It feels like Loch Lomond has been improving recently; they keep doing their thing, but it's still pretty well-priced and quite not-bad-at-all. Ofc can't wait for the companion video, "X brands that have gotten worse".
Geoff, great lineup and analysis. I would only add one more to the lineup and that is Benriach. They have come a long way from their beginnings and each step has improved their product.
Bladnoch has this fermented lactic note that’s just incredible. Like high quality white chocolate. Love at first sight. Great list. I agree that Loch Lomond could have been on this list. Any particular reason why it was Top 7 and not Top 8 or 10?
Love the Bladnoch mystery pour! The Bladnoch 11 was our favourite discovery dram while touring Scotland last Sept. It was difficult to find stock in Scotland, but we managed to find some in Canada when we got home!
Ah man I loved seeing the Disco Cows on the shelves and the bars :) Deanston comes to mind. I recently had an older Deanston and it is much better nowadays. Chees Geoff, great list!
Yeah I think you're right about Deanston improving. It's never been a favourite of mine, so I have less experience with it, but I definitely do enjoy the newer stuff. Cheers buddy! 🥃
Another great list, G. You could do a little social experiment and make the seven distilleries that have gotten worse over time (MacAllan, Ardbeg immediately come to mind of course!)…. Sadly I bet that video would get double the views!
I’m sitting back watching this and am sipping a dram of GlenAllachie 15 yo single cask that I bought at Robert & Graham in Glasgow pre-pandemic (not one of their bottlings, just one that they stocked and highly recommended to this whisky lover from Canada). Bottle is 3/4 done, but still tasting magnificently.
Every time you do these lists, I find there are so many whiskies that I haven't tried yet. The only ones I've had from this list are Kilchoman, Ledaig (but not Tobermory yet), and Glen Scotia. Cheers!
Great video. Not able to determine improvement I am new to most of these brands. A big fan of Bladnoch specifically The 10. Surely there is an overall significant improvement in blended scotch
Yes, thank you for not talking prices. From 2023-2024 prices have gone bonkers in Texas for single malt scotch. Favorites, Kilchoman, Glen Scotia, Tobermory, and AnCnoc good stuff, thanks for these mentions. I’m new to whisky so I should count my lucky stars for I had none of the old iterations of these brands.
Good list Geoff. All of these also have affordable expressions like GlenAllachie 10, Sanaig, Ledaig 10, and AnCnoc Rascan for the frugal guys like me. How about Arran and Glen Scotia?
I actually preferred Arran about 10 years ago when the cask influence was less heavy. That said, early Arran (about 15 or so years ago) was pretty rough. Glen Scotia was included! 🥃
Tuned out from whiskeytube for a while, and now I’m tuning back in and catching up on your videos. Very glad to see you’re still doing the hints for the mystery pours! And I totally got this one right! I really need to try that whiskey, it’s from the region my family originally immigrated from.
I TOTALLY agree on Bladnoch. I've got the 2021 version of the 11 yo open in my cabinet right now, and I love it. So much in fact that I try to make the bottle last as long as possible... I really really like it. I'm fortunate enough to have the Liora in my stash (the CS version?), but I'd really love a backup bottle of that 11 yo 2021 bottling too. Cheers G! 🥃
Interesting look at whiskey's. I love to see positive things still happening. Wonder if we're gonna see more bourbon reviews in your channel. And thanks for all your videos 🙏
Great list. Loch Lomond might have a ways to go, like stop using colorant, but they are on the right track. I like what they're doing and how they're experimenting, even if I don't find every expression tasty. Weird that in my area they had the 12 with 2 minis of Inchmurrin 12 and Inchmoan 12, but never introduced the full size bottles in the years since. I did prefer the standard Loch Lomond 12 :)
I thought it’d be obvious, but maybe it’s becoming more of a distant memory how blah Bunnahabhain once was. Now it’s among the most consistently excellent brands in the biz.
Do those psychedelic cows ever bring back memories. I have a friend who is the type that always needs to line objects up properly, and so it was with his whisky collection: labels all straight forward as if he'd used a laser to line them up. Not so for the space cows... I remember that bottle sticking out like a sore thumb with the back label turned to the front.
Hi Geoff, agree the earlier Ledaig and to a certain extent Deanston weren’t up to much. Fettercairn are now putting out better quality whisky, but for me the distillery that’s made the greatest leaps and bounds us Loch Lomond. Good list video, slàinte Geoff 🥃
Bladnoch is a great whisky. Thank you for this! Heading back to the from Taiwan today. Any suggestion for the local duty free. By the way “Shopping the duty free stores” around the world would be a great topic to get your takes on. Love your channel!
Like many, I also thought that Loch Lomond would be on your list. There aren't many whiskies that come from a comic book and TV animation, to become a near integrity brand and delicious dram. (They still insist on adding colour) So, I suppose you could say that they've gone from Tintin to TintTint. Regarding Tobermory. Another children's programme, turned single malt. You know, you missed out the fact that after the rebrand and integrity make over, Non-Chill-Filtered, 46.3% abv from new owners Burns Stewart. When Distill took over, they actually changed the cask recipe around 2019, from 100% Refill Ex-Bourbon for both Tobermory 10 and Ledaig 10, to a vatting of Ex-Bourbon and Ex-Sherry. In my opinion, the change is for the worse as Ledaig 10 has lost its edge. Just saying.
Yeah I realize that Ledaig and Tobermory were both reworked a few years back. However they're still much better than those old bottlings. To be fair, those ones were from waaaaay back, when I was just getting into whisky. I remember trying them once around 2010, and being so unimpressed I didn't return to the brand for the next 5 years. Cheers Reb! 🥃
Cheers to all the phoenix distilleries. The key is to catch the phoenix after it's done preening and cleaning the stuff it rose from off of its plumage 😁 And hopefully to never return there 😂
Positive... hmm... well, ok then. Positive from my side: I made a list before watching your list and there are distilleries (I'm not much of a brand person, so prefer to speak about distilleries) that made both lists. Keep in mind I skipped the sherried and other grape influenced stuff. (No spoilers from me, but your nrs 5, 3 and 2 are on my list as well) For the record, I think you definately missed Fettercairn imho. Slàinte mhath
@@Atthapong15 fair enough- when I first got into whisky in 2020, the older livery bottles were on shelves; both the 10 and 14 were delightful. I guess it’s the circle of life ;)
I actually liked Arran's older line, when it wasn't leaning so hard on casks. The old 10 and 14s, as well as the Bothy Quarter Cask before the rebrand. That said, the OLDER line (circa 15 years ago) was very hot and rough. Still an excellent brand today, though. 🥃
Positive: Glen Garioch used to be big hit or terrible miss. Now much more consistently good. Early Arran was nowhere near current excellence (except the uncharacteristicly austere 2022 18yo). Pausing 18yo bottlings was a great call after that. Agree on Loch Lomond group. An early Inchmurrin was the worst bottle of my 40 year whisky journey. A recent Croftengea was sublime.
Early early Arran was quite rough. But I preferred the older line back when we had a more distillate-driven line. The Bothy, the 10, and the Quarter Cask were all better back then imo. Loch Lomond could have been included. Perhaps it's time for me to revisit Glen Garioch. Cheers! 🥃
It is unfortunately common to hear of whisky going downhill over time. In my experience, Macallan and Blanton's aren't what they used to be, but any time I have this experience, I have to wonder whether they have truly declined or my taste preferences have outgrown them. Sometimes, RU-vidrs get their hands on dusty bottles and compare them with recent ones in blind tastings, and the dusty bottles often win. Wild Turkey 101 is one that I've seen this happen. However, even if it isn't as good as it used to be, it is still a great whisky for the price, and the Russell's Reserve line from Wild Turkey has some fantastic offerings, including single barrel store picks that are priced right for the quality they deliver. Overall, I think Wild Turkey has improved over the years simply by adding some premium bottlings to their line-up. Maybe this has hurt their cheaper products since they are probably keeping more of the better whisky for their higher end bottles. I have anCnoc 24 and Ledaig 18 in my collection, and one of the local bars stocked Ledaig 10. I have really been enjoying them, and their prices aren't totally out of line. I'll have to look into the others in this video. Some of them weren't really on my radar, and in some cases, I remember them being basic watered down stuff years ago and I never gave them much thought. It is good to see some older brands ditching the minimum strength, chill filtered whisky and going for a craft presentation. Hopefully more will follow.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on bourbons. Not a scene I'm all that deep into. I've tried (and enjoyed) Wild Turkey bottlings in the past, but most of that was ages ago. I wonder where they'd land now. Cheers! 🥃
Bladnoch are too expensive - end of. It wouldn't be WT without a bit of a grumble. I have to concede that some whisky is better than it was but boy was the bar set low. Better than the total trash it was but now way overpriced. Sorry, money matters. Great video though G.
