Just thinking about a leason learned ... Lately I've been buying indie bottleings both at bars and at retailers. Not too long ago I was in a bar and purchased a dram of a 22 y/o Cadenheads (i think) Port Ellen (Single Cask). The Single Cask for this whisky was a sherry butt, and at least from my point of view this was very disappointing. I felt that the sherry had totally overwhelmed the normal character of the whisky leaving a confusing jumble of scents and tastes. (In very general terms I don't think that Sherry maturation does any favours to a peated whisky*) Too bad, but one glass in a bar is not a big deal.
However had I been looking in a retail store would I have been as disapponted, at first I thought yes (in big letters) but then I got to thinking..
...nowhere on the bottle did it say Sherry Cask or Sherry Butt or Bourbon Cask for that matter. The dark green glass made it very difficult if not impossible to check the type of maturation by colour. When I was concidering this I realized I would not have bought it in the first place .. for exactly those reasons. I need to be able to imagine what the whisky I intend to purchase may taste like, and type of maturation is a huge component in that when it is questionable I simply pass it over.
So I'm wondering .. am I the only one who thinks like this? Do others have similar quirks about how they buy? Am I risking missing anything wonderful by this? Can we convince those indies to at least lable the coloured glass bottles? Should I just shut up?
Andrew (It was the bar at the Craigelachie Hotel .. if you are in the Speyside area try to visit)
*Admittedly this is an entirely personal opinion but there is only a limited amout of whisky I can buy.