s why you should do what I’m doing right now: type this up before jetting off to Ireland for a 10-day whisky-fueled vacation (if you really want a best-of in that category, we have 40 bottles to choose from). However, until then, please enjoy this tasting menu of some of the finest whiskies produced elsewhere in the globe.

Benriach Smoke Season

To create the second annual Smoke Season expression (52.8% ABV), distillers used Highland peat and aged the spirit in a combination of first-fill bourbon barrels and charred and toasted American virgin oak casks. It has a velvety texture and a complex flavor profile that includes caramel, fruit, and peat.

M&H Dead Sea Apex

Is there something special about making whisky in the hottest and coldest areas on the planet? Dead Sea-aged M&H from the Israeli distillery has a dry, smokey tobacco flavor with hints of spearmint, black tea leaves, and candied ginger.

Compass Box Vellichor

They claim that the “experience, emotion, and scent of ancient bookstores” inspired their inaugural Limited Edition of 2022 Scotch whisky. We gave it a go, and sure enough, it lives up to the description: it’s leathery but also fruity, smokey, and perfect for fans of whisky aged in Sherry (and if you have many leather-bound books). This unusual Sherry-aged mix is blended with malt whiskies from the Highland Park and Macallan distilleries (all 23 years or more) and a touch of old whisky from the Caol Ila Distillery, indeed something special.

Redbreast Kentucky Oak Edition

This limited-edition whisky, which comes from the Irish distillery’s new American Oak Series and clocks in at 101 proof, is aged in both American Oak bourbon barrels and Spanish Oloroso sherry butts before being finished for three to seven months in PEFC-certified American Oak 1 that has been air-dried and comes from the Elk Cave Farm on the Taylor family’s Kentucky property. The combination amplifies the woodsy and vanilla undertones while leaving behind deliciously lingering flavors of dark fruit, nutmeg, and cinnamon. A perfect Irish whisky for the American palate.

Gordon & MacPhail 1949 from Milton Distillery

These century-old, family-owned distilleries source spirits from over a hundred Scottish distilleries and blend them with their own barrels to produce rare, sometimes one-of-a-kind whiskies. The Milton Distillery’s last barrel from the 1940s (today known as Strathisla). One of the 180 bottles of this 72-year-old expression (!) was aged in a first-fill Sherry puncheon, and it can be yours for an affordable price of $65,000. It has a robust tobacco aroma with hints of pear, lemon, apple, and nutmeg. Our two sample sips indicate that this is quite exquisite.

The list features whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, Israel, and includes a blend with components from multiple Scotch distilleries.Which whisky on the list is the oldest and most expensive?

The Gordon & MacPhail 1949 from Milton Distillery is a 72-year-old expression, with bottles priced around $65,000.What is a unique finishing process mentioned in the article?

The Redbreast Kentucky Oak Edition is finished for 3-7 months in air-dried American oak from a specific farm in Kentucky.Is the list only about Scotch whisky?

No, the list intentionally highlights excellent whiskies from nations beyond the traditional Scotch-producing regions, including Ireland and Israel.

The list features whiskies from Scotland, Ireland, Israel, and includes a blend with components from multiple Scotch distilleries.Which whisky on the list is the oldest and most expensive?

The Gordon & MacPhail 1949 from Milton Distillery is a 72-year-old expression, with bottles priced around $65,000.What makes the Benriach Smoke Season unique?

It uses Highland peat and is aged in first-fill bourbon barrels and charred virgin oak, creating a complex profile of caramel, fruit, and peat.Is the Redbreast Kentucky Oak an Irish whiskey?

Yes, it's a limited-edition Irish whiskey finished in Kentucky-sourced American oak, enhancing woodsy, vanilla, and spice flavors.