whisky lovers

[Savage Henry]

1 hour ago, Shaggy Jenkins said:

Looking forward to a couple of nips of this over the weekend

 Good choice.

[D.A.F.C]

Tried a miniature of the 17 year old. Was proper dece.

[gannonball]

Did a tour of Highland park yesterday. Got to try their 40 year old, was a cracking tour the guy had been there for yonks and was slating some of their NAS stuff which was refrshing to hear. Got the distillery only 14 year old cask strength at the end 

[Bairnardo]

Did a tour of Highland park yesterday. Got to try their 40 year old, was a cracking tour the guy had been there for yonks and was slating some of their NAS stuff which was refrshing to hear. Got the distillery only 14 year old cask strength at the end 

What was he saying re NAS?

[GiGi]

2 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

What was he saying re NAS?

Cheap, inferior product with rubbish ABV and most of their juice going that way to make more money off mugs. 

Presumably.

[gannonball]

4 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

6 hours ago, gannonball said:

Did a tour of Highland park yesterday. Got to try their 40 year old, was a cracking tour the guy had been there for yonks and was slating some of their NAS stuff which was refrshing to hear. Got the distillery only 14 year old cask strength at the end 

What was he saying re NAS?

 

1 hour ago, GiGi said:

Cheap, inferior product with rubbish ABV and most of their juice going that way to make more money off mugs. 

Presumably.

Pretty much this although he was being a bit more tactful when we were doing the tasting. Initially we had the 12 and the ‘Harald’ where it was pretty split of which one you preferred, then he said would you say it was twice as nice as the 12 as thats how much more expensive it is.

Edited September 20, 2018 by gannonball

[welshbairn]

Diageo's take on it, making out the numbered age was a marketing gimmick that bore no guarantee of quality.

https://blog.thewhiskyexchange.com/2015/03/nas-whisky-diageo-speaks-out/

Edited September 20, 2018 by welshbairn

[GiGi]

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with NAS whisky. The issue is most of it is just shite and made with younger and younger whisky that is simply much cheaper to produce. Higher turnover, less time and storage, less time in the cask so sometimes poorer taste.

There are very good NAS whiskies but few and far between. Not everything is A'bunadh - and even they aren't good every single batch. 

If NAS bottles were more transparent  and had more info on them as to what is in them like Compass Box often do then I'd not immediately lower my eyebrows when I heard about one.

[Ziggy]

10 hours ago, Shaggy Jenkins said:

Looking forward to a couple of nips of this over the weekend

Great whisky.

[bishopburn boy]

I popped into my local Tesco , on the way home tonight ,

bottle of Ardbeg 10 , for £25.85 ! 

A welcome addition to the sipping shelf 

[GiGi]

Will add to my other post that age statements are no guarantee a whisky will be good either. Older is not always better. If it's just bad whisky 30 years in a barrel won't make it much better unless the cask is God tier.

NAS usually just means "we want to make lots of money by releasing young whisky".

[Ziggy]

21 minutes ago, GiGi said:

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with NAS whisky. The issue is most of it is just shite and made with younger and younger whisky that is simply much cheaper to produce. Higher turnover, less time and storage, less time in the cask so sometimes poorer taste.

There are very good NAS whiskies but few and far between. Not everything is A'bunadh - and even they aren't good every single batch. 

If NAS bottles were more transparent  and had more info on them as to what is in them like Compass Box often do then I'd not immediately lower my eyebrows when I heard about one.

In most cases I agree and it has put me off quite a few distilleries however i’ve tried the Bunnahabhain NAS (it’s got a stupid Gaelic name, Stuiriedair or something) and was impressed.

It’s still bottled at 46% and it seems more sherried than the standard range.

 

[bishopburn boy]

19 minutes ago, GiGi said:

There is nothing fundamentally wrong with NAS whisky. The issue is most of it is just shite and made with younger and younger whisky that is simply much cheaper to produce. Higher turnover, less time and storage, less time in the cask so sometimes poorer taste.

There are very good NAS whiskies but few and far between. Not everything is A'bunadh - and even they aren't good every single batch. 

If NAS bottles were more transparent  and had more info on them as to what is in them like Compass Box often do then I'd not immediately lower my eyebrows when I heard about one.

this 

Nas is young , so “they” think we can’t cope ( or more Likely woul psh back at the rediculous pricing)  with such information 

though I would add I have had some very nice “ young” whiskies , with age statements , but when this occurs , i’m Making an informed choice , ( i’ve Had a couple that were rocket fuel as well !!) 

 

[GiGi]

Kilchoman release excellent NAS whisky all the time as part of their core range as a young distillery. That stuff is just a lovely, versatile spirit.

Then you get Bowmore Legend and Laphroiag Select which are just mince. Total downgrades on their core age stated range.

[Bairnardo]

Kilchoman release excellent NAS whisky all the time as part of their core range as a young distillery. That stuff is just a lovely, versatile spirit.
Then you get Bowmore Legend and Laphroiag Select which are just mince. Total downgrades on their core age stated range.

Wouldnt thank you for a Dalwhinnie Winters Gold tbh. Not that iv tried it, but the constant punting of it on Amazon means I have marked it as the epitome of cheap shitey NAS

[GiGi]

37 minutes ago, Bairnardo said:

Wouldnt thank you for a Dalwhinnie Winters Gold tbh. Not that iv tried it, but the constant punting of it on Amazon means I have marked it as the epitome of cheap shitey NAS

IIRC they actually market that one as best served over ice! Tells you all you need to know.

[HI HAT]

Lagavulin 16yo £41 at Costco .Thought you might like to know.

[Savage Henry]

this 
Nas is young , so “they” think we can’t cope ( or more Likely woul psh back at the rediculous pricing)  with such information 
though I would add I have had some very nice “ young” whiskies , with age statements , but when this occurs , i’m Making an informed choice , ( i’ve Had a couple that were rocket fuel as well !!) 
 

Agreed. But a warning sign is when a respected distillery suddenly releases a NAS bottle. It’s almost always a rush job to cover demand.

If a NAS replaces a formerly dated bottle, then that’s never a good sign.

[invergowrie arab]

On 9/20/2018 at 19:11, Ziggy said:

In most cases I agree and it has put me off quite a few distilleries however i’ve tried the Bunnahabhain NAS (it’s got a stupid Gaelic name, Stuiriedair or something) and was impressed.

It’s still bottled at 46% and it seems more sherried than the standard range.

 

Speaking about a "stupid gaelic name" when talking about bunnahabhain ( or any whisky really) is an interesting take.

5 hours ago, Savage Henry said:

 

 

Agreed. But a warning sign is when a respected distillery suddenly releases a NAS bottle. It’s almost always a rush job to cover demand.

If a NAS replaces a formerly dated bottle, then that’s never a good sign.

 

 

Macallan 10 changing to Macallan Gold probably the prime example of this. 

 

[Bairnardo]

Macallan 10 changing to Macallan Gold probably the prime example of this. 
 

I had a double cask 12 year old Macallan recently which was reasonably nice, other than that I have only tried the very average Gold.

Theres someting about Macallan... I might be wide of the mark but I view them as a soulless mass producer and have thus far never paid my own money for anything of theirs.