Getting Creative: Vattings

Wanted to up the peat content of what I consider to be a nice affordable blend so I vatted 15 ml of Laph QC with 45 ml Black Grouse and let it marry for a day. Kept me well entertained for the happy hour today. Very nice! Jonesz

Victor's thread-starter featured a few peat + tequila vattings. I can chime in by saying that I've been in-the-glass mixing quite a bit of Del Maguey "Chichicapa" single village mezcal with some (old) Cadenhead's Classic Islay Pure Malt 50%. This is not some inspired blend of two great liquids that are better together. Rather, it's a desperate attempt to salvage the mezcal, which I find to be pretty nasty on its own. The mix certainly achieves that goal, but I mourn the near-waste of that nice old Islay malt.

I toss stuff together quite often, but my one main deliberate vatting is an ongoing Ralfy-style solera bottle of everything decent I've opened since 2010. Here's what's in it:

Lagavulin 16

Talisker DE 2000

Highland Park 12

Bruichladdich Rocks (ca. 2010)

Kilkerran WIP 1

Glen Scotia 12

Springbank 10 100 Proof

Connemara NAS

Benriach 10 Curiositas

Laphroaig QC

Ardbeg Ten

Six Isles Pomerol Finish (awesome)

Great Lakes Pumpkin Spirit

Talisker 10

Bunnahabhain heavily peated IB

Laphroaig 10

Cadenhead's Campbeltown from the barrel behind the counter, CS

Duthies Campbeltown

Benriach peated IB

Port Charlotte An Turas Mor

Knappogue Castle 1995

Balcones Brimstone

Kilchoman Machir Bay

Connemara CS

Ardbeg Corryvreckan

Ardmore Traditional Cask

Elijah Craig 12

Clynelish 14

Laphroaig 10 CS batch 4

Aberlour A'bunadh batch 44

Ardbeg Uigadail (ca. 2013)

Redbreast 12 CS

Glenlivet 16 Nadurra CS

Wild Turkey Rare Breed

Springbank 12 CS

Amrut Fusion batch 18

Kilkerran WIP 4 bourbon wood

Caol Ila 12

Caol Ila CS IB

Laphroaig 10 CS batch 5

Talisker 10

Connemara NAS

Hakushu 12

Cadenhead's Classic Islay Pure Malt Islay 50%

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So...

(A), it's awesome. I allow myself a dram or two every time I open a new bottle that I need to make room for. It's always a little different, of course, but it's always good. Peat dominates, to be sure, but all the other random junk lends it a lot of extra dimension. And it's oily as all get-out. I should point out that not every contributing bottle gets the same allotment. CS peaties go for about 3 drams worth, while opposite-end-of-the-spectrum stuff (say, bourbon) gets just a dash.

(B), I love having a sentimental little remnant of all the bottles I've moved through, even if that Lagavulin, for example, now lives on only in undetectable homeopathic quantities. Any my jottings of what went in there also gives me a nice record of how my tastes have progressed.

@OlJas that is a remarkable vatting you have there. I like how the original ingredients remain, as you say, diluted but present.

I put 1/4 of Mackmyra The Swedish whisky with 3/4 of Té Bheag Nan Eilean. I don't like neither of this whisky. Té Bheag is interesting but there a bitter note I dislike in it so I say to myself let the sweetness of the Swedish cover this bitterness. I have to admit that I took a sip of the Swedish alone and now that it's been open for a couple of month I found that it was more interesting less sweet and more spicy. Anyway, the vatting is not bad, it's lighter than the Té Bheag, of course, but the bitterness remained just as an aftertone wich I prefer. Next I intend to try a bit of Fighting Cock with the same Té Bheag. Maybe one day I will try to mix some Laphroiag QC with some Springbank 10 yo, that should be interesting.

I was thinking about others vatting I should try. Here are a few Ideas: 1/3 of Glenmorangie Original with 2/3 of Gibson finest and rare 18 yo.; 1/4 of Nadurra with 3/4 of Hazelburn and finally 40% of Benriach Heredotus with 60% of Glendronach Revival. So what do you think I should try first?

I just tried the Té Bheag with the Fighting cock (65/35). The result is surprising. It taste more like the mix of a wheated bourbon with a rye bourbon. The burn of the FC is less dominant and the earty tone of the TB are all soften. The nose is not even close to either of the two parts (mainly corn and alcohol with some spices and a bit of maple, after 20 minutes some notes from the TB are coming back) but the softness of the palate is unexpected and quite enjoyable. It is soft and hard at the same time since the spices and the burn are still there but with a soft hot cereal and, with time, some smoke.

Laphroaig Cask / Aberlour A'bunadh batch 47. I really enjoy vatting these single malts 50/50. My liquor guy put up the bottle of Laphroaig 10y Cask strength and I supplied the A'bunadh. We mixed both bottles and let them marry for a week. This vatting is amazing, smoke, chocolate, cherry, cinnamon, Spice, heat. It has a long finish, add a little water if you like, opens up nicely. I enjoy nosing it as much as drinking it maybe more, no that's not true.

This may sound funny but I once had a glass of glenfarclas 15yo and then forgot to wash the glass out before pouring into the same glass a measure of Ardbeg Uigeadail. Didn't do anything to the whisky on the palate but boy did it smell amazing.

@Robert99, Nadurra + Hazelburn sounds very compatible. Did you try it?

@Jason0142 , I think you may have hit the nail on the head. I bet this is how most of us started vatting single malts, by accident. I sometimes won't finish a dram and will add another malt that contrasts in flavor, attempting to make a more complex scotch.

Finishing off an old vatting of 3 parts A'Bunadh batch 36, one part laphroaig quarter cask. Don't know if I could improve on the proportions, but it's a "warm" dram from nose to palate and very drinkable.

A few drops of Cab Sav (Diamond Ridge 2012) in a modest pour of FC Heart of Gold - wow- surprised the hell out of me!

@Victor Unfortunately my bottle of Hazelburn is now in the great Valhala and I don't plan on going on a quest for another one. But on the other hand, my bottle of Longrow CV is almost full, so I may try a vatting of Nadurra and Longrow next week end. I will post the result next week.

@Victor I was not able to wait for the week end and just try the vatting of Longrow CV and Nadurra from my last post. I thing this is a proof that we are right in valuating so much the single malt. Adding some Nadurra to the Longrow resulted in far more less than the two parts. Less sugar, Less smoke, Less toffee, Less nuts:Less fun. Strangely the nose is almost all Cambelton and the palate almost all Nadurra. The body speak of this duality as it is like water on oil: not mixing. SO now I know it!

Now that I am done with the Nadurra and Longrow, I would like to know whith which sherry bomb should I try to mix Booker's: A'bunadh, Glen Farclas 105 or Macallan cask strenght? I was opting for the 105.

I just did another vatting: 1/2 gibson's 18 finest and rare and 1/2 Fighting Cock. Wow! The nose is with nice wood spices, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg; a lot of mint with cardamon and violet. The palate follow the nose and add some red tea and plum. The floral notes are progressively taking charge at the end of the palate and on the finish with leave you with a bit of a soapy taste but not in a negative way more of the perfume way. What a surprise!

@Robert99, pity no vatting of Hazelburn and Nadurra. That sounded like an excellent natural combination to me.

I am not surprised that vatting Longrow CV with Nadurra resulted in something 'neither fish nor fowl'.

Sherried malt with Booker's? Hmmm...much about results would depend on proportions used, I would think. I usually stay away from all wine with bourbon or rye, but once in a while it turns out very nicely, like the Abraham Bowman Port Finishes.

Regarding Gibson's Finest Rare 18 yo + Fighting Cock: are you trying to ramp up the Gibson's 18 yo? That's a great whisky to begin with, and I would not likely vat it unless it had gotten old and flaccid in a long-open bottle. Is your bottle of Fighting Cock fierce or so-so flabby? I've had both with Fighting Cock-- big bold great flavours from one batch, and a bit timid and non-descript with another batch. My guess is you've got the more intense batch of Fighting Cock there if you want to vat it with the Gibson's. Is that right?

(And I'd probably live to age 110 before thinking of vatting Te Bheag with Fighting Cock! That must be truly an odd combination.)

@Robert99: I'm not suure you can improve on G/F105 or even make it more interesting. What is an interesting and highly rewarding exercise is to decant a bottle into a large decanter with a generous air-space, push it to the back of your cabinet and look at it in 6 months time; I guarantee that you will be 'blown away'!

Slainte.

@Victor As the Title is saying, I was getting creative with the Fight Cokk and the Te Beahg and trying to make this last one more palatable. I am probably more disappointed tha you are not being able to vat the Hazelburn with his sugary nad buttery pecan flavor to the Nadurra but I will not say anything more about the terrible vatting with the Longrow CV. Finally, I choose to vat the Gibson's 18 because I find the nose more complex and interesting than the palate. It is true that there is only 10% left in the bottle and that explain the shy flavors I now get. So I tried to pimp my dram but I was very surprised by all the floral notes that came out. It was so pleasant, I did it again tonight. I would like to make a little correction: the floral notes are more rose water than violet. The final point is I will do it again! So cheers!

@A'bunadhman I think your suggestion is way better than my foolish vatting idea. I will only make a change to it: I will pour only half of my bottle in a large decanter and will compare the results to the remainding content of the bottle. As for the original vatting I was suggesting, I was thinking more to give a finish to the Booker's than the opposite.

Robert99 used a phrase that clearly should have been the title of this thread: Pimp My Dram

Perhaps not quite the vatting / blending that most of us think of, however that said I had the most interesting opportunity to blend normal soda Mt Dew with a similar cheaper non name brand citrus type soda. I can say that this bottom of the two different bottles had plenty of time for oxidation, and were mixed with a 50% equal parts. Still not a big soda drinker however the blending was less scientific that I would have liked but palatable non the less. (:

I'm quite enjoying a Highland Park 12 / Bunnahabhain 8 heavily peated / Aberlour 10 at the moment (2 :1 :1). The thought was to ramp up the peaty and smokey intensity of the HP a bit, whilst giving it some not too full on sherry, and it's worked like magic for me. There's not too much clash with the peaked Bunna as it is quite a single mindedly smokey, peaty number that just adds nicely to the HP12, although it does add a few nice tropical notes to it. I find that it needs drinking fairly quickly though once poured, unless the Bunna starts to overpower the HP.

Another one I'm quite enjoying is Laphroaig 10 / Glenfarclas 12 / A'bunadh (2:2:1). The glenfarclas really comes through on the palette, and then a big wave of peat and the laphroaig intensity thing follows, which is quite a treat. I think some more peat / sherry experiments will definitely follow for me!

I like the sound of @Nozinan's suggestion of quarter cask and a'bunadh, which is fairly similar, and may try experimenting with some Caol Ila 12, which I can see mixing pretty well with a number of other malts without overpowering them too much.

@AndyC Your vatting sound exactly what i'd would like to drink, smoke, chocolate and cherries. If I could could get Aberlour 10 I would try your vatting.
I've been vatting Laphroaig 10 cask with the A'bunadh 1/1, its a bulldog.
My latest is Laphroaig 10 Cask, A'bunadh, Springbank 12 Cask, 1/1/1.

Hi @Benancio. You're vatting of Laphroaig CS and A'bunadh does indeed sound like it would be a cracker! I liked the idea of vatting a springbank as well, but not sure what to do it with. Maybe I'll try your mix with a little more springbank content as I only have a 10year. Springbank 10 has got such a lovely balance, I'd be worked about doing too much to it though...

I don't know if anyone has seen it, but there's quite a good vatting blog by a guy called Matt on his various vatting experiments: www.vatted.net

20ml of NINETY 20 YO, 10 ml of CC 100% Rye, and 2-3ml of unpeated barley whisky...DELICIOUS!

*n.b. the Highwood Ninety (100% corn 45%abv) and CC 100% Rye are both Alberta produced and, in my opinion, the pinnacle of single grain Canadian Whiskies.

@paddockjudge

I don't understand...everybody refers to Highwood 90 as corn whisky but the LCBO calls it a rye....HELP?

@Nozinan, Canadian legal mumbo-jumbo notwithstanding, IF A WHISKY IS MADE IN CANADA, THEN WITH RESPECT TO THE LAWS OF CANADA, IT CAN LEGALLY BE CALLED "RYE" REGARDLESS OF WHETHER OR NOT IT HAS A SINGLE DROP OF RYE CONTENT.

It is simple really: in Canada, by law, "Canadian Whisky" = "Rye Whisky", regardless of which grains from which it derives.