Objection, your Honor!

Counsel confusing jury about Scotch, Whiskey and Whisky

My apologies, whisky it is.

So I posted a couple weeks ago about a client tipping me in The Balvenie. Tonight that client was one upped

https://photos.smugmug.com/Travel/Fl...984240_n-L.jpg

These clients told me they'd been saving this for years for the right occasion and they wanted me to have it. I was honored and of course enjoyed a pre dinner cocktail as soon as I got home.

Picked up a bottle of 2017 Yamazaki LE while in Tokyo last week. Cracked it open tonight - it's good but not worth the price tag (~$150). Prefer my favorite (Hibiki 17 which I found for roughly that same price range) and also prefer the Yamazaki 12 (which can occasionally be found for less and is more widely available and I've been slowly drinking my only bottle of). And of course not even close to the same league as the Yamazaki 18 (which I sadly am out of - way outside my price range these days and my only bottle bought at a reasonable price is long gone).

Will put it back on the shelf and then see if it grows on me in the future. Certainly not bad by any means - just clearly at least 25-30% of that price tag purely based on the hype around Japanese stuff and definitely not worth the $275+ I see when Googling it on the secondary market.

Going forward will likely just stick to paying for new bottles of Hibiki 17 when I visit (love it - and it was my first true Scotch / Whisky / Whiskey love) and only take flyers on the lesser priced NAS releases

It is just a worldwide demand, especially China. The Chinese have embrace premium priced Scotch and Whiskey as well as the term single malt.
This is the same crowd from the vintage with coke era :mad:
The establish houses from Scotland is finding many of their source (which are inferior alone) being marketed as "single malt" in China due to the consumer there will pay a premium for a "single malt". There are single malt brands in China that I have never heard of.
Other merchants are marking up their products due to limited supply. (Who would have known 17 years ago?)

My favourite drop, Springbank 18yo, has recently soared in price. My wife got me a bottle for my birthday at the local specialist merchant and they said they only get six bottles a year.
Has everyone else discovered it now?

Meanwhile son went to Islay and came back with a bottle of Ardbeg Uigedail for me.

Much appreciated considering his modest disposable income. I knew I raised him right.

I happy enough with standard Knockando, Glenlivet or Glenfarclas most days.

I see that amazon.co.uk is selling it for £99

You could get it for £60/70 just three years ago.

Of course aged whisky is a bet on the futures market. If it takes off, you can't suddenly make more 18yo.

That's why so many distillers are making tasty unspecified age whiskies.

First post in the scotch thread (you can usually catch me over in the Bourbon thread). Wanted to share what I had yesterday. A local whiskey bar was celebrating their 10th anniv and were pouring some old stuff for cheap. Cheap you say? I say yes, cheap. $10 a pour. It was fun just to say "yes, I'll take a pour of the Glenfiddich 40".

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7e483a8bc4.jpg

Saw the Harald offered for UK62 [MENTION=128682]LHR[/MENTION] last week. I picked up the Einar instead, and saved UK 20. :) I was told that these brands were specifically made for airport distribution and hence had no indication as to age. Not sure how they stack up with the regular Highland Park 12, etc.

That's pretty good ..

I was in this bar in Pau the other week for a wee Armagnac and we got talking about the Springbank price, as you do, and they said their most expensive whisky was a Springbank 25yo at €60 a nip. Ouch!

Being nice folks though, they comped me a dram of Springbank 15yo and another of a blended malt from Douglas Laing, either Rock Oyster or Timorous Beastie.

I remember looking at both bottles that they showed me but I don't remember much else!

Alcohol will do that to you.

Interesting theory.
so it might have been the alcohol?
​​​​​​

Could be. Nice story.

Good night for the right shade of blue (Duke) tonight. Celebrated by killing my Hibiki 21 (finally - bought it 3 years ago and have been savoring it) and enjoying some Hibiki 17 (thankfully reloaded in December in Tokyo) and Yoichi Miyagikyo 12 (sadly almost out of a bottle I bought pre-price spike).

Can say with certainty that Hibiki 17 remains my favorite and I actually give the nod to the Yoichi 12 over the Hibiki 21.

Too bad it's all gotten so expensive. The "Japanese Whisky" price premium on everything these days sucks for those of us who actually enjoy drinking it (rather than just flipping it).

Next goal is to find things that are similar but in the old Japanese Whisky price range.