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A dinner that includes the Laphroaig 25 cask strength and a take home bottle of Laphroaig Select hosted by the Brand Ambassador of Australia. Wish I was there

And I quote, "Some people, like Mitchell, are methodical about how they build their bottles, tweaking and testing before adding each new pour. Others choose to live dangerously, tossing the final ounces of any and every bottle into their mix, just to see what happens." From this article: http://punchdrink.com/articles/how-infinity-bottle-blend-became-whiskey-nerd-obsession/ Fascinating? Yuck? Challenging? Interesting! Up to you. CB

Have a friend offering to pick a bottle up for me tomorrow on his way back from Vegas. Anybody have any recent experience with the airport DF? Looking mainly for single malt. Can be Scotch, Japanese, Indian, etc...Looking for something collectable in the 100-200 range max. Thanks

With Valentines day fast approaching I need to start looking at a bottle of scotch I can get the missus instead of flowers and chocolate. Problem is, I'm not a scotch fan and the last 2 bottles I knew that she was keen on, I bought for Christmas. So, what's a good Scotch, I can get in Aus from a Vintage Cellars (we dont have a Dan Murphys up here) for around $150? Her fav scotches are Lagavulin 16 Ardbeg 10 year old Aberfeldy 12 year old Se likes dark, peaty, smoky scotches Any help appreciated Thanks guys PB

Seems we have a number of Balvenie fans here, which is nice! I'll add to the thread as I go... I have a number of other bottles to discuss. Balvenie 10 Founder’s Reserve (Cognac Bottle), 40% Nose: Salty oak, dandelions, Palate: Green peppers, butter, heather, honey Finish: Honey, heather, decent burn for only 40% Balvenie 17 Sherry Oak, 43% Nose: Sweet raisins, like raisin syrup, mild oak Palate: This one delivers… sherry! Vanilla, spicier than the 17 Madeira Cask Finish: Sweet, fruity, a late bit of burn Balvenie 14 RumWood, 47.1% Nose: Vanilla, simple syrup, rum is most noticeable on the nose Palate: Almond, vanilla, honey, sugary and almost floral Finish: At cask strength, sugars give way to a long, stringent burn Balvenie 1992 Cask Selection (Out of Cask 2006), 47.8% Nose: Caramel! Palate: Very little bit of oak, jammy, honey with caramel, malty and almost viscous Finish: Just sweetness! A very mild burn very late, even at cask strength Balvenie 12 Signature (Batch 002), 43% Nose: Citrus…orange peel, salty oak, honey sweetness Palate: Citrus, vanilla, oak, straightforward Finish: Decent burn, oak, slight sweetness Balvenie 12 Signature (Batch 002), 43% (Review from the past) Nose: honey, almond, citrus, and cream, small amounts of caramel and oak in the background Palate: note nearly as dominating as the nose, spice, sherry, citrus, cream Finish: spice, sherry, cloying Balvenie 17 Madeira Cask, 43% Nose: Honey, apricot, and a madeira aroma Palate: Honey and oak, dark wine, cherry and raspberry, apricot Finish: dominating oak Balvenie 17 Islay Cask, 43% Nose: Smoke, brine, peat, undertones of navel oranges, mild chocolate, slight sherry Palate: smoke is more prominent than peat, sweetness still remains, and is focused into floral, honey, and vanilla notes Finish: smoke transitions to honey Balvenie 12 DoubleWood, 40% Nose: Sherry, chocolate, and orange bringing to mind the choclate-orange sticks found on grocery shelves around Christmastime, honey, and a bit of caramel Palate: Smooth! Sherry, orange peel and vanilla, faint caramel and vanilla Finish: sherry, cloying, slight burn and oak Balvenie 14 Carribbean Cask, 43% Nose: Vanilla, unripened orange, bit of black licorice Palate: Caramel, vanilla, orange, spiced rum kicks in about halfway through Finish: Long lasting. Light sherry, a little warm and a little drying, mild oak, rum continues Balvenie 14 Roasted Malt, 47.1% Nose: bit of caramel and honey sweetness, oaky Palate: starts with slightly honey and sugar sweetness, then turns sulfur-ish, woody, oaky, salty, almost overbearing Finish: oak, long burn Balvenie 30, 47.3% Nose: Caramel, vanilla, slight oak, fantastic balance Palate: Strong but smooth, caramel and sugary, viscous, such light oak for the age, bit of floral Finish: Not much burn for the strength, sweetness, with oak picking up when the burn does kick in later

Fellow FOH travel gurus, Matthew and I, and another couple, want to plan a trip to Scotland and perhaps Ireland too in Sept/Oct 2013. We are looking at up to 2 weeks. A boat trip around Scotland with stops in ports for visits, sleeping on the boat; inland scotch touring with golfing for them and cigar smoking and scenery for me. Anyone have suggestions/itinerary they can e-mail or share? Seems I have heard some talk about this here. With thanks! Lisa