Nice discussion boys! This is a solid 3/3.5 all day for me. I fricking love this one. I have had some nights, where it is just okay, but on most occasions it's just wonderful. A truly great highland whisky IMO. But opinions will always vary. I know Phil and Deepa also weren't crazy about this one either, so you're not alone on the review front. I read the comments below, particularly your's and Everwind's and I definitely see where he's coming from. One thing I love about you guys is that you do it live, hit record, and give your thoughts off the cuff. And honestly, it's the discussions that keep me coming back. Like Mark's comments here about layers of floral, different kinds of flowers. The comments from a few of you about this being a great example of a malt forward whisky, or Drew saying its missing the sweetness of other OPs that he likes, etc. That's what I always look for more anyway than the actual score. BUT - you guys *do* score, and I think it's only natural that your viewers will gravitate towards those numbers as a sign of your relative perception of the quality of different whiskies - that your system is saying that 4s are better than 3s, 3s are better than 2s, etc. Now, I know that's not always true. Is Monkey Shoulder truly better than Allardice for example? Personally I don't think you're making that argument. The whiskies are being ranked for quality and value so there will be some anomalies. But I do see that it comes across that way sometimes. BUT - I also say don't second guess yourselves too much - stay the course, and keep being yourselves. That's what we like about you. Cheers, fellas.
Still have an unopened of this. Definitely a favorite for me. Surprised by the ratings. Would be a definite 3.5 for me, but I started out loving the 12 and I naturally lean towards the coastal highlands preference wise.
I had quite an experience as you may have seen with the OP21 on my channel. So the OP17 is still my favourite OP. I have a couple nips to do a review and an unopened bottle on my shelf. Still decent value at around £70 especially for a discontinued dram.
I’ve been working on my 17yr for about 2 years now...salty brine on the palette has not softened. For me it was a disappointment. I agree with you guys on your points. Great job!
Steven Owens In my opinion the 12yr is sweeter and easier to drink...my particular 17yr had a strong briny/mineral note that you enjoy for about 1 dram but don’t go back for more.
The profile of OP 17 is a bit different than the current releases. That said, I was at an event this weekend and sampled a 16 year OP single cask @ cast strength a distillery label release... not an independent bottle. amazing stuff.
Very surprised regarding your score. Interestingly, many people don’t enjoy the new bottlings of OP, and prefer the 17/21. Perhaps the S4D have the new OP bottlings as their taste reference, whereas many people use the 17/21 as their reference..
i m def curious to see head to head comparison between this one and the op 18 and even the op 15 which u seem to enjoy better and is quite more affordable! Great video guys keep up the good work, greetings from Austria ;)
I have only had tastes not a bottle. To me, this is amazing Scotch. Not even just "good". Easily a 3.5+ That said, it's priced way to high, so I'm happy with the 12! Thanks for sharing.
I respect you having your opinions. Definitely ran this with expectations too high. $115 in New England area. Does not square with your other reviews. Pals with OP brand ambassador or was a guest or something? Rating highly the new 15 virtually everyone else says is sad and overpriced? Fishy.
We all know likes and dislikes of whisky is totally subjective. OP 17 is an outlier imho compared to other offerings. The 17 is a 3.5 for me any day and everyday. I get a lot more than you guys, i.e. green apples, dried apricots, floral honey, salty malt and tea on the nose. Salted cashews, old dried roses, very dry prunes and mineral maltiness for days on the palate. Very sweet smell but not sweet at all taste. I think OP 17 is smack dab in the middle of peat vs sherry. Reminds me of Oban 18 very much, only better imho...Oh ya why no live Thurs???
OP 17 was Ralfy's whisky of the year for a good reason. 46% ABV NCF No Color added and one of the longest finishes going. As far as value goes it was competitively priced below many other of similar age statements like the Balvenie 17 Doublewood. I liked this better than the 21 because it had a longer finish and better mouthfeel. Malt was very warm and deep. You guys just reviewed the JW Blue and based upon your scores, JW Blue is superior to this whisky at almost double the price...I am not sure I understand where you guys are coming from. You ding OP 17 for price and reflect it your scores but don't for the JW Blue? A whisky with no age statement, 40% abv, colored, and chill filtered.... It seems like you guys put this on a pedestal just to rip it down when it didn't blow you away.
I watch quite a few Whiskytubers and a lot of their scoring is inconsistent. The S4D guys score this low on price failing to take into account that some of that is the premium given it is no longer produced. I paid £60 for this whisky when it was readily available. They did not do the same on the very pricey but quite unremarkable Port Ellen they reviewed which I have tasted and was not a 4 when it sold for around £100 and certainly not for the price it now commands. If price is a factor why was it not taken into account on the $550 25 year old OP they reviewed (and scored 3.5) that is over 4 times the price of the 17 and is good but does not justify the price. I enjoy the guys content but rely more on sites like Whiskybase which sample a lot more opinions and to some extent even out the inconsistencies.
Agree. They have to be more consistent when they take price into consideration. For some bottles they seem to ignore price, while others they judge it harshly
I have to say that your guy's comments kind of bothered me a little. I hear what you're saying but we don't have a list of past reviews in front of us to compare what we just rated. I personally have been struggling to come up with a fair score and try to compare to what I've recently reviewed in my head. Here are a few things I feel I need to share. #1. We do this LIVE every single time. We hit record and go. We typically have enough information to talk about the distillery and basic bottle notes. We don't look at any other reviews and we just try to be honest. #2. We like to think we strive for consistency. Noes, palate, finish, add water and repeat. Think about the masses who are watching us and not just the experts and try to give a rating based on all those combined. #3. It's just an opinion like everyone else out there. More of a ballpark or general direction of guidance. I get that we're on TH-cam giving advice and I feel pretty good about it most of the time. To me, the overall score is just a number to try and help make someone with their buying decision. With 4 of us, I feel like we have an honest combination to rate bottles. Do we mess up sometimes? Absolutely but it comes with the territory and we're ok with that. I just hope you guys enjoy the reviews as a whole and not beat us up too much on the ratings. It's more about the experience, banter and sharing our thoughts. -Drew
@@Scotch4Dummies Drew - I have been watching whiskytubers since Ralfy put out his 5 minute video's in his Glasgow back room 10 years ago and received a few hundred views. From that background I have to say that you are my favourite youtubers and I really enjoy your content even though I am very much further down the whisky road. You are clearly 4 genuine nice guys who are passionate about whisky and are putting out quality videos which is very much down to your skills Drew. Perhaps we remember your past reviews more than you do and therefore identify some of the inconsistencies that are part of human nature. I do think that defining a policy within the 4 of you as to whether price is a factor or not on all reviews would be helpful. I always factor price in even if I am tasting some of the very rare bottles I get to try. For me the videos are mainly about seeing your reaction to the whiskies and I am sorry if you felt any of us were beating you up which was not the intention.
@@Scotch4Dummies nicely said Drew, although I was also surprised by your "low" score (at least 3 in my opinion) in the end it is your opinion, and opinions vary from person to person and that needs to be respected. Maybe what you should do, is to try OP 17 in blind tasting? Keep up with good work
I’m sorry but this absolutely CRUSHED JW Blue at half the price. I really don’t get this at all when you score this lower. You have let this one air out at least 20 minutes before adding any water.
See my other comment reply. I think it's a great bottle and we'll try your advice of letting it sit for 20 mins before adding water on our live show. We don't have that kind of time during our review.
@@Scotch4Dummies Well, your review doesn't make sense then. If you don't have time for this you should be reviewing much younger whiskies. This is misleading and not fair review of one of the greatest whiskies in recent history
Good honest review of an underwhelming, middle of the road, malt. Sometimes our expectations get the better of us and the whisky can then only disappoint. Bought a 21 around the time Jim Murray named it whisky bible whisky of the year (2012) and casually dropped it on my whisky pals. Not one raved about it, nobody wanted to get a bottle but we all thought it was alright, if a little overrated.
The great debate 17 or 21? I am in the 21 camp although the 17 is very good. 17 is a lot easier to find at this point and the stores that still have 21s want $300 for them 17s are all over for $150. Hate to even mention this but the parent company that owns Old Pulteney and Balblair also own AnCnoc. They already rebranded and jacked up the prices of the first two and ended Balblair vintages so AnCnoc is going to be violated any day now. Cheers
Nice discussion boys! This is a solid 3/3.5 all day for me. I fricking love this one. I have had some nights, where it is just okay, but on most occasions it's just wonderful. A truly great highland whisky IMO. But opinions will always vary. I know Phil and Deepa also weren't crazy about this one either, so you're not alone on the review front.
I read the comments below, particularly your's and Everwind's and I definitely see where he's coming from. One thing I love about you guys is that you do it live, hit record, and give your thoughts off the cuff. And honestly, it's the discussions that keep me coming back. Like Mark's comments here about layers of floral, different kinds of flowers. The comments from a few of you about this being a great example of a malt forward whisky, or Drew saying its missing the sweetness of other OPs that he likes, etc. That's what I always look for more anyway than the actual score. BUT - you guys *do* score, and I think it's only natural that your viewers will gravitate towards those numbers as a sign of your relative perception of the quality of different whiskies - that your system is saying that 4s are better than 3s, 3s are better than 2s, etc. Now, I know that's not always true. Is Monkey Shoulder truly better than Allardice for example? Personally I don't think you're making that argument. The whiskies are being ranked for quality and value so there will be some anomalies. But I do see that it comes across that way sometimes. BUT - I also say don't second guess yourselves too much - stay the course, and keep being yourselves. That's what we like about you. Cheers, fellas.
Still have an unopened of this. Definitely a favorite for me.
Surprised by the ratings. Would be a definite 3.5 for me, but I started out loving the 12 and I naturally lean towards the coastal highlands preference wise.
I’m surprised also. This absolutely crushes JW Blue that is nearly double the price yet got a higher score
Who doesn't love OP...I mean really?
One of my favourite whiskies ever always bid on it when it comes on the whisky auctions down to my last three bottles.
I had quite an experience as you may have seen with the OP21 on my channel. So the OP17 is still my favourite OP. I have a couple nips to do a review and an unopened bottle on my shelf. Still decent value at around £70 especially for a discontinued dram.
The 21 is my favorite so far. I did stock up on a couple bottles when it was around.
I’ve been working on my 17yr for about 2 years now...salty brine on the palette has not softened. For me it was a disappointment. I agree with you guys on your points. Great job!
To be fair the 17 never rely has a strong brine note. That is more apparent on the 12 because of its younger age.
Thanks for the comment.
Steven Owens In my opinion the 12yr is sweeter and easier to drink...my particular 17yr had a strong briny/mineral note that you enjoy for about 1 dram but don’t go back for more.
You really need to let this one air out 20-30 minutes. That really brings down the spice notes and allows the sweetness to come through.
The profile of OP 17 is a bit different than the current releases. That said, I was at an event this weekend and sampled a 16 year OP single cask @ cast strength a distillery label release... not an independent bottle. amazing stuff.
Very surprised regarding your score. Interestingly, many people don’t enjoy the new bottlings of OP, and prefer the 17/21. Perhaps the S4D have the new OP bottlings as their taste reference, whereas many people use the 17/21 as their reference..
Interesting. Maybe we can do a blind comparison during a live show and test this out.
i m def curious to see head to head comparison between this one and the op 18 and even the op 15 which u seem to enjoy better and is quite more affordable! Great video guys keep up the good work, greetings from Austria ;)
Came in 2nd place last year for me, 1st was GD 18...
Amazing single malt, if you find it, buy it!!!!!!!
Roger that!
I have only had tastes not a bottle. To me, this is amazing Scotch. Not even just "good". Easily a 3.5+ That said, it's priced way to high, so I'm happy with the 12! Thanks for sharing.
I respect you having your opinions. Definitely ran this with expectations too high. $115 in New England area. Does not square with your other reviews. Pals with OP brand ambassador or was a guest or something? Rating highly the new 15 virtually everyone else says is sad and overpriced? Fishy.
Just finished my last drop of the 17 and I’m sad it’s gone
The OP12 is the best bang for your buck imo. Still get all the great OP flavors $40.See the 17 for $100 all the time. Scotland 2020
OP 12 is amazing maltiness!
OP 12 is a great value. Love that one.
This is my fav OB
well done guys!!
Can only find OP 12 in my area. I can get OP 12 for 45 dollars.
We all know likes and dislikes of whisky is totally subjective. OP 17 is an outlier imho compared to other offerings. The 17 is a 3.5 for me any day and everyday. I get a lot more than you guys, i.e. green apples, dried apricots, floral honey, salty malt and tea on the nose. Salted cashews, old dried roses, very dry prunes and mineral maltiness for days on the palate. Very sweet smell but not sweet at all taste. I think OP 17 is smack dab in the middle of peat vs sherry. Reminds me of Oban 18 very much, only better imho...Oh ya why no live Thurs???
OP 17 was Ralfy's whisky of the year for a good reason. 46% ABV NCF No Color added and one of the longest finishes going. As far as value goes it was competitively priced below many other of similar age statements like the Balvenie 17 Doublewood. I liked this better than the 21 because it had a longer finish and better mouthfeel. Malt was very warm and deep. You guys just reviewed the JW Blue and based upon your scores, JW Blue is superior to this whisky at almost double the price...I am not sure I understand where you guys are coming from. You ding OP 17 for price and reflect it your scores but don't for the JW Blue? A whisky with no age statement, 40% abv, colored, and chill filtered.... It seems like you guys put this on a pedestal just to rip it down when it didn't blow you away.
I watch quite a few Whiskytubers and a lot of their scoring is inconsistent. The S4D guys score this low on price failing to take into account that some of that is the premium given it is no longer produced. I paid £60 for this whisky when it was readily available. They did not do the same on the very pricey but quite unremarkable Port Ellen they reviewed which I have tasted and was not a 4 when it sold for around £100 and certainly not for the price it now commands. If price is a factor why was it not taken into account on the $550 25 year old OP they reviewed (and scored 3.5) that is over 4 times the price of the 17 and is good but does not justify the price. I enjoy the guys content but rely more on sites like Whiskybase which sample a lot more opinions and to some extent even out the inconsistencies.
Agree. They have to be more consistent when they take price into consideration. For some bottles they seem to ignore price, while others they judge it harshly
I have to say that your guy's comments kind of bothered me a little. I hear what you're saying but we don't have a list of past reviews in front of us to compare what we just rated. I personally have been struggling to come up with a fair score and try to compare to what I've recently reviewed in my head. Here are a few things I feel I need to share.
#1. We do this LIVE every single time. We hit record and go. We typically have enough information to talk about the distillery and basic bottle notes. We don't look at any other reviews and we just try to be honest.
#2. We like to think we strive for consistency. Noes, palate, finish, add water and repeat. Think about the masses who are watching us and not just the experts and try to give a rating based on all those combined.
#3. It's just an opinion like everyone else out there. More of a ballpark or general direction of guidance. I get that we're on TH-cam giving advice and I feel pretty good about it most of the time. To me, the overall score is just a number to try and help make someone with their buying decision. With 4 of us, I feel like we have an honest combination to rate bottles. Do we mess up sometimes? Absolutely but it comes with the territory and we're ok with that.
I just hope you guys enjoy the reviews as a whole and not beat us up too much on the ratings. It's more about the experience, banter and sharing our thoughts.
-Drew
@@Scotch4Dummies Drew - I have been watching whiskytubers since Ralfy put out his 5 minute video's in his Glasgow back room 10 years ago and received a few hundred views. From that background I have to say that you are my favourite youtubers and I really enjoy your content even though I am very much further down the whisky road. You are clearly 4 genuine nice guys who are passionate about whisky and are putting out quality videos which is very much down to your skills Drew. Perhaps we remember your past reviews more than you do and therefore identify some of the inconsistencies that are part of human nature. I do think that defining a policy within the 4 of you as to whether price is a factor or not on all reviews would be helpful. I always factor price in even if I am tasting some of the very rare bottles I get to try. For me the videos are mainly about seeing your reaction to the whiskies and I am sorry if you felt any of us were beating you up which was not the intention.
@@Scotch4Dummies nicely said Drew, although I was also surprised by your "low" score (at least 3 in my opinion) in the end it is your opinion, and opinions vary from person to person and that needs to be respected.
Maybe what you should do, is to try OP 17 in blind tasting?
Keep up with good work
I’m sorry but this absolutely CRUSHED JW Blue at half the price. I really don’t get this at all when you score this lower. You have let this one air out at least 20 minutes before adding any water.
See my other comment reply. I think it's a great bottle and we'll try your advice of letting it sit for 20 mins before adding water on our live show. We don't have that kind of time during our review.
@@Scotch4Dummies Well, your review doesn't make sense then. If you don't have time for this you should be reviewing much younger whiskies. This is misleading and not fair review of one of the greatest whiskies in recent history
I believe most, if not all of you, claim to be OP fans. I'd be interested in hearing which OP expression makes you a "fan"?
Good honest review of an underwhelming, middle of the road, malt. Sometimes our expectations get the better of us and the whisky can then only disappoint. Bought a 21 around the time Jim Murray named it whisky bible whisky of the year (2012) and casually dropped it on my whisky pals. Not one raved about it, nobody wanted to get a bottle but we all thought it was alright, if a little overrated.
The great debate 17 or 21? I am in the 21 camp although the 17 is very good. 17 is a lot easier to find at this point and the stores that still have 21s want $300 for them 17s are all over for $150. Hate to even mention this but the parent company that owns Old Pulteney and Balblair also own AnCnoc. They already rebranded and jacked up the prices of the first two and ended Balblair vintages so AnCnoc is going to be violated any day now. Cheers
debate or not, I'll drink them both!
Late to the party of OP.
The 21 is a bit pricy these days. 🤔
Because it's discontinued....price will only continue to climb as it disappears! ~Mark
@@Scotch4Dummies 4 Years ago € 100 /today maybe €400 if you are Lucky. I think I check the 17 one day. 😉
Sup
Now on fb if you want the truth Look for Lee EightTen Bird