I must admit I have been a sucker many times over in my Scotch journey. I own many Dalmore and McCallan whiskeys that now just sit on my shelves. Not for some time now and never again thanks to paying attention to Ralfy and other like him on TH-cam. Never believe price equals quality. I have learned to pay attention to integrity bottling and that has changed my tasting experiences for the better in every way imaginable. Thanks Ralfy for your time, efforts, and knowledge put into reviews.
Awesome Rant that needed to be said! Thank you Ralfy!! Because if sites like yours the public is so much better informed! Every time I go to the shop those brands are loaded to the gills. People are not buying them! Change or die!
I applaude you for speaking out so frankly. It was high time sb mentioned all these grievances and enlightened people about it and i think you're totally right with everything you said. Steady as you go mate!
Aussie here. Earlier this year I traveled to Scotland and stopped by Glen Ord (singleton) distillery on my way back to Glasgow from the highlands. Immediately I felt that fakeness of branding that comes with every newly renovated Diageo distillery (they all look the same). The whisky was very sanitised and dull. Back in Glasgow I stopped by the Bon accord and by coincidence they had Ralfy’s Indi bottling of single cask, cask strength glen ord behind the bar. I cannot stress how profoundly different the whisky experience was. It was insanely good, and I just couldn’t fathom how a distillery could make such exceptionally high quality whisky but decide to castrate and sanitise their official representations of the brand.
I absolutely love this video! I know none of the distilleries mentioned here will wake up but at least someone shared his honest feelings about their PRODUCTS. Good job Ralfy!
Ledaig 18 still around 90 quid as well ( another Ralfy favourite) worth noting deanston and ledaig have the same parent company I believe so are still delivering great whisky across their range
Just had an email today in Ireland with a bottle of the week special offer. Talisker 18..... only €210. And btw, that was more than a rant. It was a cutting critique in fact.
It's still around 150 euros at most online retailers, 130ish in sale (but not avabilable at that price all the time, unlike the 10 for 30 euros). Any store asking more is just ripping you off.
Love Deanston holds a very special place in my heart and whisky journey..have some land that a river flows through Balquhidder that the water in Deanston whisky has in it…it’s a great distillery tae visit as well as it was originally a cotton mill designed by Richard arkwright who designed and built a lot of mills in Derbyshire England they also built the houses next tae the mill which is worth the visit alone tae see it’s also the only distillery in Scotland to be self-sufficient in electricity, with power generated by an on-site hydro-energy facility.
Completely agree with you, Ralfy. Recently got my hands on an independent bottling of a Dalmore from the SMWS. I enjoyed it immensely, being reminded that there's often good whisky in there that never sees the light of day prior to being chill filtered and watered down in the standard releases.
Well said sir! The wonderful thing and also our advantage is choice. I choose to buy Deanston, Arran, Port Charlotte, Springbank, Kilkerran and not Macallan or Dalmore. Thanks to your channel we consumers are much better educated. 😃🙌🏾
I think all of us have been given an education the past couple of years in prices being grossly inflated by sheer corporate greed. Nothing is untouched, it seems.
Thank you for covering important points like "age statement is just a guideline" and "quality of oak casks". Just as so many new whisky destillerys arrive in the market with partly incredible finishings in good quality casks an 8 or 10 year old spirit can outperform a 16 year old 40% chill filtered whisky, double the price. It's just as simple as Ralphy says, read the internet statements, watch tastings, decide for yourself and use your nose and tongue to decide good brands from show off brands. Thanks you for your opinion Ralphy, it's appreciated.
Yes, that 48% expression was the 1 Litre Travel retail exclusive. Very tasty stuff but not as good as the 70cl versions that were bottled at Cask Strength. I'm going to make you jealous now. A few years ago I came across a sweets, nuts and gift shop at the Bar Ilan junction in Jerusalem, selling bottles of the Nadurra 16 for a ridiculously cheap price. They had 6 bottles there. I bought them all and still have 3 left.😁😁😁😁😁
@@RebMordechaiReviews 😂 You are right, I am extremely envious! I have a similar story about the old Scapa 16 yr old, of which me and a friend found 6 bottles on an obscure website, for way under the rrp and between us snaffled them up! It’s still the best tasting 40%abv whisky I’ve tasted and not just because of the price!! 😀
@@jimster24 Ha Ha. We seem to have similar tastes in quality whisky. I also have a few bottles of Scapa 16 and 14 in my "stash". What a sad situation that Scapa is prevented (I'm using my words carefully), from producing the excellent spirit we know they can produce. If Pernod Ricard don't want to invest in Scapa and allow it to grow then they should sell it to someone else. It's simply abuse by neglect, IMO.
@@dram_kruzhok Are you by any chance referring to one of the first and arguably one of the best Cask Strength Nàdurra16 batches, from 2006, which was 59.2% abv? I think it was Batch 1206B. The Nàdurra 16, which began in 2003 as a Duty Free Exclusive ,1 Litre bottled at 48%, unlike all other Glenlivets, was bottled at high abv, Non Chill Filtered and natural colour, hence the name 'Nàdurra" which means "natural" in Scots Gaelic! They then introduced the cask Strength batches (700/750ml) into local markets. Ironically, as cask quality gradually went down over the years, they started added E150a colouring to later editions of natural "Nàdurra" until the 16 was discontinued around 2014. Watch out for the very first batches of the "New" Nàdurra First-Fill No-Age Statements from 2015 which went back to being Non-Chill-Filtered and natural Colour and bottled at a whopping 63.1% abv !!!! They were amazing. Sadly, recent batches have been disappointingly thin on flavour.
I am sticking to independent bottlings, GlenAllachie, Arran, Glencadam, Kilkerran, Deanston and Bruichladdich. I am not buying from these corporate sausages again.
@@drpapa26👍. Unfortunately with each passing year it seems the scotch whisky industry is becoming more & more consolidated amongst a few major players, and it's getting progressively harder to avoid Diageo & Pernod Ricard's tentacles. And unfortunately even by going the IB route, we're still often lining the megacorps' pockets (they're selling the spirit to IB's in the first place) - but we can at least take some comfort in the fact that they're getting a considerably smaller chunk of our money in buying IB's vs. OB's. (Edit: typo)
The best Dalmore whisky I ever had was a Gordon & Macphail independant 57.4% bottling, it was an amazing experience and just shows what Dalmore is capable off ! Its a massive shame they ( Dalmore) seem to put profit first over quality !!
Good rant Ralfy. I’ve never had a Dalmore or a Macallan, and unless something happens on their side, I’m going to keep it that way. The Glenlivet Nadurra is quite good (at least my version), but I’m done with the official bottles (even though it was my “gateway” to single malt). Wish you a great week 😊
Can drop it to £58.20 right now with the additional subscribe & save discount - free to do & you can immediately cancel after ordering. I think Deanston 18 is worth ~ £90-100, at under £60 it's virtually unbeatable value.
We do love a Ralfy rant! and every word of this one is so TRUE!! Let's hope the days of distillery marketing BS come to an end soon but I doubt they will anytime soon
I know bourbon has its problems too, but one of the reasons I prefer bourbon to Scotch is that it is required to use new casks each time it is barrelled. Also, no artificial coloring is allowed. Futhurmore, the bottled and bond act helps ensure a quality standard. I think Scotch needs stricter regulations.
In England we get ripped off generally with Scotch, proofed down, better deals in the states! Then like you say quite a few issues that put you off, I'll stick to the better value here £30 for Eagle Rare when it's on offer in my local supermarket!
Glenlivet Illicit edition is the only bottle from them I’ve ever thought to be even close to excellent. And it’s both fair priced and fair quality at a high ABV. More of this please!
The 16 year Nadurra is a classic Ralfy review. But to wash out a Laphroaig cask with Glenlivet NAS and ask $100 is shit. The illicit is very good and I'm tempted by some single casks but I thank my lucky stars everyday that I never spent a penny on any 40% corporate whisky. Actually it was all Ralfy and 46% just seemed like a better value.
Your feelings were well vented. Ralfy, you certainly let fly and thanks for highlighting the offenders. Thanks to you I’m no longer buying whisky at 40% ABV, but buying nothing less than 46.3% ABV and for the reasons you are always mentioning in your reviews. Thanks again for your advice, which is so honest. And now to my bottle of Deanston 12y/o.
I have a feeling this rant might actually be noticed by some of the "old boys" in the industry. I hope they peruse the comments, too. The reality is, though: the single malt market is bifurcated - there are the geeks/aficionados (Malt Mates), and then there are the status-flashers who buy bottles for conspicuous consumption. The truly (filthy) rich aren't buying overpriced core range malts, they are snapping up the truly rare dusty bottles, no matter the price - these bottles are out of reach of any of us mere mortals. It's the people with slightly more wealth than median (aka upper middle class) who want to feel rich, they buy the luxury labels to project and flaunt their wealth. "Good luck to them". And some brands realized that it's lucrative to cater to them. Oh, well. I don't miss Macallan, Dalmore or Glendronach. I do miss Lagavulin and Bowmore, but not enough to buy them. There are more independently bottled and even officially bottled malts out there than most of us can ever taste, and many of them are like this Deanston 18.
It's very good to see a few groups like CVH, Adelphi, Angus Dundee, Isle of Arran and J&A Mitchel that are still charging fairly for their whiskies. It's our role, as consumers, to stop buying those that aren't treating us fairly....
Non chill filtered on the label doesn't always mean it hasn't been barrier filtered into oblivion. I put the Classic Laddie in my fridge with water and it was cloudy next morning. I tryed it with a Laphroaig non chill filtered and it wasn't very cloudy...a little.
I have seen another whisky blog today that intimates that the market is saturated and that some distilleries are slowing down and/or stopping production at some sites. Reselling / Flipping market starting to be affected, which is good news as some bargains to be gotten.
one other problem though is...we dont want other distilleries to end up like springbank where they cant make it quick enough and prices have spiralled, you are lucky to see a 10 let alone a 15 or an 18 these days, which is a crying shame and its basically vanished from shops
I have always enjoyed a dram in the pub. I have been watching this channel for a few years, mainly out of curiosity and Ralphie's personable nature and the obvious passion and expertise he has given us malt mates for years for free. Well, I've finally taken the plunge after doing a lot of research from channels such as Ralphies and bought my first 4 whiskys. And I feel very excited to be beginning my whisky journey proper, and safe in the knowledge that I will be, on the whole, able to avoid the trash, mass produced and conniving marketing waffle of some bigger brands. I am looking for a local group, but it began here. So thank you Ralphie, and Slàinte! to all the malt mates out there.
As long as there paying more for there advertising as opposed to investing in there whisky the Dalmores etc will always be there, because there's always high rollers with no budget looking to impress in fancy hotels golf clubs etc and there's always the 'airport exclusives' or 'xmas' presents that the occasional buyers will buy, shame - as Ralphy has said previously, a higher integrity Dalmore etc should be special .......If I hadn't found this channel a few years back I would more than likely never experienced Arran, Glenallachie, Kilkerran etc I'd still be sipping away with Glenfiddich 12 & Glenmorangie 10 without realising the better quality for same outlay that is out there..and not only that getting a better experience to boot, I'm now looking more at the nosing and overall drinking experience, add a little water, little more, see the change....Ralphy I doff my hat at you, well played over the years sir.
There is another category: price offenders. Those which offer 46% abv. but have significantly upped prices of older bottlings not justified by economic demands. To name 2 that come to mind: Glencadam and Glen Scotia.
Oh, this is so true. I am more then 20 years on my whisky-journey. And since I like to drink my whisky, I am not paying 100ts of Euro. But the last 5-7 years the prices of 12-15 yo Whiskeys are going up like crazy. And then the big distillers came up with the Idea of making brand-names without any info about year or cask. I am really fed up with this and so I am more and more turning away from scotch, especially the big brands. Because you can get high quality Irish whiskeys and there are really good Bourbons if you search the web. Japanese whiskeys are also fine, but way to expansive. Thanks to ralfy I know, there are some scotch whisky brands, that can be trusted (like the Craigellachie 13 yo armagnac, i bought in june). But they are hard to get here on the continent. And since Brexit the prices are even higher in the EU, then in the UK.
Another interesting, good Ralfy Rant! I won't buy a 40-43% bottle at a price that I know I can get a 46% bottle for. As for releasing higher age statement bottlings at 40-43%, I don't understand why they do this. Why would you go to the effort and expense of maturing something for 15, 18 or 21 years or more, just to chill-filter it and strip out a big chunk of flavour? That doesn't make sense to me. I wonder if the owners of these companies who are making these decisions actually drink their whisky. But I really feel bad for the production people actually making the whisky at some of these "high-priced brand" distilleries. They are often producing good whisky, as can be attested to by the IBs who are purchasing their distillate and releasing good whiskies. But the owners make decisions that diminish their work and instead choose to pay mega bucks in marketing and advertising. I would hate to work for a company like that. And now to make things worse, some of the larger players are reducing what they make available to IBs which means the work and skill of these production people will be even further diminished. I think it is good that Ralfy and other whiskytubers are calling this out and raising our awareness. There are good people at these distilleries who are producing good whisky. But the owners need a wakeup call. Cheers!
I would like to see this kind of clairvoyance be more general instead of all the manipulaation and hypocricy we usually are surrounded with. Thanks Ralfy, and mates, please remember to click "like".
Oh how the Captain of the ship sees troubles with the usual routes taken. Change it up, and stick to those lesser travelled! I do appreciate a good Captain to lead the way! Thank you Ralfy!
I did a tour at Deanston distillery and fell in love with the whisky and honesty of the workers at the place.If you get a chance pay them a visit and support them by buying the beautiful whisky!
Ardbeg turned me off a good while ago with the 'Play School' branding. Their marketing and design department must be twice the size of the production department. Fair dues though they still have integrity bottles - just ridiculous prices.
@@jamesw6403 Not sure if you've seen the latest, but details of two upcoming Ardbeg bottlings have been released - even by their recent Ardbeg Day / Committee limited release standards, they were shockingly bad. First up was the return of Ardbeg 17yr after a 20'ish year hiatus. An older age statement from Ardbeg, tough to go wrong with that, right? Well... they've decided to bottle it at 40% ABV. And secondly, they've just announced details of the next iteration of Ardbeg Anthology, which will be a 15yr called The Beithir's Tale... The labelling contains a real howler, or as Ralfy would say, absolute flannel - "special designer charred casks". Special designer casks? What utter bollocks. Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy advertising strikes again. I just hope to hell they don't touch the core range.
Remember the Campaign for Real Ale? It got rid of the Watney's of this world and gave everyone a chance to drink the traditional-style cask bitters that require a hand-pump and bar staff that know how to keep their ales. It was a very successful campaign. Ralfy is a one-man campaign for real malt whisky. That's why we listen to him. That's why we need him.
Well done Ralfy. I love it when you don’t pull your punches. I will forward this to our small whisky group in Ontario. By the way I picked up the Deanston 18 for a less than 90 pounds and will toast you when I get a chance to share it with my Canadian malt mates. Bravo.
Went to Scotland last year with my sons. Tried to enter the Macallan property and was told if I didn't have an appointment for a tour or a tasting I was to move on........ Never again Macallan, Never again! You can just bugger off.
It is typical for Dalmore to add colouring to their whiskies. That process goes all the way up the range to the 20 + year old versions which can cost thousands.
Ralfy, don't ever stop ranting (occasionally)! There's no way to measure how much your ranting contributed to more and more distilleries releasing "integrity" bottlings, even exclusively. But I'm certain that it's not a trivial measure. This particular soap box now has an audience in the hundreds of thousands (not all who watch are subscribers). This thing has legs now. It's been fascinating to watch!
Whisky world needs more such rants! Things have to be said, brands have to be named. By independent aficionados and informed and experienced experts like Ralfy. Thank you!
What do all these malts have in common? Parent company owenrship. Dalmore is owned by Whyte & Mackay. Macallan is owned by Edrington. Glenlivet is owned by William Grant's. Glengoyne is owned by Ian Macleod. The only language that talks to a multi-national corporation is pure and simple profit at the absolute expense of product quality.
Thanks you dear Ralfy… I am enjoying a Tobermory 12 as I watch. Interesting it is also 46,3%. I am enjoying all your advice and guidance. Grazie 🙏 ciao, S.
Interesting comment about your freedom to express an opinion. A guy with a small off-road channel in Australia tested a brand of battery for his 4wd vehicle. He found the battery didn't perform to the advertised specs, said so, and swapped it out for another brand. The company is suing him. The case has attracted international attention. If the company didn't know about the Streisand effect already they certainly do now. Hopefully the unfavourable publicity will dissuade other companies from pursuing similar litigation.
What do you think of Thompson Bros bottlings? I've had one of their Blair Athols recently and really enjoyed it. They've got some nice labels as well, but what do you reckon about the quality of their product?
Finally Ralfy is naming the worst offending distilleries!
The usual suspects, as always
Almost half an hour of a Ralfy rant?…. Yep, I’m pouring a dram and sitting tight for this. Great viewing guaranteed 😎
I must admit I have been a sucker many times over in my Scotch journey. I own many Dalmore and McCallan whiskeys that now just sit on my shelves. Not for some time now and never again thanks to paying attention to Ralfy and other like him on TH-cam. Never believe price equals quality. I have learned to pay attention to integrity bottling and that has changed my tasting experiences for the better in every way imaginable. Thanks Ralfy for your time, efforts, and knowledge put into reviews.
Awesome Rant that needed to be said! Thank you Ralfy!! Because if sites like yours the public is so much better informed! Every time I go to the shop those brands are loaded to the gills. People are not buying them! Change or die!
Now, Now, Ralfy, no holding back.
Always remember, everyone, you don't NEED alcohol, alcohol needs YOU.
Thank you for your honest and straightforward appraisal.
I applaude you for speaking out so frankly. It was high time sb mentioned all these grievances and enlightened people about it and i think you're totally right with everything you said. Steady as you go mate!
Aussie here. Earlier this year I traveled to Scotland and stopped by Glen Ord (singleton) distillery on my way back to Glasgow from the highlands. Immediately I felt that fakeness of branding that comes with every newly renovated Diageo distillery (they all look the same). The whisky was very sanitised and dull. Back in Glasgow I stopped by the Bon accord and by coincidence they had Ralfy’s Indi bottling of single cask, cask strength glen ord behind the bar. I cannot stress how profoundly different the whisky experience was. It was insanely good, and I just couldn’t fathom how a distillery could make such exceptionally high quality whisky but decide to castrate and sanitise their official representations of the brand.
"Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value: zero. " Voltaire.
The intrinsic value of paper "money" is the value of the actual paper.
This rant was epic and on point. Love that you're not afraid to say what needs to be said about the industry!
I absolutely love this video! I know none of the distilleries mentioned here will wake up but at least someone shared his honest feelings about their PRODUCTS. Good job Ralfy!
Thank you for keeping it real. I appreciate you Ralfy. Voices like yours are so important. I hope you are heard.
Ledaig 18 still around 90 quid as well ( another Ralfy favourite) worth noting deanston and ledaig have the same parent company I believe so are still delivering great whisky across their range
Just had an email today in Ireland with a bottle of the week special offer. Talisker 18..... only €210. And btw, that was more than a rant. It was a cutting critique in fact.
It's still around 150 euros at most online retailers, 130ish in sale (but not avabilable at that price all the time, unlike the 10 for 30 euros). Any store asking more is just ripping you off.
One of Ralfy's best videos!
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Well said & you speak for me too.
Love Deanston holds a very special place in my heart and whisky journey..have some land that a river flows through Balquhidder that the water in Deanston whisky has in it…it’s a great distillery tae visit as well as it was originally a cotton mill designed by Richard arkwright who designed and built a lot of mills in Derbyshire England they also built the houses next tae the mill which is worth the visit alone tae see it’s also the only distillery in Scotland to be self-sufficient in electricity, with power generated by an on-site hydro-energy facility.
Completely agree with you, Ralfy. Recently got my hands on an independent bottling of a Dalmore from the SMWS. I enjoyed it immensely, being reminded that there's often good whisky in there that never sees the light of day prior to being chill filtered and watered down in the standard releases.
Well said sir! The wonderful thing and also our advantage is choice. I choose to buy Deanston, Arran, Port Charlotte, Springbank, Kilkerran and not Macallan or Dalmore. Thanks to your channel we consumers are much better educated. 😃🙌🏾
%100 Agree ralfy, thank you for your help in navigating the world of whisky.
Thank you Ralfy, time well spent, some things needed to be said.
Preach it, Ralfy! Wonderful rant, thanks for all you do for us whsky fans. Cheers, mate!
Thanks for the rant. Learning more every day from you. I will be joining your Patreon for even more information.
I think all of us have been given an education the past couple of years in prices being grossly inflated by sheer corporate greed. Nothing is untouched, it seems.
Thank you for covering important points like "age statement is just a guideline" and "quality of oak casks". Just as so many new whisky destillerys arrive in the market with partly incredible finishings in good quality casks an 8 or 10 year old spirit can outperform a 16 year old 40% chill filtered whisky, double the price. It's just as simple as Ralphy says, read the internet statements, watch tastings, decide for yourself and use your nose and tongue to decide good brands from show off brands. Thanks you for your opinion Ralphy, it's appreciated.
The ‘original’ Glenlivet ‘Nadurra’ 16 yr old whisky @ 48% abv, is a stunning dram…
Yes, that 48% expression was the 1 Litre Travel retail exclusive. Very tasty stuff but not as good as the 70cl versions that were bottled at Cask Strength. I'm going to make you jealous now. A few years ago I came across a sweets, nuts and gift shop at the Bar Ilan junction in Jerusalem, selling bottles of the Nadurra 16 for a ridiculously cheap price. They had 6 bottles there. I bought them all and still have 3 left.😁😁😁😁😁
@@RebMordechaiReviews 😂 You are right, I am extremely envious! I have a similar story about the old Scapa 16 yr old, of which me and a friend found 6 bottles on an obscure website, for way under the rrp and between us snaffled them up! It’s still the best tasting 40%abv whisky I’ve tasted and not just because of the price!! 😀
@@jimster24 Ha Ha. We seem to have similar tastes in quality whisky. I also have a few bottles of Scapa 16 and 14 in my "stash".
What a sad situation that Scapa is prevented (I'm using my words carefully), from producing the excellent spirit we know they can produce.
If Pernod Ricard don't want to invest in Scapa and allow it to grow then they should sell it to someone else. It's simply abuse by neglect, IMO.
in the US they were batch-strength, so closer to 60% (varied by batch). Stunning, indeed! I don't think I ever bought a Glenlivet since.
@@dram_kruzhok Are you by any chance referring to one of the first and arguably one of the best Cask Strength Nàdurra16 batches, from 2006, which was 59.2% abv? I think it was Batch 1206B. The Nàdurra 16, which began in 2003 as a Duty Free Exclusive ,1 Litre bottled at 48%, unlike all other Glenlivets, was bottled at high abv, Non Chill Filtered and natural colour, hence the name 'Nàdurra" which means "natural" in Scots Gaelic! They then introduced the cask Strength batches (700/750ml) into local markets.
Ironically, as cask quality gradually went down over the years, they started added E150a colouring to later editions of natural "Nàdurra" until the 16 was discontinued around 2014.
Watch out for the very first batches of the "New" Nàdurra First-Fill No-Age Statements from 2015 which went back to being Non-Chill-Filtered and natural Colour and bottled at a whopping 63.1% abv !!!! They were amazing. Sadly, recent batches have been disappointingly thin on flavour.
I am sticking to independent bottlings, GlenAllachie, Arran, Glencadam, Kilkerran, Deanston and Bruichladdich. I am not buying from these corporate sausages again.
All top TOP stuff brother
@@drpapa26👍. Unfortunately with each passing year it seems the scotch whisky industry is becoming more & more consolidated amongst a few major players, and it's getting progressively harder to avoid Diageo & Pernod Ricard's tentacles. And unfortunately even by going the IB route, we're still often lining the megacorps' pockets (they're selling the spirit to IB's in the first place) - but we can at least take some comfort in the fact that they're getting a considerably smaller chunk of our money in buying IB's vs. OB's.
(Edit: typo)
What a coincidence, lm exactly the same.
Condescending flatulence!!! 😂 Tell 'em Ralfy
...On fire Ralfy .... The premium whisky segment is like the US stock market . . detached from reality.
Hello Ralfy, I agree and I thank you for your video. Many people would save their money if they had listened to your advice. 👍🏻🥃
The best Dalmore whisky I ever had was a Gordon & Macphail independant 57.4% bottling, it was an amazing experience and just shows what Dalmore is capable off ! Its a massive shame they ( Dalmore) seem to put profit first over quality !!
@@burkeredh Costs between $150-200 USD in America
@@burkeredh their Vintage 18 yo is up to $300 USD, but is at good strength and non chillfiltered
Good rant Ralfy. I’ve never had a Dalmore or a Macallan, and unless something happens on their side, I’m going to keep it that way. The Glenlivet Nadurra is quite good (at least my version), but I’m done with the official bottles (even though it was my “gateway” to single malt). Wish you a great week 😊
Thanks Ralfy.. Just bought a bottle of the Deanston 18 at £64.67 special offer on Amazon.. Value!
Thanks for the heads up on that Deanston 18 price - I just bought one. Bargain price. Slainte !
Nice 1, better than £89 from whisky exchange!
Thanks,got one as well
Can drop it to £58.20 right now with the additional subscribe & save discount - free to do & you can immediately cancel after ordering. I think Deanston 18 is worth ~ £90-100, at under £60 it's virtually unbeatable value.
I loves me a good RaRa (Ralfy Rant)! Thanks, true, informative and entertaining.
IF ONLY THE DISTILLERIES WOULD LISTEN. they would sell so much more and we would be happy with our purchases
I was watching this on another device and i logged in on purpose to say i support the "rant" 100%!
Macallan 18 at 4 times the price of the Deanston 18!
That's daylight robbery, and it needs calling out!
Thank you, Ralfy.
Thanks, Ralfy. We need it.
I love a good Ralfy Rant, this did not disappoint!
Phenomenal rant Ralfy. 👍
Well said Ralfy. At Amazon in UK £64 or £58 with subscription, just remember to cancel after first order.
I love a good ralfy rant
We do love a Ralfy rant! and every word of this one is so TRUE!! Let's hope the days of distillery marketing BS come to an end soon but I doubt they will anytime soon
I hate the word 'rare', rare my arse, warehouses are full of these 'rare' casks
@@jasonmossman3680they are rare indeed because they are so far out of quality 😅
I know bourbon has its problems too, but one of the reasons I prefer bourbon to Scotch is that it is required to use new casks each time it is barrelled. Also, no artificial coloring is allowed. Futhurmore, the bottled and bond act helps ensure a quality standard. I think Scotch needs stricter regulations.
In England we get ripped off generally with Scotch, proofed down, better deals in the states! Then like you say quite a few issues that put you off, I'll stick to the better value here £30 for Eagle Rare when it's on offer in my local supermarket!
Very well told Ralfy. I love Deanston and Arran. I would love to tast Glengoyne and Balvenie unchillfiltered natural color 46%. I hope some day.
Glenlivet Illicit edition is the only bottle from them I’ve ever thought to be even close to excellent. And it’s both fair priced and fair quality at a high ABV. More of this please!
The 16 year Nadurra is a classic Ralfy review. But to wash out a Laphroaig cask with Glenlivet NAS and ask $100 is shit.
The illicit is very good and I'm tempted by some single casks but I thank my lucky stars everyday that I never spent a penny on any 40% corporate whisky.
Actually it was all Ralfy and 46% just seemed like a better value.
Absolutely great rant. Really appreciate the honesty and that you have remained true to yourself over the years.
Your feelings were well vented. Ralfy, you certainly let fly and thanks for highlighting the offenders. Thanks to you I’m no longer buying whisky at 40% ABV, but buying nothing less than 46.3% ABV and for the reasons you are always mentioning in your reviews. Thanks again for your advice, which is so honest. And now to my bottle of Deanston 12y/o.
I have a feeling this rant might actually be noticed by some of the "old boys" in the industry. I hope they peruse the comments, too. The reality is, though: the single malt market is bifurcated - there are the geeks/aficionados (Malt Mates), and then there are the status-flashers who buy bottles for conspicuous consumption. The truly (filthy) rich aren't buying overpriced core range malts, they are snapping up the truly rare dusty bottles, no matter the price - these bottles are out of reach of any of us mere mortals. It's the people with slightly more wealth than median (aka upper middle class) who want to feel rich, they buy the luxury labels to project and flaunt their wealth. "Good luck to them". And some brands realized that it's lucrative to cater to them. Oh, well. I don't miss Macallan, Dalmore or Glendronach. I do miss Lagavulin and Bowmore, but not enough to buy them. There are more independently bottled and even officially bottled malts out there than most of us can ever taste, and many of them are like this Deanston 18.
It's very good to see a few groups like CVH, Adelphi, Angus Dundee, Isle of Arran and J&A Mitchel that are still charging fairly for their whiskies. It's our role, as consumers, to stop buying those that aren't treating us fairly....
Great video! Same thing is happening in cigars, at least in terms of flannel marketing and crazy prices!
I presume Richard Patterson isnt coming to the Bothy with his bottle of Dalmore 18!😂
Absolutly love this .... one of Ralfy´s best :)
Non chill filtered on the label doesn't always mean it hasn't been barrier filtered into oblivion. I put the Classic Laddie in my fridge with water and it was cloudy next morning. I tryed it with a Laphroaig non chill filtered and it wasn't very cloudy...a little.
Deanston, Ancnoc, Glen Scotia & Tomatin, all solid 18 year olds, all still available under 100 pounds (in Germany at least)
Ledaig 18 too (mostly). One of the finest core range 18yo too imo
In Hungary you cant get Deanston 18 right now, Ancnoc Tomatin are 100 pounds (125 euros), Glen Scotia is 115 pounds, Ledaig is 120 pounds.
@@NeilImmortal Loch Lomond & Speyburn are two more very solid, integrity bottled 18yr olds that are very good value at ~ £80-90.
Quite the rant. Nothiing better than some honesty from someone you trust.
You’re a precious gem ralfy, rant on love, rant on
I have seen another whisky blog today that intimates that the market is saturated and that some distilleries are slowing down and/or stopping production at some sites. Reselling / Flipping market starting to be affected, which is good news as some bargains to be gotten.
one other problem though is...we dont want other distilleries to end up like springbank where they cant make it quick enough and prices have spiralled, you are lucky to see a 10 let alone a 15 or an 18 these days, which is a crying shame and its basically vanished from shops
This is literally what I think by quite a long time. Hopefully Diageo's ears are ringing loudly.
I have always enjoyed a dram in the pub. I have been watching this channel for a few years, mainly out of curiosity and Ralphie's personable nature and the obvious passion and expertise he has given us malt mates for years for free. Well, I've finally taken the plunge after doing a lot of research from channels such as Ralphies and bought my first 4 whiskys. And I feel very excited to be beginning my whisky journey proper, and safe in the knowledge that I will be, on the whole, able to avoid the trash, mass produced and conniving marketing waffle of some bigger brands. I am looking for a local group, but it began here. So thank you Ralphie, and Slàinte! to all the malt mates out there.
As long as there paying more for there advertising as opposed to investing in there whisky the Dalmores etc will always be there, because there's always high rollers with no budget looking to impress in fancy hotels golf clubs etc and there's always the 'airport exclusives' or 'xmas' presents that the occasional buyers will buy, shame - as Ralphy has said previously, a higher integrity Dalmore etc should be special .......If I hadn't found this channel a few years back I would more than likely never experienced Arran, Glenallachie, Kilkerran etc I'd still be sipping away with Glenfiddich 12 & Glenmorangie 10 without realising the better quality for same outlay that is out there..and not only that getting a better experience to boot, I'm now looking more at the nosing and overall drinking experience, add a little water, little more, see the change....Ralphy I doff my hat at you, well played over the years sir.
I rate this rant a 10/10. Bravo!
We need a rally top 50 for value and availability list asap
vote for the OSWAs and we may get that list!
There is another category: price offenders. Those which offer 46% abv. but have significantly upped prices of older bottlings not justified by economic demands. To name 2 that come to mind: Glencadam and Glen Scotia.
Always enjoy dropping in at the bothy to hear a Ralfyrant!
Very informative rant, Sir, thank you!
There comes a point where the integrity of the trust associated with a piece of paper is worth more than a bottle of dishonestly priced whiskey.
Oh, this is so true. I am more then 20 years on my whisky-journey. And since I like to drink my whisky, I am not paying 100ts of Euro. But the last 5-7 years the prices of 12-15 yo Whiskeys are going up like crazy. And then the big distillers came up with the Idea of making brand-names without any info about year or cask. I am really fed up with this and so I am more and more turning away from scotch, especially the big brands. Because you can get high quality Irish whiskeys and there are really good Bourbons if you search the web. Japanese whiskeys are also fine, but way to expansive.
Thanks to ralfy I know, there are some scotch whisky brands, that can be trusted (like the Craigellachie 13 yo armagnac, i bought in june). But they are hard to get here on the continent. And since Brexit the prices are even higher in the EU, then in the UK.
"Condescending Flatulance!" - My highlight. Great Rant Ralfy!
Amazing rant as always, and I couldn't agree more. We have to leave the brands that take the piss behind.
Cheers 🥃
Time for a Speyburn 18 review Ralfy? Can be had for around £85 and it's 46% and non chil-filtered.
Agreed
Another interesting, good Ralfy Rant! I won't buy a 40-43% bottle at a price that I know I can get a 46% bottle for. As for releasing higher age statement bottlings at 40-43%, I don't understand why they do this. Why would you go to the effort and expense of maturing something for 15, 18 or 21 years or more, just to chill-filter it and strip out a big chunk of flavour? That doesn't make sense to me. I wonder if the owners of these companies who are making these decisions actually drink their whisky. But I really feel bad for the production people actually making the whisky at some of these "high-priced brand" distilleries. They are often producing good whisky, as can be attested to by the IBs who are purchasing their distillate and releasing good whiskies. But the owners make decisions that diminish their work and instead choose to pay mega bucks in marketing and advertising. I would hate to work for a company like that. And now to make things worse, some of the larger players are reducing what they make available to IBs which means the work and skill of these production people will be even further diminished. I think it is good that Ralfy and other whiskytubers are calling this out and raising our awareness. There are good people at these distilleries who are producing good whisky. But the owners need a wakeup call. Cheers!
I would like to see this kind of clairvoyance be more general instead of all the manipulaation and hypocricy we usually are surrounded with. Thanks Ralfy, and mates, please remember to click "like".
I totaly agree!
Grab the Steampunker. that card read 87.
Oh how the Captain of the ship sees troubles with the usual routes taken. Change it up, and stick to those lesser travelled! I do appreciate a good Captain to lead the way! Thank you Ralfy!
I did a tour at Deanston distillery and fell in love with the whisky and honesty of the workers at the place.If you get a chance pay them a visit and support them by buying the beautiful whisky!
Fantastic rant , their pricing is a disgrace for inferior whisky. 🔥
Ardbeg turned me off a good while ago with the 'Play School' branding. Their marketing and design department must be twice the size of the production department. Fair dues though they still have integrity bottles - just ridiculous prices.
@@jamesw6403 Not sure if you've seen the latest, but details of two upcoming Ardbeg bottlings have been released - even by their recent Ardbeg Day / Committee limited release standards, they were shockingly bad. First up was the return of Ardbeg 17yr after a 20'ish year hiatus. An older age statement from Ardbeg, tough to go wrong with that, right? Well... they've decided to bottle it at 40% ABV. And secondly, they've just announced details of the next iteration of Ardbeg Anthology, which will be a 15yr called The Beithir's Tale... The labelling contains a real howler, or as Ralfy would say, absolute flannel - "special designer charred casks". Special designer casks? What utter bollocks. Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy advertising strikes again. I just hope to hell they don't touch the core range.
Remember the Campaign for Real Ale? It got rid of the Watney's of this world and gave everyone a chance to drink the traditional-style cask bitters that require a hand-pump and bar staff that know how to keep their ales. It was a very successful campaign. Ralfy is a one-man campaign for real malt whisky. That's why we listen to him. That's why we need him.
The wallet tightening, I’m taking weeks and weeks before choosing my next bottle-thanks Ralfy
You only live once.
Love your passion!
Well done Ralfy. I love it when you don’t pull your punches. I will forward this to our small whisky group in Ontario. By the way I picked up the Deanston 18 for a less than 90 pounds and will toast you when I get a chance to share it with my Canadian malt mates. Bravo.
I have heard, that you can access the visitor center of Macallan only by appointment. They closed it to the public.
Malt Disney
Went to Scotland last year with my sons. Tried to enter the Macallan property and was told if I didn't have an appointment for a tour or a tasting I was to move on........ Never again Macallan, Never again! You can just bugger off.
It is typical for Dalmore to add colouring to their whiskies. That process goes all the way up the range to the 20 + year old versions which can cost thousands.
Ralfy, don't ever stop ranting (occasionally)! There's no way to measure how much your ranting contributed to more and more distilleries releasing "integrity" bottlings, even exclusively. But I'm certain that it's not a trivial measure. This particular soap box now has an audience in the hundreds of thousands (not all who watch are subscribers). This thing has legs now. It's been fascinating to watch!
Many thanks ! Collect the facts, speak the truth.
Whisky world needs more such rants! Things have to be said, brands have to be named. By independent aficionados and informed and experienced experts like Ralfy. Thank you!
What do all these malts have in common? Parent company owenrship. Dalmore is owned by Whyte & Mackay. Macallan is owned by Edrington. Glenlivet is owned by William Grant's. Glengoyne is owned by Ian Macleod. The only language that talks to a multi-national corporation is pure and simple profit at the absolute expense of product quality.
Thanks you dear Ralfy… I am enjoying a Tobermory 12 as I watch. Interesting it is also 46,3%. I am enjoying all your advice and guidance. Grazie 🙏 ciao, S.
Tobermory/Ledaig, Bunnahabhain, Deanston, all 46.3% minimum. Same parent company for all three distilleries
Malty Mendacious, Melancholy Macaws.
Please forward this to all whisky producers. They know who they are.
Sound advice, as always. Thanks Ralfy. I'm of to buy a bottle of Craigellachie 13.
This was so refreshing to listen to. I'm surprised you didn't include a certain Huntley-based distillery in your rant. 👍
Excellent stuff bit surprised you didn't mention "pish" once but better to provide a more measured and professional opinion i suppose 👍🇬🇧
Thank you sir!
Thanks for the honest, well-expressed comments, Ralfy. My favourite was "make the wheel rounder".😀 Delicious irony.
Interesting comment about your freedom to express an opinion. A guy with a small off-road channel in Australia tested a brand of battery for his 4wd vehicle. He found the battery didn't perform to the advertised specs, said so, and swapped it out for another brand. The company is suing him. The case has attracted international attention. If the company didn't know about the Streisand effect already they certainly do now. Hopefully the unfavourable publicity will dissuade other companies from pursuing similar litigation.
What do you think of Thompson Bros bottlings? I've had one of their Blair Athols recently and really enjoyed it. They've got some nice labels as well, but what do you reckon about the quality of their product?
Ralfy, that is one of the most informed discussions yet! Thank you.
This is the information and guidance I’m looking for. Thanks!