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Overrated Whisk(e)ys

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By J @Jonathan on 26th Mar 2018, show post

Replies: page 3/3

@Nickh
Nickh replied

@paddockjudge Thanks for the information on the different Octomore versions. I still have a sample of the 8.2 so will have to dig that out tonight. For some reason Bruchladdich wasn't really top of my list of distilleries to visit on my recent Islay trip but I came way very impressed with the place. Funny how this thread might have persuaded me to pick up a bottle of Octomore now! I think the wine cask finishes appeal to me most.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

@paddockjudge If Octomore goes for around $130-160 in Canada. I'd definitely try one at that price. But they're retailing in the UK for £130-150 which is about what? $240-270 CDN a bottle? I can buy 2 bottles of something I love for that price.

One if those strange (and rare) instances where you get better bang for your buck oversees than in the UK.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nickh
Nickh replied

@Wierdo I was just looking around for the best prices on Octomore in the UK. Master of Malt and amazon have some for around £109.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

Thanks @Nickh at £109 it would still be more than I've paid for a whisky so far. But I might pull the trigger and see what all the fuss is about once I've finished stocking up on enough Springbank and Old Pulteney 17 to get me through an ice age!

5 years ago 0

@paddockjudge
paddockjudge replied

@Wierdo, those great Octomore prices are now in the rear view mirror, but every now and then, only in the province of Alberta at select retailers, will a great price be available. Ontario prices are near what yours are...you recently had a large tax hike that put your prices on par with the tax heavy jurisdictions.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

JayRain replied

@Nozinan I was gifted a bottle of the Johnnie Walker Blue recently - just could not bring myself to keep it so returned to the LCBO and upgraded to the 25 YO Appleton Estate Joy.

Now that I am looking forward to...

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Frost
Frost replied

Overrated? A whisk(e)y, mostly a blend or NAS, on a 3x12 metre light backed poster in an international airport that is meant to make someone who just arrived on economy class feel like a Russian Oligarch for buying said whisk(e)y.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@Frost - You say whisky I say nerve tonic ;)

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@olivier
olivier replied

@MadSingleMalt I'm a big fan of Clynelish, and was hooked with my first taste of the OB 14, about 10 years ago. But, I agree that recently the OB 14 is no longer really a Clynelish (no wax and too much sherry or caramel)

5 years ago 0

@MadSingleMalt

@olivier — oh, you think the current Clynelish 14 lost the wax that it used to have? Maybe that's why I found my one and only bottle of it so disappointing compared to the expectations I had from reading others' reviews.

5 years ago 0

@olivier
olivier replied

@MadSingleMalt Yes, I offered a 14yo OB Clynelish to friends last year and I was really distraught when they opened it and we tasted it. After telling them for ages about Clynelish being my favorite distillery, this was a real let down. Luckily, there are tons of IBs of Clynelish out there, most still reasonably priced.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

I know I will displease many, but I find Springbank in general to be overated. Too much funkyness for my taste.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

RikS replied

@Robert99 I haven't had much experience with Springbank - i.e. none so far, and I understand what you're saying. But equally find it amusing how one man's taste could possibly be of a dislike to someone else... Hey, I don't like marmite :)

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@RikS Marmite is good stuff!

@Robert99 I don't know that I would classify it as over-rated. It's a niche whisky, perhaps, certainly a very complex whisky. I certainly gained a greater appreciation for it the more my palate matured.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

Wierdo replied

@Robert99 One man's meat is another man's poison and all that.

I love Springbank as I'm not shy about telling people but I can definitely see why it's not for everyone. I'm glad about that too, if everyone liked it it would go up even further in price!

5 years ago 3Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@Robert99 I think you have to pick your Springbanks carefully. They are expensive and they are not all up to their price points. For me the Ten is as predictable and as reliable as night following day.

I have been disappointed in both the 15 and the 18. liked the 14 Bourbon Cask and the 12 CS. All of the above are far more expensive than the 10 of which I always try to have a couple in the cabinet. I agree SOME Springbanks are overrated and overpriced.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@MadSingleMalt

I'll second @BlueNote on the Springbanks. I'm as big a fan of them as anyone and I've never had one I didn't like, but I've definitely tasted some that have no chance of prying the asking price from my wallet. I'll put the standard 15 and 18 in the "not worth it" bucket.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

@MadSingleMalt @BlueNote @Nozinan Don’t get me wrong, there are some Springbank that I like but, regardless of the price, some bottles have for me a rotten grass note that make them undrinkable. My first bottle of it was the worst in that regard and that is the problem. Since that first time, just a hint of that terrible flavor and my memory is rushing back in my mouth making the dram unquaffable. Tame and civilised, The same grassy note is very interesting and palatable. Bruichladdich often offers a fresher version of that same grassy note at just the right intensity.

5 years ago 0

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@Robert99 That’s interesting. I know you have very discerning palate so I will see if I can detect that rotten grassy note next time I have a dram of Springbank. I know that when your first experience of something is not good there is a wariness to try it again, but I am pretty sure that a man of your taste will find something to like about some of the Springbank offerings.

5 years ago 0

@RianC
RianC replied

@BlueNote - Not had the 18 but would agree about the 15. Only tried it once and thought it good but I'd get the 10 every time over it. Can't wait to pop my 12 CS though . . .

5 years ago 0

@KRB80
KRB80 replied

@RianC Imo, as an admitted Springbank fanboy, the 12CS is the sweet spot in the lineup. The 15 and 18 aren't worth the asking price and I'd rather have the Kilkerran 12 over SB10 at the same price point. You can get some real gems with their special releases but they are also hit/miss and typically not worth the asking price, especially as they keep going up with every release. As for the 12CS, I can never have enough! One of the greats, imo.

Also, the Longrow 18 is one of the few very expensive bottles that is worth every penny.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@KRB80 - Interesting, thanks. Your pov seems like it matches others who know their malts, which says a lot in my book!

The 12 CS is like Gold dust around here but I got lucky earlier in the year and snagged one at a good price considering. Still awaiting the opening ceremony (ha ha) but I'd happily take the plunge if/when I see it again. Think I prefer the SB10 over the Kilkerran 12 though but not much in it. Just felt the SB was slightly less industrial - which, granted, many will see/not see as a plus point.

5 years ago 3Who liked this?

@BlueNote
BlueNote replied

@RianC I would gladly take any or all of those three to my desert island.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@nooch
nooch replied

@RianC I’m in the kilkerran 12 over SB10 club tbh. I haven’t had a ton of other springbangs, but had a couple of glasses of the 21 visiting Speyside. Fantastic.

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Pete1969
Pete1969 replied

@KRB80 it is all relative, picked up my SB10’s for £35 and SB15 for £46 both well worth the money. If I was in New England my perspective would probably be a lot different. Similar to RianC struggle to get hold of the SB12 but will be trying again next release.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@Pete1969 - They're very good prices. SB10 used to be £35 at MoM but £40 or above now - although they seem to fluctuate quite a bit. Never seen the 15 below £60 . . .

I kept checking MoM daily around March/April (as that's when one of the batches of the 12 came out the previous year). I saw it one day, bought it, and it had sold out the next!

You're right it is very much relative - I look at what Americans pay for bourbon and think 'if only!' . I'd say in Scotch terms we do more than OK in the UK - generally. California seem to get crazy cheap prices ...

5 years ago 1Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@nooch - Funny how tastes can be so similar (i.e we all like whisk(e)y) but can then see so much variance in appreciation of two malts that most folk would think the same and taste like petrol ha ha! My barometer was that my last SB10 disappeared almost as soon as it was opened flushed . . .so hard to put down. The K12 seemed to need more time and kept changing on me in a way no other whisky had done before.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Pete1969
Pete1969 replied

@RianC hit lucky with local store clearance on Springbank, they only knocked 3 quid off the 10 but 14 off the 15. Was an expensive month.

5 years ago 2Who liked this?

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