What is the next bottle you purchase or open?

@paddockjudge I really like the 21 year old in their regular range, but it is bottled at a measly 40%. I can only imagine how good this is.

@paddockjudge I'm so jealous !! I simply adore a malt whisky properly aged in ex-bourbon casks. Just my opinion (just an opinion malt-mates, just an opinion) but I think first-fill ex-bourbon best allows the intrinsic character and quality of a distillery's spirit to shine.

I see that Malt has just published a review of Spirit of Toronto 2020 on-line.

malt-review.com/2020/11/…

@OdysseusUnbound first-fill or refill? I think first fill can still have a lot of cask influence that can overshadow distillery character - although nothing a 'fresh sherry' or a re-charred cask. In my humble opinion I think refill casks allow the truest character of the spirit to shine through. But that is just my opinion too

@Hewie I don’t mind refill casks as long as they’re given enough time. And that seems to be the conundrum. Again, my experience is limited but it seems that whisky in refill casks needs at least 15 years of maturation before really shining. But perhaps I just haven’t tasted the right ones yet.

@OdysseusUnbound, I tend to agree with you. Refill bourbon casks require time to perform their magic ... 15 YO and older seems right

I'm trying to reign in my spending and acquisition, but if anyone is looking for an Alberta Premium Cask Strength, the LCBO has a bunch available online. I hear it was awarded World's Best Whisky by some guy who's a really big deal.

@OdysseusUnbound I just looked and didn't see any...

@MRick - I found Dr Don's comment about yeast quite interesting - it rarely gets a mention in the Scotch world?!

These arrived this morning. One bottle of whisky and one expensive signature on glass...I’m looking forward to finding out if I made the right decision...

Plan to open my bottle of Bushmill's Black Bush, to replace - once it's finished - my bottle of Jameson Caskmates: Beau's Edition, but that seems to be taking longer than I expected...

I am jonesing for a bottle of ardbeg 10. Kr for Kr I think it's probably the most value for your money regarding whisky.

@Alexsweden I’d put Laphroaig Quarter Cask up as a competitor to Ardbeg Ten as a “value for money” peat expert, but I wouldn’t turn down a dram of either one.

@OdysseusUnbound I agree. Tough choice if you only got one of them for the dessert island.

Purchase: Aberlour 18, because I love everything Aberlour. But I think we need to start normalizing smaller bottles...like 350ml, 375ml, and 500ml, because it takes me so long to get through full-sized bottles. Seriously, I opened a 500ml bottle of Norwegian whisky in November last year, poured samples for about 20 people at our Nordic Whisky Tasting, and it's still not finished...

@YakLord I found my bottle of Aberlour 18 went flat after about 6 months open. This was, I believe, before I discovered gas.

@Nozinan I track how long things are open... historically the mean length of time is 583 days (717 days when adjusting to 750ml), the median is 448 days (495 days when adjusting to 750ml), and that's taking into account that most bottles are opened for tasting events...the only bottles I've had go flat were Jura Superstition (opened for three years) and a sample of Rock Oyster (the cork in the sample was quite porous, so I left it for a while to observe the evaporation rate).

@YakLord Do you use gas/wine preserver with your whiskies?

@OdysseusUnbound No. I just try to keep the number of bottles I have open to a reasonable amount, and where possible I decant them to smaller bottles as I go. Using gas seems unnecessarily complicated, especially, as I said, I've only ever had one go flat, and I left it for so long because I didn't really like it that much from the start.

I’m tempted to try the NAS peated version of Glenlivet Nadurra. Has anyone tried it or have any thoughts on it? I’m looking at you @ajjarrett. I know you have a complete wing of your house for Nadurra storage

@BlueNote I've tried a couple of versions of the Oloroso and It's really raw and messy, not in the same league as A'bunadh, GF105, GD CS. I can't speak for the White oak or peated.

@BlueNote

I will have to say, I am not much of a peat fan. I do enjoy a mild peat, but I don't go out of my way to get peated whisky that I have tried and liked. haha. I haven't tried the peated Glenlivet Nadurra, so I cannot be much help.

Sorry. : P

Now, if you find the 16yo Nadurra, I am all ears.

@cricklewood @BlueNote I agree about the Oloroso Nadurra. I tried it at a tasting hosted by @talexander. Not impressed.

What did pleasantly surprise me was the NAS Nadurra. I correctly identified it in a blind sample from @OdysseusUnbound and I enjoyed it. I scored it an 84.

For the peated I would try before buying a bottle.

@ajjarrett don't you have a fortress of Nadurra 16 ? Then again with the way things are going now, one can never be too prepared.

@cricklewood

Being an Eagle Scout, I am always prepared. At least when it comes to making sure I have one of my favorite whiskies in reach, especially with the uncertainty of 2021.

@BlueNote Do you mean the peated cask? I reviewed it in 2018 - scored it an 82.

That's a respectable number @Nozinan. I haven't tried the Nadurra NAS but heard it was quite lackluster. At least compared to the 16yo which i happen to have in my cupboard. I will say that while it hasn't gotten flat over the years, it's distinctly less of a fruit basket than it was first opened.

@Alexsweden It has been over half a decade since I tasted the Nadurra 16 YO in Calgary. But it did leave a lasting impression...

@Nozinan

I was sad to see the 16yo discontinued, which is why I went a 'bit' OCD.

@ajjarrett I would call it more OTT than OCD...