Doug Strang asked from Canada:
I have been drinking Single Malts for a few years, because of my budget just the less expensive ones. I have always liked The Glenlivet 12yr, but most others I enjoy just as well, depending on my mood at the time I guess. I once bought a bottle of Glenlivet (2 years ago?) that seemed much better than usual, more peaty,more smoky yet retaining the light fruitiness that makes it distinct. I bought anoither bottle soon after,but to my senses it was not the same,(still good). So I bought another bottle from the same store as the first, and it too had the stronger peaty flavour I had enjoyed before, I have since never experienced this particular flovour bonanza from a bottle of Glenlivet (or any other singl malt), could I have just been fortunate enough to get something from a particularly favoured cask, Is there a great variety in the quality of a scotch from different years or maltings, (I thought they were blended from different casks to retain uniformity of quality. I hopew this question makes sense!

Charlie Says:

Dear Doug,

Brand owners go to great lengths to make sure that each batch is the same as the last - you are right that, certainly for a best seller like Glenlivet, many (sometimes hunderds of) casks are vatted together to achieve the flavour the owner wants, and to achieve it repeatedly. The same is not true of one-off cask bottlings, 'own-label' bottlings and independent bottlings generally. The bottles you remark on were proprietory bottlings, I understand. This is curious. There is no doubt that certain moods, food, state of health, etc can infludnece the way a malt tastes, but you are clearly aware of this. Maybe, as you say, you came upon a glorious 'rogue' bottling. It must happen from time to time. Keep searching, but you may never find those bottles again. If the like your Speyside with a bit of smoke, have you tried Craigellachie?

Charles MacLean