Quarter cask confirmed for the Caol Ila.
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That is so cool. Wish I had the money and time to do that!
No, you really don’t…
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Well, if I were to take anyone’s word for it, it would be yours!
Just out of curiosity, what part(s) of this process have you found annoying/difficult, and why?
As Mark said, registration with the TTB is a huge PITA - back and forth endlessly about what you can and can’t say on the label. Good whisky casks are hard to find, though maybe not if you had unlimited funds. Getting samples is now very difficult. Good barrels themselves are hard to find. Casks leak. Bottlers make mistakes. Bottlers are backed up, or don’t respond to communications quickly, even when you know them well. Transport across the pond is complicated. Getting through customs is complicated. That should be enough to take some of the romance out of it. 
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Yeah, that was the proverbial fart in the room. Quite effective. 
Ugh.
Which was the better Laphroaig?
The one from K&L. The regular 16 is very good, but it lacks the soul and character of any interesting single cask. To be quite frank, I liked-not-loved the K&L selection because it was decidedly on the delicate side of things for Laphroaig, which is decidedly not what makes Laphroaig my favorite distillery; nonetheless, it was interesting enough and good enough for me to not regret the purchase. As you can see, I likely have only one pour left before it’s gone.
I think though, regardless of cask etc, once you get to 16 years, the ‘BAM-in-your-face peat’ is going to be tamed a bit.
Often but not always. Depends on the distillate and cask. I’ve found that whiskies aged in ancient/neutral casks can retain their oomph for quite awhile, especially when bottled at high proof.
Next week at the 25th Annual Gathering of the Clan, we are featuring a flight of 6-8 old Brora, all bottled at 50%+, ranging from 29-34 years, one of which (1972/29yo) we monikered ‘Brorzilla’ when it was released 20 years ago because it is such a beast.
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Speaking of Caol Ila, just popped a blindingly young 4 year 60% cask strength aged entirely in Rivesaltes casks. BAZINGA! Blinded several whisky knowledgeable friends who all guessed 12 - 15 years of age. The sweet wine rounded all the edges of youth but the fieriness keeps it exciting too. Great use of a wine cask.
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Always been a fan of Springbank. My first encounter with the 15yo. Quite rich with almost a PX type cask edge. Lovely gear.
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Interesting to hear. We bought a few Caol Ila new make casks for long term aging, but I can’t recall what Jonathan put them in. I’ll find out.
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Caol Ila is my one my true love. Keep me updated!
It’ll be a while! They are 2020s and we won’t bottle anything younger than 12.
Jonathan says he put 3 of the casks in first fill bourbon barrels, and the other 3 in 2nd fill sherry hogshead.
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Down to the end there on that Orkney. That one started out as my least favorite, and then really grew on me. We ended up loving it.
I know I haven’t been good about getting notes out on the new ones.
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