Young bucks

Glenmorangie Astar

@teebone673 Great choice. Very, very nice but do you have any credible information to believe it is younger than 10 yrs old?

I'd say Kavalan deserves to be mentioned here. They only opened in 2006, but their entire Solist lineup is world-class. I'm also a fan of the Glendronach Octarine, which is sadly no longer in production.

For Scotch I'd say the Octomore 4.1. It's one of 2 versions I've tried. A'Bunadh likely has younger than 9 year old malt, but it also has older stuff in it.

If we're looking at single malts around the world, I would have t say Amrut intermediate Sherry from the standard range, or one of the single cask (the pleated CS comes to mind) that I sampled at Spirit of Toronto.

I may. Change my mind once I get to try the Greedt Angels ...

@tjb here is an article from whisky advocate. I've never read anything from Dr. Bill or Glenmo direct.

whiskyadvocate.com/whisky/2008/…

Agreed with hunggar about the Octarine; and regarding Kavalan... in general those warmer climates will make good young malts (Taiwan, India, Tasmania...).
My personal favorite "young buck" is the Port Charlotte PC8; and I know it won't be long before someone mentions the Kilchoman Loch Gorm here.

A VERY easy question for me: Octomore Orpheus 2.2, 5 years old

@teebone673 Now that's exactly the kind of thing I meant.

@victor You have excellent taste sir, the Orpheus is amazing. I have only ever had 1 glass of it courtesy of a friend.

@tjb Yeah what @Victor said. (:

Bruichladdich Rocks.

@FMichael another good choice I also have this one in my cabinet. (:

as @vanPelt pointed out; Tasmanian whisky in general. Specifically Lark (very good), Overeem (very very good if you like strong cask influence), Bakery Hill (ok), Hellyers Road (above average), Limeburner's (quite good), Nant (decent though far too pricey), Sullivan's Cove (higher ABV% offerings are where the quality is), and Starward (still young but showing promise). On the way and ones to look out for; Redlands Estate and Belgrove Rye.

The Belgian Owl and the Arran Robert Burns are both fairly decent light and floral malts. 3yr and NAS, respectively.

I've been really impressed with the offerings coming out of Chichibu. While there's still some room to get even better, all the offerings seem to drink much older than their 5 year or younger age. The biggest problem for me has been availability and price.

Kilchoman Machir Bay.

Distillery founded in 2005, so all their production will be young. There have been three releases of Machir Bay - 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The 2012 release contains whisky that spent three (60%), four (35%) and five (5%) years in casks, first in ex-bourbon wood from Kentucky’s Buffalo Trace Distillery and then “finished” for two months in Oloroso sherry butts.

The 2013 release is a vatting of 4 (50%) and 5 (50%) year old ex-bourbon casks, with the 4 year casks being finished in Oloroso sherry butts for 4 weeks prior to bottling.

The 2014 release is a vatting of 5 and 6 year old ex-bourbon barrels and of which approximately 50% were finished in oloroso sherry butts.

All releases are bottled at 46% ABV.

The Machir Bay is designed as an entry level price, daily dram. Bottled once a year, each release contains more mature whisky allowing us to follow the development of the Kilchoman malt as it matures.

YouTube video with Kilchoman founder, Anthony Wills: www.youtube.com/watch

I have the 2012 - peaty and briny on the nose, yet savoury and an underlying floral sweetness. An early campfire on the tongue, but sweet, sweet, sweet and a lingering salty tang. This is a dram that I like! Shared some with some mates and they all thought the age was 10 - 12 YO. I hope the LCBO gets the 2013 in soon.

I believe the 2012 release is still available at selected LCBO locations in limited quantities for C$89.95. Looks like the 2012 release is also available from Kensington Wine Market in Calgary, AB for C$66.99. There may also be some bottles available at a few Binny's Beverage Depot (Illinois) locations - US$49.99.

Have not seen the 2013 online anywhere, other than UK sites, and the 2014 was only recently released (May 2014?).

Another young whisky - Three Ships 5 Year Old Premium Select Blended whisky:

threeshipswhisky.co.za/range/detail/…

A "blend of South African and Scotch grain and malt whiskies"... priced at the LCBO for C$34.95.

I had a taste of it at the 2014 Spirit of Toronto. It was later in the evening, so my tasting note capabilities were waning, but I do recall that it was easy enough to drink.

Here's a link to Jason Hambrey's Sept. 2013 review of this whisky: whiskywon.wordpress.com/2013/09/…

Tamdhu 8 y.o 'The Ultimate' botteling was one of the best 'under 10's' I've tried. Wonderfull young 100% sherry maturing.

Overall younger Scotches certainly have a lot going for them - the main differences seem to be a less interesting nose & shorter finish, but when you find a good one the palate can often stand up to it's older siblings.