whisky review 559 - Cooperative Blended 3yo scotch 

Wow this review was so good on so many levels! First off I am a working class guy and my budget calls for reasonably priced drink so this was an affordable one. Second was as always your awesome skill of breaking the spirit down and then to top it off you leave me with a very good tip about screw caps and storage, store them upright! This made very good use of my viewing time. Thank you Ralfy for cutting to the chase and making it as if you are a mate of mine and were sipping whisky. This is unique on youtube. Cheers!

Ralfy, I have been watching you for 4 years, and I'm still entertained and educated by your videos. Thanks a lot, man.

Just discovered your blog, easily the best out there. Thanks

Surely, this is not the bottle I am most interested in seeing a review of BUT BUT BUT this may be one of your best videos so far. I really appreciate that you are illuminating some of the untold truths and realities of the scotch market. You sir are intelligent and have tremendous passion, qualities that resonate in the reviews and video that you make and I want to thank you. So, Thanks again Ralfy you are one in a million!

Great review Ralfy! Your last review was in my mind when I was in the supermarket yesterday and I bought a 3 year old Scotch. It's a blend, O'Kirkintilloch Brand Duggan's Dew. Bottled at 43.4%, screw cap, and very little coloring added, and $16.00 dollars for a liter! I'll open it and give it a try tonight. Since first coming across your videos my enjoyment of whisky has greatly increased, and I am wiser when making a selection. Thank you! Sincerely, Ossie

I have a big soft spot for the Co-op. They were founded in the town I was born (Rochdale, England). My grandma worked for them for most of her life and my mum still works for them. They began as a workers' cooperative. If you worked for them, you owned a stake. If you shopped with them regularly, you owned a stake. They put back into the community because they valued their customers' loyalty and recognised that that's a very good idea long term. It seems like a lesson that should be learned by more than a few whisky producers at the moment.

One of my favorite reviews ever! Keep up the great work Ralfy!

Typically my local cooperative haven't got any in stock, this must be the cheapest ever, bottle of Whisky, you have ever reviewed. Yes I big thumbs up to the coop. A good old workers cooperative, founded in, Rochdale, Lancashire. Thanks a lot Ralfy.

Thank You for the review. Enjoyed it immensely. I look forward to a new review each week. It is good to stop and smell the roses. Thank You again for your hard work.

So true about time ... "our most limited resource". Thanks for that reminder Ralfy.

It's always a pleasure to watch your videos Ralfy !

like your Braille statement a lot, well done, good man!

I tried this and it was fantastic for the price.....no glue taste....you can drink it neat...nice chocolate after taste well impressed. 18 quid a liter now in 2019.

Hi Ralfy. You should talk in your next review about what happened with Compass Box. SWA banned to give information about the "recipe" used in the blend. That's a real shame...

Excellent video Ralphy.

Few things make me happier than finding a quality malt at a fair price

I was not expecting this review.Very well presented and interesting,thank you.

Just got a bottle of coop blended whisky, it's now got a 5year age statement and it's very good indeed. Cost me just £14

Very interesting. Not sure I will be able to find it where I am, but if I do I'll give it a try. Cheers!

Excellent as always, and well said regarding the little marketing rant near the end!

How Do You Do, Mr. Ralfy! Exciting moments of whiskey degustation style and your native language pronunciation! The high School education for non-speaking malt-mate from "strange-lands". Thank you so much! Alex.

Ralfy, your the best

Great review Ralfy. Another good lower cost scotch blend is Islay Mist 8yo. It has smoke and some medicinal notes on the arrival, probably due to Laphroig being a component. 23 USD or $18 if you buy a case of 6. Not bad.

I love this channel. Thanks Ralfy.

Aldi and Lidl are great, they helped us germans through the inflationary times, and now they guarantee us having low food prices. Every time i leave germany i cant believe how expensive food in other countries is and what a low quality they have.

After being drawn too much, too often to a few pricey bottles in my booze cave, I picked up a half bottle (just to be sure) of this earlier... cracking! cheers for the tip!

Looks like a good whisky for the price, unfortunately not available here in Australia (yet). I recently tried a bottle of Label 5 12yo which was on special for A$39 and was fairly impressed by it. My impressions: Sweet on the nose, honey, toffee, fruit, with a little smokiness. A spicy development on the palate and lots of oak on the finish.

Wooooo! Finally my malt mention haha. I completely forgot I submitted one and when I heard it I was like...."Wait, that sounds famil.... Oh it WAS me!" Anyway, another great video. I often see supermarket own whisky's, Asda do their own extra special range that my father had recently, quite impressive.

Quite right about Lidl. Their jam is much better than any other I've tried including big brands. Excellent veg too. They also pay their staff the Scottish Living Wage, not the minimum wage.

I know none of us want to say negative things about whisky, or generally negative in life. Life's too short as you say. But....Any chance you could do just one BAD whisky review please? If not, any chance of a quick mention of a bunch of whiskies that you have tried but won't review, because they just don't hit the mark...please? ;)

Great review , very enjoyable and engaging. In 2021 , the label has changed and maybe the ingredients. For my palate , it's a very enjoyable sip. The 5 year label is only a quid more and is very acceptable to my tastes. I'm sipping some now , with just a splash of water and it's very enjoyable. Out of the cheapest blends , it's my favourite.

Interesting review Ralfy. I managed to get a bottle of Scottish Leader for £12.79 from Tesco a couple of months ago which I thought was a bargain. On a slightly different topic I'm still able to obtain the old bottling of Black Bottle Blended whisky and can even get it in a 1.5Ltr bottle, though there's not much of it left.

I'm watching this drinking the 5 year old version. Costs a pound more. Very surprised how good it is.

nice to see you review this GREAT STUFF i like to sip this one neat of the few whiskys i like neat love to see a older version i think wheat is used in this as like you said its soft and not custardy the waitrose 8 year old at £18.99 has more character if you want it

This is why I love bourbon in America. Plenty of dirt cheap options that are incredibly good value for money.

I just bought a Cooperative 12 year Highland Single Malt (for £20). Also very good stuff for the money. Rumour has it that it's from Dalmore. I can't confirm that but it really is very good. I'll post a review.

The best basic supermarket whisky i have ever drunk was one that ASDA use to to sell i was just called ASDA Irish Whiskey believe it or not.. It was honey smooth and i think it was around £11 a few year back when i use to buy it regular a great buy for a malt mate on a budget..

Oh Power's Signature Release! Liked that one! I was waiting for this one!

Unfortunately in the Netherlands supermarkets are not allowed to sell hard alcohol (just beer and wine etc..) so no house brands!

If this is the same blend as they were doing 5 or so years ago, I'd agree, it rather good. The Irish wasn't bad either, although not so much to my tastes.

Im enjoying these informative reviews. & I just the green powers whisky myself, because : - it was pretty cheap - it's bottled at 46% - it's non chill filterd So i decided to take the gamble. Havent opend it though, & now i'll be waiting for your review before i do that. Im eager to know how you will like it😀 Kind regards from holland

Coop 5yblend and 10-12 single are really good value and ones that I always go back to..M&S single malt is really good aswell

Thank you Ralfy! Great video as usual.

ralfy, a man of wisdom and character

I agree every distiller should Want to include their mash bill. What’s the drawback?

Thanks excellent daily dram

Hi there Ralfy, Long time viewer, first time commenting... Was hoping to hear your thoughts on the new Laphroaig 15 that has become available in Aus... Pricing is comparable to the 18, but I'm wary of losing the laphroaig peat 'hit' in the extended maturation. Any advice or a review on the 15 would be greatly appreciated. Please forgive the boldness of the request... I'm sure your bombarded with review requests left and right; I'd hate for you to be out-of-pocket on my account. Love your channel, your a diamond. Johan. (Malt Masticating Marshall)

Never a truer word said about Lidl's veg, it really is first rate in comparison with Tesco's and Asda's. Do you like to mix up some cocktails with some of your cheap and cheerful blends Ralfy? If so, what do you make, as I myself am wanting to experiment making cocktails soon.

Very bold move for a manufacturer to put out an age statement so low. Definitely shows they have some faith in their product. If they have faith, so will I.

great review

Ralfy, I'd love to know what whiskies you dislike - I know you have said you only review ones worth talking about, but there's something to be said for a dram you wish you hadn't had too. I'm so curious about this third Irish!

looking forward for Glendalough and John's Lane reserve...what is the 3rd one you are not impressed with? yuu can tell us in the secret, we won't tell anyone :P

Speaking of cheap blends, is Duggan's Dew sold in the UK? At 43.4%, it's one of the few bottom shelf scotches that exceeds the minimum (along with Teachers, which here in Michigan is sold at 43%).

The Co-op 12yo Single Malt is rather good too. Have you tried it? Do you know who makes it?

Aldi's Glen Orrin is quite nice and Asda do a nice line in bourbon (not surprising, considered they're owned by Wal Mart) I also find that Morrison can have some good stuff too, though more the brands you don't fine elsewhere rather than their own brand stuff.

Malty malt mates....nice......3 yo cooperative blend nice....can we get that in the states

have you tried any of the aldi whiskies? I've got their glen marnoch 24 which is full on. takes water well which makes it very tasty with a huge Finnish on it. got their nas glen marnoch Islay and highland to get through. I rather like the highland one and I've still got the Islay one to open. £17.50 wasn't to bad for a gamble.

Way to kick ass, Ralfy!

Hey Ralfy, have you ever thought about doing Johnnie Walker XR 21 year old? I haven't tried it myself but from what i read it sounds like a good blend.

Funny you mention the NAS stuff given the recent clash between the old time antiquated SWA and Compass Box. Finally, have you seen the new Lidl releases coming soon. 20, 30 year old malts for less than £50. Incredible. Opinion on marketing is quite wrong, but oh well, we have all our opinions.

Hey Ralfy, Have you tried the James King 12yr single malt? its very cheap but I would like to know if its any good before I buy and there is not much information out there on it in terms of reviews.

...and the label info/braille section!

I mentioned a 100 year old sealed bottle of German liquor I have. I keep getting a round robin search that leads me nowhere as to what it is. With your extensive knowledge and contacts have you ever heard of "Gilka=Kummel J.A. Gilka"?

Are you planning to review Clontarf Black Label Irish?

I guess I always assumed refill casks were "refilled" with the same malt spirit and stayed in the same distillery but you mentioned @ 12:30 that it was as if they have used young whisky first to tone down new casks then filled with single malts. Does that mean blended whisky can be filled into a cask then single malts and still be called single malts? I've never read all the SWA rules.

Hi Ralfy! Love your reviews! Is the Glendalough up for the next review? :D

Ralfy, now that 2015 is coming to a close, I hope you're planning to stick to your guns regarding age statements. Based on what you say in this review, I would tend to think that you are. Keep up the good work, mate. Slainte!

I bought a bottle of Sainsburys own blended scotch recently. Not good im afraid. Really rough.

cant find this whisky anywhere does it still exist?

on the issue of age statement do you not think that they could be a double edged sword to a distiller? Because as much as they're informative a lot of people equate older with better quality (which isn't always true) which means if they release an interesting different offering it could be less likely to sell if it uses younger malt. Marketing is weird - its up there with adding caramel at expense to the company just so their whisky looks how most people expect whisky to look like

fith?

have you reviewed the jura single malt whisky is pretty awesome got the limited edition at the mo going down nicely. cheers mate

ralfy, when you score a whisky, how much do you reckon other things affect the score (e.g. value, braille, marketing ethics)? i notice you give this blend a better mark than many i would consider to be well ahead in taste. and in previous reviews you've said it is based on your enjoyment of the whisky, but i'm just wondering if you mean overall enjoyment of the product rather than purely the taste now. clearly, we're only human, we cant be completely objective about taste, but I'm wondering if it is a conscious decision. cheers

Ralfy in a blended scotch do the grain whiskies also have to be aged or do/can they go in as new make?

+ralfystuff Hi Ralfy, thanks for sharing. Are you planning to go to Glasgow's Whisky Festival on the 14th? There should be some "stuff" to cover for us, poor remote settlers... :)

When a blend has an age statement on it, is that just the minimum age of the malt or does the grain whisky also have to be matured for that period of time? Thanks Ralfy!

Aldi Highland Black is a decent budget blend also

It's NAS so you won't be reviewing it, but have you tried Highland Park Svein? If so, what are your thoughts?

So I take it you won't be seeking out the Bowmore Mizunara Oak...? ;-)

561 is time for lagavulin 12years 15th 2015...please..please😍😍😍

The SWA just smacked down compass box for releasing the recipes for Flaming heart 5th edition and This is not a luxury whisky. I hope it comes to bite them back eventually. I was actually finally intrigued in buying a high dollar blend because I knew I was worth it where I'm completely blind on NAS blends where they could just be charging 300 dollars for marketing.

Hello Ralfy, I am from Honduras and live in Virginia USA. I was wondering if you know anything about Alexander Murray Single Malt Whisky? I got this at costco bulk store, and I can't find anything about it.

Interesting you're bigging up Aldi and Lidl, I've been a fan of their whiskies for years, if you want to review an age statement blend again you'd do worse than the 8 year old Highland black or the 12 year old Ben Bracken blended malt, one from each shop there.

have ya seen the nu Glenfiddich14yo Ralfy? any plans 4 a revu?

Anyone tried Aldi's Glen Marnoch (£23) or Highland Black 8yr Old (£9.99)... BOTH very good once aired

Ralfy, do you like this one or Old Smugglers better?

Hi malt mate. Have you tried "Queen Margot 8 yo" (Lidl)?

i went posh and got the 5 yr old :/ not too bad i suppose for 14 quid

informative and entertaining review as always ralfy ,have you tried High Commissioner Blended Scotch Whisky ?

Do you drink everyday?

Still a lot of great bourbon in the states for under $25.

Ralfy, have you tried the new Dunville VR?

will you consider doing a tesco finest 12 year old blended scotch blended by Richard Patterson ?

My daily whisky - £12.99 at my local Co-op

refill

Unless you REALLY believe that age doesn’t matter to whisky character, or that its effects are just magically suspended by labels that don’t discuss age to help distillers with product marketing... Those who respect what Ralfy’s doing in standing up for consumer interests need only follow his example to be worthy of the same respect. If you want more, rather than less, information about what you’re drinking and constantly being charged more for, don’t let others fight that battle for you. Boycott NAS! You are not alone! Whisky producers continue to age whisky for decades AND keep track of its age WHILE losing 2%/year to a process that, only half of the time, they will tell you “makes no difference”. If even the industry itself doesn’t REALLY believe age is “irrelevant”, why should YOU? Those interested in Serge Valentin's take on the state of the whisky nation should check out: "So, how was 2014 at Whiskyfun Towers?" on Whiskyfun, where he calls for mandatory age statements and also check out All Things Whisky for NAS debate. Sláinte!

👍❤️🥃

Second

About the fruit and vegetables... Don't be too optimistic about the discounters. You know a lot about whisky, and you know that that knowledge is essential to give good, reliable information. You do not have that kind of knowledge when it comes to supermarkets, so you should be very conservative when publishing your opinion. I know the Lidl-stuff looks pretty good in the shop, but you don't know what happened before the product got to the shop. You don't knoiw how Lidl get their products to look so well. In the Netherlands, whenever there's a scandal concerning pesticides or other artificial stuff found on the product in illegal quantities, it's about Lidl or Aldi in 9 out of 10 cases. On the other hand, I know that the biggest full-service supermarket here (Albert Heijn) insists on its growers to use only HALF of the legally allowed quanities of pesticides etc. When the growers use more than that, Albert Heijn will not buy their stuff. And it shows, because they are practically never mentioned in those scandals. Also, AH does a lot for the people who actually work the plantations. When producers don't treat their labourers well enough, again, AH simply won't do business with them. So while I don't know anything about the British concerns, Tesco's quality, especially when measured in terms of health and social benefits, might be a lot better than Aldi and Lidl...

Please comment (if you want and have time) the Compass Box "affair": bit.ly/1WzeGG3 and bit.ly/1WzeSVW I think is right down your alley...