Have you experienced consistency problems with your favorite brand? The first time I noticed this was I got a killer bottle of Talisker, and thought this is going into my normal rotation. The very next bottle wasn't nearly as good. I mean from start to finish. I have always had a bottle of Lagavulin 16 on hand for special occasions. This stuff to wonderful and I've done this for the last three years. A special occasion came up last night so I opened the bottle I purchased a couple of months back. It was brash and bitter and almost to the point of being bad.

No, never had that problem, it is either a very,very rare (like never) bad bottle or your tastes are changing.

My tastes were what I thought the problem was the first time this happened with the Talisker. So, I kept with it and that entire bottle was not as good. I recently bought another bottle of Talisker and its like the first. Very good again. The next special occasion is Thanksgiving so we'll see.

Seems odd this has happened in two separate bottles of two different brands.

Any chance the bottles are being subjected to odd temperatures? Link - experiment on the effect of storage environment on whisky

quote:

Originally posted by joel9507:
Seems odd this has happened in two separate bottles of two different brands.

Any chance the bottles are being subjected to odd temperatures? Link - experiment on the effect of storage environment on whisky

Or sunlight ?

I am a consistent drinker of single malts, especially the Lagavulin 16yo you mention.

Never noticed a QA issue that you describe.

Could be a few things that throw off your tastebuds and make an alcoholic beverage taste inconsistent, I would try to analyze what may be affecting your palate. The distillery managers keep a close eye on quality and I am fairly certain that they haven't slacked off in the past few years.

No offense intended.

Never a problem with Glenlivet. I did get a bad bottle of some other brand a few years ago which is what I get for straying from my regular brand.

Laphroaig seems to be consistent batch to batch.

They may have been corked.

Your taste can change over time. Your palate can be affected by your mood, your health, what you’ve eaten, etc. It’s best to revisit a bottle multiple times before declaring it bad. Cork taint is real but rare. It makes the booze taste musty and moldy and the cork will smell bad in a similar manner. Peat lessens with oxidation. It’s more likely you to than the bottle.

The quality of the scotch is only as good as the quality of the cask in which it is aged. Distilleries are reusing casks more and more to save money. Sometimes the taste and character slip as a result of this practice.

I haven't had that happen.

quote:

The first time I noticed this was I got a killer bottle of Talisker, and thought this is going into my normal rotation. The very next bottle wasn't nearly as good.

How much time between the two bottles of Talisker?

I'd say I had the sub par Talisker about 2 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
I'd say I had the sub par Talisker about 2 years ago.

How much time between the first (OK) bottle and the second (not so OK) bottle?

It has never happened to me with any single malt.

I concur that it’s likely being caused by environment (e.g., sunlight) or something affecting you (e.g., an allergy).

Hope you find out the cause and are soon back to enjoying your favorite Scotch.

quote:

Originally posted by kkina:

quote:

Originally posted by goose5:
I'd say I had the sub par Talisker about 2 years ago.

How much time between the first (OK) bottle and the second (not so OK) bottle?

That first really good bottle I thought this is going into my regular rotation. So, I bought the not so good bottle maybe 4 weeks after finishing the last. Fast forward 2 years a store in Denver was running a very good sale so a bought another bottle of Talisker. This current one is very good. But, this recent Lagavulin really took me by surprise. It was really not as good. I've never had any scotch taste bitter. Dry yes. But, not bitter.

I see. Well, with only 4 weeks between a good and a bad bottle, it argues against taste change. 2 years maybe, but not a month.

Maybe you'd like to run the Saran Wrap test on the bad Lag you have currently, see if it improves. Up to you, of course.

Sounds like possible counterfeit booze but that’s almost unheard of in the US.

Tonight I had just a wee dram of Lagavulin. It still tastes bitter on the front end and almost sour on the back. Its a little better if I chew on it a little. I tried a taste of Highland Park and it tastes like it always does. I'm beginning to conclude this is not a problem with my palate.