The OCUK Whisky (and Whiskey) review thread

I don't normally post in here, to avoid temptation but I'm a big whisky fan. However, my friends and I have started a whisky syndicate where we each put in £30 every 4 or 6 weeks and then buy a selection of bottles (sometimes it'll be 4, sometimes 6, sometimes 3) with our kitty (£180 between 6). This is our first week:

Aberfeldy 15 Pomerol Cask
Auchentoshan Bar Tenders Malt
Tobermory 12
Glenfarclas 17

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It should be fun, and means we can try more whisky than we would buying it individually and I'm sure a few bottles will be bought by me off the back of it!
 
Well I’m glad someone else posted - it was becoming a bit embarrassing :o

Sounds like a good selection @Ahleckz let us know your thoughts.

I’m trying the Waterford releases... only nosed the Bannow Island so far. I’m getting quite a sharp nose... it’s quite alcoholy. Reminds me of a vodka. Also some tropical fruits. A distant smell of marker pen, like a redbreast, but way more in the background.

Fun bottles.

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Picked up a bottle of Kilkerran 12 at auction for £55. A fair bit above the RRP, but I had to try it, and it's been out of stock for so long I'm starting to wonder if it's ever coming back. It easily stands up to that price though, absolutely fantastic dram.

Also picked up a Glen Scotia Double Cask, which is also fantastic. They're clearly making some fantastic whisky down in Campbeltown again.

Got a plan for this xmas to do a blind tasting with my father-in-law, uncle-in-law, and cousin-in-law. Think the theme will be 12 year old whiskies. Going to select probably 6, mainly from Scotland, although I may chuck in a curveball or two. So far:

Bunnahabhain 12
Kilkerran 12
Deanston 12
Mortlach 12

Then I'm thinking of having 2 where they bottle is hidden entirely, perhaps a blend and an Irish whiskey. I've heard good things about Antiquary 12 yr and Redbreast 12 yr respectively.

Anything else I should be considering?

Cheers all.
 
Illgresi said:
Picked up a bottle of Kilkerran 12 at auction for £55. A fair bit above the RRP, but I had to try it, and it's been out of stock for so long I'm starting to wonder if it's ever coming back. It easily stands up to that price though, absolutely fantastic dram.

Also picked up a Glen Scotia Double Cask, which is also fantastic. They're clearly making some fantastic whisky down in Campbeltown again.

Got a plan for this xmas to do a blind tasting with my father-in-law, uncle-in-law, and cousin-in-law. Think the theme will be 12 year old whiskies. Going to select probably 6, mainly from Scotland, although I may chuck in a curveball or two. So far:

Bunnahabhain 12
Kilkerran 12
Deanston 12
Mortlach 12

Then I'm thinking of having 2 where they bottle is hidden entirely, perhaps a blend and an Irish whiskey. I've heard good things about Antiquary 12 yr and Redbreast 12 yr respectively.

Anything else I should be considering?

Cheers all.
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GlenDronach 12 would be my choice. For a curveball I'd maybe go for a supermarket own brand 12 year old. You can have fun trying to work out which distillery it is from after the reveal. It would also be interesting seeing how it fares against the others in a blind line up.
 
Illgresi said:
Also picked up a Glen Scotia Double Cask, which is also fantastic. They're clearly making some fantastic whisky down in Campbeltown again.
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Having loved the Springbank 10, then the Longrow, then the Hazelburn I'd fully decided Campbeltown was my favourite area. So I bought a Glen Scotia double cask and sorry to say I am very disappointed with it. Put it side-by-side with my Woodford Reserve and you wouldn't know the difference. I know that's sort-of the point in the double oak cask but it just tastes young, sweet and harsh to me. A slight Campbeltown oily funk to it, but meh. There's far better out there at that price point.

Illgresi said:
Anything else I should be considering?
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Longrow if you haven't. As above it's a Springbank whisky but lightly peated. Really good.
 
Scam said:
Having loved the Springbank 10, then the Longrow, then the Hazelburn I'd fully decided Campbeltown was my favourite area. So I bought a Glen Scotia double cask and sorry to say I am very disappointed with it. Put it side-by-side with my Woodford Reserve and you wouldn't know the difference. I know that's sort-of the point in the double oak cask but it just tastes young, sweet and harsh to me. A slight Campbeltown oily funk to it, but meh. There's far better out there at that price point.

Longrow if you haven't. As above it's a Springbank whisky but lightly peated. Really good.
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Thanks, appreciate the comments. I don't mind a young whisky, albeit I've only had the one dram of the Glen Scotia Double Cask, so I'll make my mind up after a little time with the bottle.

Unfortunately, there seems to be real supply issues with Springbank (I can only find Hazelburn 10 for a reasonable price), and Glengyle at the moment.
 
Illgresi said:
Picked up a bottle of Kilkerran 12 at auction for £55. A fair bit above the RRP, but I had to try it, and it's been out of stock for so long I'm starting to wonder if it's ever coming back. It easily stands up to that price though, absolutely fantastic dram.

Also picked up a Glen Scotia Double Cask, which is also fantastic. They're clearly making some fantastic whisky down in Campbeltown again.

Got a plan for this xmas to do a blind tasting with my father-in-law, uncle-in-law, and cousin-in-law. Think the theme will be 12 year old whiskies. Going to select probably 6, mainly from Scotland, although I may chuck in a curveball or two. So far:

Bunnahabhain 12
Kilkerran 12
Deanston 12
Mortlach 12

Then I'm thinking of having 2 where they bottle is hidden entirely, perhaps a blend and an Irish whiskey. I've heard good things about Antiquary 12 yr and Redbreast 12 yr respectively.

Anything else I should be considering?

Cheers all.
Click to expand...
Bunnahabhain 12 used to be really cheap, I heard it's popular in a lot of blends, so was underappreciated. I thoroughly recommend Springbank 10, out of Cambeltown if you've not tried it, i didn't exactly find the taste enjoyable personally, but it was very interesting, stands up and punches you in the face before caressing your cheek, and makes sure you give it all your attention, very fresh and wild because of it's youth. Where do you do auctions out of interest?
 
iSaff said:
Bunnahabhain 12 used to be really cheap
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It's still regularly discounted to £30/32. Set a Camelx3 notification as Amazon usually follow Waitrose or the other supermarkets when they put it on offer :) I didn't think it was used in blends, I might be wrong though.
 
Scam said:
It's still regularly discounted to £30/32. Set a Camelx3 notification as Amazon usually follow Waitrose or the other supermarkets when they put it on offer :) I didn't think it was used in blends, I might be wrong though.
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Used to be in the mid-£20s, still worth it in the £30s. They started out making casks for blends, and only reletively recently started producing single malts, but still weren't appreciated, though I heard most of what they produce still goes into blends, that was maybe 5 years ago and hearsay, so I don't know what the sitution is now, I was just surprised the price spiked. I think Bunnahabhain and Macallen are good examples of how whisky prices are as much about brand name as quality.
 
iSaff said:
I was just surprised the price spiked. I think Bunnahabhain and Macallen are good examples of how whisky prices are as much about brand name as quality.
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I'm not sure what you mean here. Are you saying it's not worth £30+ ? I think it's an outstanding dram for the money. It's very well-produced; non chill filtered, bottled at 46.3% and with natural colouring. That's very good compared to a lot of the other well known names. Even the famous Lagavulin 16 is chill filtered and coloured.

Or, checking my facts the Whisky Exchange says it better;
A giant leap forward for Bunnahabhain 12yo, this edition was launched in summer 2010 with a jump in strength to 46.3% and a declaration of no chill-filtration and no added colouring. The producers deserve enormous credit for giving punters what they want without jacking up the price too much and we earnestly hope that this will be a massive success. Bravo!
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iSaff said:
Used to be in the mid-£20s, still worth it in the £30s. They started out making casks for blends, and only reletively recently started producing single malts, but still weren't appreciated, though I heard most of what they produce still goes into blends, that was maybe 5 years ago and hearsay, so I don't know what the sitution is now, I was just surprised the price spiked. I think Bunnahabhain and Macallen are good examples of how whisky prices are as much about brand name as quality.
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There are many many examples you could use for that, Bunnahabhain are not one of them. It's one of the best value for money 12 year olds out there, not the very cheapest true, but when taking into account the quality compared to the cheaper ones it is clearly worth the little bit extra.
 
Lupis said:
There are many many examples you could use for that, Bunnahabhain are not one of them. It's one of the best value for money 12 year olds out there, not the very cheapest true, but when taking into account the quality compared to the cheaper ones it is clearly worth the little bit extra.
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I think you may have misunderstood me. To be clear, Bunnahabhain is absolutley worth the extra. I think it speaks volumes about perception in whisky that I was able to purchaise Bunnahabhain in the mid-£20s a few years ago, but even paying a reasonable amount more proportionally now is worth t, for what I still consider a substantially better whisky than it's priced. And that there may well be a lot of other hidden gems i'm just not aware of. Conversely, there are a lot of whiskys i personally prefer a fair bit more, and often cost less, than many Macallens, that's not a knock on Macallen, they do produce wonderful whisky, but I feel the price is inflated, and you're paying more for the brand. That's just my perceptions since i began my whisky journey, so i fully acknowledge i may be wrong.
 
cough *Macallan* cough.

Agreed though with wider comment. I've been to their distillery and done an extensive tasting. Very little I liked considering the price. I'm happier with other brands costing a lot less. They rely on their name and the brand. And more recently a glitzy building to wow the visitors, but the quality of what they're offering just isn't much to write home about until you are paying silly money, which is not for me.
 
iSaff said:
I think you may have misunderstood me. To be clear, Bunnahabhain is absolutley worth the extra. I think it speaks volumes about perception in whisky that I was able to purchaise Bunnahabhain in the mid-£20s a few years ago, but even paying a reasonable amount more proportionally now is worth t, for what I still consider a substantially better whisky than it's priced. And that there may well be a lot of other hidden gems i'm just not aware of. Conversely, there are a lot of whiskys i personally prefer a fair bit more, and often cost less, than many Macallens, that's not a knock on Macallen, they do produce wonderful whisky, but I feel the price is inflated, and you're paying more for the brand. That's just my perceptions since i began my whisky journey, so i fully acknowledge i may be wrong.
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Possibly I did misunderstand your post, to me it read like you were lumping Bunna and Macallan into the same bracket.
 
ik9000 said:
cough *Macallan* cough.

Agreed though with wider comment. I've been to their distillery and done an extensive tasting. Very little I liked considering the price. I'm happier with other brands costing a lot less. They rely on their name and the brand. And more recently a glitzy building to wow the visitors, but the quality of what they're offering just isn't much to write home about until you are paying silly money, which is not for me.
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I know it's very popular in the City. At the prices I can afford, I wasn't very impressed, but I try to be open to more experianced drinkers explaining what i'm missing.
 
Some great deals at whiskyshop.com at the moment.

Just picked up:

Loch Lomond 18 - closest distillery to where I grew up, about time I tried it
Bunnahabhain 12 - need a replacement
Redbreast 12 - first Irish whiskey I've ever bought
Glendronach 12 - thanks for the suggestion @Lupis
anCnoc 18 - if it's half as good as the 22 yr old was, it'll be a steal

...for just over £200. There's plenty still on there I want but had to draw the line somewhere! :D
 
I’m interested to hear what you think of the Redbreast. To me, all of their offerings have a note on the nose that is really strong... try it yourself and then see if you agree.

Markerpen

It does give way to other notes but that’s what leaps out of the glass at my nostrils.

My Waterford Pilgrimage bottle arrived today :eek:
 
Illgresi said:
Some great deals at whiskyshop.com at the moment.

Just picked up:

Loch Lomond 18 - closest distillery to where I grew up, about time I tried it
Bunnahabhain 12 - need a replacement
Redbreast 12 - first Irish whiskey I've ever bought
Glendronach 12 - thanks for the suggestion @Lupis
anCnoc 18 - if it's half as good as the 22 yr old was, it'll be a steal

...for just over £200. There's plenty still on there I want but had to draw the line somewhere! :D
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Glendronach is lovely and summery. I remember being told by local whisky shop that it was originally thought too girly, perhaps because of the sherry casks, so it was sold to brothels where it was popular with the ladies of the night, so earned a dodgy replutation for some time. No idea how true that is, but it's one of my favourates, if you can get hold of their cask strengths, well worth the buy imo. I'm going to have a peek at what's on offer, but i'm going full on healthly for the next few months <sigh>
 
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