Show us your whisky! Vol 2
Discussion
MickC said:
eein said:
I echo the frustration around some brands, eg GlenAllachie, getting 'too' popular and just turning it in to a fandom brand, driving pricing and availability, which in turn drives the distillery to pander to it and it becomes a self sustaining marketing machine. Macallan has been the same, indeed the master, at this for decades. I suppose ultimately they are businesses. The GlenAllachies do taste nice, but I wonder how long they will go until they realise their marketing is so good they don't need to make the effort on the actual whisky and can just knock out mediocre high volume stuff (like Macallan does).
Yup Macallan is a victim of it's own success imho. 10yo is nice, but Macallan always used to benefit from and sell in the higher ages - 18 and 21 being lovely. Due to its popularity though, seems to me they were selling most of it as blended ages like Gold - which is OK I guess, and obviously blended to give a consistent taste - that's needed because even a bottle of that looks like it costs a bomb now. Saying that I see some 12yo for a vaguely sensible price, so maybe they've brought it back again. I have some 18yo in the cabinet still, its going for £2000 now and there's no way I paid that much for it! Maybe ten years ago now though. Half a bottle of 15yo too, special bottling, maybe I should 'blend them' and flog it as a full bottle 
Maybe not...Of course they are a business and wont see it that way, as long as they can produce and sell it, that's great!
On Glenallachie, while I agree their product is pretty decent just now, it's not aligned to it's pricing - ie they already have a component of pricing based on marketing the 'mythical status' of billy walker. That 'billy marketing margin' will only grow over time.
eein said:
On Glenallachie, while I agree their product is pretty decent just now, it's not aligned to it's pricing - ie they already have a component of pricing based on marketing the 'mythical status' of billy walker. That 'billy marketing margin' will only grow over time.
Only on some bottlings. Their core readily available range (8,12,15) are very good value for the quality of the liquid IMO, as is the 10yo CS (if you can get it...). That may change of course, but I hope not!LeighW said:
eein said:
On Glenallachie, while I agree their product is pretty decent just now, it's not aligned to it's pricing - ie they already have a component of pricing based on marketing the 'mythical status' of billy walker. That 'billy marketing margin' will only grow over time.
Only on some bottlings. Their core readily available range (8,12,15) are very good value for the quality of the liquid IMO, as is the 10yo CS (if you can get it...). That may change of course, but I hope not!On things overall, it feels like the industry is disappearing up it's own backside soon. So many price increases these days even from poorly regarded distilleries. One of the big issues seems to be the number of new indy bottlers and cask investors. You'll only have a certain number of casks good enough for single cask releases. In the past you might have had 5 buyers competing for the cask. Now it might be say 50 investors/IBs. So all that happens is the same cask is released anyway, but at a far higher price as they had to outbid each other to get it.
People are generally willing to pay the prices in a lot of cases because they believe the prices will continue up. But you'd have to imagine the (likely) recession will cause a lot of the buyers to dry up, and some to be forced sellers. Once that happens a lot of the investors will dump stock and it's going to be a bit messy. The top end will probably depend on the Chinese housing market and similar, and won't be much affected by what we see.
I know it's been called for years, but it does feel like we could soon be at a tipping point. All that said, we'll probably see the government do anything they can to avoid a recession and kick the can down the road extending the price increases even more!
NRS said:
the Billy Walker 50th series
You had to mention that one didn't you. 
NRS said:
I know it's been called for years, but it does feel like we could soon be at a tipping point. All that said, we'll probably see the government do anything they can to avoid a recession and kick the can down the road extending the price increases even more!
I've been saying for quite a while that things are about to go pop, and not just the whisky market. Maybe that's just the pessimistic accountant talking, but with the increased cost of living etc, something has to give. That said, I thought it was ridiculous when bottles like Macallan Folio 1 reached £4k. In hindsight I should have been buying them - although I'd be offloading now if I had done!LeighW said:
NRS said:
the Billy Walker 50th series
You had to mention that one didn't you. NRS said:
I know it's been called for years, but it does feel like we could soon be at a tipping point. All that said, we'll probably see the government do anything they can to avoid a recession and kick the can down the road extending the price increases even more!
I've been saying for quite a while that things are about to go pop, and not just the whisky market. Maybe that's just the pessimistic accountant talking, but with the increased cost of living etc, something has to give. That said, I thought it was ridiculous when bottles like Macallan Folio 1 reached £4k. In hindsight I should have been buying them - although I'd be offloading now if I had done! :'(Yeah, so far it's just continued upwards with the printed money, but it does feel that period is going to end given the inflation we're now seeing. But who knows, maybe some official will decide to fix inflation by printing more money and we'll be off again!
Best not to mention the Folio 1's - we had a poster on here who sold his for around 500 quid a bottle just after they were released!
Just bought these to add to the collection. Will try them over the weekend although I have already tasted the Lochlea which is very good for a young whisky. The Lochlea and Glenwyvis are non chill filtered and natural colour and both at or just over 46% abv. The North British is a different beast entirely.
NRS said:
LeighW said:
NRS said:
the Billy Walker 50th series
You had to mention that one didn't you. NRS said:
I know it's been called for years, but it does feel like we could soon be at a tipping point. All that said, we'll probably see the government do anything they can to avoid a recession and kick the can down the road extending the price increases even more!
I've been saying for quite a while that things are about to go pop, and not just the whisky market. Maybe that's just the pessimistic accountant talking, but with the increased cost of living etc, something has to give. That said, I thought it was ridiculous when bottles like Macallan Folio 1 reached £4k. In hindsight I should have been buying them - although I'd be offloading now if I had done! :'(Yeah, so far it's just continued upwards with the printed money, but it does feel that period is going to end given the inflation we're now seeing. But who knows, maybe some official will decide to fix inflation by printing more money and we'll be off again!
Best not to mention the Folio 1's - we had a poster on here who sold his for around 500 quid a bottle just after they were released!
There will likely be a larger drop in in demand for the £100-£200 bottles that have become common in recent years. Maybe also for the 'treat yourself' £60-£100 range.
The 'normal' price bottles in the £30-£60 range will likely see an increase in demand from those dropping down from the £60+ range, and the wider population drinking more, which tends to happen in difficult times.
Ollerton57 said:
Got gifted a bottle of Glenmorangie Signet. Not usually the biggest fan of Glenmornagie, but this is very special. Nice packaging, even better whisky. Nice colour to it and lots of complexity. Would recommend.
A friend got me one of those as he’s a huge fan. I liked it a lot, big rich chocolate flavour, very fancy case and lovely bottle so the whole thing is a bit of an experience. Used it for a dessert drink after special meals.Taste wise, when it ran out I ended up getting a bottle of quinta, be good to do a side by side comparison. From memory it’s nowhere near as smooth but similar chocolate flavour.
My son has come back to live with us for a while pending a house move and brought back his whisky supplies. He's put his "special bottles" away somewhere secure but just dumped his "drinking whisky" beside mine and the shelf is now overflowing.
I counted 36 bottles between s. Never thought we'd have that much laying about just waiting. I suppose we'd better arrange a wee tasting session.
I counted 36 bottles between s. Never thought we'd have that much laying about just waiting. I suppose we'd better arrange a wee tasting session.
eein said:
With so many open you'll need to be careful of any with poor seals as the'll go off quickly.
Agreed. I get rampant 'going off' anxiety when we've got more than 5 or so on the go at once. Question for the thread, particularly in this warmer weather - how are you storing open bottles?
Anything special (100+ quid) that's not open goes into a cool, dark place. But more normally priced and opened bottles sit on a shelf (out of direct sunlight) where the temperature can vary significantly. It would feel a shame to lock them all away out of sight, but I'm worried for the longevity of the open bottles a bit.
I usually have around 10 bottles open at once, and get through them in around a year.
I initially take note of how good their seal is - if I feel it loose I might try to improve it, or prioritise the bottle. I had a bottle of Glenfiddich 18 last year which I bought at the distillery and it had a slightly loose cork, and after being open a couple of months I could taste it just starting to pick up that slight hint of 'watery' taste, ie lower alcohol level. I currently have the 4 bottle Johnnie Walker Black origins range open and each have screw caps that I'm not convinced of, so hitting them up more often than the other 6 open to get through them.
My 'opens' just sit on a shelf in the living room, so it does get a bit warm in the current weather, but they never get direct sunlight. I have the more expensive ones at the back of the deep shelf. I've done this for some years and not found any problems - the number of warm days even in the south east are quite few, and our living room is a recently built extension with decent insulation so only heats up above 22 degrees on a few days a year (eg today!).
Collecting / investing bottles are in various dry, cool cupboards in the house, and at some other houses (eg parents).
I initially take note of how good their seal is - if I feel it loose I might try to improve it, or prioritise the bottle. I had a bottle of Glenfiddich 18 last year which I bought at the distillery and it had a slightly loose cork, and after being open a couple of months I could taste it just starting to pick up that slight hint of 'watery' taste, ie lower alcohol level. I currently have the 4 bottle Johnnie Walker Black origins range open and each have screw caps that I'm not convinced of, so hitting them up more often than the other 6 open to get through them.
My 'opens' just sit on a shelf in the living room, so it does get a bit warm in the current weather, but they never get direct sunlight. I have the more expensive ones at the back of the deep shelf. I've done this for some years and not found any problems - the number of warm days even in the south east are quite few, and our living room is a recently built extension with decent insulation so only heats up above 22 degrees on a few days a year (eg today!).
Collecting / investing bottles are in various dry, cool cupboards in the house, and at some other houses (eg parents).
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