Consolidated "Scotch - Best & Worst, recommendations, questions" thread
May 27, 2015, 7:34 pm
#721
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: RDU
Posts: 5,228
Macallan 25
I need some spend on a new credit card and a bottle of Macallan 25 would put me over the required $3,000 to get 50,000 UA miles. My local liquor store had a bottle of it all boxed up when I asked a few weeks ago. What I'm wondering about is how to keep the bottle once opened. I have a vacuum pump I use for wine after I open it. Should I do the same with the Macallan 25 or would it be fine just putting the stopper back in the bottle. I expect it's going to be six months before I finish the bottle, maybe even longer. I had a 1.5L bottle of Macallan 12 that I took a while to finish and that seemed OK without vacuum sealing it. It's not a mechanical pump just a hand pump that sucks out the air.
May 28, 2015, 10:30 am
#723
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Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: ORD
Posts: 14,228
I need some spend on a new credit card and a bottle of Macallan 25 would put me over the required $3,000 to get 50,000 UA miles. My local liquor store had a bottle of it all boxed up when I asked a few weeks ago. What I'm wondering about is how to keep the bottle once opened. I have a vacuum pump I use for wine after I open it. Should I do the same with the Macallan 25 or would it be fine just putting the stopper back in the bottle. I expect it's going to be six months before I finish the bottle, maybe even longer. I had a 1.5L bottle of Macallan 12 that I took a while to finish and that seemed OK without vacuum sealing it. It's not a mechanical pump just a hand pump that sucks out the air.
May 28, 2015, 10:50 am
#724
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Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Earth. Residency:HKG formerly:YYZ
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May 28, 2015, 2:03 pm
#725
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: RDU
Posts: 5,228
I've been doing some reading and most articles I find say that air and light have the biggest impact on scotch. Maybe not as much as they do for wine but still significant.
Last edited by zitsky; May 28, 2015 at 7:47 pm
May 29, 2015, 10:35 am
#728
Moderator, Omni, Omni/PR, Omni/Games, FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
Programs: UA 1K MM; Hilton Diamond
Posts: 67,104
May 29, 2015, 10:46 am
#729
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: RDU
Posts: 5,228
Jun 2, 2015, 9:05 pm
#730
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Snooky
Posts: 2,508
I have no love for the Mac25. Too long in the Sherry casks. It no longer tastes like Scotch. 17 or 18 is the sweet spot IMO. Islay's are so funky they can take it though. In a Bourbon barrel I'll take every year I can get, not so with Port and Sherry.
Jun 3, 2015, 6:53 am
#731
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: NYC
Posts: 581
It does oxidize, just not as quickly. My experience is that some oxidation actually improves the whisky at first. Once the bottle approaches half gone, I use Private Preserve to keep everything in check.
Jun 3, 2015, 9:41 am
#732
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Programs: UA Gold, Hyatt Discoverist, IHG Platinum, Accor Silver, Choice Privileges Gold
Posts: 2,070
Well, I just returned from my 1st trip to Ireland and N. Ireland, and followed that up with a trip to Denver. I took tours/tastings of the Bushmills distillery and Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey. As a result, have added a bottle of Bushmills 12 and Stranahan's to my collection. I'm not sure why I didn't have distilleries on my itineraries before ... what a blast. tls
Jun 3, 2015, 9:52 am
#733
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Well, I just returned from my 1st trip to Ireland and N. Ireland, and followed that up with a trip to Denver. I took tours/tastings of the Bushmills distillery and Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey. As a result, have added a bottle of Bushmills 12 and Stranahan's to my collection. I'm not sure why I didn't have distilleries on my itineraries before ... what a blast. tls
How were the tours? I actually enjoy industrial tours and quite liked all the brewery tours we have taken. I assume you got a decent sampling from each. Any other high points?
Jun 3, 2015, 10:33 am
#735
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Between DCA and IAD
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True--more than 18 in port or sherry casks really makes it into something un-Scotch-like. Even then, it depends on the whisky; I'm not a huge fan of a young one like Kavalan finished in port for even a short period, as it overwhelms the whisky itself.
