Whisky That Drinks Bigger Than It Scores...

I have had this Discussion post under a very slightly different name, sitting on my notepad for most of a year, unposted. I wasnt's sure whether I wanted to do a discussion, or wait and do a list. Even if I do a list, absolutely my favourite Drinks Bigger Than It Scores Whiskey for me is Old Grand-Dad 114. Hellacious good fun, big big powerful whiskey, great grain flavours, so-so wood. I score it 87 or 88; with better wood, and, maybe a more aesthetic "finish" it would easily be 95. For fun it is 95 all the way, even without.

Thanks to @Victor turning me on to this whisky, I too have fallen for the OGD 114. Without a doubt one of the best bang for your buck whiskies on the shelves. When reviewed it's not scored very highly but in my book this is a great bourbon that delivers a punch.

Bunnahabhain 12 and 18 are also whiskies that deliver more than their scores often reflect. These two drams have been favourites of mine for a long time.

Great Topic! I have come to realize lately that for me this is Laphroaig 10yo . . . just that standard at 43% (sorry those of you who only get the 40% version). For me the 10yo Cask Strength and the Quarter Cask always score much higher.

I have scored 4 different bottles of the 10yo a with total of 12 scores over the last two years. My lowest score is an 82. My highest score is an 88 with the average being an 85 over all 12 scores. Usually, the Cask Strength batches and the Quarter Cask score in the low 90's. Still, something about the standard 10yo keeps me always going back for more . . . it isn't more intense, or more complex . . . it doesn't have the power I love in the others . . . in fact it doesn't have a single element I like better then any other expression of Lahroaig. However, there is something there I really love.

I am currently out of Quarter Cask and the 18yo. I have two fingers left of the standard 10yo and the 10yo Cask Strength on my shelf. Guess which one I am the most concerned about replacing? The standard 10yo.

@Nock - I know what you mean. I've gone through more bottles of Ardbeg 10 than I have Uigeadail, even though the Ooogie is just about my favorite single malt. Maybe it's because we want to keep the special ones a little more special?

My choice would have to be anything I've tried by Balblair. They're light, not very complex, but refreshing as lemonade on a hot day. (Yes, whisky can be refreshing!) They also have a great one-of-a-kind finish, loaded with vanilla and quality wood. Like @Victor with OGD 114, Balblair is my fun whisky. I've scored the four Balblairs in my cabinet in the upper 80s, although they rate about five points lower in terms of substance and about five points higher in terms of enjoyment.

@Nock I'm intrigued by your reviews of whiskies that taste similar to the barnyardy Broras of yesteryear. Well done. I'm all ears for any suggestions. I've noticed that the two you mention in your review of that rare Edradour (that and a peaty Benriach) are both hard to find, but relatively inexpensive, at least when they weren't so rare. Do you have any other recommendations?

Yes, great topic, @paddockjudge.

I don't 'score' whisky so my response might be based on a different set of criteria than most. The 'scores' I see others giving these whiskies are low, low, low, but I love them.

I'm not sure which rare Edradour @rigmorole mentioned, but the standard 10 year old has been one of my go-to whiskies for a number of years. Since we've passed the 10 years of ownership of Edradour Distillery by Andrew Symington the whisky has changed, almost batch to batch changes are recognizable. It's all been great, and the price has barely changed in more than five years (the BIG distilleries ought to take note of that!). For any who disliked the reportedly 'soapy' Edradour 10s, give it a try again.

Glenrothes Alba Reserve is for me the epitome of a bourbon-barrel matured (and my favorite style of) single malt Scotch. I heartily agree with @paddockjudge and @CanadianNinja that the Glenlivet 16 Nadurra is phenomenal, but most reviewers grant it that high mark in their scores. While Alba Reserve isn't cask strength, it is so easy and enjoyable that it fits this category for me.

Too, @CanadianNinja nails it with the two Bunnahabhains. The 18 year is one of the 25 whiskies in my top 5. Since Bunnahabhain has gone to the 46.3% for its whiskies each 'batch' of the 12 has been as different as the recent Edradour 10s. Seems you never know what you're going to get (lots of sherry or not, or lots of bourbon or not), but each has been most enjoyable.

In total agreement with @two-bit-cowboy regarding Edradour 10. I was given a bottle of it from a friend a few months ago and it was just great. Ripe apples, apple crumble, dried fruit... Delicious dram! Very underrated.

Great topic, @paddockjudge. This is akin to the "guilty pleasure" topic that comes up when discussing cinema, when you can't help but love something even though you know it isn't great. But like cinema, whisky is such a subjective experience, and I think we all have to embrace that subjectivity. Why not score something as high as you feel it? There are consistently high-scoring whiskies I cannot stand, and there are consistently low-scoring whiskies that I enjoy. It is challenging to go against the "norm" and declare your love of whiskies based not just on how they nose and taste, but how they make you feel, where they take you personally, emotionally and magically. And as much as we hate to admit it, price is a factor, for sure. So is marketing, packaging and availability - these elements beyond simply the liquid unconsciously factor into how we both score, and consume, whisky.

A good example for me is comparing Laphroaig 10 to Quarter Cask (which was brought up by @Nock). I don't remember how I scored them relative to each other, but I'm always going to lean toward the 10, despite the fact that I recognize more complexity in the generally-higher-scoring Quarter Cask. I just love the 10 more.

Another example was tasting cask-strength 23 year old Kininvie at WhiskyFest. Everyone around me went apeshit over this, and while I enjoyed it, it was simply too sweet for my palate. Sure, that's just me. Or perhaps everyone around me was biased since it was from a distillery that until now has never released a single malt? As well, it was in the context of a prestigious whisky festival. What other unconscious factors were part of how both I, and those around me, might score, or might consume, this malt?

This discussion is also synonymous with the neat/a-little-water vs. with-ice/in-a-cocktail argument. When we score whiskies, we are doing so based on sampling a whisky neat and/or with a little water. Although I believe most connoisseurs consume whisky in the same way, I know I and many others do so often with ice or in a cocktail (which I've literally been yelled at for occasionally and unapologetically doing). How we score (in an attempt to be "objective") and how we drink (which is wrapped up in an infinite number of variables) can be very different indeed.

@talexander Brilliant! A case well made.

Great example with Laphroaig 10yo @Nock. For me the basic expression of a distillery is ...essential!. It encloses the character and main characteristics of that distillery. In the same manner, for example, a HP 12 is 80% of all HP's releases... and that's why, I believe, we are drawn back to the basics

I trust Victor´s and CanadianNinja so ill be looking out for old grand-dad 114. For me i like the scapa malt, gets downgraded a lot, but i find it very enjoyable, then i agree with CanadianNinja on the Bunna's, they get constantly overlooked because they aren't peated enough but they have have this salty-raisins-molasses complexity that i always enjoy. The younger versions of Springbank (although the older ones can be utterly fantastic) + Hazelburn, gets overlooked a lot. Dalwhinnie as well. John Bowman bourbon is one that gets downgraded although i find it very tasty, it has that violet-lavander floral that marries so well with the slightly charred charred-cola-maple bourbon character. Bruichladdich Laddie ten, although man seem to love it, i don't think many have tapped the potential it has. Wild Turkey Rare breed, although appreciated by many, i think was quite understated, it is to date one of the best low-cost bourbons i have tasted. Honorable mentions: Tobermory 15, Ancnoc 16, Edradour 10 and Edradour in general, Four roses, Connemara and Ardmore

many* seem to love it

I'm a big fan of Jack Daniel's Single Barrel. I initially scored it at 87 (I think), then bumped it up to 89. But truth be told, strictly on an enjoyment level this easily scores in the 90's for me. It's not CS, it's not groundbreaking in terms of flavours. And it's from JD, which isn't the most beloved name in whiskey. But it's damn good, and I'd take JDSB over Knob Creek or Buffalo trace or any other entry level bourbon/Tenessee whiskey.

I'm finding the Wiser's Small Batch to be much better than I thought...especially given it's cheap price. I like being pleasantly surprised this way. Much better than the alternative when I pay a lot more for a supposedly better Whiskey I don't like. I also find Gentlemen Jack keeps finding it's way back into my home. It doesn't seem to get the best reviews but I like it.

@mrgargus The Wiser's Small Batch is surprisingly good, yes.

Ardmore 'Traditional', to me, always drinks better than most reviewers suggest and at a price point that puts many Malts to shame.

I've long suspected that a large part of Ardmore's 'quiet magic' could be from quarter casks sourced from the sister distiller Laphroaig. This is pure speculation on my part but I do think it has that quality and certainly does suggest, to me, a similar flavor, albeit with a much more gentle 'voice'.

Slainte!

Bowmore 12 yr has an average score of 79/100.

To me the Bowmore 12 yr is easily an 86 to 88 ranking; really nice intro to what Islay has to offer, and for $40 it's a solid deal.

For me it's Springbank. 10 is a super value! The 15 & 18 drink as good or better to anything I have from Talisker 18, Old Pulteney 17,21, Flaming Heart, Designer Ardbeg's, Laphroaig 18, Yamazaki 18, Highland Park 18...etc, yet they don't get the consistent high marks of these other brands, as I see a lot of average reviews for even the older Springbanks. It has always perplexed me, and why this is such an interesting post as others share there own incongruent experiences.

@indynoir

Springbank 10 for me too for the peaty style. The other being the Longrow CV which is sadly discontinued.

For the sherried style, my vote goes to Nikka Whisky from the Barrel. The Auchentoshan Three Wood is not far off either.

Old Charter 10YO Kentucky Straight Bourbon 86 proof. This is a delightful dram. It is a delicious whiskey at 43% abv. - toffe, honey, baking spices, pepper and just the right amount of pointed vibrancy - one of the few affordable quality Kentucky expressions that are available in Ontario...should pick up a six pack before it becomes another over-priced store kept unit.

Piling on the OGD 114 band wagon I will throw another vote that way. There is also something about Bowmore 12 that I have always really enjoyed.

Oh and Monkey Shoulder! Yes it's a blend and yes it's better than a lot of speyside distillery's entry level bottles. It's also like stealing it at only around $25 for such quality.

For me there are two that come to mind: Bruichladdich Laddie 10, which is downright cheap around here at $70. To me it drinks like a $100 bottle. There's also Compass Box Great King St, which I'm surprised nobody's mentioned yet. Great blend for a good price.

I think the Forty Creek special releases would be my choice. I generally score my single malts where they should be, but because North American whiskies have a flavour profile I'm less familiar with I probably enjoy them more than the score.

I agree with @Nolinske. I always really enjoy monkey shoulder, but most people don't consider it a very quality dram. Also Ardmore Traditional Cask is a great drink that I feel like most people don't think all that highly of.

I have always liked Jura -- any of their standard expressions, but especially the superstition -- far better than they usually rate. From our own state owned stores it was once carried but no more. Of course the overwhelming majority of those who decide what is on the shelf here, don't imbibe.

I agree with @RobertH about the Superstition. For all the random scores that have been thrown its way on this site, I find it to be pretty solid. Bunna 12 is another great one that @CanadianNinja mentioned. It's an odd one, that. Everything about it screams quality but somehow I only scored it in the lower 80's. Weird.

BenRiach peated expressions deserve a spot here too, imho. They don’t have a traditional Islay profile, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t big and robust. It’s a distinctive peatiness, and some of the better ones are really fantastic.

Bowmore 15 Year Darkest. I'm loving it, but on average it seems people don't feel it's worth the money.

@HughesDePayens I love it too!

@HughesDePayens, it is natural that opinions will differ about everything. I've liked all of the Bowmore Darkest 15 yo which I have tasted, but then, I do not know what that same named whisky tasted like from batches from prior years. It could have been very different whisky, the Bowmore Darkest which I liked and the Bowmore Darkest which others disliked.