90 Degrees of Separation

Laphroaig Ten for me. Back in my 20's, I didn't much like it. Now I certainly do! My only wish is that I had tried the 15 when it was available. Oh well. Can't win 'em all.

The 18 is certainly smashing: a kinder gentler Laphroaig. By the time I got round to trying the 18, I was already a fan. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that It took me over a decade to come round to appreciate the Ten. I was a fan by the time I reached my mid 30's.

In my 20's, I was a fan of vodka, wine, beer, Cuban rum, and Cuban cigars. Now, I'm a scotch man, but I still like Cuban rum and cigars (although I can't get my hands on either of them any more since I moved away from NYC).

I also really like Grenache wine right now. It's my "density," so to speak, to quote the old film "Weird Science." Thanks, Anthony Michael Hall (or should I say the screen writer that typed "You're my density," one of the silliest lines in the film).

The Nikka Taketsuru 17 was one that I didn't take to initially, but it has since become a favorite.

Funnily enough I've recently been having the opposite experience with Ardbeg's Uigeadail! It was once easily in my top ten but these days... I don't know, just not impressing me like it used to. I still think it's a fantastic whisky, it's just not knocking my socks off like it used to ;)

Of course!

When I was younger, I didn't care for peaty whiskies at all. Nowadays I truly love them, so that's a bit of a change.

More specifically and more recently, I got some Caol Ila 8 year unpeated (the 2008 bottling). At first I thought I'd wasted my money — it wasn't bad by any means, but I could have bought something else with the funds. But after a few drams, I found that it had really opened up and I came to appreciate it quite a bit. It's a remarkable youngster, all said.

Also, took me a while to enjoy Laphroaig 10. It always seemed to be the only bottle that wasn't getting sampled....but not anymore...I've worked it into the rotation:) I just got the 18 and it's wonderful. I like it more than the 10.

Talisker 10 was my first exposure to pleated whisky. When I purchased this whisky, took it home and opened it, I was taken back by the peaty smell. Tasting it didn't help. I hated this whisky!

Fortunately, I kept trying this whisky, and each time a poured a dram, I liked it more and more. By the time I finished the bottle, I was in love, and I've been a peat lover ever since! Compaired to other more heavily peated whiskies I've tried since, Talisker now seems tame, but I still love it's peat and hot pepper kick that make it so unique!

My very first "proper" Single Malt was a 28 yo Imperial in cask strength from Signatory - I didn't like it at all. It was smoky and strong but when I came back after I tried lots of others I loved it - taste develops with your maltmileage. Another thing I observed is that I usually get bored by instant flatterers - if it shows some edgy character I need more time to fully understand it but then it's much more entertaining.

This happens to me a lot, as I tend to enjoy Whiskies that have had a few weeks of oxidation. This is particularly so, for my taste, for the SMWS bottlings which are high strength and often quite iconoclastic.

It seems like just about every bottle I open starts out with harsh notes that dissipate over anywhere from a day or two to a couple of weeks. Opening a new bottle is more science experiment than anything else. Strangely enough, the Laphroiag 18 is the most notable bottle that did not have these harsh notes, instead the first couple of drams were absolutely sublime, with followups seeming to miss just a little bit.

This really makes me paranoid about keeping a selection of bottles open - if so much can change in a couple of days, what can happen in months or years?

@mattsteg Do a quick search for 'oxidation' here on the website and you can read about the effects of leaving bottles open for too long.

The bottom line is usually a few months is fine but a few years... Not so fine!

Hi Guys,

I use Private Preserve to keep bottles in top shape if I plan on not drinking them for a few months. I usually keep about five or six bottles open at a time. Because I am getting in shape now to do some deep sea diving in Hawaii soon, I won't be drinking at all for about two weeks. Since bottles with high phenol whisky deteriorate faster, I did put a few squirts in them just for the hell of it since by the time I'm back from the islands up to a month or so might go by before I feel a hankering for some Islay goodness.

My recommendation is to open a smoky/peaty bottle, a sweet sherry bomb, and a savory bottle--all at the same time. That's my new strategy once the eight bottles that I have open right now are all drunk dry. In the future, three scotches and one bourbon will be my game plan. That way, I really only need to worry about oxydation in the peaty one, if that even. The others would certainly last through the time it takes for me to drain 'em.