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Thanks for the compliment. I was thinking of a formal debate setting. I have a number of whisky buddies who belong to the same debating group as I do, so it would be a well-behaved debate. I just don't think the topic would be interesting enough to most members sadly...
9 years ago 0
I'm reading the Swedish Magazine "all things whisky" and I come across an interview with Douglas Laing "global malt ambassador" Jan Beckers. When asked what general trends are visible in the market right now he replies (My translation): "Overall I think that the whisky scene is becoming more multi-faceted, which I think is fun. For example the whole trend with whisky without an age-statement, which is something that's really beginning stick. Sure, in the Airport tax-free shops there still is a notion of "the older the better" but the more knowledgeable whisky consumers know that all things considered it is only the taste that matters"
This guy! And if that's not enough. Next question is "What's your preferred drink?" "Most of all I like Bourbon matured Speyside whisky, preferrably around 15 years old..."
Good job of pushing NAS Jan!
8 years ago 1Who liked this?
@Alexsweden The expansion of distilleries and the world whisky-making trend that is now taking place in Europe and the States mostly will give huge amounts of aged stock in 10 to 15 years time. Then we will go back to the "older whiskies are better" slogan.
8 years ago 1Who liked this?
It's september 2016, I'd hope NAS Whiskies would be out of fashion. I just looked at one of my favourite online shops. All of the NAS Nadurra's are in discount (that's a good sign, consumers are not buying the overpriced NAS). I got my hopes up. But then I looked at the new entries, Jameson Lively and Jameson Bold. Brand new NAS whiskies 40% (maximum water added), handsom bottles, rediculus pricing € 48,-.
7 years ago 1Who liked this?
Anyone tried Macallan edition No.2 and have an opinion on it? I'm not so sure about a $175 NAS whisky, but it sounds intriguing.
7 years ago 0
ok how about this:
All in favor of NAS: Stick to NAS Whiskies
All opposed to NAS: Stick to the age stated ones.
Hmm Now which group do u think feels like they're getting the short end of the stick? :)
7 years ago 0
@Dreambuie Non-NAS gets shafted.... - because the NASers don't care and the NAS stuff is driving up prices of age-stated stuff.e
7 years ago 1Who liked this?
It seems like there is a small decrease of NAS bottles? Macallan is putting the age back on the botlles, Highland Park is making a big fuss to market the 10 yo bottle. Hope it's not my imagination.
6 years ago 0
@DutchGaelisch Macallan new 12 is not as good, from what I hear, as the unsulphured 12.
Possible reasons - some distillers season casks with sherry for 1-2 years instead of using casks that held sherry for longer.
Also, I think Spain changed the rules and no longer allows sherry to be bottled outside of the country, so no more wet casks at Macallan, or if they are, perhaps they have to be sulphured before shipping.
As for the others, I would have to say I have been "out of the game" the last few months The last bottle I personally purchased for myself was in May and I have not been looking at what's out there for fear of buying more.
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
@DutchGaelisch , Highland Park is also attaching silly Viking names to their age-stated whiskies. To me, that sounds like they're one step closer to pulling the age statements.
Yesterday: Highland Park 18
Today: Highland Park 18 "Viking Pride"
Tomorrow: Highland Park "Viking Pride"??? (Just speculating)
Side note: "Viking Pride" is about the dumbest name I've seen in the whisky world since Macallan named all their whiskies after estranged baby-mamas on Jerry Springer. If you're gonna go Viking, you at least gotta stick with the freaky-deaky Old Norse names! Come on.
6 years ago 2Who liked this?
@MadSingleMalt I know, I don't like the path they chose for their bottles in 'Viking Mode'. Looks cheap to me? Their NAS bottle is the Valkyrie that's going to replace the NAS Dark Origins. In my opinion the 12 yo and 18 yo will remain.
6 years ago 0
I emailed Macallan regarding their NAS whiskies and I asked them flat-out if they planned on being transparent and putting age information on their websites the way Bruichladdich and Compass Box do. (I was more diplomatic, but that's the gist of it)
I got a response that basically told me to go f-ck myself. Not literally, but along the lines of "thanks for your email, I'll forward your suggestion to the appropriate people". I know it won't make much of a difference and I'll be written off as an "ill-informed, ill-tempered know-nothing" but I don't think we should let these companies off the hook. I email politicians all the time (and ask them blunt questions in person as well), so being told to f-ck off is nothing new to me.
6 years ago 3Who liked this?
I emailed my MP several times between 2011 and 2015 - he never replied to me. Now I text my MP and he usually replies within minutes.
The difference? MP number 2 defeated MP #1 and I was the third candidate, and he got to know me. I probably sealed the deal when I gifted him a bottle of A'Bunadh batch 42 (42nd parliament) to celebrate his win (and my win - I got to keep my day job).
The moral? If you appreciate good scotch you'll respond respectfully.
I guess the folks at Macallan don't appreciate good scotch.
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
@Nozinan , it sounds to me like the moral is, bribe your politicians with good scotch. :)
6 years ago 2Who liked this?
@OdysseusUnbound , I didn't realize that "I'll forward your suggestion to the appropriate people" was universally understood to mean "go f-ck yourself"!
I can see many instances where that phrase (the former) could come in handy. :)
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
@DutchGaelisch , you think the Vikingified HPs seem cheap? I agree that the names themselves are dumb—and maybe "cheap"-sounding—but I gotta admit that the bottles themselves are pretty gorgeous. Back when I lived in a house with a big bar and a backlit whisky shelf, I probably woulda entertained some small fantasy of cool they'd look there.
But obviously, cool bottles are not where we need our whisky producers investing their money. This kinda crap is what they expect is to pay for instead of age statements. (Yes, back on topic!)
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
Well, no. Actually I've avoided contacting him about partisan issues. I like the guy and we meet a few times a year for breakfast. I think he likes to show me off as his "dipper" friend.
He did ask for my opinion on medical assistance in dying in the context of dealing with concerns from certain groups, and recently we did talk some budget issues (I ended up defending the concepts of his party's minister to him...) but only because he asked me.
Most of the time we talk about other stuff, and I never try to influence him (though in our system it's hard for one individual to sway a politician because of party discipline (though maybe it's just that I'm not the right person to do it).
We don't even talk about Scotch. But I know his father in law and he enjoyed the A'Bunadh, which is NAS - THERE! back on topic.
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
@MadSingleMalt It doesn't necessarily mean that, but the tone of the email is very much "we're Macallan; we're a big deal and you aren't so stick it where the sun don't shine."
@Nozinan The "dippers" approached me about running provincially last election, but my family is too young at this point [see: age matters, I'm on topic] Not that I would have a realistic chance since my riding is as "blue" as they come. Maybe I'll be the one to change that in the future.
6 years ago 0
I have the ability to take vacation when I want as long as I plan in advance and the great thing about where I run is that I don't have to worry about finding a replacement on the day after the election...
And I get to give the winner (now my friend) a bottle of good NAS Scotch) - Ah, back on topic.
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
@Nozinan This is the thing about NAS which puzzles me: people who appreciate good whisky are not put off by younger malts. Just look at the popularity of Octomore. No tales of "some really old and rare malts". And it sells well. Why some distillers feel the need to hide the age(s) of the component whiskies is a bit of a mystery to me. Unless some distillers are selling incredibly ordinary whiskies at inflated prices, but there's too much integrity around for that to be a possibility, right?
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
@OdysseusUnbound , right on.
I wondered aloud (elsewhere) who are these NAS buyers who are both:
•SMART enough about Scotch to buy Corryvreckan but simultaneously IGNORANT enough to assume its age must be >10 in the absence of any actual info?
•INSENSITIVE enough to age info to buy Corryvreckan as an NAS, and yet SENSITIVE enough to age info to stop buying it if its young age was stated on the label?
I guess results don't lie—and by that I mean the success of NAS as a marketing strategy these days. But it just seems like such a weird overlap of traits in these buyers who do buy these NAS products today but supposedly wouldn't buy them if they knew they age.
I imagine the real motivating factor behind NAS marketing is not a solid, grounded ploy to appeal to those hypothetical buyers I just described, but rather fear. They're just afraid of losing sales. They fear that the potential downside (lost sales from my hypothetic NAS buyers) is larger than the potential upside (new sales from folks who value transparency). And even though that sounds like it might be solid thinking, I bet the old psychological phenomenon of "valuing losses more than gains" is at work.
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
@MadSingleMalt I think you shared those thoughts over at ScotchNoob right? I go by my real name there (Joel). I think we're pretty much on the same page....I find the whole non-disclosure thing weird since the rabid, pro-NAS camp seems to say "I like it, so who cares about age?" Thus it logically follows that finding out Corryvreckan or Macallan Sienna isn't eleventy billion years old would not deter them from further purchases. And disclosure might encourage folks like myself (or that Jeff chap) to try "multi-vintages" like Kelpie, Lore or the Macallan Pole Dancer series....
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
Addendum: I did try Sienna at a friend's place and I really liked it. Would I pay $190 CAD for it? No. Regardless of age, I did NOT enjoy it enough to justify spending that kind of cash on it. But then, I felt the same way about HP 18. Very, very good whisky, but not $200 CAD good. Maybe I'm just a cheapskate.
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
@OdysseusUnbound , yep: That was a partal copy-pasta from the Noob site. So you're Joel over there? Good to know.
6 years ago 1Who liked this?
Quick note on the Highland Park 12, since we were discussing it above: I saw the new Vikiingified one in a shop last night, right next to the normal old 12, and the Vikingified one was priced at ~$15 more. WTF. These are the same, right?
This was at a café that also sells booze, and the only staff around were a high-school-age baristas, so I didn't bother asking if that was right. But it sure seemed wrong.
Anyway, HP12 buyers, be warned!
6 years ago 0
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