Welcome back to another round of RECYCLED, where I quickly review the bottles leaving my shelves and decide whether I should repurchase them. Then you, too, can learn from my mistakes and treasures. It seems I polished off quite a few in a short while, but plenty of these were pretty low for over a year already. It just took another evening to conclude. So let’s jump to it, shall we? But first, we need music! Now playing: Rafael Anton Irisarri – FA​Ç​ADISMS

I put these out randomly, and I shall cover them as such. Let’s start in the back on the left. That is a trusted Bunnahabhain 12-year-old Cask Strength Edition whisky from 2022. I have nothing but praise for this bottle, which I have reviewed here and here, and honestly, I think I must get another one very soon! It’s a beautiful sherried malt from Islay – top-notch! Next to it, on the right, is Peat Monster from Compass Box, the Arcana edition. I finished a couple of Peat Monsters recently. I enjoyed every drop, so I finally popped the cork on this limited release, which, as the label respectfully proclaims, is about 71.4% Talisker, 19.4% Miltonduff, a bit of regular Peat Monster and 6% Ardberg. But let me tell you, you wouldn’t know it to be mostly Talisker, and I would rebuy this integrity bottling! I didn’t even get a chance to review this one. I think you can still find this whisky online (£80).

Next, we have a Special Vatting Peaty Malt bottled by Michel Couvreur. These are “three distinct mellow single malts distilled in Scotland and raised up by maturation with oak sherry casks in Burgundian caves.” It was interesting. Was it good? Yes. Could I tell that it was aged in France? No. Did I enjoy fighting the wax red seal for 20 minutes that splintered all over my carpet in tiny pieces that I had to vacuum? Not really. So would I rebuy it? We’ll see. There are so many others to choose from! Like that Big Peat The Thropaigeach Edition (means “tropical”) from Douglas Laing! It may be only 48%, but it was a fantastic take on Islay malts with a rum finish, bottled for Fèis Ìle 2024. There’s something special about smoky and sweet for me, and this one was like grilled pineapples on a bonfire. I’d love to drink it again! I’ve covered the regular edition here, and I have an uncorked bottle of Beach BBQ Edition for Fèis Ìle 2022, which I will open next!

Up in the front, starting on the left, we have a blended 21-year-old scotch whisky bottled by Berry Bros. & Rudd for their Perspective Series. It’s coloured and chill-filtered and bottled only at 43%, and there were moments when I loved it and then when I hated it, both for its grainy aftertaste and the groggy feeling it brought on. It was a fun experiment, including the landscape photography it came with (you can read about it here), but I think I’ll pass on this next time. The next two, however, are both winners. First, we’ve got a 19-year-old Ardbeg bottled by Elixir for their Element of Islay range (now defunct for single malts). Oh wow, what a treat this was – 12 years in American oak and then 7 in a first-fill PX butt! I see it for £500 now, and that’s a 50cl bottle (I bought it for £300)! Much overpriced, but still a real delicacy! And finally, there is that 20-year-old Laphroaig! A true favourite that I was milking for many years! This was Batch 6 from That Boutique-y Whisky Company, which I wrote about here. I want another one so bad (I bought it in 2022 for £325), but good luck finding it for a reasonable price anywhere!

So here we are – another round-up of empty bottles. Again, my collection seems to be slowly improving, as I seem to be getting rid of whiskies that I really love. Only two in here that I wouldn’t buy again. Some I will probably restock really soon, while others I will keep in my memories [like that Laphroaig!] and for a few, I’ve siphoned off 100ml for my secret archive (I’ve kept the Arcana and the Michel Couvreur).