ocdwhisky. "Another new whisky blog"

@DaveM , yes, the quality of content on the Whisky Advocate blog has plummeted over the past couple years. When John used to personally post stuff—including opinions even!—it was a great site. Now it's all sales pitches.

@DaveM , yes: The quality of content on the Whisky Advocate blog has plummeted over the past couple years. It used to be a great site back when John frequently posted his own opinions on the industry and on individual whiskies. And the comments section was lively. (Browsing the archives is worthwhile for some of those old discussions.) Now it's just press releases and fluff pieces. Plus they don't respond to comments when you call out something in a sales pitch that makes no sense.

(Oops—I thought my post was originally lost, so I repeated it. Sorry for the double post above.)

OK, I found the Macallan Whisky Sponge stuff I mentioned above.

Original press release: planetwhiskies.com/latest_whisky_news/…

Whisky Sponge version: whiskysponge.com/2015/07/…

@sorren. Yes, you are right about the source of some of ATW's review samples, and, as SKEPTIC pointed out, that can have an effect, sometimes an unwitting effect, on how a product is reviewed. I will say that Curt always discloses the source of his review samples, many of which are provided by friends and club members from their personal supplies. He has no sponsors and no Patreon account. I like that.

No blogger who is on the receiving end of industry favours is going to risk being cut off. I think some are just a little more afraid of that than others. Let's not forget the "15 minutes of fame" component. Some of these bloggers now consider themselves pretty big stuff and are bent on making some serious money from their often marginal expertise.

@sorren , is Ralfy reviewing NAS whisky now? I haven't had time for his videos for a while. Last I knew (I think) he boycotting NAS scotch single malt, maybe NAS scotch blends, and I think NAS Irish.

If that's right, are you referring to the other types of whisky where he does allow NAS?

@OlJas sometimes it's hard to keep up up but I this he extended his NAS boycott from Scotch single malts to all Scotches but was still prepared to review NAS other spirits. He did with the bourbons I believe...

@OlJas he has reviewed a good few NAS, and from what I've seen its general release stuff.. Not sure how far back but the Glen moray one is around late 400s, there was the abunadh, glendronach cask strength and a few more. I do think it's harder these days to boycott them totally..

@OlJas he has also done the compass box ones, still NAS in s sense although some have info of contents age

@sorren , yeah, he did the Flaming Heart and the This Is Not A Luxury Whisky when they were in the news to draw more attention to the transparency issue. I don't know whether he considered those exceptions to his rule—exceptions for the sake of the very issue his boycott is supposed to address—or just "acceptable NAS" because they're blends. (I remember that he originally presented Flaming Heart as a blend by mistake, then had to correct himself in a later video that it's a vatted malt.)

I think the other NAS whiskies you say he's reviewed are from the pre-boycott days. But as Nozinan, says, it is indeed hard to keep up.

@OlJas ahhh fair enough.. But I'm not sure we should boycott NAS but rather just insist on quality and value for money.. There are some good NAS out there and yes I'm sure there is also some crap.. But same can be said of aged whisky..

@sorren

I think the decision whether to boycott NAS or not is a very individual one, though i admit it would be more effective as an all or none thing.

I'm ambivalent. I understand the concept behind the boycott, but I also realize that if I shun all NAS expressions they will still be bought by others and I will miss out. Every batch of A'Bunadh sells out in Ontario, Bowmore Devil's Cask 3 did, etc...

So I'll admit that if it's something proven, something I like, and it's reasonably priced, I will buy it. When Amrut Peated CS came down I added to my stock of it. Who knows when it will come by again AND be affordable?

It's been harder to find value in quality NAS products recently, so I think I'm naturally looking at other things. My NAS vs AS ratio of buying has definitely decreased in the last 6 months to a year. But I've also hit kind-of a saturation point for whisky in general. It would have to be either a great price or a great product to get me to open my wallet going forward.

One has to be careful painting NAS whiskies with one brush. It it very easy to recommend A'Bunadh', a whisky with a proven track record. I have avoided Talisker Storm and Skye due to some of the reviews I have read. It seem you have to do your due diligence these days unless you have a fat wallet.

@DaveM

The thing is, young whiskies can be good, but by leaving off the age they can charge more for it. I think that is the main point. It's ok if there is young juice...just tell us the age...

Lagavulin may have set a welcome precedent by issuing an AS 8year old special edition. It may be young, but I assure you, it is very good. I have one open and two bunkered. Let's hope other distillers are paying attention and will be following suit. That is the most expedient way for them to end the NAS backlash. Their current excuse for PR is not working.

@Nozinan I totally agree. Or they can ask a price for a young whisky that they would normally charge for a 12 or 15 year old expression. All that nonsense about freeing the master blender to be creative is just so much BS.

@OLJas. I have to thank you. You really got a good discussion going here about 50 posts ago. Good to see it getting cranked up a bit here on connosr. It's moved on from bashing @sorren, who, I must say, has been taking it all with good humour. Kudos to both you guys and all the other contributors to a lively and intelligent thread. connosr has been a bit lacking in this sort of thing lately.

@BlueNote .. I'm taking it because it is constructive for my blog, it is not an attack on me .. So nothing to get upset with .. I was actually thinking the same about the discussion too.. As it is being said the problem is not the NAS whisky it is purely the pricing of said NAS. There is some very good NAS out there at a fair price, but there is slightly too many good / average whisky at prices above what they command, but another problem is the fact prices in general are rising... Barley is Lower in price than it was a few years back, most water is basically free.. In uk the biggest problem is tax..

@sorren. You are saying the kind of things here that would elevate your blog to another level of readability. You make a lot of sense when you just go with your gut. You're restoring my faith, brother. I'm glad we had this little chat. Cheers.

@BlueNote I did release a feature some time ago on the subject of NAS.. Here is the link ocdwhisky.wordpress.com/2015/09/… .. Maybe it's time to re visit it and write a little more..

If we let the NAS discussion become focused on whether there are good ones, or whether they deliver value for money, then we've already lost. None of those things are the point.

NAS is 100% a labeling issue. One-hundred percent. The producer has whisky in a barrel and plans to put it in a bottle to sell. How will he label that bottle? "Uber Gaelic Story Malt"? Or "Glenwonka 8 Year Old"?

If you the buyer see the Uber Gaelic Story Malt instead of an age statement, do you think that's a problem? Some don't. I do.

Then, if you agree that NAS is a problem, what are you willing to do about it? Will you complain on places like this? Will you write the producers? Will you forgo purchases of NAS whisky that you would otherwise buy?

For me, NAS is a big strike against any bottle that I might consider buying, but I still buy some when the value is there. (And maybe it goes without saying, but I'll also complain on places like this!)

@OlJas, well, one small practical measure to show displeasure with NAS labeling would be in both formal reviews and casual allusions to refer to all NAS Scottish whiskies as THREE YEAR OLDs, e.g. "Uber Gaelic Story Malt THREE YEAR OLD", because that is all the age that is guaranteed.

@Victor , yes! I love it when reviewers do that.

@Victor interesting thought ..

@Victor, valid point regarding bloggers and whisky industry news. Many come across as a promoter of the distilleries...where I come from we call them "leg humpers".

Nice one Paddock.

I neither like NAS or AS! I like full disclosure. Nobody has mentionned that the AS has limited the creativity and art of the craftmasters of the industry. Which distillery would accepted to put 5% of a young whisky in an old one and then sales it with a AS. Maybe that is the thing to do but you would be the first to complain about the price for such a young Scotch. With full disclosure of it contents (for example: 15% over 25 yo, 80% between 20 and 25yo, 5% 8 yo) you would sing the audaciousness of the distllery to add 5% of a young Scotch to give the little Oompf that gives life to an old dram.

On the other hand, why do we accept to pay big money on a young Scotch like Octomore! We know its age even if it is not on the front of the bottle. Does an AS makes high prices more acceptable?

At the end, I like Victor idea. We could also add that when a distillery mentionned that there is some old stuff into an NAS, especially when they mentionned an age, we, the reviewer, should precise each time that there is no minimum content that allowed them to say it therefore we could assume there is only 0.01% of old stuff in the NAS. I let each one of you decide how many zeroes you want to put before the 1.

@paddockjudge as long as the leg ain't hairy.. ????

@paddockjudge, @sorren, I do think that it is possible for a blogger to put out industry news and not pander to the industry. What is required is for the blogger to put that industry news out within a critical framework, and not merely do a rote copying of the company's promotional announcements. In other words, the words must mostly be the bloggers', not the company's, and they need to be limited to observed facts, and not unfounded claims and braggadocio.

If I want to read a blog with no bull shit, I read someone like Charles Cowdery. He covers the new developments in the American whiskey industry, but always with historical perspective and a critical eye. Chuck's blog is mostly about news and developments, and not about his own taste in whiskey. There should be 10 Chuck Cowderys for the Scottish whisky industry.

When I really want to know about some whisky I am considering buying I go first to the reviews of those whose taste is closest to my own, then to all other reviews of those with taste either farther away from my own or relatively unknown to me. I'll say it again: one of the top things good about Connosr is that there are so many reviewers here that one can find among them a few individuals whose taste is close enough to one's own that one can have a significant degree of trust in their opinions. That said, no two bottles of the same whisky are ever identical...so there are never any guarantees.

@Victor wise words as always..