What is the next bottle you purchase or open?

The new batch of Springbank 12 cask strength comes out Friday so I'll be grabbing a bottle of that.

@Wierdo - Hmm . . . my bday is next month and was planning to get another Talisker 18 for the pile but . . .

@RianC Springbank have made a big thing in their press release. Matured in 50% sherry casks!

When actually previous releases have been 70% sherry cask.

Bit naughty. But it's Springbank so I'll forgive them!

@Wierdo I thought the point was that it was now 50% bourbon casks (and so a departure from previous batches) - not that I've seen their press release

@Hewie actually to be fair the press releases doesn't try to insinuate that it is more Sherry matured:

---

Springbank 12yo Cask Strength 54.8% (Available from Friday 1st February 2019)

We are pleased to announce the upcoming release of the new Springbank 12yo Cask Strength.

The latest edition of the Springbank 12yo Cask Strength departs from the typical maturation recipe and has been matured in 50% Bourbon and 50% Sherry casks. The ABV is 54.8%.

Full details springbank.scot/news/2019/…

---

It's just the daft sods on their Facebook page were commenting 'more sherry casks, lovely!.....etc' until someone pointed out previous releases have been 70/30 sherry/bourbon not 50/50.

I think a switch to 50/50 might be a good call. I love a bit of sherry cask influence with my Springbank. But too much sherry cask and you can lose that Springbank funk.

@Wierdo I've never found too much sherry in my Springbank 12...

I'd like to see 'em at about 10% sherry, 90% bourbon.

Not whisky but Rum. Plantation multi Islands XO single cask. It's a blend of Barbados & Jamaican rums, finished in a Red Wine casks, 46.5%.

Just cracked it open, nose is mango, pastry, pepper and pear. Palate is soft, fruity and tobacco, just a touch of funk.

@MadSingleMalt I’m with you. I’m getting a bit tired of over sherried whisky. I have a cask strength Tomatin that is over the top with sherry, almost as if they just dumped a bunch of PX into the casks. Super sweet and, for me, practically undrinkable.

@BlueNote That has not been my experience with Springbank 12 CS

The type of “Sherry” Cask matters too. I’m not big on lots of PX casks as I find it can easily overwhelm the whisky. A good mix of Oloroso and ex-bourbon is nice. Something like 50/50 or 60/40 (bourbon/Oloroso). And I’ll have to get back to everyone once I open my Laphroaig Fino Cask.

@Nozinan Yes, not my experience either. I wasn’t specifically referring to Springbanks, which are not generally heavy on the sherry, but recently (not this month of course) I seem to be developing an aversion to heavily sherried malts such as the Tomatin I mentioned as well as a Tamdhu and a 22 year old AnCnoc.

@BlueNote - I hear that. I think there's a definite difference between whiskys that have been matured traditionally in good sherry casks i.e. the Hazelburn 13 Oloroso I'm currently enjoying and those that haven't. I love a well done sherried whisky but too often they taste like someone poured syrup into the bottle - not a fan of that.

@Nozinan me neither. In fact if you said to me the 12 was 70% sherry casks I would have been surprised. Doesn't taste overly sherried at all. But I think Springbank generally use good second refill sherry casks so you just get some subtle dried fruit notes from the sherry casks without it being overwhelming.

As others have said I'm not a fan of all these Pedro Ximenez etc finished whiskies. I think they often do that just to try to improve a bad whisky.

@cricklewood - Sounds nice! Usually pick up a bottle of rum each year and had my eye on El Dorado 12 which I've tried - nice if a little too sweet, but this is rum . . .

I saw that Serge gave Wray and Nephew overproof white rum 89 points recently! I'm not a big fan of white rum, and with my partner not drinking I doubt many Mojitos will be being made. Still, he gave it a mouth watering write up and it's very cheap over here c£25.

@RianC I have a bottle of Wray and Nephew white rum for Mojitos in summer. It's the strongest spirit I've ever had at 63%. I've had a couple of neat sips and that's an experience, but I don't think you'd routinely drink it neat. I could literally feel my tongue going numb. Makes for a powerful mojito though, missus didn't know what had hit her!

@Wierdo here here. Me too. With exception of the rather outstanding kavalan px that I was generously offered to sample by their master distiller. That changed my prejudice against px. It's just a bit prohibitive in price...

@RianC I quite enjoyed my first tastes of that rum blend, it has a good amount of complexity which is what I want for sipping neat. Some of the El Dorado' are quite nice the 15 is my favorite in terms of balance of flavors, I think it contains more pot-still, heavier distillates.

As for sweetness, most rums are actually not sweet, much like in bourbon you can get the perception of sweetness from spirit and casks. The problem is that sadly there are too many companies dosing their rums it's the dirty little secret of the industry.

Plantation has started writing how much they are dosing on their bottles but for the rest it's still being hidden, for example Diplomatico can have up to 40g/L of sugar and also added vanilin/glycerol, which renders it "smooth" and easy to drink. There's a lot of interesting articles about this.

Wray & Nephew overproof is good distillate, probably not something you'd sip straight on a regular basis, as there is no aging to round out the edges but it's great in cocktails. I like using overproof rums as a flavor booster for cocktails, it helps the rum flavor cut through.

I think the use of PX sherry in whisky is akin to the way the industry used Paxarette before it's use was outlawed by the SWA. Everyone is just going nuts with it, I think the issue is also that everyone is going for quick finishes rather than any length of maturation in PX which tends to yield a different result

Sherry bombs sell well so that is why we are seeing so many over the top Sherried whiskys like the Tomatin @BlueNote mentions

For me, the problem with heavy sherry isn't the sweetness. It's the very heaviness. I'm rarely in the mood for a heavy whisky.

Even with Springbank 12 CS, which I agree is usually a minor offender, I find it needs a dash of something lighter—say, some basic Longrow Peated—to zip it up a bit.

@cricklewood - Yeah I've heard about this with rum. Are there any rums that 'give it you straight?' Like I say, I don't mind the sweetness (and colouring) to a degree but would like to see what pure rum is all about.

Couple of years back I bought my partner some Malaysian rum Don Papa as she tried a sample tasting and liked it. It wasn't bad but talk about vanilla . . .

@MadSingleMalt You see, and I like a heavy oily, rich whisky, but I don’t want too much sweetness. A little is fine, but it needs to be balanced. I find many “lighter-bodied” whiskies a bit sharp at times. Now that may be because I’ve never tried any higher-end light-bodied whiskies. Most of the lighter stuff I’ve had has been of the Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve/Master Distiller’s Reserve variety.

Hibiki Harmony Master's Select, a NAS Traveler's Retail offering I received as a Secret Santa gift. It was on my list to open in 2019, and since we're celebrating my (adult) niece's birthday...

Very similar to the Harmony I tried in Calgary. Review coming (in a while...don't hold your breath)

@RianC didn't see your last comment, I'll pm you for more rum recommendations but since you are in the UK you are spoiled for choice, try offerings from the IB's they arte usually cask strength and unsweetened. So stuff from compagnies de Indes, Transcontinental, Cadenhead, Velier, Duncan Taylor etc. You'll just have to pick which region or distillery.

The next bottle which I want to purchase is Ben Nevis 10 yo. It seems to be sold out. I know our Canadian friends never had the opportunity to buy it all. I hope a new batch is released soon. I hope my Canadian friends will enjoy Ben Nevis too.

@NamBeist Ben Nevis 10 was briefly available at the SAQ (Québec liquor stores) in 2018, it was on shelves for a few months I failed to pick up a bottle but should have when I saw it on everybody's list of good values.

@NamBeist - MoM are selling a 10 cask strength version that will set you back nigh on £100! I plan to open a bottle of the standard 10 soon that I've had in the stash for a while. I dod look at picking up another if I enjoyed it but it seems as if there aren't any batches out there at the minute. Also noticed the price had started to creep up.

Pretty sure @Wierdo rated the 10 quite highly.

@RianC Cheers! I also found an alternative: Ben Nevis McDonald 's Traditional. Don't know yet if I will buy this one or wait for a new batch of the 10 yo. I found one for the price of €70. It used to be €45. Maybe I should join the marines in the Netherlands. It is the whisky that they drink at special occasions

@NamBeist - Yes I've seen that. The reviews seem quite good but can't get much info on the flavour profile - Whisky Base suggest a peated BN? Love the 'old skool' Ben Nevis packaging too!

@RianC Yes I believe that the Ben Nevis McDonald 's Traditional is a very nice alternative for the Ben Nevis 10 yo. Somehow I think that Benromach 10 yo is an alternative too. They both seem to have some Springbank elements which I am very fond of.