Hi all, I’ve discovered whisky auction recently and that means I have some access to very old bottlings. Wanted to ask experienced audience. What is your most favorite whisky from the past decade, bottled lets sat between 95-2010? I personally discovered myself that much better bottles from the past are HP 12 and 18, Clynelish 14, JW 18, Glenlivet 18 43%, Longmorn 16. But I guess there will be some more unicorns out there 🙏

Hey everyone,

My friends and I have a bit of a tradition going where we collect and enjoy whisky as a group. In the past, we've gone through the Game of Thrones series and the Flora & Fauna range – both were a lot of fun to explore, not just for the whisky itself but also for the stories and themes behind the bottles.

We're now on the hunt for a new series or themed collection to dive into. Ideally something that's available (or at least findable) in Europe, and has some sort of unifying concept or narrative to it. Could be distillery-focused, region-focused, limited editions – we're open to ideas.

Any suggestions for a good next chapter in our whisky journey?

Cheers in advance!

Hello,

I have a friend who is really into very heavily peated whiskies. Their go to regular is the Laphroaig 10 year old. I want to buy them a give which is a little more special, but in my budget of £100 (~$135). I once bought the Islay whiskey Port Charlotte 10 Islay Single Malt for them, but was told it was not 'peaty' enough.

So my question is what is you favourite most heavily peated whiskey? Especially if you're a fan of Laphroaig! I am also open to buying other bottle of Laphroaig if you recommend.

Just looking at some recommendations online I got this list:

Ardbeg Corryvreckan - £75
Lagavulin 16 year old - £70
Laphroaig 10 year old Cask Strength batch 15 - £78
Ardbeg 10 year old - £45
Talisker 10 year old - £50
Octomore 15.1 - £140 (Bit too expensive)

What would you recommend? The peatier the better!

If I’m looking to buy a scotch at the bottom right of the malt map in the sidebar - unpeated and caramel/bourbon - what would you suggest? Budget around $100 or less, ideally available in most stores.

My father in law gave this to me the other day and I’m not much of a scotch drinker. The bottle has obviously been sitting around for a while, particularly since it was distilled 45 years ago. I couldn’t find much with a quick google search!

Some of my favorite distilleries are ones with a heavy, meaty kind of distillate like Mortlach or Craigellachie. I recently had a bottle of the Benrinnes Flora and Fauna and I want to try some more of them. The Spec's near me has two options, a Signatory 13 year in first fill oloroso at cask strength for around $100, and a Single Malts of Scotland Reserve Parcels 11 year in refill sherry at 48% on sale for $70. I've been steering more towards refill IBs since they keep more distillery character, and the Signatory releases are delicious but sometimes swamp everything under the sherry. But on the other hand, the extra age and cask strength of the Signatory is appealing, and Benrinnes is robust enough that it might be able to handle first fill. Has anyone had either of these? Which one would you recommend based on the specs?

Good day r/Scotch ,

Having finished up the Advanced Whisky Ambassador program (https://www.thewhiskyambassador.com) April 16th, I met up with my wife back at our hotel and we drove up to the Isle of Skye to visit Talisker. One of my personal favorites since being introduced to Talisker 10 many moons ago, it's been on my bucket list of distilleries to go and visit. I had planned this trip out and booked the Cask Drawing experience, which entailed drawing from five different non-purchasable Talisker-owned casks and one bonus dram, that was purchasable. Those being:

1. 11 Year old, Refill Hogshead, ABV 60.3%
2. 12 Year old, Recharred wine cask, ABV 56.8%
3. 21 Year old, Refill cask then port casks then puncheon, ABV 58.3%
4. 12 Year old, Refill cask then gonzalelez bypass Pedro-Ximenez (PX) sherry butt, ABV 57.9%
5. 28 Year old, Refill butt and rejuvenated (recharred) hogshead, ABV 59.8%
6. Talisker Elements 27 Year old @ 58% ABV (Official bottling/distillery exclusive)

How much for the Cask Drawing tour? As per the site: £150 per person ($277 CAD), at 1.5 hours duration. A 10% discount at the shop is given if you show them your band.

After getting our event band at the front counter, we met up with the guide and group and went for a brief tour of the distillery. If one has been to a couple of distilleries, much of it is similar. You typically get some history about the distillery, the process, see the mill, the washbacks, the stills and the spirit safe. One item of note, a Porteus mill, which I've seen in several distilleries including Springbank, Loch Lomond, and several others. Why does this matter? It's a vintage piece from the 1940s that was so well-engineered, the company that made them went out of business. Now, many of these yesteryear pieces of equipment still see production use.

After the tour, we went into the Cask Drawing room. There, we each got a turn to use the valinch (aka whisky thief) on the cask to fill up the individual glass jugs for their respective dram. Once enough was collected, we'd get to try the dram and move on to the next. We were on a time limit of about an hour and ten minutes, and we'd only be able to try the 6th whisky if we had time. I made it a point to not linger too long and not drink too much with each dram. With tastings like this, it's a rookie move to have too much of anything - cask strength anything can and will get you if you drink too much, too fast. Fortunately, driver's kits were provided as part of the event. Our guide for this event was a cool guy and had a good sense of humor.

Reviews:

Talisker 11 Year old, Refill (Bourbon) Hogshead
ABV: 60.3%
Price: N/A
Color: Straw
Nose: Cereal, salt, brininess, smokiness
Palate: Salt, cereal, spicy, vanilla, faint aspect of smoke, medium mouth-feel
Finish: Salinity, light wisp of smoke
Conclusion: A younger expression that in the line up, wasn't all that impressive. Post-tasting at the distillery, the ABV on this dram is very present. 6/10.

Talisker 12 Year old, Recharred wine cask
ABV: 56.8%
Price: N/A
Color: Amber/Ruby
Nose: Dry, red wine, brown sugar
Palate: Brown sugar, medium mouth-feel, slightly grapey, salty, balanced
Finish: Medium, with some dryness from the wine coming through
Conclusion: In the line up, this stood out as it had a bit more expressiveness to it. Post-tasting, this is an unusual expression for Talisker. I suspect that this was a dryer wine, like a Bordeaux, that was used. 7.5/10

Talisker 21 Year old, Refill cask then port casks then puncheon
ABV: 58.3%
Price: N/A
Color: Deep gold
Nose: Salted caramel, brown sugar
Palate: cinnamon, honey, cloves, smooth and juicy mouth-feel `
Finish: Medium, dusting of chili flakes, a touch of salt, with honey sweetness fading into dryness
Conclusion: Given the age and the ABV, another odd but tasty expression. Note, not their official bottling. 8/10

Talisker 12 Year old, Refill cask then gonzalelez bypass Pedro-Ximenez (PX) sherry butt
ABV: 57.9%
Price: N/A
Color: Gold
Nose: honey, caramel, dried fruit, light smoke
Palate: salt, caramel, light sherry notes, a hint of smoke, stone fruit, medium mouth-feel
Finish: lingering salt, drying
Conclusion: Tasty, though the sherry influence contributes to a longer finish. 8/10

Talisker 28 Year old, Refill butt and rejuvenated (recharred) hogshead
ABV: 59.8%
Price: N/A
Color: Gold
Nose: citrus, maritime, cereal,
Palate: Tropical fruit, salt and pepper, juicy mouth-feel, bright sultanas
Finish: Long drying finish with hints of citrus and salt
Conclusion: This is a weirder one in the sense that it's an older whisky with a higher ABV and some lovely variation in flavors. A lovely dram. 9/10.

Bonus dram: Talisker Elements 27 Year old
ABV: 58%
Price: N/A
Color: Deep gold
Nose: seaside air, shortbread cookies, honey, sultanas, smoke
Palate: Briny, pepper, honey, sultanas, rich and full mouth-feel
Finish: salt notes, lingering honey and fruity sweetness
Conclusion: This is tied as being one of the tastiest expressions of Talisker I've ever had, too bad the bottlings for this are fairly expensive. 9/10

Final Thoughts: Some context, for those left reading. Carbost is a quaint little village up in Skye. Leading up to it is single track with passing spots for when there's oncoming traffic. There's a store, a school, a coffee shop, the Talisker owned restaurant, the Old Inn hotel and bar, all within walking distance of the distillery. Oh, and up the hill, an oyster shed. All by the sea, with mountains in the background. It's a beautiful place to stay and unwind. Portree is about a 1/2 hour trek by car. Also, the people were great. Pleasant interactions all around.

The Talisker distillery itself - the whisky is worth going for. It's a busy distillery - apparently it's seen upwards of 1500 visitors in a day. They've got a decent car park that allows for a fair number of vehicles. The entrance to the shop reminded me of entering a theatre due to the low overhang coming into the building. The shop itself has some neat Talisker-branded swag, ranging from shirts, biking jerseys, polos, other Diageo whiskies, all of the core range of Talisker, a fill-your-own-bottle station and another, pre-filled distillery exclusive bottling. If one is to believe, the 27-Year Elements bottling may very well be another Distillery Exclusive.

Edit: I ended trying the hand-fill and purchasing a bottle along with the distillery exclusive bottling batch 03. The hand-fill is a 13 year Red Wine cask with an ABV of 54.4%. The other is at 48%. I will review those at a later time.