Have you experimented with comparing a bottle you haven't opened for a while and buying that same bottle and tasting both? I have with Lag 16 and noticed a difference. The old bottle was still good (with ~70% left), but the new bottle tasted much better

They also could taste a bit differently to start with. The master distillers are just human beings after all. El Diablo has massive experience, that's not quite scientific significance, but anyway. You just come to think of that he would have spotted any bigger trends.

But we are all biased in one way or another, therefore attempts to do it double-blindly are welcome, like the astonishing bourbon trial above. It could be done on a smaller scale. You could have a single bottle, pouring it in varying amounts in sample bottles, saving them in your regular dark shelf, then pour samples into glasses after a year, marking the glasses, then close your eyes, mix the glasses, and taste!

Well pouring whisky in smaller sample bottles would reduce the oxidation effect in the first place. But yeah, I understand notes can change from year to year. However it's evident when you open an older bottle that the flavor has lost much of its initial impact.

An exaggerated experiment would be to pour a glass of whisky and leave it out in the open for 24 hours (without drinking it obv). Then pour a new glass and compare how both of these glasses taste

This could be a fast start, even if the amount of oxygen, evaporation etc can't by any means be compared. An enclosed bottle can't contain very much air, even if it's almost empty, while having the glass of whisky standing in the open gives it all of the outside world to blend in with. Most notably the alcohol will evaporate with a higher rate than the water, and some of the flavors also. If they were enclosed, they wouldn't. When you open a bottle and pour a drink, it will be open for just some seconds.

This is on its way to becoming my new spare time study. Interesting stuff!

www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk/usfeatures/maltwhisky/index.html

Will be prepared when the visit to Scotland finally takes off in due time

Interesting how the different distilleries are preparing the goods.

I can't say I enjoy that smell.

I don't know when the bottle was opened since I tried it at a friends place and it was already opened.

Came home yesterday to find my bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail sitting in the recycling bin. Yeesh. Rescued and have at least one more dram to pull out of it after having one last night. I always shy away from Islays and am almost always pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoy them when I do have one. Had the same reaction just a week or two ago with a Laphroaig Quarter Cask. I have a Lagavulin Distillers Edition trapped under a broken cork that is in need of a rescue mission soon too.

Have one dram left myself of Longrow Peated, but may as well give the evaluation right now: ++/+++. Had a miniature a year ago, and gave it +++. For some reason it appears to be a whisky that goes down in rating as you are having more of it. Go figure why.

Traded the Pappy 23 for two George T. Stagg and one William Laurue Weller yesterday. Couldn't get the cash on top done. Very happy with what I got though. These bottles will last me a very long time.

The point is that the oxygen in an opened bottle left for several months will have similar effects to leaving a dram out for 24 hours. It's obviously not a 1:1 comparison but it's similar

I dispute it . Think oxygen is a minor factor in that case. 80% of the air is nitrogen. That's where the aroma molecules go, lost forever. When you sniff your drink, you are feeling those. 24 hours in the open must kill anything.


www.scotch-whisky.org.uk/understanding-scotch/faqs/

Oops, would give the opened bottle some impact though...

never had the 23, but i liked GTS better than the 20 and would do the 2-1 straight up for personal preference in a heartbeat.

Have you tried Angels Envy cask strength? I think thats my favorite bourbon i have ever had

Tens,

Did you do your comparison tasting blind?

I have had Angels Envy, but not the cask strength. Other port finished American whiskeys I've had are the 1792 Port Finish, High West A Midwinter Night's Dram, Whistle Pig Old World 100% Port finish and the Old World Marriage which is a blend of Port, Sauternes and Madeira finish. Out of all of those I liked the High West the most, but overall for my tastes I think red wine barrel finishes are better suited for Scotch than American whiskey.

No, but I would be surprised if anyone else did the same test and didn't find a similar result. If not for Lag 16, perhaps for a bottle that's cheaper. It's probably more informative for someone to try the test themselves than for them to attack the merits of my test, wouldn't you say?

Before getting into whisky, I had a bottle of Glenfiddich 12 that was opened a year ago and 80% full. Now that tasted watered down when I opened it again.

For the record, there's links I can pull up as well. But the simplest solution would be to try the test I mentioned yourself. Not that hard obv. To repeat what it is:

1. Identify a bottle you haven't opened in a few months
2. Go buy that same exact bottle
3. Pour a dram of each bottle and compare the taste of both

I did it with Lag 16 and it's pretty hard not to notice differences with a scotch like Lag 16. It's more about the opened bottle losing its character than its notes changing. The opened bottle will be much less impactful than the new bottle, guaranteed.

I wouldn't believe in my own results if not doing it blindly.

If you prefer articles on experimentation over your own experimentation then that's that I guess

I know I'm biased. That's something. I'm a faulty human being

But on my way to reduce the total of bottles for focusing reasons, so that's that, personally. Just academic interest left (for the opened bottle issue)

When wanting to feel nostalgy, depth and the blues I just go to

http://www.mahorobi.com/e/cd/cd_right.htm

You can feel history blowing at and through you.


Couldn't some of them had hold on just a bit longer in the 80s, to ride on the single malt revolution? That's the tragedy. In retrospect it's all so easy. How whisky got the setback in the 80s must be the single biggest issue, WTF?!

Tens,

To really see how much impact there is, do the test with two bottles you buy at the same time and do it blind.

I've found that with certain lighter scotches, the flavor has seemed to fade a bit toward the end and taste a little watered down like tens mentions. With other higher proofed scotches and bourbons there hasn't been a noticeable change for me.

I'm going to do this test in an actual controlled manner with some Ardbeg uigeadail.

My local grocery store has High West Campire on clearance for $40/bottle. Judging by comments in this thread, this is a must buy at this price?

YES

M,

Campfire gets very mixed reviews. I like it a lot, but I know a number of people with good taste in whiskey who don't like it. Definitely don't get it unless you like smoky and peaty scotch. It tastes pretty much like what you would expect a mix of a bourbon, rye, and peaty scotch to taste like.

This is one I enjoy, but not on my must-get list. It's $55 at k&l, so if I found it for $40 I'd def grab a bottle.

man that's pretty bizarre i was just about to ask what y'all thought about the High West family

Judge,

My opinion on High west:

Most stuff - above average, very happy to have, usually pretty good value, but not must have amazing stuff. In case it's not clear, that's def a positive endorsement. I just wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Old stuff - they have sometimes released some old (16/20+ yo) stuff that has been amazing. Not sure if that's something they still do.

Cocktails in a bottle - they have done some barrel aged bottled whiskey cocktails. Not a fan of those.