Last night I met up with a whiskymag forum member, and enjoyed a handful of single malts I hadn’t had before.

Balvenie 21 Port Wood
Lagavulin 12
Glenfarclas 25
Laphroaig 30
Talisker DE
Macallan 15 Fine Oak
Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist
and

Balvenie Vintage 1972 x2

Talk about a great evening of drams! The Balvenie Vintage 1972 is one that has been highly recommended, and labeled as one of the best vintages to come out recently - it’s actually still available in shops, at least in the US. It was excellent! If they had doping in scotch like they do in sports, this was a Balvenie on HGH!! The flavors were extraordinarily pronounced and well defined, and the taste of wood that you usually find in an older malt was absolutely not there. Excellent notes of vanilla, honey, and spice. Definitely one of my favorite drams of all time.

The other surprise for the night was the Laphroaig 30. Had I not known it was a Lahproaig, I never would’ve guessed it. The reduction in peat over the age of the malt is noticeable, comparing a QC, 10, and 15 to this 30. I don’t think I entirely wrapped my tongue around it - it had a lot of sweet notes, almost as if it were sherry finished. A great dram!

Another surprise was the Macallan 15 FO. Everyone raves about Macallan, and while I tend to like it, I find that it is very overpriced for what you get. This 15 Fine Oak was very good with little to no “spirity” taste.

The Ardbeg was peat as I like it. Unadulterated, simple, without the floral to offset it. Another great dram - I’m glad I have a bottle of this, although it still needs to be opened.