Old Pulteney new releases

Good to see that they've kept the 15 and 18 at 46%abv. Although the 18 is very pricy in the UK at £118 a bottle.

The 17yo is still available in the UK (I've stocked up and have 4 bottles) at around £75-80 it's hard to see why one more year in the cask justifies a 50% increase in price.

Another brand trying to premiumise (have I just made that word up?) itself like Macallan and Highland Park I fear.

Sad to see.

You can throw Dalmore into the mix as well.

@Wierdo - At least they've kept the age statements, for what it's worth . . . but I totally agree that £100+ for an 18 yo whisky is taking the piss, frankly.

I've just bought another 17 as well as I read the stocks were until mid 2018 so they'll soon be disappearing form the shelves. Truth be told, if I see them going for crazy prices in the not too distant I may sell one if, and it's a big 'if', I feel I could get more/better with whatever return it would bring.

Tin hat donned

As I mentioned I've got 4 bottles currently. I definitely stocked up on that many with a view that if prices go up significantly I'll sell at least one of them.

If they don't not a problem I'll drink them myself in time.

A few years ago when they discontinued JW Green, I stocked up with 6 bottles at £30 a pop from ASDA. Over time I watched the price go up to £150 a bottle. I was greedy thinking I'll wait until it hits £200 a bottle and then sell them.

Then they re-released the green ,

@Wierdo - Ha ha! You'd still get a half decent price for the older bottlings wouldn't you?

@RianC to be honest I've not checked since. I've only got 1 older bottle left now. I've either drunk or given the rest away as gifts. I might keep that last bottle for a while see how much it's worth in 10 years.

@Wierdo - out of interest, have you compared an older bottle with the newer releases? Many say older was better but others seem to prefer the newer ones?

I'm pretty sure I've never tried the older JW Green but have had a few of the new ones. The first off the line were really good but the most recent bottle is flat and not great at all.

@RianC yes I've done a side by side comparison. About 6 months ago now. The new one wasn't as good. Hard to put my finger on exactly what buy I seem to recall the older one has a bit more fruit to it (citrus fruit and green apples) than the new one.

Thinking about it the fact that Pulteney are producing an 18 year old (albeit overpriced) means the 17 yo isn't really that collectable as you're not going to make a lot on it. Its around £75-80 a bottle in the UK so no-one is going to pay £150 for a bottle of the 17 when they can buy the 18 for £118.

Unless that is the quality drops off and people start pining for a drop of the earlier stuff.

@Wierdo - Fair point - I guess I was thinking along the nostalgia/rarity lines rather than inherent quality per se but I'll more than likely end up drinking them both

I'd be very interested to try the 18 alongside the 17. Also makes me wonder what they've done to it as if stocks for the 17 are low how are they then rolling out a year older bottling unless the recipe is significantly changed?

I don't see how the recipe can be any different? Unless 18 years ago they took the decision to change the barley or something to get a higher yield.

The 'stocks of 17 are low' line was clearly bullshit to increase the price imo.

EDIT The scathing 1 star review of the 18 on MoM was me by the way!

My guess is that Pulteney correctly figured that they would have more future flexibility in their maturation program with a line-up of 12, 15, and 18 years old than with a line-up of 12, 17, and 21 years old. I will be very interested to see how their 15 yo turns out.

As to prices, well, what can one say? The recent rates of increase are currently the way of the world. Would I pay 118 GBP for the 18 yo? Probably not. I am glad to have some 17 yo in stock.

Me too @Victor with regards to stocking up. On the 17.

I may try the 15 as it's overpriced but not horrendously so.

I won't touch the 18 at that price though. I thought the HP18 was pushing it at around £105 a bottle in the UK. But the OP18 has ramped it up again.

I'll just move on to something else.

I think it's the way it will have to be for us whisky enthusiasts for the foreseeable future. We get to love a whisky. It gets popular. The owners think they can fleece everyone because they have a recognised product. They up the prices. We move onto something else.

I may give the 15 YO a try if the price is right.

@Wierdo - In one!

I can say with experience that, as examples, Benromach 15 (@ £50) and Talisker 18 (@ c£75) are two 'big' whiskys that are excellent value for money all things considered. I know where my next indulgent buys will be coming from . . .

@Frost - About £70 so not much less than the 17 is currently. You never know though, perhaps the 15 will be on a par with the old 17 at a slightly lower cost? I know what I'd bet on though

@Wierdo - I once placed a similar review on MoM about a price hike (a Springbank, possibly?) and the comment was removed

I’m probably dreaming in colour, but I’d love to see the whisky bubble burst. If nothing else, it would be hilarious to watch/read the ever-changing song and dance of marketing people who tried to bullshit us about the reason behind NAS.

@OdysseusUnbound, best case for a 'whisky bubble burst' would be a change of popular fashion. This would allow whisk(e)y lovers to go back to being a small eccentric minority loving an unpopular beverage, as we/they were just 10 years ago. Will that happen? Not soon, I think. A more likely scenario would be severe economic stress lessening demand by forcing down disposable income. That scenario would be rather unpleasant for just about everybody. Be careful what you wish for.

A severe economic crunch will likely place severe price pressure on the lower tier and middle tier of products. The Highland Park 25s and Pappy Van Winkles will stay expensive, but probably come close to just holding their nominal value while the currency appreciates. The rare and expensive stuff will be consumed more and sold less. Why? Because the holders of the top tier products are mostly 'strong hands'.

@RianC if the 15 YO is priced at the point of the 17 YO here in Australia, with a slip in quality, then...speechless

@Victor I’m hoping for a change in fashion trends. Maybe rum, gin, or schnapps could replace whisky as the fashionable spirit of choice. I won’t hold my breath though...

@OdysseusUnbound in terms of spirits sales in the UK at least sales of scotch are not increasing significantly. Interestingly sales of US whisky rocketed in 2016. I say interestingly because in the UK it seems that it's scotch that is increasing in price more in price than US whisky. Which doesn't make sense in terms of a supply and demand argument.

Obviously this doesn't cover international sales and I understand sales of whisky in the asian markets are increasing a lot.

Gin had it's best year for sales last year in the UK

thedrinksbusiness.com/2018/03/…

But the issue for whisky drinkers is that Gin and whisky drinkers are very different profiles. Gin tends to be drunk more by young people and in cocktails etc. I know loads of people who drink gin. They generally do so on nights out. In bars or at house parties. I only personally know 4 people who drink whisky regularly.

Whisky has an aura of affluence to it. It's still viewed by and large as a rich man's drink. Comparing whisky and gin is imo like comparing Casio watches with Rolexes. I dont think you'll find many people switching from whisky to gin. Brandy maybe or expensive wine even. Similar profile to whisky.

@Wierdo - Was just about to reply to @OdysseusUnbound 's post and then saw your post. I was about to say I reckon Gin was more popular in the UK than whisky currently and that I'd bet whisky sales are going down. Well, there you go!

As for the price trends? Well I've been sticking a few bourbons away these last couple of years and the prices have held fairly steady, to the point where they often make better vfm choices than Scotch - go figure, as they say . . .

Like @OdysseusUnbound I hope the bubble will burst and if these trends continue than who knows. I could see aged Rum sales gaining momentum . . . As you say though, if foreign markets can achieve sales then it doesn't look good. Tapping into the far East at this time is like striking gold for the industry I'd bet!?

Perhaps a whole other thread could be devoted to this topic - the Rise (and fall?) of Whisky Prices

@Wierdo "Comparing whisky and gin is imo like comparing Casio watches with Rolexes."

Have you seen the prices of some of the gins on MoM?

Like selling RoiBons at the price of RayBans