40-46% or Cask Strength?

Sad to say I find myself in the same predicament. I really only like cask strength whiskies these days. Sure, I have a few at 46% (and 43%), but when I drink them I feel like they are weak and lacking flavor. I am finding it harder and harder to buy anything under cask strength. The other day I was looking at some Old Malt Cask bottlings at 50% and feeling sad that they had been watered down.

And I hardly ever add water to the cask strength whiskies. My wife (an avid wine "connosr") thinks I just like the flavor of alcohol. She might have a point.

I know there are people out there who like their whisky at 40% or less . . . I am just not one. I don't consider myself more "manly." Nor do I think I have better taste. If anything my taste buds have been destroyed by whiskies like Octomore, Thomas H. Handy and George T. Stagg at full strength.

That is just how I like my whisky - full strength and intense

Hey @Nock, A. Smith Bowman has a 17 yo Abraham Bowman bourbon out now at 73.75% ABV. Yes, that is YOUR VIRGINIA DISTILLERY!

That 73.75% ABV will be a hard number to beat.

Excelsior! ...and cheers!

I'll vote +1 for the cask strength predicament. Its a mouthfeel, an intensity, a concentration of flavor and an overall warm and fuzzy feeling in those bottlings. Makes me feel giddy, like a kid in a candy store. I still love all my non-CS whiskies though. Last thing i think you want to do is get neurotic about whisky(we all get this way from time to time). If you think 40 percent is lacking flavor maybe its time to take a step back from whisky in general and have a good ale for a few days....I will say that perhaps non CS whisky lacks body maybe by comparison...but to me there is an "overwhelming" quality to CS whisky that is pleasant and exciting but also not as complex and refined from my experience.

I dont have to do much soul searching with CS whiskies to be satisfied. I've had many battles, for lack of a better word, with some of my (now) favorite single malts at lower proofs that have ended with the malt being victorious and have me bowing to their complexity and enjoy-ablity. Sometimes the whiskies you drink next to each other can sort of ruin things as well. While some whiskies can provide a perfect contrast that will help a whisky tell its full story. I've even contemplated the idea of adding a special "suggested contrast" whisky to my whisky reviews whenever i get around to doing a few. A whisky that helps flesh out the other whisky in the mind and on the senses so to say.

I've been trying to hone in on my senses outside of the traditional nose palate finish spectrum and feel my overall body lately, and am frequently surprised at the warming rich satisfying qualities of lower proof whisky. Perhaps less structured is a better way to describe CS whisky. CS whisky also seems to initially appear to be instantly integrated to me because of its overall size. If i were you...i'd stop drinking single malts for a hot minute and try to "reset" then begin your evenings with lower proof whiskies and work your way up to a kind of finale. I will say that there are some whiskies which I love that just straight up piss me off that they aren't available at higher strength though. Dalmore 15 seems like it would be incredible if bottled at 50 percent or at least 45+.

Good luck

I don't require my scotches to be cask strength but 46%+abv and non chill filtered are MUST! Almost refuse to buy bottles less than that...most recent exception being an Aberlour 18 at 43%...but yes...40% is VERY week in body and flavor IMHO.

I look at non chill filtration usually so it is at least 46% or cask strength. But I don't overlook a whisky if it is 40% and well rated. I always had water to my whisky. The first few sips are neat. Then, I had a hint of water every 1-2 sips.

I always ADD water @JoeVelo

Lots of replies! I agree totally with the non chill filtration. That's a must. And NO CARAMEL coloring added! To clairfy I don't need a whisky to be cask strength, and I'll happily drink a 40-43% and I'll buy it happily if it's been well reviewed.

@Nock I agree my friend, it's not about being a man or loving your whisky more then other people. I rarely add water to my whiskies, cask strength or not, but it's totally a preference. I personally think that when people start talking about "manly whiskies" or "whisky lovers whisky" that there is honestly some self esteem/personal issues at play in that situation.

Working at a beer shop that deals in highend craft beers, mainly imported, but not totally. It's easy to become a bit of a snob when you talk to people who prefer something that I view as inferior, but I always tell both my employees and customers, if you like it, whatever IT is, who gives a crap if it's not the best in the world, or not the correct way to drink it. At the end of the day you bought the alcohol, drink it the way you want. Mind you if you come into my house and pour my Stagg into a glass of coke I will tar and feather you, but if you want to do that to YOUR Stagg, while I'll cry and wince it's all personal preference.

@Victor I want to try that whisky! I just had some moonshine that a customer brought me that was supposed to sit at 75%+ but I honestly couldn't say that it was. Sad to say, but this 3 month old moonshine was better then the Canadian Club that I bought.....I was very sad to see that.

@TPR I'd love to see some suggestions of whiskies to contast with 'X' whisky! I'd honestly love to see a thread/suggestions on food/whisky pairings. I was lucky enough to get to go to a chocolate/whisky pairing with a couple REALLY good combinations and am always keen to hear what other people would think would be contrasts, etc

If all else fails... try EVERCLEAR, distilled by Luxco, Inc. St. Louis, MO. At 95% ABV. (190 Proof). If you want more than cask strength, this is the bottle to go. Strongest "moonshine" ever! Just pure grain (maize) alcohol. No surprise why I can't finish the bottle I bought from New Jersey 14 years ago. I still have a third left in that bottle.

@Reyzar Hahaha yes but we want something that tastes GOOD :D Everclear is something that you use to run the car when gas prices get too high. :D

@SquidgyAsh Hahaha... I wasn't a Connosr back then, and Ralfy.com wasn't around. LOL.

@Reyzar Hahaha I know the feeling. I remember a night or two of Bacardi 151 that was less then pleasant...:D Another one good for running the car

@SquidgyAsh You're right especially with everclear you can run the planet with everclear or bacardi 151

@SquidgyAsh, yes, most people don't think of the current 151 rums as sippers, but who knows? Maybe someone will put out a 15+ yo rum at that strength that will be. I used to like Don Quixote 151 rum when it was around,...as a mixer. If you can age bourbon in Virginia or Kentucky to near that strength, you should be able to age rum to that strength. Just keep the heat on and the evaporation going. Take it inland to a dryer climate for aging if you have to. I've got it "Death Valley 151 20 YO Rum". Sounds like a killer. I might even add a few drops of water when sipping it.

@SquidgyAsh I love whisky. My favorite 40% whisky was the now-extinct Bunnahabhain 18. Haven't had the new 46.3% yet so can't make a comparison, but when I initially tried the Bunnahabhain 12 at 46.3% I thought they'd ruined it. I like it now, but I can still recall that sweet easiness of the old one.

I don't add water either, and I truly enjoy a good, full-strength sip of whisky. I find it interesting that some in the mid to high-50% range have a bigger "punch" than some at higher %s. Auchentoshan Valinch (2011) at 57.5% packs a far bigger punch that either Aberlour a'Bunadh (batch 40) at 60% or Octomore 2 at 62.5%.

@two-bit-cowboy, I surmise by 'punch' you are referring to 'alcohol punch'. I find only very limited correlation between perceived alcohol and % ABV. Standard 45% ABV Maker's Mark has always had to me a much stronger and more noticeable alcohol greeting than does the 2010 George T. Stagg at 71.5% ABV. (the story is a little different with different year releases of the Stagg, though)

I'm happy with 40-46% NCF whiskies. Cask Strength is such a pain in the ass to deal with. I just want to come home and pour myself a drink. I don't want to fiddle around with the eye dropper and get the amount of water just right.

I once used bacardi 151 to get the fireplace going while in Crested Butte Colorado. Seemed the best use for it at the time.

@Victor I've had the same experience Victor. I've drank bourbon's @ 64%abv with almost no 'alcohol punch'...and have had many whiskies in the 50's that seemed to pack a bigger alcohol punch. Is the dif simply quality or what?

@lmann86, .........YES.

Short reply here. I am a 46-50 man myself. Start getting much over that and I have difficulties drinking. I guess I have not mastered the fine art of watering down.

There are exceptions of course, and I like a "hot sipper" every now and again, but 46 is my sweet spot.

Depends on the country it's from I think. I love a good cask strength and think it really adds so much to the whiskey, but I don't know of any Canadian whisky that is higher than 46% abv. I do often wish that there were more cask strength whiskies available, but I also agree with @Mantisking that it's sometimes just nice to pour yourself an easy drinking dram of 40% whisky.

@Victor @Victor Yes, the alcohol punch, and to compare apples to apples (or grapes to grapes as the case might be), I don't get it from the 60% a'Bunadh, but I usually do from the 60% Glenfarclas 105. I don't see it as a bad thing, just different and one of those things that makes you go, "Hmmmm."

There are some pretty higghly regarded malts at between 40 & 46% abv. I'm thinking HP 18, Lagavulin 16, Talisker 10, Ardbeg 10, Macallan 18, HP30, Talisker 18, Old Pulteney 21, numerous Bruichs at 46, some high end Balvenies, Laphroaig QC and Laph 18 at under 50%. I really don't think that cask strength necessarily means better or more flavourful. I agree that there is a lot of bland, uninspiring stuff at 40% and there is also good and bad at cask strength. I'll take either one if it's good.

@BlueNote Agreed that there are some great malts bottled between 40 and 46% ABV. More often than not though, I think you'll find that these are non-chill filtered (or have undergone limited chill filtering) or are just robust and oily in character anyway.

@SquidgyAsh I only recently (say in the last several months) have become very aware of the bottling strength of whiskies I buy and tend to avoid those at 43% ABV or under unless they're non-chill filtered and/or are one of the highly regarded malts in the class mentioned by @BlueNote. I am perfectly able to enjoy malts at all strengths though, but being on a fairly tight whisky budget now, I'm looking for the best "bang for your buck" and hence if I can get a CS expression for the same price as a non-CS, I'll definitely go for the CS.

Good points @systemdown. Given the choice I too would opt for something like Talisker 57 North over Talisker 10. I don't know that I would choose A'Bunadh over some of Aberlour's less hefty expressions. Boils down to personal tastes, likes and dislikes I guess. Cheers.

whiskys at a higher strength tend to have more flavour i always think of laphroaig 10 vs cask strength 10 the difference is massive. i dont buy whisky depending on its percentage but think it would be better for distillers to keep all the alcohol and therefore flavour in the bottle.

then we the consumers can add as much water (or none) to our whisky as we like. it should be up to us buyers how much flavour is in our bottle not the sellers

@Volks @Volks while I agree in concept with your point, many folks wallets couldn't abide your idea. The more water added at bottling the lower the price, idealistically, because more bottles can be filled. That's not a pure science though--there are lots of whiskies that are watered down and still far too expensive. Then you consider the different tax consequences of international borders ... Laphroaig 10 (40%) in Canada is dearer than Laphroaig t0 (43%) in the USA. Go figure.

@two-bit cowboy. We get the 43% version of Laph 10 in Vancouver. It's dfinitely a rip at $80. Markups and taxes are hideous here. I think Ontario and Quebec are the same. Only Alberta had decent prices and selection as there liquor distribution is not government run. Although I understand that for our neighbours in Washington State, privatization didn't do them much good at all as far as prices go.

To get back on topic, I see that we still have some of the original 10 year old Macallan cask strength around. Should buy some before the NAS version arrives. It, BTW, is a staggering $90 here.

A little late to the beginning of this one but since I've joined this site my ABV average of my preferred choice in whiskies has risen from the standard 40%/80proof realm to at least 43% and higher I find a greater concentration of flavors and scents esp after you allow your "poison"(just kidding) of choice to breath a little before enjoying. I know this is the best way to enjoy higher proof spirits but Im just saying.

@BlueNote I was lucky to find the 43% Laphroaig 10 here in a nearby college town in the U.S. for $39. Those taxes are obscene my friend