I'm the opposite, lol. I much prefer a spicy barrel strength rye for an old fashioned to counterbalance the sweetness, but I'm a big fan of bourbon manhattans.
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Official PCF Whisk(e)y Thread (62 Viewers)
- Thread starter jbutler
- Start date
Interesting. I do use both in an OF, and actually do prefer rye. I'll have to try a bourbon Manhattan.
Billy Baroo
Full House
I tend to not get nearly as crazy with my manhattans (no idea why lol) my favorite is Woodford for those. Also will use Buffalo Trace, WT 101 / Rare Breed, and 1792 (any of them).
I learned that “Canadian” ryes don’t technically need to be made from rye. Alberta is not a full on “rye”
I think you may be mistaken. If this article is correct, the mash bill is 100% rye.
https://www.bourbonguy.com/blog/2021/1/21/alberta-premium-cask-strength-rye
The 15 is really good, 21 must be fantastic!I found a nice backup to my favorite bottle of scotch - bottled in late 2021 too, so 26 year old juice
View attachment 1301152
They are both incredible. I have ~2 more pours left in my bottle of the 18 year and will be very sad when it’s gone. That was another lucky find, bottled in 2019 so the juice was more like 24 years, it’s been a treat. I’m seeing these less and less which has me worried. The last bottle of 18 I saw was $230 as well, which seemed high. @ChaosRock - I know you’re a big Glendronach fan, any thoughts on pricing/availability of these lately?
You're not wrong, Matt, huge fan of Glendronach here... I adore the 18 and the 21 and depending on the day, I might prefer one over the other or the other way around. The 18 is a bit more powerful and the 21 a bit more refined. Love them! The 15 is not as good as it used to be but still good (when it was older than 15). The 12 is super reliable.
Having said that, prices have gone haywire. I used to buy the 18 for E$80 and the 21 for E$120 but unfortunately they almost tripled in price since 2020. Availability is also a bit more spotty which is weird since it seems people are still buying at those crazy prices. Now, just for comparison, Mac18 Sherry is $400 and the GD18 kicks the shit out of it (imo) for half the price. The GD 21 is comparable to the Mac25 Sherry (imo, again) for 1/8th of the price still.
Many distilleries are going the premiumization route unfortunately, GD being one of them for sure. Still, if one is looking for a well aged Sherried Scotch, it's hard to look past Glendronach. Tamdhu 18 is a bit cheaper than the GD18 and great as well, same with Glenallachie 18 but neither surpass the GD18 imo. Bunna 18 is also a bit cheaper and phenomenal but not quite as Sherried. The real alternatives might be independent bottlers but those are also high priced... Oh well, may it's just my wallet that is empty...
Got @flipupchipup a bottle of the GD21 Parliament for his meet-up and it was enjoyed by many.
I'm glad I have a few backs ups as with prices creeping up, the likelihood of me buying them again goes down proportionately... Glad you got yourself an another bottle, Matt!
Hopefully we'll meet in person soon so we could go over some of those awesome drams...
You rock dude, thank you my friend, I’ll have to add some of those alternatives to the search list to try. It also sounds like I should probably head back and grab that bottle of GD18 while I still can too. A quick search locally/online was yielding even crazier pricing ($300-$400), I was hoping that was a fluke and things hadn’t gotten that nutty. Last bottle of 18 I got a few years back was $175ish and at the time even that was on the high side. Thankfully I do nurse these so they last for a while.
Okay so what’s the consensus here. Does whiskey change or continue to age at all in an unopened bottle?
I always understood that bottling immediately ends the aging process entirely and the whiskey effectively does not change until opening.
Not trying to start a fight, curious on opinions here.
"Aging" is really just the process of whiskey seeping in and out of the barrel it's stored in - so that stops once its removed from the barrel and bottled. The dram can change a bit with exposure to air once opened (ie, references to different flavors in the "neck pour" and a bottle "opening up" once it gets a little head space in the bottle).
What I was referring to above with the Glendronach is a unique situation where the facility shut down for a number of years and the barrels were left as is (full). When they re-started their bottling again, the whiskey in those casks was older than it typically states on the label:
https://wordsofwhisky.com/glendronach-is-a-lot-older-than-the-label-says/
You rock dude, thank you my friend, I’ll have to add some of those alternatives to the search list to try. It also sounds like I should probably head back and grab that bottle of GD18 while I still can too. A quick search locally/online was yielding even crazier pricing ($300-$400), I was hoping that was a fluke and things hadn’t gotten that nutty. Last bottle of 18 I got a few years back was $175ish and at the time even that was on the high side. Thankfully I do nurse these so they last for a while.
I'd say grab another bottle, but only if the price is right... Personal opinion only, of course... For exemple, you can get a bottle of Glenallachie 10 year old Cask Strength in the US for about $90/$100 and it gives you more ABV and a great sherried profile. Yes, you're missing on the aging but something's gotta give... Also, Edradour Signatory 10 year old 46% (Not the regular Edradour 10, 40% or 43%) is not a bad option, for maybe $70... Now that the A'bunadh has almost doubled in price (and halved in quality) the GA10CS is my go to Cask Strength Sherry Bomb, while the older GDs and other more expensive ones are treat pours...
But I'll tel you what, Matt, any whisky really needs to work super, super hard (and very few they don't) to justify the price they are going for these days... Just like you though, I usually nurse my whiskies as I'm not a big drinker. Because of that, I don't mind spending a bit more than I should since the bottle won't be drained in a week.
What @Irish writes above is absolutely the consensus, that whisky aging stops once bottled, differently than wine. The aging part that is wood extraction definitely stops once the liquid leaves the cask.
However (there had to be a however, right?), I'm not sure I'm completely convinced about that consensus. Once ones tries a few older sealed bottles, there is definitely a 'mellower' vibe to the whisky. At least to me there is. If that is due to the different distilling of the past, or different barley, or different yeast or bottle age, it's impossible to know since one would have to have had the same bottle at release and then 20 years later. And you'd have to have a perfect memory of what you tasted 20 years ago. So almost impossible to know, really.
There's also the nostalgia effect when you open a bottle from previous decades. So the placebo effect is real.
Now, that's for Scotch/Irish. I haven't had many older bottling of Bourbons to spot any 'bottle aging' note.
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Taking notes brother, taking lots of notes....
I've mentioned this to a few others, but a bottle really needs to tickle my fancy once you're over the $100 mark (maybe a bit higher for scotches). There are just too many other great bottles just below that level for me to justify the extra cash, beyond the occasional splurge. And while the GD 18/21 both fit that bill, at these prices they'll be more like once or twice a decade purchase instead of every other year. I just need to hide them deeper in the whiskey cabinet lol.
Now, that being said (and before @Saoliver , @Pinkdan , and @Billy Baroo totally throw the BS flag lol), I've admittedly gone a little nuts the past few months lol.
Taking notes brother, taking lots of notes....
I've mentioned this to a few others, but a bottle really needs to tickle my fancy once you're over the $100 mark (maybe a bit higher for scotches). There are just too many other great bottles just below that level for me to justify the extra cash, beyond the occasional splurge. And while the GD 18/21 both fit that bill, at these prices they'll be more like once or twice a decade purchase instead of every other year. I just need to hide them deeper in the whiskey cabinet lol.
Now, that being said (and before @Saoliver , @Pinkdan , and @Billy Baroo totally throw the BS flag lol), I've admittedly gone a little nuts the past few months lol.
100% agree, although sometimes my FOMO gets the best of me, LOL!
Billy Baroo
Full House
Happy Fryeday gentlemen!
heso
Sitting Out
I’ll join that party.
Fryeday Sagamore flight. This double oak is so dark.
Klobberer
Full House
Never had the rum cask...how is it?
Worst of the 4 but still good. I can taste the rum and rye spice on the finish.
Billy Baroo
Full House
KidFromCleveland
Pair
Winning session celebration pour! Enjoying it with an 8-5-8 sungrown! Good night!
heso
Sitting Out
I’m finishing off the night with OF as well. 1920 here. Was also the last pour of 1920 I have on hand.
Billy Baroo
Full House
Klobberer
Full House
Man down and only one bottle left in the bunker...Happy Easter everyone.
detroitdad
Royal Flush
View attachment 1302213I think today’s purchases bring this month’s bottle total about 20
See now you can't consider those as "new" bottles, all you're doing here is restocking the base supply. Those don't count, only the totally new bottles
I try this with my wife all the time. She never buys it.See now you can't consider those as "new" bottles, all you're doing here is restocking the base supply. Those don't count, only the totally new bottles
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