Here it is: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/ ... isky-guide
In brief, the writer reckons that no Irish whiskey ought to be considered one of the ten best drams for Christmas. Furthermore, he actually recommends some very dubious drams altogether, making me suspect that the criteria was perhaps influenced by the advertising department (Sainsbury's Single Malt and a Bailie Nicol blended Scotch made the top ten, believe it or not.)
But it is the errors that annoy me most: in the printed article, Caol Isla 12 year old unpeated single malt was described as 'a complex mix of shortbread, smoke and spice'.
This has been dropped from the online article in favour of a Linkwood.Compass Box's Hedonism is described as 'a pioneering whisky' - because presumably no one ever blended grain whiskies before now.
The one non-Scotch included is the Nikka Yoichi 10 year old, which is outrageously described thus: "Like English sparkling wine, Japanese whisky has come a long way in the last few decades."
As far as I'm aware, only one English sparkling wine has ever won any sort of award whatsoever. 
And the genre didn't even exist as recently as two decades ago. Japanese whisky, by contrast has a lineage of nearly a century and has been very highly regarded for decades, winning many spirits awards all over the globe.Worst of all, according to the author, whisky is a spirit that 'only really comes into its own in the dead of Winter.'
This sort of trash in a mainstream newspaper is quite upsetting to me. One yearns for the days of Michael Jackson, who was all of Fleet Street's go-to guy on matters beer and whisky.
If it's advertorial, they should admit so. Rather than hide their flagrant errors online, they should instead own up and correct them. This is shoddy journalism and shoddy editing. And it ill serves the reader. I feel really sorry for any Observer reader who might go out and buy almost any of these whiskies based on this article. With only two exceptions that I can detect, I suspect they will be let down and will not return quickly to whisky again. But perhaps that's what the author intends, since they believe that whisky can only be properly enjoyed in the depths of winter.
