Underrated distilleries

Interesting question and the answers you get will depend on where you “hang out” in the online whiskyverse. I’ll suggest a few that may be underrated, but still well-known here on Connosr:

• Aultmore: This one isn’t super popular anywhere, but their standard 12 year is a solid ex-bourbon Cask Single Malt. Bottled at 46%, natural colour (I think), and NCF. I’d love to try more from them.
• Benromach: a very interesting Speyside distillery. I may have secured a bottle of their 10 Year 100 Proof (imperial Proof) Single Malt. Just waiting for confirmation from my friend.
• Highwood Distillery: a Canadian distillery that gets very little love, but their 20 Year Ninety “Decades of Richness” is a fantastic all-corn whisky.
• Hiram Walker Distillery: people not on Connosr generally have no love for the wonderful stuff produced here, or they’re ignorant of it altogether. Oh well, more great stuff for us. This place is responsible for all the great offerings from J.P. Wiser’s (Wiser’s Legacy, Wiser’s Dissertation, etc.), Lot 40 (regular and Cask Strength), Gooderham & Worts, etc...
• Wild Turkey: somewhere along the line, some people decided WT was naught more than “redneck mouthwash” and not worthy of serious sipping. Those people are wrong. Wild Turkey produces terrific stuff. I’m forever indebted to @Victor for getting me hooked on WT Rare Breed.

@Rantavahti I don't have an answer for you but, because your Suomi. I would very much like your input on Kyro and Teerenpeli distilleries. Also Sweden's Hven Distillery. There are whispers that they produce some decent stuff.

@Rantavahti - My 2 cents . . .

Arran and Benromach are the first two that jump out at me but they may well be on your radar?

Oh and Macallan and Highland Park

I've been seeing a lot of love for Linkwood lately.

And Ledaig has become quite the underground favorite over the past few years.

The problem with this question is that it's being asked of members of a whisky forum.

We've all heard about all of these whiskies right here on Connosr.

Are you looking for something new? What style are you interested in? Are you looking for something less popular but good, so less expensive?

We all have our favourites.

My personal suggestion... find a distillery you like or would really like to try based on what you've read and look for some IBs.

Essentially, that is what I did with my recent Linkwood purchase, thanks to @Bluenote.

@RianC Mac-what now? Never heard of that one...

@OdysseusUnbound Macallan is very under-rated nowadays.

Sure, in the 1990s and 2000s it had a great reputation. It was THE Macallan.

But then they released their pole dancer series, and followed it with the 12 YO sulfur-cask (or was it double sulfur cask) expression.

Among true connoisseurs, Macallan's reputation is at an all-time low. That means that there are probably some expressions that are better than its reputation. So I guess it fits in this category.

@Nozinan I think that your reasoning is suspect...Maybe you've been reading too much from DoFo's playbook these days.

I'm a member of several Facebook whisky/scotch groups and THE Macallan remains as popular as ever. The very suggestion that Macallan's quality has slipped automatically triggers some vociferous responses along the lines of "yoUr pRObably jUst pOor and jEalous, becAuse you cAn't aFfoRd it!" or "it'S oNly expenSIve beCAuse its Teh best, and if yOu doN't uNderStand that, then yOuR an iDioT!!" or my personal favourite "Your inTo bOurbOn and Canadian WhiSky! yOu doN't no AnytHiNg!!"

@Nozinan, I believe it shall henceforth be referred to as THE 12 YO Brimstone Cask Edition.

@OdysseusUnbound Totally agree on the Aultmore 12. 46%, NCF and natural colour, and it tastes great and is reasonably priced. What more could a malthead ask for?

@MadSingleMalt Yep, right on with both Linkwood and Ledaig. I am absolutely loving the Cadenhead Linkwood 11 and I am confident that we will see a glowing review from @Nozinan sometime soon. I hope to hell he likes it, I practically forced him to buy it.

@OdysseusUnbound It's unkind to slag the intelligencia.

Tomatin is another underrated distillery that I have been warming up to lately. Still a bit hit and miss, but some really fine cask strength offerings and a very drinkable 18. The NAS Cu Bocan is also very decent as is their entry level 12. The Legacy, not so much.

@paddockjudge That little definite article is so important. Adds so much class and exclusivity.

@BlueNote

"Aultmore 12. 46%, NCF and natural colour, and it tastes great and is reasonably priced. What more could a malthead ask for?"

Something a little more interesting?

@BlueNote Legacy is one of those “red light” warning words (JP Wiser’s is the exception) which screams DO. NOT. BUY. Just like Founder’s Reserve, Select Reserve, or Auchentoshan

@Nozinan Thousands of whisky lovers can’t be wrong. Ok, we’ll at least two whisky lovers, @OdysseusUnbound and I can’t be wrong.

I think John Paul is releasing some cracking malts that deserve more acclaim.

Also, Cotswold, with their first bottling has made an exceptional malt for something 4 years of age.

And if you have a time machine, go back and listen to my praise of Yoichi before ANYTHING with Japanese script on it flew off the shelves.

@OdysseusUnbound wonder what @markjedi1 would have to say about that...

@Nozinan The Toshan Man hasn't said much about his old fave recently. Maybe the bloom's off the romance.

@BlueNote Unlikely...

@BlueNote The bloom is certainly not off the romance, but there has not been anything to say about my old fav distillery. Rachel Barrie has left the company, Ron Welsh took her place and they are currently dealing with some more transitions - mainly due to growth. But nothing new has been released since then. Having said that, three new releases are in the works, so I'll soon again be able to spread some love about Auchentoshan. Never fear, the Toshan Man's still here :)

Thank you everyone for your thoughts so far. Hard question indeed, because it is a matter of personal opinion which distilleries are good but aren't getting enough appreciation or column space from whisky bloggers, enthusiasts or publications.

I don't actually know what type of whisky I'm looking for. Just something new (and good) to add to my whisky bucket list. Never mind what type of whisky it is.

You've already made some great suggestions. Linkwood and Aultmore stood up for example. And Wild Turkey I definitely have to put to my wishlist. If you could pick more of the underrated ones from Speyside and Highland regions, which distilleries would you choose? (Aberlour, GlenDronach, Balblair, BenRiach, Benromach, Dalmore, Glenmorangie, Balvenie, Glenlivet, Glenfarclas are the ones I'm most familiar with, not sure if all of them are highly appreciated though)

@fiddich1980 Way back I started a discussion about Finnish whiskies, and I will add more links to my notes as soon as I make new posts. Here's the thread with one Kyrö bottling already linked: connosr.com/finnish-whisky-invasion-whisky…

I've tasted one Hven and it was good: connosr.com/spirit-of-hven-seven-stars-no-…

Hven Tycho's Star is currently unopened, waiting in my cabinet.

@Rantavahti If you haven’t tried Glendronach or Benromach, I’d strongly encourage you to try those. I’m not sure about underrated, but they are excellent. I like Aultmore, but you should know that their 12 year old is matured exclusively in ex-bourbon casks, which some people (ahem, @Nozinan ) find less interesting. I enjoyed it; your mileage may vary. If you haven’t tried Glenfarclas 105, I’d strongly recommend it as well. It may not be the popular thing to say, but I preferred ‘Farclas 105 to Aberlour A’Bunadh (batch 53).

@OdysseusUnbound Wiser's seems interesting, I think @Victor has mentioned it, known for rye whisky?

What are your thoughts on these expressions:

ewhisky.de/jp-wisers-18-jahre.html

ewhisky.de/jp-wisers-10-jahre.html

@OdysseusUnbound it’s not the fact that it’s a bourbon cask. It’s the Aultmore 12 itself. I know it’s one of the Last Great Malts of Scotland, but to that I say “how the mighty have fallen”.

Some of my best drams have been bourbon cask matured.... wait, does that make me sound like a sherry supremacist trying to go mainstream?

@OdysseusUnbound I haven’t had A’Bunadh since batch 21, but I had a good size sample of GF 105 at 60.5% recently and it was seriously good. Had to smack it down with a good dash of water just to get my heart rate back down to normal. it no longer has a 10 year old age statement, but I doubt it is a lot younger as it tasted pretty much the same as the 10 that I had a couple of years ago.

@Rantavahti I’ve never had either...but...

• The 18 is a 100% corn whisky renowned for is subtlety and complexity.
• The Triple Barrel which is available in Canada bears no age statement, but is a very versatile whisky. Brilliant in cocktails, good enough to sip neat or on the rocks.

@Nozinan I love the unsherried. Believe me, I love the bourbon casks. I have the best bourbon casks. Tremendous bourbon casks. Yuge bourbon casks. Bigly.

In all seriousness, Aultmore may be one of the few whiskies we disagree on. And I’m ok with that. For now...