Suggestions for a Tasting?

Wow, I'd love to be at that tasting, you've got some great stuff there. You can't go wrong with the HP 18. I have a bottle of the Old Pulteney 21 that I have not opened yet, but it gets super good reviews (Jim Murray's 2012 World Whisky of the year) so I don't think anyone would object to a taste of that. I'm not familiar with the Dalmore 18, I've only had the 12 and I didn't particularly like it. I assume you are hosting a group of seasoned whisky veterans because the malts you have listed are definitely not for beginners. Have fun, I'd love to join you.

@BlueNote -

Thanks so much for the response. I've been trying to track down the Old Pulteney-21 but the only bottling I've found so far is the the Gordon&McPhail bottling. Would you happen to have any sense of whether this is OK to go with or should I continue my search for a "true" bottling?

I'm actually pretty excited about the tasting. Most of the folks are Single Malt veterans but there are a couple for whom this will be their first exposure. I'm wondering if maybe I should offer more of a beginner's level to them as an option.

Great tasting lineup! I'd think the logical order would be: Pulteney 21, Macallan 18, Glenfarclas 25, A'bunadh, Corryvreckan

In general, you want to go young to old, low ABV to high ABV, low peat to high peat, but it gets confusing when you're mixing and matching so much. I'd say low to high ABV is most important so you do blow out your taste buds, similarly for peat.

@MeganL13 That is a nice line up of malts. If I were the one hosting the tasting I would start out with a very basic but decent blend (like Grant's or Ballantine's or Great King Street) to kind of center and awaken the palate. I have found that helps keep all the malts on an even playing field and it often will impress the malt snobs.

Then I would start with the Old Pulteney 21yo, followed by the Macallan 18yo (mature sherry influence) then the Glenfarclas 25yo (very mature sherry influence) Then Aberlour A'Bunadh (big sherry and big ABV) And end with Ardbeg Corryvreckan (big peat and big ABV)

Sounds like a great tasting let us know what you end up deciding to do

@valuewhisky looks like I was tying my response as you were posting yours. Nice to see we are in agreement on the extra malt (Old P 21yo) and the tasting order.

I agree on your general "rules of order" however I would suggest that the most important thing to order low to high is peat. The second most important is ABV followed closely by sherry influence. But that is just my opinion.

@MeganL13 Awesome tasting line up! Can I join in from Australia?! I myself would go low peat to high peat and low abv to high abv, which has already been suggested several times so I'm just going to smile and nod in agreement with the awesome guys who got here before me!

For your Old Pulteney 21 yr old go here!

www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-10193.aspx

If you don't mind importing your whisky and are able to! Not sure which state your in so I'm not sure if it's legal for you to do so or not. But I, as many other fine folks here on Connosr, have ordered from Master of Malt, The Whisky Exchange, Abbey Whisky, Whisky Shop Dufftown, etc and have had very good experiences with them all shipping international.

@MeganL13. Don't know anything about the G & M bottling of Pulteney 21, but it would be worth a chance if the price is reasonable. I agree with @valuewhisky's advice on the tasting order. I would like to see one more Islay in there before the Ardbeg Corry, maybe a Lagavulin 16 or a Laphroaig Quarter Cask or 18. For the rookies you might start them out with something gentle and straightforward like Cragganmore 12, Aberlour 10, Dalwhinnie 15 or Balvenie Signature or Double Wood. You could even start out, as @Nock suggests, with a couple of good, definitive blends (Teachers, JW Black, Ballantines 17) and/or blended malts (JW Green seems to be the category favourite) and maybe a lighter weight peater like Bowmore 12 or Compass Box Peat Monster (it's actually far from a monster, and very tasty).

Good luck, we will be interested to hear how it goes.

PS. Highland Park 18 is like cash, it never goes out of style. If you can't get the OP 21 go for the HP 18, it's pretty much at home anywhere. Cheers.

Hi All,

Many thanks for the responses. I really appreciate all the terrific information everyone has passed along.

@Nock - Excellent idea of starting with a nice blend.

@SquidgyAsh - I'm in Massachusetts so, unfortunately, I cannot import. Ah well, that just makes the hunt more fun.

@BlueNote - I was able to find the OP 21 but after reading your post, I decided to pick up a bottle of the HP 18 also. I'm not sure yet if I'll share it during the tasting.

One concern I do have is with the Aberlour A'Bunadh. I foolishly bought it before doing adequate research and I got a bottle of Batch 41 which, according to many of the reviews I've (since) read doesn't seem to be up to the usual standards.

One other question if I may - The tasting is still a month or so away. Would it be better to open the bottles now or should I wait until the evening of the tasting?

Thanks again for all your help. I'll be sure to toast you all (probably more than once) that evening.

@MeganL13, open the HP18 immediately. It often doesn't open up fully for 3 to 4 months.

@Victor - Thanks for the advice!

@MeganL13. Just checked out A'Bunadh bnatch 41 in Murray's 2013 Whisky Bible. He gives it 83 pts. It usually scores in the low to mid 90s. I would get this one opened up and check it out well before your tasting. Batches 35, 36, 37, 39 and 40 all score in the 90s. Maybe you can find one of those somewhere still in stock. If you can find it #40 is 93.5.

@BlueNote - Happy Day! I stopped in to a new liquor store on the way home this evening and they had a bottle of A'bunadh - Batch 40! Thanks to you, I knew it was a winner so I picked it up.

They also had a bottle of the Balvenie Tun 1401 - Batch 6 which I had been searching for. I didn't pull the trigger on that one but I'm considering it as an Xmas gift to myself.

Thanks again for your advice.