What whisk(e)y are we drinking? (Part 2)

Mellor · 18-10-2023 12:15am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121231867#Comment_121231867

You're not paying for simply the whiskey there. Nor is it to be an option for the mass market. It might bee silly to you, and it is.

But equally, paying 100 euro for a limited edition 12 year old is silly and ridiculous to a guy on get scratcher drink tesco whiskey.

lawrencesummers · 18-10-2023 8:03am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121252668#Comment_121252668

Sure it not just the whiskey your paying for, your also paying for the roof of a new warehouse for them to store barrels in.

I get the fact that the pricetag creates the exclusivity of it, its the louis Vitton handbag of whiskey. Its MVR in a different bottle much the same as a handbag is a handbag but with LV on it its a €5k handbag.

If you have that money to spend on a bottle of whiskey then fair play, your probably either very successful or very lucky.

Mellor · 18-10-2023 9:15am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121252937#Comment_121252937

The warehouse and storage of barrels is inherent the cost of the whiskey. Without it, you’ve only got old vodka.

I was refer to everything else. Exclusivity being one element. But not the only one.

I get the fact that the pricetag creates the exclusivity of it, its the louis Vitton handbag of whiskey. Its MVR in a different bottle much the same as a handbag is a handbag but with LV on it its a €5k handbag.

As above, being so limited and exclusive add a value. A LV tag adds an instant value.

But a LV bag is not simply a leather bag with a tag. Designer bags are made from selected leather, more manual processes, etc. They are better made, as well as being symbolic.

Saying this is just MVR is like saying MVR is just regular Jameson. I mean they’re all whiskey…

Seems like the fancy MVR is from the 80s. Specifically selected barrels, So maybe 35-40yo? that were finished in some designer handmade oak that’s selected stave by stave.

All of that adds up. The more specialised man hours that go into a smaller volume of product add cost. sane as anything custom, handmade, not mass produced.

Black Sheep · 18-10-2023 9:45am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121252250#Comment_121252250

I don't think it's the only reason, but often I think it's to do with the condition of your palate when you taste a given whisky.

Most people are aware of the potential for bitter things like black coffee and dark chocolate as palate cleansers before whisky. The converse is if you had something sweet beforehand, or spicy, it'll significantly change the way you experience the whisky in palate terms.

People report diverse things killing their palate, but garlic and spicy foods are commonly mentioned as well. Strong spicy foods having an impact seems intuitively true, I'm sure we've all had the experience of having a hot curry, and not being able to taste a beer, let alone details of a whisky, afterwads.

I'm not saying we can't enjoy a whisky after desert, or at the end of a long Christmas day full of treats, I am talking specifically in terms of palate. I also think it depends on the whisky. Even if you've had something sweet, you might be able to get a lot out of a heavily peated whisky, or something very malty, or a particularly sweet whisky (PX finish etc).

But I increasingly find that unless my palate is very, very clean then I'll miss out on a good bit, and particularly with delicate whiskies from Glenmorangie and Auchentoshan.

But as I said, not the only reason. Could come down to mood.

There are people who believe that the presence of an increasing amount of air in the bottle has a positive effect on some whiskies, as they are oxidised, but I have never personally found that to be true. If anything, at a certain point - as the volume in the bottle decreases - it's almost certainly the opposite. The process would also be relevant only over quite an extended time frame.

Beanstalk · 18-10-2023 10:22am

I had an old Aberlour 10 bottle that I couldnt jive with for ages. Just tasted like basic sherry cask to me and kinda sulphur-y. I put it away for a year or two and then tried it again and it smelled like a Springbank 10 all creamy tropical fruits and dates and raisins. There was about a fifth left in the bottle

Same with the Ardmore Legacy. Everyone says it's shite and it is bad on opening but after two or three years stored at half full it's class. All menthol-y and lemony

Mellor · 19-10-2023 1:11am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121253426#Comment_121253426

The basic wisdom is that whiskey doesn't go off or age in the bottle. And on a basic level that is true. But the stress is on basic. It will not go off the way that wine will. Wines goes off in days* when open. And most wines only last a few years on the self. In the bottle it also won’t age as in the barrel. It’s official age is frozen.

But whiskey does change in the bottle. The more that is taken out of a bottle, the more air that is in contact with the liquid, and the less liquid there is. Vapours, aroma, alcohol all evaporate. This can improve some whiskeys. There’s a practise called a “neck pour”. Where you crack a bottle, pour a measure to get past the next and put it back on the shelf. When you revisit in a few weeks or whenever its opened up. Obviously at the extreme end, 200ml left in a bottle in a back cupboard for decades will turn to crap.

I’d guess that there was some extra sulphur compounds in that whiskey. Which oxidised into the headspace, and then were lost when you open it. Rinse repeat.

odyssey06 · 21-10-2023 1:21pm

Cluster of distilleries planned in Carlow

Amber Beverage Group (ABG), the owners of Walsh Whiskey (Writers' Tears and Irishman whiskeys) have announced plans to build a €35million distillery in Dunlekney, Co. Carlow, a townland just north of Bagnelstown, Co. Carlow... The new Walsh Whiskey Distillery in Dunleckney will be approximately 2km away from the original site of their first distillery joint venture with Illva Saronno in the Royal Oak Distillery.

https://potstilled.com/walsh-whiskey-distillery/

flended12 · 21-10-2023 5:03pm

The jean Claude whiskey debacle on late late last night was beyond embarrassing.

Anyways, bit of a sniffle so a sizeable portion of deadrabbit went into a lemsip!

I'm goin to purgatory, correct?

odyssey06 · 21-10-2023 5:28pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121267721#Comment_121267721

Seems a waste of both the whiskey and the lemsip there!

Anyone come across clues as to where the Old Oak whiskey Jean Claude van Damme is flogging is sourced from?

overpronator · 21-10-2023 8:33pm

Glenallachie 12 tonight. It really is insane quality for the price, about 65ish.

I'm a huge fan of the 15, one of my favourites - I just think it's a really classy drop.

It was put to me on here that the 12 is better and I can see that stance, it will come down to personal preference, the 12 is livelier with the 15 a bit smoother, but both are delicious and both taste older imo. You'll fall one way or the other based off of your own preference but if you haven't tried either give em a bash. Sub 100 quid for sherried Scotch it's hard to beat them.

Black Sheep · 22-10-2023 2:00pm

Have you tried the younger Glenallachies? Curious to know how they compare.

overpronator · 22-10-2023 7:41pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121270779#Comment_121270779

I haven't to now, but I think I'll pick up the 10 year old CS next

DARK-KNIGHT · 23-10-2023 1:15am

Bought two bottles earlier

Glenfiddich fire and cane

Glenfiddich Perpetual Collection Vat 03 15 Years Old 50.2abv

Black Sheep · 23-10-2023 10:48am

Got another bottle of Ardbeg Smoketraile at the weekend. That manzanilla finish really holds up - it's very surprising to me, considering manzanilla is generally considered to have a delicate bouquet.

I think it has a really pleasant dryness that comes through.

SteM · 23-10-2023 1:01pm

Was coming through Gatwick yesterday and picked up a bottle of Penderyn Sherrywood finish for £27. Will open it next weekend but I've no idea what to expect.

NCS · 23-10-2023 6:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121274036#Comment_121274036

It and its Madeira stablemate are my must-buys if I see them - very easy drinking with a delicate, unpeated flavour.

odyssey06 · 23-10-2023 7:42pm

Tracking luxury spirits references in media.

Netflix series Fall of the House of Usher name checks Glenfiddich '96 and a million dollar bottle of cognac: Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grand Champagne.

DeniG2 · 24-10-2023 8:46am

I watched this lately, well worth a watch if you can find it...............

davissgurban · 24-10-2023 1:55pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121277126#Comment_121277126

the cover doesn't look like anything interesting

Black Sheep · 24-10-2023 2:02pm

It does look a bit drab: Where's the passion!?

janiejones · 24-10-2023 2:40pm

If you type "whiskey talkin bbc" into YouTube there's a grand hour long documentary on irish whiskey. Past and future

Beanstalk · 26-10-2023 7:42pm

any suggestions on a good whiskey advent calender? My awesome other half has suggested getting me a calander as a xmas present? Any thoughts on good ones? Can get delivered to North and have Master of Malt prime but not fussy. The boutique-y whiskey company one looks right up my steet has anyone had it before?

irish_goat · 26-10-2023 8:12pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121287828#Comment_121287828

I got the Master of Malt one last year as a gift. I think I had a quick look at one point and the majority of whiskies in it were around the £30-45 mark, so you're not really getting good value. It was nice to try a few interesting ones like the Swedish and Danish whiskey, but a lot of the stuff was entry level blends.

Beanstalk · 27-10-2023 9:49am

aye fair enough, maybe just a really nice bottle would be better

Beanstalk · 27-10-2023 9:50am

25 x 30cl is just over 700mls. I know you get variety but sure I dunno

odyssey06 · 27-10-2023 9:59am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121287828#Comment_121287828

Are you looking for the 'surprise' element or variety?

Another option would be to pick out a selection of miniatures that you'd like to try from Master or Malt or Tiny Tipples type website.

And your OH could use them to make an advent calendar. Maybe a 12 days one or something. The surprise element would be which ones you get when.

One year my OH did something like that, raiding the miniatures \ miniature gift sets in Celtic Whiskey Shop.

Black Sheep · 27-10-2023 1:25pm

Master of Malt don't just do one kind of advent calendar.

There's a 'regular' one with a mix of everything, a Scotch only one, a US only one, a world whisky only one, a single cask one, a premium one and I see now there's a peaty one.

I did them several years in a row, pre-Brexit. I had one seized (and released) by customs, one memorable year!

To get it out of the way early on, if your thing is getting your money's worth then I don't recommend any of them, it's not really the point. Advent calendars are definitely partly about the novelty, fun and blind element. If you just want to know you got maximum 'bang for buck' then just buy a bottle of something you know is good, for the same money.

If you do break down the value of the samples in a given calendar, there will be some which are worth a bit, some which are worth bugger all, and in the end, yes you're paying a premium for the curated and blind nature of an advent set. So if you are price-sensitive or want certainty, look elsewhere.

Also worth noting that the quality of the calendars - and thus the 'bang for buck' - is usually different year to year. Sounds weird, but I did them several years in a row, and they occasional had a really duff year where people were giving out like mad online, and in the reviews, and then - lo and behold - the next year would be ace, because MoM knew they had to claw it back.

I did the 'regular' calendar a few times, and it's true that it's quite hit and miss. You will have a few valuable or interesting samples in there, for key dates, but there will also be a lot of stuff you've had, or just wouldn't buy. A nicer sample might be an older Scotch for Christmas eve, or a few samples of good US bourbons from Balcones or Smooth Ambler (This is going back a while, wouldn't happen now with them). The pedestrian stuff ... One I got was a Haig Club, I also got a few things like Jameson Black Barrel and Teeling Small Batch. Good one to go for? Doubtful, but if you were new to whisky it would offer a chance to taste a lot of diverse stuff.

The Scotch calendar is a better bet, if you like Scotch, in that you're guaranteed a few Islay, a few speyside, a few lowland, a few island whiskies... It felt like a more coherent tour of Scottish distilling. As with the 'regular' calendar, there will be nice single malts and then a fair few blends as well (Things like Monkey Shoulder, at the low end).

I did the US whisky / bourbon calendar once, and that was another good option. It had a mixture of Balcones, Smooth Ambler, Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, JD, Four Roses... A mixture of regular core-line ups and more sought-after bourbons. Not as varied, not a good choice to repeat one year to another.

Lastly, I did the single cask calendar, which is my recommendation as the one to go for. The few years I got it, it was all from bonders like Douglas Laing and Berry Bros, or MoM's own line-up, and they have the cask number on each label. Hardly any duds in here, compared to the other calendars I did. Even the 'low end' products in the calendar were things like basic Compass Box blends, or Douglas Laing blends. The higher end samples were really, really good. I had a single cask sample of an old Glenfarclas here that was so good, I ended up tracking down a whole bottle from that cask (Helpful to have the full cask number).

I suspect the boutique-y whisky company calendar would be a good choice, if you're interested in it. As you're probably aware, all it is is a bonding brand for MoM. Generally the casks selected are either good, or good for the price. I would definitely get a calendar of this, although tbh I'd be tempted to just get the single cask calendar, as I would like stuff from other bonders like Compas Box, Berry Bros etc. as well.

Beanstalk · 27-10-2023 4:30pm

alright! good advice!

i'd be inclined to go for the single cask or boutiquey mainly cus I have a large enough collection now and don't really want samples of what i already have from the basic calenders.

Speaking of master of malt, they're doing a 3 for 2 deal on Bunnahbhain, Tobermory/Lediag and Deanston at the minute which is class.

https://www.masterofmalt.com/special-offers/3-for-2/

overpronator · 27-10-2023 8:32pm

Cracked open a bottle of Kilkerran 16. Lovely bourbon cask character with that lovely little hint of smoke and brine. Very nice drop, feels like it will open up nicely over a few months too. A good one.

Beanstalk · 28-10-2023 5:32pm

Class. I have a bottle of the 12. It's good stuff! Subtle. Might have some now in fact.

the heavily peated batch 8 is wonderful stuff. I hear great things about the 16 tho!

What whisk(e)y are we drinking? (Part 2)

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