Conflicted Dilemma

@PMessinger well - if ya like I can always help ya find a new home for that bottle of Lagavulin 16 yr...

On a serious note; the Glenmorangie Astar has got alot of fire, and it needs some H2O to tame it...I kinda pride myself in the fact that I rarely (read never) add water to my whisky...This Astar has humbled me.

@PMessinger That always happens to me specially with older whiskies.

@FMichael Awesome, I too am waiting to try the Astar, thanks for your advice on the H2O. I will keep that in mind when I try it. :)

@Reyzar Yeah older or special gifts just make these dilemmas happen. thanks :)

I had the opposite problem actually - my wife bought me a very nice bottle of scotch last Christmas and I drank it all in just a couple weeks! I wanted to drink it to show her that I really enjoyed it and appreciated it... and well, it was really good too so that might have played a part in it ;-)

@valuewhisky Thanks for the insight. I was thinking of that point also, arent wives the greatest. :)

Well I finally broke my Lagavulin 16yr old out it only took the looming Mayan calendar running out to do it.Lol. :)

@PMessinger and how was it?

I know what you mean though...I certainly have some bottles that I can't see myself opening anytime soon. I actually have my cabinet organized by immediate drinkers and then medium and long term holds. There is probably some explination rooted deep in my childhood for this behaviour :-)

@cpstecroix Thanks for the info your cabinet system sounds great. As for the Laga wow wow wow. This is an awesome whisky I will do a review later, this one is so good. I just got a Midleton that, like your situation I will have a very hard time opening. :)

@PMessinger wow! All of you dudes have self control! I crack open every bottle immediately and share it with everyone. Before i know hi fives are given and I'm left with roughly 4 ounces. :/ I'm glad you like the lag 16! Which ones are you enjoying for the moment? I made the mistake of holding my dear Connemara 12 year far too long and alas the ship sailed In terms of flavor. So don't let it oxidize too long ! Drink the bottle within 6 months and then ask your wife to get you a new bottle since youve been such an awesome husband ;)

@BlissInABarrel Thanks for the wonderful advice, when I do get past the fear of a certain brand it does seem to go quickly. LOL. I did get past the fear for Christmas when I found the Shackleton whisky under the tree, no chance of oxidation setting in, this ones going to be gone soon. :D

@BlissInABarrel 6 months?! I've had bottles that were just fine with only a few fingers left for as many as five years!

@FederalNate hi, boss! I'm half kidding! I still have my balvenie 12 year and I think it's still wonderful after 1 year. There are some that I think turns too fast after 5 months or it oxidizes too fast. For example (golly I hope that I'm not sounding like a show off here because I'm not) there's this Laphroaig that I got to siphon out of the barrel at the distillery. It was cask 1997 and I bottles it cask strength. I had lots of heat and flavor. Once I shared it with everyone mellowed out a lot! And I tried it again 6 months later and it tasted as though it was watered down. I was kind of bummed that it oxidized so fast. So I said to finish a bottle in 6 months as a joke in terms of telling pmessinger to tell his wife to buy him something new. That is all. On that note I do apologize if it came off serious. On that note, which ones have you kept for 5 years that you thought we're still stunning?

@BIAB. I agree, it depends on what it is. My Uigeadail that I was carefully rationing out got quite sweet and lost most of its peaty punch after about a year and change. On the other hand, my Laphroaig 18 seemed to just keep getting better after a year. It seems to me that the heavily sherried malts are less adversely affected or changed by time in the open bottle. I have an A'bunadh batch 21 that's been sitting around for over 2 years with no ill effect.

@BlueNote thanks for sharing that insightful response! :D

@BlissInABarrel Hey, hard to answer the question without coming off as a show-off myself! I agree with @bluenote to a degree, I think fruitiness is very much enhanced with oxidation and peat does have a tendancy to diminish, but I've found that to be a great benefit with some malts. at the 5 year mark I tried a 1967 Ardbeg bottled by Signatory from a DARK oloroso cask that actually found a point of much better balance and integration with that amount of time open. One of my favorite bowmores of all time (and that IS saying something) is the 1993 Masterpieces bottle from The Whisky Exchange that after a year of being open had turned into pure lychee juice. I also opened (oh, only about 2.5 months ago) a 1972 GlenDronach (which is naturally huge sherry) and I've found that the meaty notes are only now starting to develop, has anyone else found such savory notes to increase with oxidation?

Sorry PMessinger to have steered the thread a bit off-topic.

@BlissInABarrel One more quesiton, was it Cask #1997 or a 1997 vintage? I ask because, well, either is plausible. I have a Karuizawa 1970 from cask, I think, #1985, and it's actually a little frustrating because every time I try to search for it to find a review all I get is a bunch of people reviewing 1985 vintage Karuizawas.

@FederalNate You may want to check whiskybase - they have a pretty good set-up for distillery bottles and the like, though often people don't write notes. 1970 Kar. from cask #1985: whiskybase.com/whiskies.php/…

@FederalNate No problem I'm just glad some folks are willing to share their insights. These are great, to have a place like this site were we can all learn new stuff is awesome thanks again for having good info for everyone. You guys rock. :)

@FederalNate hello, it wasn't a 1997 vintage. it was just one barrel that they had at the warehouse for those who participated in the Water to Whisky Tour. We got to sample 3 Laphraoigs straight from the cask and we could choose one to take home as a souvenir. Your drinking adventures sound epic! Holy FAK! thanks for sharing!

@BlissInABarrel: I have had several a'bunadh's stored in the original bottle with about 350 (or so) ml, for between 2 and 5 years with no change in quality that I could see: These certainly change their flavor profile over time and with the higher strength Whiskies this can be an exciting exercise; more a mellowing out (or, if you like), an opening up! I've never been entirely comfortable with the word oxidization applied to Whisky, but that's just me.

Maintaining the original flavor profile and introducing a mellowing effect is easily accomplished by transfering good Whisky to smaller bottles i.e. 200, 100 and 50ml. bottles with a small air space. I have some very old Talisker that has seen all the different sizes - It is so good I never want it to finish but I have about 30ml. left, so finish it will.

Back on topic. I have a Springbank Cask 57.3% abv. that I'm reluctant to open; intimidated? Maybe! Saving it for that very special occasion? More than likely!

Slainte!

@A'bunadhman that is so smart of you! I was thinking about transferring my bottles to smaller bottles. Where can I get 375 ml bottles? Also since the word oxidized gets thrown in discussions, do you have a term you would use to describe if the flavor changes a lot? Thanks so much for the response

@BlissInABarrel: Buffalo Trace do 375ml. bottles and many others. Any of the gift packs are a source of 200ml. bottles. Your local (friendly) Drug Store 100ml. and 50ml. bottles.

Good Luck.

@A'bunadhman Now I have a springbank 18yr old that I got for Christmas that is now on my list of intimidating whiskys that will take some will power to open. Darn these dilemmas. LOL. :)

@PMessinger: I know the feeling! A few of the Aussie Malts come in (500ml. bottles) & these make a great small decanter i.e. 500ml. in the Sullivan's Cove bottle and 200ml. in whatever 200ml bottle you have - Taste your way through 200ml. and you should be able to make an informed decision re. the 500ml. It wont change much over a few years but that will depend on how big the air space you leave. Rinse the clean 500ml. with the whisky you intend to store and either pour it into the 200ml. or better still drink it - Depending on the shape of your bottle, about 1 1/2" air space is good, less with a small decanter where there is a broad flat surface.

Good Luck!

Lol, I wish I got a bottle of Lagavulin 16yo for Christmas. A well meaning family member who had just learnt I liked my Scotch gave me a bottle of Dewers White label.

@PMessinger My intimidation whisky is last years Old Pulteney 21 yr old. World's Best Whisky for that year. I bought it very early on in my whisky journey because I'd heard it was the world's best whisky, and once I got it I started having doubts. Do I have enough of a palate to be able to pick up on all the nuances that made it the world's best whisky, am I good enough to tackle it.

I've largely overcome this fear and now jump into most whiskies with reckless abandon, but still that bottle sits on my shelf, maintaining a lonely vigil as it watches over me....

@Jason0142 You poor man. Could have been worse? Glenlivet 12 yr old? Johnnie Walker Red? One of my friends on here informed me today that he'd forbidden his family from purchasing him scotch because of just those sorts of occurrences...

You do have my sympathies my friend :)

@SquidgyAsh Yeah those darn dilemmas, now I have that 18yr Springbank sitting there waiting for the day that it will get opened. :)

@PMessinger in a word, yes. Haha. All things Islay give me this response. People revere the Islay malts, Lagavulin 16 particularly, but my one and only time with that malt was not a good experience. I didn't like or understand the heavy peat influence. That said, I feel like I am supposed to like the stuff. The Islay malts intimidate the hell out of me!