Wouldn't it be interesting if Diageo took a step back and reevaluate these special releases. I think whisky aficionados are getting smart. Clynelish 14 is a bit pricey in my market at around $99 but even at that it's half the price of this fancy tube version of Clynelish 12 year old. I made a conscious decision of not chasing/buying any of the 2022 Diageo special release bottles. Thanks for reconfirming my shyness on that John!
It's really sad but these special releases are no longer for "us" are they? I hope they sit on the shelves for a long time, Diageo has gone too far with their pricing. Thanks for taking one for the team and confirming what we were all fearing!
Why am I not surprised! These special releases rarely hit the spot these days. A 12 year old Lagavulin is a safe bet and so are the Taliskers but the rest just fall short of expectations. I understand you need to take the price out of the equation but whether we like it or not it does affect our thoughts. Well a great review as always so cheers 🥃
Interesting to see you come back to this. Great vid. Still very curious, but by your description the quality doesnt sound like it matches the price. Cheers! 🥃
Having high expectations, I’m let down with a big ouch in my wallet. I find it disjointed lacking cohesion and balance. Almost like experiencing two different whiskies in one bottle. Taking price into consideration it would score lower… but like you sometimes say…I’m sure someone will enjoy it more than me… like last years 2021 Talisker 8… solid dram but not what I expected and I’m a Talisker fan but that one lacked the DNA I’m accustomed to IMO. I’m slowly discovering that independent bottlers have more to offer than the big blingy BRANDS and often offer more value for money. Cheers 🥃
Good review John. I think it will improve but that's due to some oxidation rather than 'bottle shock.' I love Ralfy but I like some shaky shaky. Whisky isn't organic, like wine, it makes no difference. The fact that this bottle is younger than the 14 year seems to me to be telling. Why not be the same age so we can do a side by side? The entire range is disappointing this year. Last year's was the same though. Talk about flogging a dead horse. Honestly, I think the industry is in for a rude shock. Since the 2008 crash our governments have been printing money like there's no tomorrow and we've all had a good time. That party is over and we are all going to feel the pinch. The blinkers are off for me now. I look at the price of a lot of whisky and it's just ludicrous. "It's just whisky" right? We cannot take price out of the equation. A bottle of whisky that costs £100 (a staggering price) should taste incredible but, more often than not, it doesn't. The quality is actually going down and I'm no longer excited most of the time. 'Too expensive for what it is' is the new norm and that kind of thing doesn't interest me any more. Congrats on the 800. Just a little bit more time and we'll have you on a live stream. Cheers. WT
John, I love you, but....200 bucks? I would burst out laughing in the store. I can get an AnCnoc 18 for 120, 2 Laphroaig CS...I could go on and on. They're lunatics for charging that.
We dig us a Clynelish. Although, we only have ever had their independent bottles and nothing from their core line. Nice review here, John.Seems like the great ones we've had so far are likely superior to this offering. Cheers.
Great review John. The gist of 'good whisky, bad value' was perhaps a little predictable for this one :-) but it's nice to have our suspicions confirmed.
@@justwhisky Yeahh... 😬that's another one I've always found pretty overpriced. The best value is definitely to be had in the middle of the Compass Box range. Great stuff there. Cheers 🥃
I just saw this on a shelf with two others colorful animal prints. Didn't even ask for the price. This silly shop has quite a few top shelf bottles of all different genres, all without prices. Anyhow... John. You didn't convince me.
The special releases are way overpriced and not worth the 4x the price. I have tried several of the special releases and now do not even look at them any longer because they are not worth the money being asked in my opinion
