Its absolutely crazy that I have been watching your videos for over a decade! I WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST RALFY...The world of whisky has changed so much over that time and you truly are an integral part of the discourse.
Started the new year off with starting my infinity bottle off with some favorite malts, ones that I really like & the early signs are extremely promising. Back in the cupboard for now but look forward to tasting and adding to it in the future. Thanks Ralphy 😊
I started my three infinity bottles (Single Malt Unpeated, Single Malt Peated, Bourbon) about four years ago. I enjoy it so much. I highly recommend whisky anoraks follow suit with their own. Thanks for the advice Ralfy. BTW: Reading "In Search for a Whisky Bothy" now and am enjoying it a great deal.
Beautiful content. I have built my non-peated infinity by pouring the last bit of each single malt I enjoy and think they will be complementary to each other. After 2 years, I tried it during Christmas and found it has the complexity that no other single malt has ever give me. Blending the standard stuff (non-aged to 12 years old) is really a great gain of experience. I think one of the idea of infinity bottle is not to plan it, and just see what is coming out naturally.
I started my infinity bottle with bad whisky. As strange as it may sound, it actually created hype and motivation for me in the beginning, thanks to improvements that it made with every addition. Of course, ever since I'm adding only good ones, but the results are sometimes counterintuitive. But for first few months, it was only getting better and better.
Been doing this a long time. Have about 10. Once you get your region/style/etc bottles going, it's fun to branch out into single distillery infinities. I have an Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, Buffalo Trace, etc. I never write down what I add, but my Springbank one is over a decade and a half old and has samples from over a hundred bottles, easy. And it's still a single malt! Thank you for the great content, Ralfy. You've taught me more about whisky than pretty much anyone else. Cheers!
I have 3 on the go at the moment. 1. Campbeltown only single malts in an old Campbeltown Loch blend bottle. Starter malt is Springbank 12 cask strength. 2. One I call the McKraken. Peaty/coastal malts mainly from Islay with other stuff like Talisker, Oban and Pulteney in an old Kraken rum bottle. 3. Unpeated bourbon & Sherry matured highland/speysides with a backbone of Compass Box Spice Tree in an old Loch Fyne blend bottle from the Richard Joynson era. Hopefully I can keep them evolving for the rest of my days. Thanks Ralfy for the inspiration some time ago.
Watching this video, I inadvertently recalled some sentences from Raymond Chandler that slightly paraphrased would sound like this: "The smell of whisky and moisture were so thick that one could build a garage on them. And upstairs it was so quiet that if you strain yourself you could hear the scream of an eagle." In our case - a rooster.
Years ago, I lost the tail end of a fine single malt to oxidisation. After that sad experience, I started my infinity bottle. Named it after the distillery model I built as a railway modeller. My Glen Moddle ("the Spirit of Imagination") has been a proud member of my collection eversince.
Thanks so much Ralfy. I have been planning to do this since a few months back. Here are the lineups: Springbank 15yo, Glanallachie 10yo cask strength, Arran sherry cask, Ardberg 5 yo wee beastie (don’t add much I know Ralfy), Kilkerran 12 yo, Bladnoch 10yo, Glendronach 10yo cask strength). I am taking your advice and won’t put any Irish malts, bourbons, Armagnac at this stage.
Infinity and beyond, I started mine today Eigashima Shuzo 3 Years Single Malt Japanese 350ml 40.00% Glendronach Batch 8 Single Malt Scotish 2 Tots 61.00% Bruichladdie 2012 Barley Single Malt Scotish 50ml 50.00% Ledaig 10 Years Single Malt Scotish 1 Teaspoon 46.30% Bluehangar 11th Limited Blend Scotish 2 Tots 45.60% Helyers Road 15 Years Single Malt Tasmania 1 Tot 46.20% Deanston 12 years Single Malt Scotish 2 Tots 46.30%
Last night I noticed I have quite a few bottles that are getting low and the thought crossed my mind about starting an infinity bottle. Perfect timing this 👍🏻
I started my infinity bottle a month ago and it is great fun. It’s a peated blend of malt and a little amount of grain. I am using only whisky with an age statement. Great review Ralfy, thanks!
I’ve just stared my first infinity bottle I’ve pick a nice Cut glass decanter to put it in and display will be noting down each Dram that goes into it , great tips from Ralfy on how to do it properly 🥃
Luv you, Ralfy! No, not like that; you just educate and entertain in you charmingly inimitable way and at least for me, you enthuse; bring me back again, after a couple of months of forgetting about Single Malt and your excellent channel. And for that I thank you. SOLD! I'm definitely starting an Infinity Bottle.
So far, in my own (1st) Infinity bottle: 2" Aberlour 12 year Double Cask, 1" Johnnie Walker Black, 1" Paddy's Irish Whisky, 1/2" Monkey Shoulder and 1/2" Lismore Single Malt. Next, Highland Park 12 year. This is gonna be a pretty eclectic blend, all right. 3 Scotch single malts, 2 Scotch blends and an Irish whisky thrown in as a wild card. Room for about 2-3 more depending on how well I like them - or not.
I have one that’s five years old which I made a while after Ralfy’s first mention of infinity bottles. Very happy with the results and although I haven’t added to it over the last year (as I haven’t come across any worthy malts) it remains the best whisky in my collection.
Infinite Barrel Project by Barrell Craft Spirits in the States does this with frequent releases. The same blenders that bring you Barrell Bourbon and Rye. Some pretty hit or miss stuff. Scotch, rye, bourbon and other stuff blended together can get a bit muddy.
I started my Infinity bottle 18 months ago when I began my whisky journey. +15 ml of every new bottle I experience in order to track my progression. 18 deposits so far, but I don’t plan to take any withdrawals until the bottle is full. Thanks for sharing Ralfy!
Ralfy, I've been watching you for only a short while, and yet I always feel educated and inspired by your work. You also seem to be getting younger compared to your earlier videos. Probably the Whisky. To your health!
We pipesmokers have something similar - it's called "a pensioner's jar". There go all tobaccos you can imagine. As a result you get a unique mixture no master blender can come up with
The things I have learned watching your channel are so appreciated and being practiced here in Gatorjak’s Man Cave! I have just started 2 infinity bottles! One for my Single Malt Whisky and one for my Irish Whiskies. I am using an app to track what’s in the bottles.
I love my peated bottle which I just made over the last few months. It’s very young but all integrity and very balanced. Laphroaig Cairdas cask strength, Kilkerran Heavily peated, Glenglassaugh Torfa, and Kilchoman Machir Bay. The base is Machir bay, the sherry from the cairdas comes through amazingly.
Started my infinity bottle tonight. Gave it a Campbeltown base with Glen Scotia 15 and a dash of both Kilkerran 12 and Springbank 10. Topped it up further with Signatory Linkwood 10, a trickle of Bladnoch 10, and a teaspoon of Ledaig 10. Some Deanston 12 and Arran 10 will soon be added. Thanks for the guidance.
Great stuff, been holding off on any stronger peat malts to my 8 yr old infinity, that superb sweet Ledaig smoke by the teaspoon will do the trick, once again, you're a legend Ralfy, 'the idea's man'.
Hey Ralphy! I just started my first infinite bottle. I got a fancy decanter from my brother so I decided to do a Springbank infinite bottle. I started it off with half a bottle of Kilkerran 12 (I know, It's more of a J&A infinite bottle) and I've since added a pour of Hazelburn 14 Oloroso and Springbank 15. I wanted to play it safe for my first time, so I went with malts I knew were compatible, but this video has made me want to be more bold! I feel like Edradour and Springbank could play together in very interesting ways, both being real dirty malt bombs. Thanks for the tips, and all the extras, and all the content, me and all the other malt mates in San Antonio, Texas appreciate it!
I just found your channel a week ago, I love it! Tomorrow I'll head out to my garage with some storm lanterns hoping to find my own hidden cask or at least a proper bottle to start my own Infinity bottle. Thanks for the infotainment.
Another priceless inspiration and advice on a wonderfull thing I never thought about. Now I finally know what to do with my very first (empty) single malt bottle (over 30years old!) and the empty Armagnac-Bottle from which I had my first "spirit moments" with my grandfather... I fill them up with life again and live these moments up again... Endless Thanks Ralfy! TheoTheHero from Switzerland
Hi there - Sharing my experience, I have 2 Infinity bottles. One, I started three years ago and it is a Frankenstein, it has from Single Malts to Honey Bourbouns ... the other one is a more serious one, first half filled with light single malts (Singleton, Glenfiddich) and the other half, with my favourite ones (unpeated). Unbelievably, even the crappy one offers a wonderful drinking experience. When friends come to my home, for those that are really keen on scotch I typically gave them a bottle tour ... finishing with my infinity bottle. Greetings from Argentina! Regards, Nacho.
Thanks for the vídeo Ralfy. Just started mine with some bottles I got at home, really excited to try it next month. -Glenfidich 15 -Glenlivet 12 -Aberlour A'bunadh (batch 65) -Bunnahsabhain 12 -Ardbeg Uigeadail (just a teaspoon) Gonna stick with scotch single malts for now, wish me luck guys
When you mentioned the infinity bottle last week I started one in a long branch bourbon bottle with a half out of ten open bottles, including Rosebank, Arran, Deanston. Tasted it at the weekend, and it was great. Only decanter I've got is a full 2007 100 million litres one.
I did a small infinity bottle with precise measurements. Just smoky ones. 5% of Caol Ila, 5% of Ardbeg 10% of Loch Gorm ect... and it turned out amazing. A really peaty and nice blend. My main non smokey infinity bottle is the tails of my non smokey scotchs. Just 4-10cl of all the last drops of my bottles. (but never the best bottles i had. just the mediocre ones) Going on 5 years and haven't written down what I added. Maybe 40-50 different ones. It turned out pretty bland. Like a cheap low AVB blend. Maybe I can save it by adding higher AVB stuff in it... or maybe I'll just start a new one.
I have some friends who watch the American Superbowl (I live in Australia). I supply the food and they bring a bottle of bourbon to drink. I tax them a couple of nips to put in my infinity bottle and they take home a flask with double what they put in to take home. I put a couple of nips of every bottle I have opened through the year. I also add a substantial amount of a cask strength bourbon to give it a bit of kick.
Hey mate awesome advice! I started about a month ago with my black bottle as a base then just added some blends to the mix, black label, dimple 15 yr , dewars 12 to name a few, I had some the other day and all I can say is 😯 WOW, thanks so much for opening a new avenue to explore 🙂 cheers and keep up the great reviews.
Keep up the good work Ralfy! Here is my current / 1st bottle. Bottle Amount Oz Glenmorangie 14 The Quinta Ruban 3 GlenDronach 12 2 GlenGoyne 12 2 Deanston 12 2 Aberlour A'Bunadh 2 Compass Box The Story of The Spaniard 2 The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 2 Glen Scotia 15 1 Glen Scotia Victoriana 2 Clynelish 14 3 Total 21
I have taken the infinity bottle concept and applied it to...wait for it....honey! I'm a sucker for local honey, and I buy it wherever I go, wherever 'local' happens to be. As such, I have laying around my pantry partial jars of all different varieties of honey from Arizona, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, central Oregon, and SW Washington state. When they are down to about the last 1/4 or less of the jar, they crystalize. So I gathered them all up, put the jars in hot water until they were liquid again, and poured them all into one jar. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow morning's cup of tea and English muffin. :-)
This was one of my favorite videos! I’m also hoping you post an advanced infinity bottle video. The first several months went beautifully. Best bottle in my cabinet, but recently getting a little hot, a little muddled. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!
I had an about 35 cl vodkabottle that I cleaned out, and poured Chivas 12 in, to bring on fishing trips, however while the Chivas is good, it is not exellent, so I have added some Ledaig 10 and some 54% cask strength sherried whisky to it, but I actually didn't feel that I had an really good mix, until I added some Laphroaig 10 cask strength and Laphroaig PX cask, it was not until then that it all went perfect.... -Just to say that Laphroaig shoulden't not be considered, particularly the PX cask one gave it a very delightful full-bodied layer of sherry, which the first mentioned Cask Strength sherry-whisky didn't....
Enjoyed this alot, I have tried to make an infinity bottle years ago and ruined it by adding to much of bunnahabin moine in a non peated bottle haha. after that i decided to save it, but no.... Now after 4 years thanks to you i will take this task and make an great infinity mstrblender bottle!! Cheers Ralfy!
Funny thing is, when you were talking about the graduated cylinder at the beginning, in my mind I was like "screw that, I'm just going to wing it and go with my instinct!", and then just a few minutes after, that's exactly what you said! LOL ;)
Interesting video. Was thinking about that for a while; guess I’ll start once I have an empty bottle… my syndicate 58/6 is the closest to being empty, so I guess that’s the one I will pick. „Opening Malt“ Glenlivet 12 (first fill) and then top it up… Glenfarclas 15, Macallan 12, and Tomatin Marsala wine casks (might be German exclusive) are the unpeated additions to it… for now
johnnie walker Black with Woodford Reserve..50/50 with a couple of American White Oak Sticks. MAN O MAN What a TREAT. Start now and leave to next xmas to drink. You won't Regret it👍👍
Started mine in 2014 and simply added the last drops of every bottle i drank this far. Every leftover that wasn't enough for a regular dram. It's great. And an experience every enthusiast should have. Added 2 Laphroaig, tho. But they didn't overwhelm the whole blend. Probably because of the small amount.
Dearest Ralfy, I love your reviews & have indeed purchased certain bottles after seeing them earn a decent "integrity malt mark" One bottle i would urge you to try & possibly review ? Is the Glen Moray 1998 Barolo finish (Warehouse 1 series). It retails at around £135 & is simply stunning, but has a run of only 853 bottles. You're welcome & i look forward to your next review :)
Very inspiriring video! Maybe I give it a try. Until now I am only experimenting with tiny amounts. A great combination is 30 ml glenmorangie 10 (which I do not like very much) with one drop of laphroaig 10: excellent, the taste reminds me of Highland Park 12. An awfull combination, however, is 30 ml Dalmore 12 (which I like) + one drop of laphroaig 10. Too sharp, somehowe. I threw it away... like Richard Patterson to clean the glass... (I usually don't throw whisky away btw) Grtz from Holland, Teun
Ralfy's right, be incredibly careful adding peated or otherwise smoky whiskies. I did that (Ardbeg 10, and later Teacher's Highland Cream), didn't measure, put about an ounce or so in apiece. Completely overwhelmed it. Not that it was outright bad, but it will change it. Rye can change it also, depending on the brand, but it's not the level of what peat smoke can do. I also recommend to treat it like other whiskies; keep it completely out of sunlight. When I began mine a year or so ago, I didn't know at the time to keep it in the dark. While it was never in direct sunlight, it was in a corner that, at best, wasn't exactly dark. For about a year. So I'm not sure if the peat smoke made it taste the way it does or if it was the very indirect sunlight. BTW I don't measure. I don't want to get too anal about it. An ounce or two is what I add at a time. I definitely don't pour the amount Ralfy did with the Glen Scotia. I also add the first ounce or two of a new bottle upon opening, not the last ounce or two. I look at it as sacrificing a virgin or whatever.
I'd recommend using an app to track additions and subtractions. It's useful for both tracking abv and to know the proportion that each malt you add currently makes up of your blend. iOS users are better served but there's at least one useful app for Android too.
@@whamsdram I had a look after spotting this comment and seeing as you got no reply, the one I've decided to try out is just called Infinity Bottle. Its got a white logo with grey bottle and bronze/brown infinity symbol going around the bottle. It was free (some features are paid, not sure what), all the basic functionality is there in the free version.
Every time I started a Solera bottle, it got to a point where I thought it was so good, I didn't want to change it in any way so I finished it and started all over.
I like to do this at the moment I'm doing a bourbon blend 50/50 using wild turkey 13 mixed with a rare breed to bring up the proof,now that's it's down I quarter I'm thinking I wanted something Sherry or sweet grape,thinking I want to add some cognac or that nomads outland whisky cause I think it will give it an extra level .and when it's perfected I seal it and date it ,then yep enjoyed them a year later so definitely right on on the letting it do it's chemical bonding mixing process.cheers ralfy I gotta try not enjoy it all and keep adding like U to keep for many years.cheers for the video.its what I do .good 2 C
Hi Ralfy, are you able to get a Scarabus (10 or cask strength) over there? It's from a non-disclosed islay distillery... Quite sure it's Caol Ila but it'd be lovely to hear your very much informed opinion!
If you want to be really precise, measure what's going in and what's going out. Then you can keep a running spreadsheet and calculate the proportions and ABV. And if you don't want to do a full bottle, you can also do a small amount of a whisky with a couple drops of a'bunadh for sherry or Ardbeg for peat or armagnac for fruitiness. That's a fun experiment.
I like this idea but I'm also thinking an Ardbeg isn't probably a whisky I want to start out with to build my Infinity bottle, sort of like using the Laphroaig
Does it make sense to make an infinity bottle with mixed spirits? Let's say Whisky with some Cognac, Armagnac Rum? Like an 'all in' infinity ... I don't know, maybe when the regular infinity bottle happens to be full and one has to start another one? :D
I’ve probably missed the point of this? My infinity bottle is just when I like a whiskey, I’ll shot some in my bottle. I don’t keep track of what goes in there but to be fair it’s probably mainly a mix of Balvenie Caribbean cast and Arran 10…it’s nice though.
I’m working on mine right now but something isn’t adding up right….Maybe too much smoke and Iodine with the peat, and too little of the Highland or Speyside. Talisker, Ardbeg 10, Laphraoig 10, Lagavulin 16, Craigellachie 13, etc etc. And he just said don’t use Laphraoig lol 😬
Ralfy, your older video about infinity bottles inspired me to start my own back in 2019. I have absolutely loved putting it together and tasting it as it evolves. As of today it consists of the following….(I keep a running list on my phone)
- Glendronach 12 yr. Original - 43% UCF, NC
- Glenmorangie 10 yr. Original - 43%
- Aultmore 12 yr. - 46% UCF, NC
- Glenlivet 12 yr. - 40%
- Glen Garioch 14 yr. (1999) Sherry cask matured - 56.3% UCF, NC
- Deanston 12 yr. Bourbon cask matured - 46.3% UCF, NC
- Glenlivet 14 yr. Cognac cask matured - 40%
- Bunnahabhain 12 yr. - 46.3% UCF, NC
- Old Pulteney 12 yr. - 40%
- Glendronach 18 yr. Allardice - 46% UCF, NC
- Glengoyne 10 yr. - 43% UCF, NC
- Speyburn 10 yr. - 40%
- Glenfarclas 12 yr. - 43%
- AnCnoc 12 yr. - 43% NC
- Bruichladdich Islay Barley 2011 (6 yr) - 50% UCF, NC
- Auchentoshan 12 yr. - 40%
- Aberlour 12 yr. - 40%
- Clynelish 14 yr. - 46%
- Edradour 10 yr. - 43% NC
- Arran 10 yr. - 46% UCF, NC
- Glenmorangie 14 yr. Port Cask - 46% UCF
- GlenAllachie 12 yr. - 46% UCF, NC
- Edradour 12 yr. Caledonia - 46% UCF, NC
- Glendronach 15 yr. Revival - 46% UCF, NC
- Aberlour A’Bunadh (Batch 68) - 61.5% UCF
- Glenfarclas 21 yr. - 43%
- Glenlivet “Illicit Still” 12 yr. - 48% UCF
I cannot thank you enough for the knowledge and experience you share with all of us!
Its absolutely crazy that I have been watching your videos for over a decade! I WISH YOU NOTHING BUT THE BEST RALFY...The world of whisky has changed so much over that time and you truly are an integral part of the discourse.
Started the new year off with starting my infinity bottle off with some favorite malts, ones that I really like & the early signs are extremely promising. Back in the cupboard for now but look forward to tasting and adding to it in the future.
Thanks Ralphy 😊
Last time I was this early to a ralfy video the Isle of Man was still controlled by King Edward I 🇮🇲
I am watching this 7 months later😃
I started my three infinity bottles (Single Malt Unpeated, Single Malt Peated, Bourbon) about four years ago. I enjoy it so much. I highly recommend whisky anoraks follow suit with their own. Thanks for the advice Ralfy. BTW: Reading "In Search for a Whisky Bothy" now and am enjoying it a great deal.
Beautiful content. I have built my non-peated infinity by pouring the last bit of each single malt I enjoy and think they will be complementary to each other. After 2 years, I tried it during Christmas and found it has the complexity that no other single malt has ever give me. Blending the standard stuff (non-aged to 12 years old) is really a great gain of experience. I think one of the idea of infinity bottle is not to plan it, and just see what is coming out naturally.
Ralfy’s concept of infinity bottle a type of Solera will create infinite master blenders all over the world. Thanks to spirited Ralfy.
Use to do this years ago when nicking my fathers whiskey.
I started my infinity bottle with bad whisky. As strange as it may sound, it actually created hype and motivation for me in the beginning, thanks to improvements that it made with every addition. Of course, ever since I'm adding only good ones, but the results are sometimes counterintuitive. But for first few months, it was only getting better and better.
Been doing this a long time. Have about 10. Once you get your region/style/etc bottles going, it's fun to branch out into single distillery infinities. I have an Ardbeg, Bruichladdich, Buffalo Trace, etc. I never write down what I add, but my Springbank one is over a decade and a half old and has samples from over a hundred bottles, easy. And it's still a single malt! Thank you for the great content, Ralfy. You've taught me more about whisky than pretty much anyone else. Cheers!
I have 3 on the go at the moment.
1. Campbeltown only single malts in an old Campbeltown Loch blend bottle. Starter malt is Springbank 12 cask strength.
2. One I call the McKraken. Peaty/coastal malts mainly from Islay with other stuff like Talisker, Oban and Pulteney in an old Kraken rum bottle.
3. Unpeated bourbon & Sherry matured highland/speysides with a backbone of Compass Box Spice Tree in an old Loch Fyne blend bottle from the Richard Joynson era.
Hopefully I can keep them evolving for the rest of my days. Thanks Ralfy for the inspiration some time ago.
Watching this video, I inadvertently recalled some sentences from Raymond Chandler that slightly paraphrased would sound like this: "The smell of whisky and moisture were so thick that one could build a garage on them. And upstairs it was so quiet that if you strain yourself you could hear the scream of an eagle." In our case - a rooster.
Years ago, I lost the tail end of a fine single malt to oxidisation.
After that sad experience, I started my infinity bottle. Named it after the distillery model I built as a railway modeller.
My Glen Moddle ("the Spirit of Imagination") has been a proud member of my collection eversince.
. . . we never stop learning.
Thanks so much Ralfy. I have been planning to do this since a few months back. Here are the lineups: Springbank 15yo, Glanallachie 10yo cask strength, Arran sherry cask, Ardberg 5 yo wee beastie (don’t add much I know Ralfy), Kilkerran 12 yo, Bladnoch 10yo, Glendronach 10yo cask strength). I am taking your advice and won’t put any Irish malts, bourbons, Armagnac at this stage.
Infinity and beyond, I started mine today
Eigashima Shuzo 3 Years Single Malt Japanese 350ml 40.00%
Glendronach Batch 8 Single Malt Scotish 2 Tots 61.00%
Bruichladdie 2012 Barley Single Malt Scotish 50ml 50.00%
Ledaig 10 Years Single Malt Scotish 1 Teaspoon 46.30%
Bluehangar 11th Limited Blend Scotish 2 Tots 45.60%
Helyers Road 15 Years Single Malt Tasmania 1 Tot 46.20%
Deanston 12 years Single Malt Scotish 2 Tots 46.30%
Nice when Ralfy joins the conversation and actually shows the process..
Cheers to the Master blender...
Last night I noticed I have quite a few bottles that are getting low and the thought crossed my mind about starting an infinity bottle. Perfect timing this 👍🏻
Brilliant! And fun! Im doing it when i find the right empty bottle.
still watching!! and Just started my bottle. thx so much
I started my infinity bottle a month ago and it is great fun. It’s a peated blend of malt and a little amount of grain. I am using only whisky with an age statement. Great review Ralfy, thanks!
Started my first infinity bottle five mins ago. GS Seasonal release 2021, GS Double Cask, GS 16 YO. Thanks for the inspiration and information.
I’ve just stared my first infinity bottle I’ve pick a nice Cut glass decanter to put it in and display will be noting down each Dram that goes into it , great tips from Ralfy on how to do it properly 🥃
Luv you, Ralfy! No, not like that; you just educate and entertain in you charmingly inimitable way and at least for me, you enthuse; bring me back again, after a couple of months of forgetting about Single Malt and your excellent channel. And for that I thank you. SOLD! I'm definitely starting an Infinity Bottle.
So far, in my own (1st) Infinity bottle: 2" Aberlour 12 year Double Cask, 1" Johnnie Walker Black, 1" Paddy's Irish Whisky, 1/2" Monkey Shoulder and 1/2" Lismore Single Malt. Next, Highland Park 12 year. This is gonna be a pretty eclectic blend, all right. 3 Scotch single malts, 2 Scotch blends and an Irish whisky thrown in as a wild card. Room for about 2-3 more depending on how well I like them - or not.
I have one that’s five years old which I made a while after Ralfy’s first mention of infinity bottles. Very happy with the results and although I haven’t added to it over the last year (as I haven’t come across any worthy malts) it remains the best whisky in my collection.
Infinite Barrel Project by Barrell Craft Spirits in the States does this with frequent releases. The same blenders that bring you Barrell Bourbon and Rye. Some pretty hit or miss stuff. Scotch, rye, bourbon and other stuff blended together can get a bit muddy.
I started my Infinity bottle 18 months ago when I began my whisky journey. +15 ml of every new bottle I experience in order to track my progression. 18 deposits so far, but I don’t plan to take any withdrawals until the bottle is full. Thanks for sharing Ralfy!
Ralfy, I've been watching you for only a short while, and yet I always feel educated and inspired by your work. You also seem to be getting younger compared to your earlier videos. Probably the Whisky. To your health!
We pipesmokers have something similar - it's called "a pensioner's jar". There go all tobaccos you can imagine. As a result you get a unique mixture no master blender can come up with
I do enjoy my Infinity Blended Malt whisky bottle. Brilliant whisky.
No fire in the stove and bird song in the background. You got an early Spring going on there?
The things I have learned watching your channel are so appreciated and being practiced here in Gatorjak’s Man Cave! I have just started 2 infinity bottles! One for my Single Malt Whisky and one for my Irish Whiskies. I am using an app to track what’s in the bottles.
I love my peated bottle which I just made over the last few months. It’s very young but all integrity and very balanced. Laphroaig Cairdas cask strength, Kilkerran Heavily peated, Glenglassaugh Torfa, and Kilchoman Machir Bay. The base is Machir bay, the sherry from the cairdas comes through amazingly.
Started my infinity bottle tonight. Gave it a Campbeltown base with Glen Scotia 15 and a dash of both Kilkerran 12 and Springbank 10. Topped it up further with Signatory Linkwood 10, a trickle of Bladnoch 10, and a teaspoon of Ledaig 10. Some Deanston 12 and Arran 10 will soon be added. Thanks for the guidance.
Great stuff, been holding off on any stronger peat malts to my 8 yr old infinity, that superb sweet Ledaig smoke by the teaspoon will do the trick, once again, you're a legend Ralfy, 'the idea's man'.
Hey Ralphy! I just started my first infinite bottle. I got a fancy decanter from my brother so I decided to do a Springbank infinite bottle. I started it off with half a bottle of Kilkerran 12 (I know, It's more of a J&A infinite bottle) and I've since added a pour of Hazelburn 14 Oloroso and Springbank 15. I wanted to play it safe for my first time, so I went with malts I knew were compatible, but this video has made me want to be more bold! I feel like Edradour and Springbank could play together in very interesting ways, both being real dirty malt bombs. Thanks for the tips, and all the extras, and all the content, me and all the other malt mates in San Antonio, Texas appreciate it!
@M P It has a glass stopper with a rubber seal. Super air tight.
Fascinating. Can’t wait to start my infinity adventure.
Thanos may have wielded the Infinity Gauntlet...but only Ralfy poses the Infinity Bottle.
I just found your channel a week ago, I love it!
Tomorrow I'll head out to my garage with some storm lanterns hoping to find my own hidden cask or at least a proper bottle to start my own Infinity bottle.
Thanks for the infotainment.
Another priceless inspiration and advice on a wonderfull thing I never thought about. Now I finally know what to do with my very first (empty) single malt bottle (over 30years old!) and the empty Armagnac-Bottle from which I had my first "spirit moments" with my grandfather... I fill them up with life again and live these moments up again... Endless Thanks Ralfy! TheoTheHero from Switzerland
That rooster also wants to start an infinity bottle.
Quickly checking the thumbnail i tough there was a bong in it, and to be honest, i got way too exited. Good video never the less.
Hi there - Sharing my experience, I have 2 Infinity bottles. One, I started three years ago and it is a Frankenstein, it has from Single Malts to Honey Bourbouns ... the other one is a more serious one, first half filled with light single malts (Singleton, Glenfiddich) and the other half, with my favourite ones (unpeated). Unbelievably, even the crappy one offers a wonderful drinking experience. When friends come to my home, for those that are really keen on scotch I typically gave them a bottle tour ... finishing with my infinity bottle. Greetings from Argentina! Regards, Nacho.
Thanks for the vídeo Ralfy. Just started mine with some bottles I got at home, really excited to try it next month.
-Glenfidich 15
-Glenlivet 12
-Aberlour A'bunadh (batch 65)
-Bunnahsabhain 12
-Ardbeg Uigeadail (just a teaspoon)
Gonna stick with scotch single malts for now, wish me luck guys
Good video! I’m still looking forward to your take on a peated infinity bottle!
When you mentioned the infinity bottle last week I started one in a long branch bourbon bottle with a half out of ten open bottles, including Rosebank, Arran, Deanston. Tasted it at the weekend, and it was great. Only decanter I've got is a full 2007 100 million litres one.
I did a small infinity bottle with precise measurements. Just smoky ones. 5% of Caol Ila, 5% of Ardbeg 10% of Loch Gorm ect... and it turned out amazing. A really peaty and nice blend. My main non smokey infinity bottle is the tails of my non smokey scotchs. Just 4-10cl of all the last drops of my bottles. (but never the best bottles i had. just the mediocre ones) Going on 5 years and haven't written down what I added. Maybe 40-50 different ones. It turned out pretty bland. Like a cheap low AVB blend. Maybe I can save it by adding higher AVB stuff in it... or maybe I'll just start a new one.
A great idea. A new project to look forward too>>>
Thank you very much Ralfy
I have some friends who watch the American Superbowl (I live in Australia). I supply the food and they bring a bottle of bourbon to drink. I tax them a couple of nips to put in my infinity bottle and they take home a flask with double what they put in to take home. I put a couple of nips of every bottle I have opened through the year. I also add a substantial amount of a cask strength bourbon to give it a bit of kick.
Hey mate awesome advice! I started about a month ago with my black bottle as a base then just added some blends to the mix, black label, dimple 15 yr , dewars 12 to name a few, I had some the other day and all I can say is 😯 WOW, thanks so much for opening a new avenue to explore 🙂 cheers and keep up the great reviews.
. . . happy to help !
Keep up the good work Ralfy!
Here is my current / 1st bottle.
Bottle Amount Oz
Glenmorangie 14 The Quinta Ruban 3
GlenDronach 12 2
GlenGoyne 12 2
Deanston 12 2
Aberlour A'Bunadh 2
Compass Box The Story of The Spaniard 2
The Balvenie Single Barrel Sherry Cask 15 2
Glen Scotia 15 1
Glen Scotia Victoriana 2
Clynelish 14 3
Total 21
5:55 Funny you should mention it but I like to add a few drops of Laphroaig to a glass of Glenmorangie 10. Adds just a bit of peat. Try it sometime.
I have taken the infinity bottle concept and applied it to...wait for it....honey! I'm a sucker for local honey, and I buy it wherever I go, wherever 'local' happens to be. As such, I have laying around my pantry partial jars of all different varieties of honey from Arizona, Montana, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, central Oregon, and SW Washington state. When they are down to about the last 1/4 or less of the jar, they crystalize. So I gathered them all up, put the jars in hot water until they were liquid again, and poured them all into one jar. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow morning's cup of tea and English muffin. :-)
Thank you Ralfy for your insight to infinity bottles!.Slainte!
This was one of my favorite videos! I’m also hoping you post an advanced infinity bottle video. The first several months went beautifully. Best bottle in my cabinet, but recently getting a little hot, a little muddled. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!
I had an about 35 cl vodkabottle that I cleaned out, and poured Chivas 12 in, to bring on fishing trips, however while the Chivas is good, it is not exellent, so I have added some Ledaig 10 and some 54% cask strength sherried whisky to it, but I actually didn't feel that I had an really good mix, until I added some Laphroaig 10 cask strength and Laphroaig PX cask, it was not until then that it all went perfect....
-Just to say that Laphroaig shoulden't not be considered, particularly the PX cask one gave it a very delightful full-bodied layer of sherry, which the first mentioned Cask Strength sherry-whisky didn't....
Great video/breakdown Ralfy.
Is Laphroaig really that distinct? I feel like Ardbeg is even moreso if we're just taking about the 10 in either.
Enjoyed this alot, I have tried to make an infinity bottle years ago and ruined it by adding to much of bunnahabin moine in a non peated bottle haha. after that i decided to save it, but no.... Now after 4 years thanks to you i will take this task and make an great infinity mstrblender bottle!!
Cheers Ralfy!
Your a master whisky man, thank you, great video
Ralfy is starting to look like a maniacal whisky villain these days!
The Dramburglar
Breaking Bothy.
Wow, can’t wait to get started!!! Thanks! Great idea!!!
My first infinity bottling is in The making.
Clynelish 14
Old pultney 12
Pultney 2008 sherry cask from Van wees.
Springbank 10- springbank 12cs-springbank 15.
Benromach 10.
Hazelburn 13 olorosso.
Compass box orchard house.
Bladnoch 20
Glenallerchie 12
G&M Bunnahabhain 11 Discovery
Funny thing is, when you were talking about the graduated cylinder at the beginning, in my mind I was like "screw that, I'm just going to wing it and go with my instinct!", and then just a few minutes after, that's exactly what you said! LOL ;)
This is great thank you going to start my infinity bottle!!
I like the idea. Thanks Ralfy. Cheers malt mateys!
Interesting video. Was thinking about that for a while; guess I’ll start once I have an empty bottle… my syndicate 58/6 is the closest to being empty, so I guess that’s the one I will pick.
„Opening Malt“ Glenlivet 12 (first fill) and then top it up… Glenfarclas 15, Macallan 12, and Tomatin Marsala wine casks (might be German exclusive) are the unpeated additions to it… for now
johnnie walker Black with Woodford Reserve..50/50 with a couple of American White Oak Sticks. MAN O MAN What a TREAT. Start now and leave to next xmas to drink. You won't Regret it👍👍
Got some jw black from yesteryear....Santa will appreciate it👍
@@grbadalamenti Yeah Buddy👍👍
Thanks Ralfy!
14:32 onwards we hear 4 rooster crows. After the new spirit was created using 4 different malts. The rooster knows.
Have just started a scotch whisky infinity bottle tonight. Initial tasting is amazing! Not sure I'm gonna be able to leave it alone for a month!
. . . have discipline with the I-bottle.
Started mine in 2014 and simply added the last drops of every bottle i drank this far. Every leftover that wasn't enough for a regular dram.
It's great. And an experience every enthusiast should have.
Added 2 Laphroaig, tho. But they didn't overwhelm the whole blend. Probably because of the small amount.
8:13 Can I also use an anti-gravity tube? 😃
I made my infinity bottle #1 (Only Scotch .. No Irish, Enghlish, Swedish, Icelandic, Indian, Bourbon) 2 weeks ago, Im just going to let it settle for a few weeks/months more and see what happens.
This is the content of it, perhaps its gonna be a bit peaty but we will see hehe :)
- Balvenie Double Oak 40%
- Kilchoman Machir Bay 46%
- Kilchoman Sanaig 46%
- Kilchoman Loch Gorm 46%
- Kilchoman 100% Islay 50%
- Kilchoman Batch Strenght 57%
- Tobermory 46.3%
- Aberlour 12 40%
- Glendronach 12 43%
- Loch Lomond original 40%
- Loch Lomond 10 40%
- Loch Lomond 18 46%
- Loch Lomond 12 46%
- Loch lomond Inchmurrin 12 46%
- Loch Lomond Single Grain 46%
- Loch Lomond Single Grain peated 46%
- Tamnavulin Sherry Cask 40%
- Glenallachie 15 46%
- Highland Park 12 40%
- Highland Park 15 44%
- Bunnahabhain 12 Cask Strenght 60.1 %
- Benriach Malting Season (second edition) 48.9%
- Dewars 15 40%
- Cutty Sark blended 40%
- Glengoyne 12 43%
- Compass box The Spice Tree 46%
- Edradour 12 Cask Strenght 58.6%
- Glenfarclas 10 40%
- Benromach Cask Strenght 2012 Batch 03 59.6%
BTW, I skipped adding my Laphroigh 10 CS and Ardbeg Uigeadail for me being afraid it would just turn into a peat monster hehehe :)
Dearest Ralfy, I love your reviews & have indeed purchased certain bottles after seeing them earn a decent "integrity malt mark"
One bottle i would urge you to try & possibly review ?
Is the Glen Moray 1998 Barolo finish (Warehouse 1 series). It retails at around £135 & is simply stunning, but has a run of only 853 bottles.
You're welcome & i look forward to your next review :)
Yo!!! Extras by Ralfy. Love it.
Very inspiriring video! Maybe I give it a try. Until now I am only experimenting with tiny amounts.
A great combination is 30 ml glenmorangie 10 (which I do not like very much) with one drop of laphroaig 10: excellent, the taste reminds me of Highland Park 12.
An awfull combination, however, is 30 ml Dalmore 12 (which I like) + one drop of laphroaig 10. Too sharp, somehowe. I threw it away... like Richard Patterson to clean the glass... (I usually don't throw whisky away btw)
Grtz from Holland, Teun
Looking good Ralfy!
No Laphroaig but Ardbeg and Lagavulin are okay? I have always kept my Islays out of the infinity bottle.
Ralfy's right, be incredibly careful adding peated or otherwise smoky whiskies. I did that (Ardbeg 10, and later Teacher's Highland Cream), didn't measure, put about an ounce or so in apiece. Completely overwhelmed it. Not that it was outright bad, but it will change it. Rye can change it also, depending on the brand, but it's not the level of what peat smoke can do.
I also recommend to treat it like other whiskies; keep it completely out of sunlight. When I began mine a year or so ago, I didn't know at the time to keep it in the dark. While it was never in direct sunlight, it was in a corner that, at best, wasn't exactly dark. For about a year. So I'm not sure if the peat smoke made it taste the way it does or if it was the very indirect sunlight.
BTW I don't measure. I don't want to get too anal about it. An ounce or two is what I add at a time. I definitely don't pour the amount Ralfy did with the Glen Scotia. I also add the first ounce or two of a new bottle upon opening, not the last ounce or two. I look at it as sacrificing a virgin or whatever.
I'd recommend using an app to track additions and subtractions. It's useful for both tracking abv and to know the proportion that each malt you add currently makes up of your blend. iOS users are better served but there's at least one useful app for Android too.
what app would you use on an iPhone? Thanks
@@whamsdram I had a look after spotting this comment and seeing as you got no reply, the one I've decided to try out is just called Infinity Bottle. Its got a white logo with grey bottle and bronze/brown infinity symbol going around the bottle. It was free (some features are paid, not sure what), all the basic functionality is there in the free version.
Every time I started a Solera bottle, it got to a point where I thought it was so good, I didn't want to change it in any way so I finished it and started all over.
. . . no harm in that !
I like to do this at the moment I'm doing a bourbon blend 50/50 using wild turkey 13 mixed with a rare breed to bring up the proof,now that's it's down I quarter I'm thinking I wanted something Sherry or sweet grape,thinking I want to add some cognac or that nomads outland whisky cause I think it will give it an extra level .and when it's perfected I seal it and date it ,then yep enjoyed them a year later so definitely right on on the letting it do it's chemical bonding mixing process.cheers ralfy I gotta try not enjoy it all and keep adding like U to keep for many years.cheers for the video.its what I do .good 2 C
I have a Islay and Rye infinity bottle, it is fantastic.
Thanks ralfy...it's a plan!
Hi Ralfy, are you able to get a Scarabus (10 or cask strength) over there? It's from a non-disclosed islay distillery... Quite sure it's Caol Ila but it'd be lovely to hear your very much informed opinion!
Hallo.Ralfy.
How are you?
Thank you for this class!!!!
My infinity bottle is up and running! An ounce out, an ounce in. Can we still look forward to an infinity bottle Maintenance video???? Hoping so!
If you want to be really precise, measure what's going in and what's going out. Then you can keep a running spreadsheet and calculate the proportions and ABV.
And if you don't want to do a full bottle, you can also do a small amount of a whisky with a couple drops of a'bunadh for sherry or Ardbeg for peat or armagnac for fruitiness. That's a fun experiment.
Trying this !
I like this idea but I'm also thinking an Ardbeg isn't probably a whisky I want to start out with to build my Infinity bottle, sort of like using the Laphroaig
I wonder if a similar thing could be done to curry? The Infinity Madras/Vindaloo/Korma/Jalfrezi.
Does it make sense to make an infinity bottle with mixed spirits? Let's say Whisky with some Cognac, Armagnac Rum? Like an 'all in' infinity ... I don't know, maybe when the regular infinity bottle happens to be full and one has to start another one? :D
Ralf, the gravity tube is a graduated cylinder haha
hi Ralfy, I hope you are well? Was just wondering how your infinity bottles are going after several months?
I’ve probably missed the point of this? My infinity bottle is just when I like a whiskey, I’ll shot some in my bottle. I don’t keep track of what goes in there but to be fair it’s probably mainly a mix of Balvenie Caribbean cast and Arran 10…it’s nice though.
I’m working on mine right now but something isn’t adding up right….Maybe too much smoke and Iodine with the peat, and too little of the Highland or Speyside. Talisker, Ardbeg 10, Laphraoig 10, Lagavulin 16, Craigellachie 13, etc etc. And he just said don’t use Laphraoig lol 😬
. . . you can blend it out. No more Laphroaig !
I'm not usually here this early. I certainly won't be around for the lock-in.
that's was really interesting to view :)
Anyone got any tips for websites/software for designing your own label for your “infinity bottle” ?