Whisky Secret

@BlueNote

I actually never owned a bottle of the 17yo Old Pulteney, so I will consider you lucky. I have not owned or had an An Cnoc expression, so again, lucky. All of the youtube reviewers I have watched seem to have lowered their impressions of the current expressions coming out of Old Pulteney than the previous ones. Whether or not it is due to nestalgia or actual impressions of quality of whisky is hard to tell, nevertheless, I am happy I have my Glenlivet Nadurra 16yo collection. HA I had to plug that, again.

As for having a wife, well....unlucky. Just kidding. At least she stays away from your 'other' quality whisk(e)y.

@cricklewood I’ve enjoyed a few expressions from Jura but my experience isn’t extensive. I don’t understand all the hate it gets. Diurach’s Own 16 Year old was one I purchased a few times and I quite liked it.

@cricklewood Re: Springbank, “craft presentation” does buy this distillery a lot of good will. They bottle some great stuff, but they are not as consistent as one would like.

@ajjarrett reworking core offerings is an excuse to jack up prices, alas.

@MRick

I am sure if a cat at the distillery sneezes, it would cause them to raise their prices.

@OdysseusUnbound in their previous line-up there were some decent options but also plenty of really actively terrible whiskys. I know people like to collectively shit on Jura but I actually like this distillery.

The spirit has a distinct character and technically would have all the trappings needed for a marketing push (small historic Island distillery, old school something, something). The line-up has a big gap in it between the budget offerings and premium with either of those categories sporting "off-tasting" casks.

They had a single cask series that really showed off how good the whisky could be not sure if they still offer that.

@OdysseusUnbound - my issue with Jura is more how it's branded, especially in the UK. It's like they've intentionally set out to appeal to the lowest common denominator and the amount of Jura bilge on supermarket shelves is embarrasing.

I agree with @cricklewood here in that there is probably some very good whisky being made - certainly sat in a warehouse - yet it's almost impossible.to.find any craft presentations or older juice without taking out a second mortgage. ( cough Ben Nevis cough) Considering what's at their disposal, it's such a waste!

Superstition was decent at first but, no joke, after a year in the bottle it became undrinkable - I wouldn't even cook with it!

@ajjarrett - ... and charge the cat for the privilege!

The first bottle of malt whisky I have bought was a bottle of Tamnavulin 12 yo. The first dram of it was a slight dissapointment. It turned out to be a great mixer with coca cola. It happened 25 years ago and it took a while before I bought another bottle of malt whisky. What was your first whisky brand ?

@NamBeist - Malt or blend? First blend was probably Bells. I remember doing shots of it while off school sick. I'd have been about 13 and was big into Western films at the time. When my Nan finally came over to see to me I was hiding in a cupboard ha!

As an adult JW Red was my go to blend if I ordered one, so most likely that. As for malt, it was either Laphroaig or Glenfiddich, with the latter being most likely. I did not like it, not at all. In fact I gagged! The Laff I remember as tasting like medicine but strangely appealing, if odd. I guess JW Black became my house whisky before I 'got the bug' proper.

Edit - you clearly said malt! Doh! Having two toddlers raging round my head currently is my excuse

I was introduced to single malt whisky by a close friend. The whisky? While Dalmore 12yo of course !!! Dalmore 12yo then became the first single malt I ever purchased. But my secret is that after having observed the price of Dalmore 12yo rise from $21.95 to $24.95 to $29.95 over a short period of time, I acted (over-reacted?). I now have bunkered more whisky than I could ever drink in 10 lifetimes. All to save myself from spending more for a bottle in the distant future.

@cricklewood I had several very good drams of Jura 10 just last Tuesday at a relative's house, but they were from a bottle which has likely been open for 30 years, so probably relics from 'the good old days'.

@cherylnifer

In short, I can relate.

@cherylnifer FOMO and FORO captured eloquently in your post... I suffer from it, though with my recent crisis of storage space I've had to re-evaluate my priorities and focus on enjoying what I have...

@cherylnifer @Nozinan beat me to it, but welcome to the FOMO & FORO club. I'm not seeing any downside to your whisky futures investment portfolio. Better than pork belly futures.

Okay, I have 'stalled' long enough.

For those in the US, or have access to liquor stores in the US, and enjoy the Yamazaki 12yo Single Malt whisky, you can get it where I got mine.

First place: oakandbarrelnyc.com/product/…

Second place, but currently sold out (I don't think it was me): acespirits.com/buy-the-yamazaki-12-year-ja…

Did I order more? You might ask. Stall......

@ajjarrett there is always room for "public service announcements". Thank you.

@Victor

This is whisk(e)y.

This is your brain on whisk(e)y.

Any questions?

@ajjarrett no questions whatsoever.

I remember vividly when I started collecting whisk(e)y 15 years ago and paying more than $ 20 for a bottle seemed outrageous.

I do not doubt that being able to buy Yamazaki 12 for $ 140 plus shipping is a desirable opportunity to many...but I cannot help but remember that the one and only bottle of it I bought I paid $ 42.95 plus 6% tax.

@Victor

Those were the good o' days. I remember I got a bottle of Taketsuru 17yo in Narita Airport's (summer of 2015) duty free for just shy of $75 USD, which I thought was great. About six months later, I went back to Tokyo and bam, it was no longer being sold in duty free, and was difficult to find them anywhere in Tokyo. Yes, I cried myself to sleep thinking I should have purchased two bottles.

I guess for some people, who just want to have a bottle of the Yamazaki 12yo, or missed the opportunity to get one, they might splash out for one, even at $140 USD per bottle.

@ajjarrett yes, my one and only bottle of Taketsuru 17 yo remains unopened because I treasure it and am saving it for a special occasion.

@Victor I have a number of bottles I am saving for a special occasion.

At some point I will be so old and there are so many that waking up will count as a special occasion.

before that, given the current disruptions of life, the next time you and I (and this goes for my other Connosr friends) can be in the same room will be cause for the opening of something VERY special.

@Victor Hold onto that bottle. Even if Nikka was to bring back something comparable, it still won't be the same. Okay, there is a chance it could be better, but then again, there is a chance you might not enjoy it as much. haha.

Anyway, I hope you will find a genuinely 'good' occasion to open it.

Now that's a good thread. A list of whisk(e)y people are holding onto for a 'good' occasion, and maybe a list of the possible 'good' occasions. HA! I do the same thing, but I suspect I might be one of those who just says I will open them, but deep at heart enjoy looking at the bottles that just maintain the possibility of being open. Oh, how I love anticipation. ^_^

@ajjarrett Anticipation....

@Nozinan Now you know I am a product of the Weird Al generation. I know this is a 'real' song, but my mind at 7am was thinking this could be a great theme song for both Trump and Biden in their campaigns to Election Day.

And for the rest of us the song would be Weird Al's "It's Christmas at Ground Zero."

@ajjarrett after having opened 100s of bottles and having probably 150 open now, the only things that keep me from opening and drinking from a prized bottle are: 1) preferring not to open it until there is a good chance that I will be drinking regularly from it, because I don't need a 151st open bottle of whisky in storage taking air, or, 2) the relatively remote possibility that I may wish to swap the bottle in question because of its appreciated bottle.

At the heart of it I am more interested in exploring many different tastes and in having many different options than I am in finishing off bottles. After a while the number of open bottles becomes great, and somewhat burdensome. Keeping bottles unopened is a hygienic measure to lessen open bottle clutter.

@Victor Instead of FORO, you suffer from FONRO - fear of not running out leading to too many open bottles

I am a grown man. Today I realized I still miss Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beast. Is there a name for a longing to a whisky, which is not avaible in shops for years? It is some kind of nostalgia . I gotta learn to live with it.

@NamBeist Probablyin German there is a word that goes something like
destillierteschottischeSpirituosenSehnsucht

One of the best whiskies I've ever had wasn't a whisky at all but ardbeg white dog.