It’s time for another round of spring cleaning, where I cover my “bottlekills” in this edition of RYCYCLED. Yes, I could just throw these bottles out, but I figured that I’d take a moment for one final farewell, covering my thoughts on each in hopes of preserving them for the future. If this, for some reason, is interesting to you, you can always check out previous entries in this column. Now, let’s go for it, but first, we need music! Now playing DjRUM – Portrait With Firewood.

Right up front is the 13-year-old Mortlach from Diageo Special Releases 2021. I feel like I struggled with this bottle for a while. There were moments when I didn’t like it at all. And then, there were moments when I could peel apart its slab of a body with some dried fruit and bananas in the very far distance. It benefitted from some water since it held a punch at 55.9%. That said, I didn’t find it special, not like the 16-year-old from the Flora & Fauna series, which I still hold on to. And since the subsequent Special Releases were even more expensive, with a NAS to add, I’d say this one is probably a pass for me. I covered it many times here, and it barely won against the others. I do have another one of these still closed in an original box, so I’ll hold on to it for later and see what happens in the end.

In the second row, we’ve got a 15-year-old Caol Ila bottled for Feis Ile 2022. It’s probably the only distillery bottling of the Caol Ila I like, most likely because it was finally available at 55.2%. The rest are better by the independent bottlers, which I have plenty of on my shelves, showcasing this liquid exactly as it should be, non-chill filtered and at cask strength. This bottle upset me only more, knowing that the distillery can deliver but chooses not to. Such a shame! In the end, it was okay, and I’ll probably stick to my independent bottlers. I saved 100ml in my growing archive to see how it compares with others in the future. Then we have the trusted Laphroaig Lore. There’s not much more to say about this fantastic middle-shelf bottle, only perhaps that I’ll always end up having at least one of these in stock! Thumbs up there!

The third row contains a Signatory Vintage bottling of Auchentoshan from 2000. This 21-year-old was from the Cask Strength Collection, integrity bottled at 58.3%. I’ve had this for over three years, and it didn’t really go anywhere, to be honest. Yes, it had all of the great elements of that “Low Land” single malt profile, but in the end, even with water, it didn’t really stand out. I was glad to finally polish it off, stash 100ml for my archives, and move on. Then we have another trusted bottling of the 16-year-old Lagavulin – did you recognise the bottle just by its neck? Nothing to complain about here, and I immediately replaced it with another round on my shelves. Last but not least is a 15-year-old 2006 vintage Port Askaig, which is, of course, not a distillery in itself but rather a brand from Elixir. I found this one at Berry Bros & Rudd, exclusively bottled for them at 48.7%. I thought that it would be Laphroaig, but actually, I think it ended up being a Caol Ila. You won’t find much information on this bottle. Yes, it was tasty, but nothing to write home about for £86.

So, there you have it, folks, another roundup of empty bottles. You could really see what I am drinking here (Lagavulin and Laphroaig) and what I’ve been “fighting through” for many years. To summarise, here are my picks: it’s a “yes!” to the Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Port Askaig and a “no” to the rest. Something to reflect on here for me. And now, I can go out and trash them and fill the empty space with new contenders!