What was the last bottle you finished?

Old Overholt Rye, purchased in 2010. So many bottles, so few finished off.

Beam has been screwy with rye whiskey the last few years. Since they started Knob Creek Rye the Yellow Label/now Green Label and Old Overholt have gone downhill in a big way. It would be intelligent for them to sell an Old Overholt Bottled In Bond, like in the old days. That doesn't mean that they will do that.

Laid my Corryvrekan (sp) to rest tonight, Not sure if I'll get another one. I think I actually like Uigeadail better. And as long as I have lots of Ardbeg 10 in the bunker I'm happy.

@BlueNote I have to admit I've never tried Cory and I'm loath to open the one I have because I paid less than half what the LCBO charges for it (got it online in the US). I fear I'll never replace it. Maybe I should, and my 10 as well.

Ardbeg Uigeagail. Got this in Calgary two winters ago. Liked it much I asked my BIL to get me another. Half the price it is here in Toronto.

Hate to see it go but I have another and an older batch in the bunker. This winter I might replace it if I can find a good price.

And one fewer bottle to move to the new abode in 2 weeks...

Finished up my second last Uigeadail yesterday. L64143 18/11/2015, good batch.

@BlueNote, quick poll, how many batches of Uigeadail that you've tried you found to be: 1) great?, 2) good?, 3) meh (fair/flawed)?, 4) bad?

I ask because I've never had an Uigeadail which was truly bad. Even the bottle # 2 from my review connosr.com/ardbeg-uigeadail-whisky-review… started "meh" and with 8 months of air later became "good". It was a stark contrast because it came immediately after a bottle which was "great". I have had both some Ardbeg Corryvreckan and Ardbeg Ten which started "bad" and struggled to make it later to "meh" or "a little better than meh" = "good minus". This has surprised me, because I would have expected the flavour-profiles of Corryvreckan and Ten to be more predictable and easier to control. Nowadays I think of Ardbeg Corryvreckan as "the Ardbeg casks with the most intense flavours which aren't good enough for the special releases." That would explain it to me.

@Victor I have had many bottles of Ten over the years and never a bad one. I have a soft spot for the Ten as it was the one that got me into peat about 15 years ago. I have had about five bottles of Uigeadail and although there is obvious batch variation I have only had one that pretty much lost it's punch around the halfway mark. I would put that one down as a "meh" and the others as very good. Some critics speculate that peat and sherry are not always the best bedfellows. Nonetheless, I always have a Ten and a Uigeadail on the go these days. As for the Corryvrekan, I have had only two bottles ever and I have never really warmed up to it. Friends of mine love the stuff, but I find it somewhat crude and in need of water. I would guess there is a fair amount of 5-8 year old stock in there with a bit of older stuff to take the edge off and justify the price. It's pretty expensive here so I have dropped it in favour of some other good peaters such as Kilchomen Machir Bay and Ledaig 10, both cheaper and both very good IMO. If I was spending that kind of money I would opt for the Lag 12 cask strength or, if I could get it, the Laph 10 cask strength. From my experience the Corry is a meh+, but that's the best I could say for it. Cheers.

@BlueNote , wow: "meh+" is a pretty damning review.

The first time I made the rounds with Oogie and Corryvreckan, my take was "Oogie has beauty but Corryvreckan has power—and I prefer power." The Corryvreckan went straight onto my favorites list. But then I did another round of it (the Corry) this past winter and found it a little lacking myself. Maybe not all the way down into the "meh+" basement, but definitely not a favorite like it used to be.

This coming winter, a club buddy and I have an Ardbeg night planned where we'll taste a current Ten, a current Oogie, a current Corryvreckan, the Ardbog, the Perpetuum, the Dark Cove CR, and the Kelpie 46. Besides the overall fun of all that, part of what I'm hoping to get from that night is a good idea of how much I really like their core range bottles relative to each other and to the one-offs so I make better-informed buying decisions down the road.

@MadSingleMalt To clarify: by meh+ I meant better than meh, but not real good. I just found that it was all power and not much finesse, but I think mine is a minority experience. I guess I'll have to get a current sample from one of my friends and give it another chance.

Nice lineup you've got there for the Ardbeg night. You could bring a few heels along to that roundtable we were discussing over on ATW (if for some strange reason you have anything left at the end of the night). Cheers.

@BlueNote , if my club buddies drink all my special bottles down to just a heel that night, they better be Ard-begging me for forgiveness!

(Yes, that was bad. And I feel bad.)

@BlueNote thanks very much for your nice detailed response. Your experiences with the three standard line Ardbegs is very close to my own. I have had bad Corryveckan, not one bottling, but two. My extreme-peat-loving friend @Nock was horrified that the first two bottles of Corryvreckan I opened were from his second worst batch and his worst batch of Corryveckan sampled. Both of those Corrys show migration with air exposure in a good way, but with the first one it took seemingly forever to do so, like well over a year. Eventually they seem to migrate to the "good" range, but they are harsh and discordant until that happens. I recently opened an Ardbeg Ten which I didn't like at all, but after a few months it too has come around nicely into an enjoyable range. I agree with you that most Ardbeg Tens are nice.

Poit Dhubh 12, really nice surprise. I actually liked it more than the new JW green.

Might have to get another one... and soon...

Glenfarclas 105 at my fantasy football auction.

After a year, had a much nice balance of the sweet and peat and a more enjoyable finish. A valued whiskey considering the cost (much like the rookie WR prices)

@JayRain , a bit of peat in the Glenfarclas 105? That's the first time, I think, I've heard anyone detect that. (I've never had it.)

I think I have heard people say that 105 is a little "rougher" (usually in a good way) compared to the likes of A'bunadh. Maybe you and these anonymous internet strangers I'm quoting are talking about the same aspect?

@MadSingleMalt Coincidentally, another gent questioned/challenged my use of the word peat. I don't fancy myself as having the most sophisticated of pallete's however I detected hints in the taste. I was also the odd duck in that I found the sherry to be more predominant in the finish than others (who found it more sweet upfront).

Definitely had a harsher taste when the bottle was first opened - time has done it well. Not sure I would get another bottle but very pleased w tonight's dram considering the initial thoughts a yearish ago (expectations management).

Just emptied the last few drops of Gerston by the Lost Distillery Company, a blended malt intended to recreate a malt whisky from a bygone era.

Not too bad, a good honest drop that is perhaps a tad rustic for my palate but certainly enjoyable as a whole. Solid clean malty flavour, lingering sweet finish (Quaker Oats with milk?), oiliness, just a little harsh and spicy in mouthfeel.

Can't put my finger on what the blend make-up could possibly be - it's quite distinct but elusive all the same.

Glenfarclas 21yo paired with a Cohiba. Good times.

@sengjc , that Gerston always intrigued me. It sounds like you think it's worthwhile if you know what to expect?

It occurred to me recently that there've been quite a few of these "long-dead whisky recreations" over the last few years. In addition to the Gerston and the other stuff made by that Lost Distillery Company, we've had that Stronachie (made at Benrinnes) and those Shackletons. Plus, depending on how broadly you stretch the definition here, you could include the dead distillery names that have become brands for living distilleries' variant (often peated) releases: Ballechin, Ballantruan, Longrow, Hazelburn, and probably some others I'm forgetting. I think it'd be fun to line all these up in a tasting event and try to see if there's any actual "old school" quality among them.

@MadSingleMalt

I actually do have a bottle of the Stratheden open that is also by the Lost Distillery Company. I prefer the Gerston to this.

@sengjc , ah, so you've had a couple of those guys! Fun.

Do they just seem like any other modern whisky wearing "old whisky clothes," or is there anything actually archaic about them?

Sipping on my final dram of Springbank 14 CS Fino... bittersweet.

@MadSingleMalt

I find them "rustic" - a term I use to describe whisky that has a rather harsh and raw mouthfeel (but not in a bad way), something that would put hair on your chest and make you manly - unrefined and brash, boisterous.

Think Wild Turkey being more "rustic" as compared to say Buffalo Trace as an example.

I can imagine whisky back in those days would be rather "rustic", to be swigged from the bottle or chugged down by the glass in celebration, unlike whisky these days whereby there is more emphasis on enjoying them by nosing and appreciating the complexity, nuances, mouthfeel, texture and finish.

So in the case of the Gerston and the Stratheden, while I can slowly take my time and seeing what it can offer, I would much rather down it outdoors, dram after dram, with a bunch of mates over a charcoal fired spit roast on a cold winter's day over a game of dice or cards with cigars in hand.

On their own merit, as a blended pure malt, I would say that they are quite well integrated.

It is with great sadness that I put my bottle of Benromach 10 to rest tonight. Oh well, gotta make room in my whisky cabinet for some Lot 40 Cask Strength. (A guy can hope, right?)

@OdysseusUnbound I'm currently mobilizing my foreign (outside of Ontario) agents to try to be ready for any sightings. We'll try to get them wherever they may turn up.

Benromach 10 - I finished one very quickly this spring...the full bottle fell on pavement. My replacement fared better. And there's plenty left...for now.

@Nozinan I'm shocked at how good this 10 Year Old was. One of my whisky highlights of the year, for sure. Dissertation and tasting Lot 40 for the first time are the other big ones. And I'm hoping that tracking down a bottle of 12 Year Old Lot 40 CS will be THE whisky highlight of my year.

A friend gave me a sample of the Craigellachie 13 to try. It's actually pretty good. NCF and not overly coloured. Mid 80s for me.

Last night I finished up my bottle of Aultmore 12. 46%, NCF, Natural Colour, reasonable price. I will definitely be replacing it.

Just finished my second night of parent-teacher interviews this week, so it felt like a good time to finish off my Bunnahabhain 12. I've been impressed with this bottle - plenty of sherry.

Glenfarclas 21. While good and affordable given it's age statement, I won't be replacing it. It wasn't as good as the 15yo, so why pay more?

@nooch, many, I included, agree with you. The trick, of course, will be to keep the supply, cost, and quality of Glenfarclas 15 yo constant. Change any one of those three factors and the overall equation changes greatly.