What Water of Life/Scotch are drinking or purchased 2025?

[jvd99]

13 hours ago, Scotch_Collector said:

Thank you. I am new here so I want to make a good impression :). 

 

The Caribbean cask has some fruity and spicy notes from the rum finish. I prefer the depth of the double wood and the balance it has. Having said that, I am sucker for sherry and other wine cask finishes and maturations when it comes to single malts. If I had to guess, the amount of time in the rum finish is probably fairly short. It is a rare find in the scotch world to see a rum finish bottle but I also imagine Balvenie's flavor profile would pick up the rum finish fairly well. In other words, more time would probably have yielded a more distinct rum imprint. It also depends what rum casks were used and other variables. 

 

I have several other spirits (bourbon, rye, and both American and Canadian whiskeys) that are rum cask finished and they seem to pick up the flavor (and sweetness) more. Again, time, cask, type of rum, etc. all matter. 

 

I digressed. The 17 year is definitely tasty and smoother than the 12 year. I have not had either in years but my recollection is that the 12 was a little more balanced.

 

I read that the 17 year was discontinued in 2021. That does not surprise me given the trend to no age statements, younger bottling's, and/or crazy expensive age statement bottles in the world of single malts, in particular scotch. 

I love Balvenie, one of my absolute favorites. I fell in love with Balvenie when the Tun series came out. Those bottles were a good value for what you got, which was probably a much higher average age than the core range, and masterfully blended. Unfortunately, well aged Balvenie is priced in the stratosphere now. I'll be living off the bunker for the foreseeable future.

[Skinsfan1311]

2 hours ago, jvd99 said:

Good price on Lag16, but passed

 

Still one of the best values in all of scotch

 

 

That's a very good price.   It's rarely  South of $100.00 in my neck of the woods......

[Kepler]

9 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

That's a very good price.   It's rarely  South of $100.00 in my neck of the woods......

 

And here I picked one up under $80 a couple weeks ago and thought I had a great deal... and @jvd99 blows me out of the water!  Lol

[Skinsfan1311]

19 hours ago, Kepler said:

 

And here I picked one up under $80 a couple weeks ago and thought I had a great deal... and @jvd99 blows me out of the water!  Lol

I got a bottle at an estate sale last year for $20.00...

[Kepler]

4 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

I got a bottle at an estate sale last year for $20.00...

 

Wow!

[Scotch_Collector]

All this talk about Balvenie encouraged me to get out my 15 year Single Barrel Sherry Cask. It is an early release, maybe the first. I got it back in 2014. 

 

It was very pleasant and balanced. Not overly sherried for a single barrel of 15 years. I enjoyed it but also found it lacking in punch. I do not mean alcohol punch (it is 47.8% ABV) but rather the amount of flavor. 

 

There were nice malt and honey notes to go along with fruit notes (grape and fig) from the sherry and it was very smooth. 

 

My palette is for rich and dense flavor. I prefer cask strength and will take something less smooth for a pour with more body. I used to smoke cigars and preferred medium to full bodied smokes rich in flavor. When I enjoy something like a nice scotch, I want to TASTE it!

 

What it comes down to is this Balvenie is a fine pour, but not what I prefer. I will have to revisit the original port wood 21 and the rum cask and Madeira cask 17 year bottles I have. If I recall, those have more depth. Of course, my palette has evolved and I have gravitated to richer scotch since I bought all those bottles. 

[Kepler]

3 hours ago, Scotch_Collector said:

All this talk about Balvenie encouraged me to get out my 15 year Single Barrel Sherry Cask. It is an early release, maybe the first. I got it back in 2014. 

 

It was very pleasant and balanced. Not overly sherried for a single barrel of 15 years. I enjoyed it but also found it lacking in punch. I do not mean alcohol punch (it is 47.8% ABV) but rather the amount of flavor. 

 

There were nice malt and honey notes to go along with fruit notes (grape and fig) from the sherry and it was very smooth. 

 

My palette is for rich and dense flavor. I prefer cask strength and will take something less smooth for a pour with more body. I used to smoke cigars and preferred medium to full bodied smokes rich in flavor. When I enjoy something like a nice scotch, I want to TASTE it!

 

What it comes down to is this Balvenie is a fine pour, but not what I prefer. I will have to revisit the original port wood 21 and the rum cask and Madeira cask 17 year bottles I have. If I recall, those have more depth. Of course, my palette has evolved and I have gravitated to richer scotch since I bought all those bottles. 

 

Nice tasting note/feedback.  I hear what you are saying.  I have open bottles of the 15 year SiB Sherry cask and the 21 yr Portwood.  I just had a pour this last week from the 21  and really enjoyed it.  I still consider myself pretty much still a scotch newbie so don't have a long history to compare against, but I've enjoyed both of these on the few occasions I've had a pour.  I've never tried the Madeira cask 17 though. 

 

The think about the world of single malts that I like is the extreme variety that you can find. For example, I had a pour from Bruichladdich Islay Barley last week as well, which is a TOTALLY different experience than you get from these Balvenies.  You just don't get that kind of variety in bourbon.  I still much prefer bourbon day-in, day-out however by a fair margin.   But I've really been enjoying my scotch exploration recently.  It's fun.

 

 

 

Edited March 29 by Kepler

[Kepler]

Winter is gone.  And so is this bottle lol.

I've enjoyed this bottle. The packaging is rather gimmicky but the whisky within was quite tasty.  I picked up a couple backup bottles because I would miss it otherwise.  It became one of my favorite "winter warmer" pours when I'm not in the mood for peat.

 

Edited March 29 by Kepler

[smokinjoe]

I inexplicably found myself gazing at the Crown Royal section at my local monger’s, yesterday.  I think it was the royally purple adorned box of the standard version that had drawn me in.  I’ve never had any issue with CR, I just don’t carry one on hand, except for an old dusty Mrssmokinjoe’ dad gave me, that he had in the basement for years (wine drinker only).  I was reaching for the box on the shelf, when I noticed the CR Black.  Read that it is a more robust and bourbony flavor profile, so that is what went home with me.  A few pours yesterday, and the description is pretty accurate.  Nice drink.  Absolutely no buyer’s remorse with this purchase.  

[Scotch_Collector]

21 hours ago, Kepler said:

 

Nice tasting note/feedback.  I hear what you are saying.  I have open bottles of the 15 year SiB Sherry cask and the 21 yr Portwood.  I just had a pour this last week from the 21  and really enjoyed it.  I still consider myself pretty much still a scotch newbie so don't have a long history to compare against, but I've enjoyed both of these on the few occasions I've had a pour.  I've never tried the Madeira cask 17 though. 

 

The think about the world of single malts that I like is the extreme variety that you can find. For example, I had a pour from Bruichladdich Islay Barley last week as well, which is a TOTALLY different experience than you get from these Balvenies.  You just don't get that kind of variety in bourbon.  I still much prefer bourbon day-in, day-out however by a fair margin.   But I've really been enjoying my scotch exploration recently.  It's fun.

 

 

 

You hit the nail on the head with the variety in single malts. Type of finish or maturation (including different barrels of a similar type of liquor/wine, time spent in them, dry/wet, etc.), age, peat or no peat, region, country/continent, etc. Some are really malt forward, some are more wood forward, some are sweet, some are salty and smokey, etc. On maturation, single malts can be matured in say, a sherry barrel, while bourbon can be finished in something different, it cannot be matured in it until it is legally bourbon. This alone can make single malts tremendously different and limits bourbon somewhat on variety. 

 

There is a ton of difference from different distilleries and bottlers as well as from the same distilleries!

 

Welcome to my world and true love!

 

With bourbon I find myself looking for unique finishes and/or different mash bills. I have much more single malt than bourbon but still have a lot of bourbon. I enjoy it and like the variety I have. However, the range of flavor is nowhere near what I have in single malts. 

 

There is also a lot of single malts that satisfy the bourbon drinker who wants richness and sweetness. To go back to Balvenie, it is a great pour, but most of them don't have the depth or intensity that a lot of bourbons have. Someone who likes great mouthfeel and flavor would find most Balvenie's to be "light." Again, not a criticism, many people like that in a single malt, or whiskey in general. It is just different. 

 

I have converted many bourbon drinkers to single malts. They had either peated single malts and that wasn't their thing, or sherry cask and their preference was bourbon cask, etc. Hard not to find a single malt that fits someones palette. 

[jvd99]

Saw this over on Reddit, how times have changed

 

[NDN98]

Picked this one up last week, opened it, and immediately went back the next day to get a backup.   I’m a big fan of Aberlour A’Bunadh, and this was better than any batch of A’Bunadh I have ever purchased.

[Kepler]

2 hours ago, NDN98 said:

Picked this one up last week, opened it, and immediately went back the next day to get a backup.   I’m a big fan of Aberlour A’Bunadh, and this was better than any batch of A’Bunadh I have ever purchased.

 

 

Good to know -- thanks for the heads up on this one.  I've had great luck with Signatory barrels (choosing carefully via recommendations of others  of course).

 

I recently purchased the standard Aberlour 18 year due to a great sale price... my first Aberlour and I love it.

[Kepler]

I picked up a Tamdhu 12 year awhile back and decided to open it tonight.  It's a pretty nice one.  I'll have to open a new Glenallachie 12 from the bunker to compare it against soon.  But not tonight.

 

 

[Kepler]

Super solid bottle.  I paid less than $80 for this, good value for the dollar.  I have another one of these, but I'll probably open some other new bottles that I've picked up recently next.

 

[Scotch_Collector]

On 4/20/2025 at 12:17 PM, NDN98 said:

Picked this one up last week, opened it, and immediately went back the next day to get a backup.   I’m a big fan of Aberlour A’Bunadh, and this was better than any batch of A’Bunadh I have ever purchased.

LOVE independent bottlers. Can be hit or miss but a lot of home runs. I have a lot of single malts from Blackadder, Single Cask Nation, Signatory Vintage, etc. 

 

The A'Bunadh  is a great bottle and great price for how rich it is. I am jealous if this is better. A'Bunadh was one of the first to bottle cask strength scotch too (that I know of). I have a bottle from about 12 years ago and tried one a friend got recently and it is still pretty good. 

 

Thank you for sharing.

[Scotch_Collector]

I had a pour from my Isle of Jura 21 Year 200th Anniversary bottle the other night. I generally prefer younger and cask strength bottles because of their richness. However, this was exquisite. Smooth, pretty rich, and a great oak/sherry finish. It was aged in a sherry cask from 1963 and the distinct rich raisin, fig, date, and grape notes show up well with a nice wood note. 

 

Probably picked that bottle up 20 years ago and still enjoying it. 

[Kepler]

 

Recent pickup.  I've heard a lot of good things so thought I'd give it a try and the price was right.  First taste feedback is that it lives up to the positive reviews.  Kinda reminds me of Port Charlotte 10.  Excellent.