tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176940657289976265.post8577190057566370104..comments2024-02-28T07:23:12.706-04:00Comments on Jason's Scotch Whisky Reviews: New Brunswick Spirits Festival 2011Jason Deblyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13305087714773608306noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176940657289976265.post-68479337017568031922013-06-24T12:38:10.862-03:002013-06-24T12:38:10.862-03:00Jason, There is a change noticeable in the charact...Jason, There is a change noticeable in the character of bottles moving through the supply channel today (from the distillery to distributors) for GlenDronach 15y. Until recently, there were still a few barrels of distillate which were included in the 15y release blends which were made using home floor maltings at GlenDronach. But that has changed; the supply is essentially consumed now in that what remains in house today is being held for the smaller 18y and more premium OB releases. Some loamy peat and grittier smoke elements (ash, tar, soot) seem missing in what's showing up on the shelf at retailers today. No doubt the 2013 bottlings represent stylistic change, but to my taste it's still an awfully good dram in a slightly different (cleaner ?) way. JKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03355557111713061160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176940657289976265.post-6798782808989541642011-11-27T10:30:01.088-04:002011-11-27T10:30:01.088-04:00It is certainly possible and indeed expected that ...It is certainly possible and indeed expected that some of GlenDronach whiskies making up this malt are older than 15 years. The age statement on any single malt bottle specifies the youngest age of the constituent whiskies making it up.<br /><br />An acquaintance of mine that does have ties to the spirits industry said the same about GlenDronach 12 years. He said a lot of the 15 year old malt was in the 12 yr bottling that was released last year. <br /><br />Who knows? All I know is that GlenDronach 12 or 15 is well worth the money.<br /><br />Thanks for commenting.Jason Deblyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13305087714773608306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176940657289976265.post-85960412324697409582011-11-27T04:52:07.300-04:002011-11-27T04:52:07.300-04:00GlenDronach is a distillery I hope a lot of us wil...GlenDronach is a distillery I hope a lot of us will be keeping an eye on. Ralfy on Youtube was talking about how the whisky wasn't anything special until BenRiach bought the distillery in 2008 and he thinks the 15 year old may have older whisky in it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176940657289976265.post-53183308536635423432011-11-26T12:32:33.108-04:002011-11-26T12:32:33.108-04:00Totally agree with your thoughts on Distillers Edi...Totally agree with your thoughts on Distillers Editions. Normally these exist for tour visitors as an 'exclusive' souvenir of their visit, but have an alarming tendency to appear in Airport duty free stores or specialist whisky shops.<br /><br />These distillery releases are an after thought. Placing some of the maturing spirit in a different cask for an added stage only to label it as unique or special. When in effect it brings little new apart from an ill-judged finish in a sherry cask or another cask type.<br /><br />Having done both the Talisker and Dalwhinnie tours and sampled their 'distillery' editions I regard these as both inferior to the normal variety. I do have both Dalwhinnie variants at home and cannot wait to finish off the distillery release. It just lacks the freshness of the standard bottling.<br /><br />Cask strength is a different beast. The Clynelish edition almost blew my head off and has a real punch compared to the subtle main release.Glen Mhor Whiskyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18332265190121712442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176940657289976265.post-53038112700867379582011-11-22T19:34:24.607-04:002011-11-22T19:34:24.607-04:00Hi Jason,
What a nice event. Menu looks great as ...Hi Jason,<br /><br />What a nice event. Menu looks great as do the whiskies. Would love to have been there and have a chat. Still, a bit far away I'm afraid. The Glendronach 18 years is a nice enough whisky with a very good nose. You can find the notes on my site if you like. Good after dinner whisky for Christmas!<br />Saude<br />JanJan van den Endehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09079017013123231409noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176940657289976265.post-6132140411051192792011-11-22T15:31:12.680-04:002011-11-22T15:31:12.680-04:00Ryan, the 'wow' moment was the GlenDronach...Ryan, the 'wow' moment was the GlenDronach 15 years. I was really impressed with it. Found it to be complex, pleasing and basically all that I am looking for in a good single malt. Now, I just have to pony up the price to buy it.<br /><br />The non-wow moment though of the festival were reps for various brands that displayed high end bottlings, but when I asked to try they said, they were just on 'display.' Huh? Yeah, seriously. I am thinking this is a whisky festival. At your booth you have all these brands on display. I ask to try one and you say well thats just on display. <br /><br />Of course, you are thinking well name the reps Jason. Ok, Glendronach actually. I wanted to try the 18 year old, as a bottle was on the table unopened, but not available for tasting said the guy. Dumbfounded I settled for the 15yrs. <br /><br />Another example was the Dewars booth. They had a bottle of Founder's Reserve 18yrs, but again, not for tasting. WTF? I am at the whisky festival right?<br /><br />Unbelievable. At whisky festivals I see two cardinal mistakes over and over: (1) reps who are not genuine whisky fans; (2) pouring only samples of entry level products. If there was ever a time and place to present your best, it's at a whisky festival.<br /><br />Anyway, I still had a good time!Jason Deblyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13305087714773608306noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8176940657289976265.post-76350943907861314132011-11-22T13:39:03.014-04:002011-11-22T13:39:03.014-04:00So Jason, did you have your "wow" moment...So Jason, did you have your "wow" moment that you were searching for? Or perhaps, as it sounds, did you come away with a different perspective rather than looking for the "wow" moment. Your post made me think that it's easy for whisky nuts like us to get caught up in all the details of the whisky world, and forget why we started loving whisky in the first place: because it's just great to sit down and enjoy a drink!Ryanhttp://valuewhisky.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com