Best single-malt Scotch...

Good to know Rja. Thanks.

If you are going to Scotland, the best distillery tour, not necessarily best whisky, is at Aberlour.

A word of warning to drivers, it ends with 6 small whisky samples, including 2 cask strength. I went 2 years ago and had to walk about breathing in lungfuls of fresh air for 2 hours, before I felt it was safe to drive.

Got my bottle of *PC10! It's been a tough search, only 6000 bottles worldwide. I've heard there's some on a boat making its way to our shores though. Nice'n'peaty, 40ppm phenols.
Has anyone here tasted Octomore around 160ppm also from the Laddie?

*Port Charlotte 10 YO cask strength from Bruichladdich.

Happy New Year Scotch fans! Wanted to share a new single malt Scotch experience. For Christmas, brother-in-law gave me a bottle of 30 yr old Glenfarclas; a very interesting malt. A generous and thoughtful gift, particularly since he is not a Scotch fan himself, but made the effort to find out that I am a fan of the Speyside malts. Being a Speyside malt, the similarities to Macallan are not subtle; with very important differences.

My initial reaction was that I had found the perfect malt for me. It was rich, sophisticated, smooth, with nice sherry overtones, and not as sweet as Macallan (18 yr old) which is about the only criticism that I have of that malt. Sometimes, depending on my mood, I wish the Macallan were just a tad drier. The Glenfarclas also had just a touch more peat (perfect!) than the Macallan and an INCREDIBLY long finish. But, and it is a big but, whereas the Macallan's subtle sweetness is perfectly integrated, the Glenfarclas reveals a long lingering sweetness in the finish only; in a way that leaves nothing but sweetness towards the end of the finish, devoid of it's other character. I find it disappointing. A very good malt to be sure; but I find, once again, that the 18 yr old Macallan is a tough one to beat if that is the style of malt that one likes.

Best to all.

Johnny Walker - Blue label.