A nice friday night

That was already a world-class tasting spectrum. From one winner to the next, really!

How about some Ardbeg? The Macallan seems to be missing too. For lighter whiskies but still very fruitily enjoyable whiskies Glengoyne and Dalwhinnie are nice. Then there are the Signatory un-chill-filtered line--any of these are worth trying (I really love my Ardmore in particular!). For distinctive whiskies with interesting peat&fruit profiles Mortlach, Clynelish, and Bruichladdich are always fascinating--and in that vein I'm still really enjoying the new Jura Superstition. Life's too good!!!

(but watch out in the Bowmore line--there can be some unusual surprises still)

Thank you for your advice.

I think I probably will go for a Macallan Cask Strength next time, and another Bowmore. (Sure, I'll watch out!). But I *could* chose a Bruichladdich instead of the Bowmore, or maybe an Ardbeg 17... as you say: Life's too good!

Signatory unchillfiltered; yes I would love to try, but nothing like that is available here in Norway. Will have to order from abroad then, or travel some more.. But the hunt and the waiting adds value, it's probably a good thing not to have so much available just around the corner.

Gunnar

"Douglas W. Hoyt" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com...

fascinating--and

More for us non believers :-)

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I'm pretty much in agreement with you. The 105 does seem to have more complexity. And a lot of sherry, but not (in my opinion) too much sherry. It's just a big "grown up" whisky.

I don't have any special information about the 105, but I suspect that the casks to be bottled as the 105 are chosen carefully, with a particular flavor profile in mind. That would be my best guess.

But the higher alcoholic strength can make a difference. I had a Cadenhead Glen Garioch that wasn't very different from the current OB production, but when diluted just a little - much higher ABV than the standard 43% ABV - it was like a different whisky: much more interesting than the standard production.

Another possibility is that Glenfarclas adds an occasional older cask to the vatting of mostly young casks when they make the 105. A little older whisky could add complexity to a vatting of a lot of younger whisky.

Just a few thoughts...

Bart

My understanding is that high alcohol content of the cask strength releases can deliver much more of the "top notes" of the whisky to the nose. I am a fan of the Glenfarclas 105 too. This is 105 in the British proof system. It equates to 60% alcohol or 120 standard proof.

Some of the Cadenhead cask proof releases I have had also tweak my senses more than the lower proof whiskies. To me this is a positive thing.

I probably also gravitate to the higher alcohol too. Just a personal preference I guess.

Joe

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Welcome to the conversation!

With the high proof bottlings you can tweak the ABV and get it just right for your own palate and style of drinking. At first I never added water to any whisky - with a Cadenhead I just took smaller sips. But I've come to appreciate what can be gained by adjusting them. Still some, like the Glenfarclas 105, hardly need adjusting despite the whopping 60% ABV.

The same whisky can be a completely different experience at

50% and at 40%. I also "gravitate to the higher alcohol" but have had some lovely Gordon and Macphails' bottled at 40%. Still, I always wonder what that whisky would have been like undiluted, especially with something like their Ardbeg bottlings. (G&M does do some cask strength bottlings but none have been available locally.)

Bart

With the high proofs, I still only rinse and shake my glass. A few drops is all I usually want in my single malt. I guess it really is the alcohol with me!

Joe