ralfy review 1003 - Blue Spot Pot-Still Whiskey @ 58.9%vol:
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- Опубліковано 12 лис 2023
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I like the Green Spot Chateau Montelena.
I have only in the past few months discovered the real joys of whisky. Sure, in my mid-60s now, I have sipped at whisky for some 45 years, but (not sure why) there's suddenly been a spark of real enthusiasm, and I have started exploring whiskies which are a bit more off the beaten track.
Just want to say that your channel (to which I soon subscribed) is now going very much hand in hand with my exploration of the drink itself. The content (as I think could be said equally for 'you yourself') is educational, interesting, entertaining, thought-provoking - and sometimes quite moving too. You are a natural on camera and I already kind of feel like a friend is walking into my house (to share a wee dram) when I start watching one of your videos (since I am new to your channel, I have over 1000 yet to watch! Nice!!).
I rarely ever bothered in the past to log on to UA-cam and post a comment, but I get such pleasure from your content that I really felt I wanted to in this case.
Please stay well and keep up the great work Ralfy!
Martin :-)
Wholesome comment
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3. Meanwhile during this period I had a Malt Mention mentioned, learn a lot and I consider myself a disciple of Ralfy!
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There are also 2 variants of Green Spot at 46% ABV finished in a Bordeaux or Napa Cabernet casks.
ralfy, thanjs for the detailed info on this baby. Brought their first batch in the US about 4 years ago at $90. My favorite spot with some water and time. Overall my favorite under 70 Irish is the Powers John's Lane 12 year.
There's a Powers John's lane 12yr cask strength out now aswel.
Myself and two friends were honoured to meet you at Hampden on Saturday. Thanks for the heads up about a blended malt with another body part, fantastic stuff 👍
Many thanks dear Ralfy for your thoughts on this bottling as well as the info on the other options in these spot series. I appreciated your Glasgow videos on location. Well done 👍 and kindest regards, S.
Very interesting whisky. I'd like to try. Thanks Ralfy for your review.
Prices are going up, especially in Irish whiskey. But when the quality begins to dip as Ralfy is saying here, then value quickly plummets. Glad I saw this video, don't think I'll be buying it unless I have cash to burn.
I always enjoy having a punt before you delivery the score. I try to read your tone & sentiment and in most occasions I get it right, spot on, even this time. I got it right. The price in Australia for Blue Spot is stupid. I have the Green spot & its ok ( I'd rather prefer Redbreast), but noticed I can get Yellow Spot, so i'll get that in the next few weeks to see if any better than the Green Spot. Loved & enjoyed your review, and I really do take your advice in so far as if it's better to a add water for a better experience, then lets give it a go. I haven't been steered wrong yet, so thank you mate :)
Cheers to you and Roy for this years OSWA, hope you had fun in Glasgow, pished ?
Great and honest review .Thank you
I travelled to Ireland and bought a bottle of this at the Jamison Distillery this summer and agree Ralfy! I was so excited, but for the price, it doesn't match Glendronach 15, Glendronach cask strength, Tamdhu batch strength, or a bottle of Glenfarclas cask strength I bought from Japan. It's a good malt, but I thought it was bit young and simple in character compared to the other sherry malts mentioned above at the same price (around $100). Thanks for the review!
Thanks Ralfy
Last Irish whiskey I had was the West Cork 5 year old pot still , 43% non chilled filtered no added colour 1st fill ex bourbon casks , only 40 euro from a local supermarket and I loved it , would be great to hear your opinion of it . For me it was extremely moorish .
I may be in the minority, but this is one of my favorite whiskeys. It definitely is pricey and can be difficult to find though.
You’re not. I agree with you as do many others.
I agree with you Blue Spot is a lovely whiskey
It's a beautiful whiskey in my opinion.
This is selling for 140 USD and that is a good price here in America and for that price it better be good! It is really amazing how the first few batches get the hype train going and then the companies ride that hype train all the way to the bank. As soon as it comes in it sells out, FOMO out of control.
Spring Bank and Iron Root this is how whisky making should be. Also a little whisky making out of Tucson Arizona is making whisky just like Springbank. They do everything in house. Grain to glass it is all in house. They malt the barley, smoke it and everything else. I knew about IronRoot and how good they are 3 years ago. Now it just sells out instantly, if you have a real job it is ultra hard to get any SpringBank or IronRoot. I can still buy DelBac though so that is nice.
Is it just me or do the American Single Malts taste as good as the Irish Whisky and Scotch? They seem to age faster because of the variety in climate. I’m not sure if I’m accurate in that assumption.
Wish you would explain grain, malt whisky, etc. Great content
I am quite confused with Ralfy score system now, it should be an easy indicator of quality.
Ralfy, what happened to episode 1003 Extras on Irish pot still whiskey?
That £1,500 bottle is now (also) available for (only) £495. Snap 'em up! 😁
Redbreast is a better bang for the buck than the spots. Just my opinion.
Yet the spots are good value duty free at Irish airports.
So far the best one of the Irish batches I’ve had is the Yellow Spot. I was under the impression it was non chill filtered. I’m excited to try the Redbreast 15.
Yellow Spot 12 is non chill filtered, at least it says on my bottle. :)
All of the Spot whiskies are non-chill filtered, it says so on the bottle and the tube.
I haven’t had the most recent batch, but as he mentioned, the previous batches were very good. I remember being very upset about his review of the RB12 CS, but after I got my bottle of the most recent version, 2022 in my area, it was pretty spot on. Those batches aren’t what they used to be and the difference even between the 2020 and 2023 versions is night and day.
I just got my first ever RB12CS, 2023 version. Hope it's not a disappointment because it was rather pricey!
@@torbjornkarlsen it’s still very good. It’s just straightforward without the complex tropical fruits notes of previous batches.
I am loving a 2022 I have open currently.
I love it. Each to their own.
Would the minty taste similar to eucalyptus
Give me Redbreast Cask strength or John’s Lane any day over any spots
Interesting tasting notes. First time I’ve heard mothballs associated with this fruit bomb ! But each to their own.
Haven’t seen this in Australia , any Aussies here that have ?
Have you tried the Gold Spot, Ralfy? Thoughts?
Toledo Ohio, available for $144
Personally I think that the Green Spot Chateau Louville Barton is the best of the Spots...
Yellow spot over green any day for me.
Got a bottle of yellow from Dublin airport a few months ago.
Being from UK the discount we get over EU countries is massive.
Got a bottle for £53.62 when EU were paying £80+
Would love to try it, but with Yellow Spot being 12 years old and $109 and blue spot being $165 to $200 for a 7 year old, probably won’t splurge on a bottle…
Bought twice in the last 3 months at Dublin Airport recently for half the price they are charging you. Even though I like it a lot it's too expensive in other markets.
Think you meant Cassia which is the cheap cinnamon flavour, cassis is black currants - but I know you know this.
"Very assertive in their assertions..." 🤣
I wouldn't really call it blended but it is not a single grain. Maybe a mash is the correct term here? More like a bourbon or rye
This is good. But I just buy Red Breast 12 Cask Strength which is cheaper, more available and has an older age statement
100% agreed
Have tried it.
It's lovely.
Ralfy, I think there is a contradiction here. At one point you say you detect virgin oak, but at another point you suggest there may be more refill casks used and that the casks weren't active enough. But wouldn't virgin oak represent the most active, most fresh type of cask possible?
Slipping there Ralfy, what happened to your' 'Year in the barrel, minute in the glass' mantra? Lost about 2 years there!
Strength (as in ABV %) and complexity is an interesting thing. Typically, a base strength whisky and rum (40%, 37.5%) are lacking in complexity, and the solution is to look for the higher-proof bottlings, as they arent as watered down and the higher alcohol has a higher carrying capacity for all the flavours.
However, going to high proof and overproof whiskys and rums (55%+, 63%+) again makes them lacking in complexity, as the alcohol overpowers the flavours, and you need to proof it down by adding water...
So is there an "optimal proof" where you maximize the complexity in a neat pour, such that adding water (or adding ethanol; i.e. proofing down and proofing up) brings no further benefit whatsoever? Is 46% the "sweet spot"?
If we ever get a Scotch spot whisky it will need to be called Plook 😂
I think the Irish whiskey makers are currently victims of their own success. They have seen a huge boom in popularity over the past 5 years and I agree that they just can't get enough quality casks to meet the demand. The same goes for Laguvulin, Aberlour a'bunadh, Glendronach; all brands that were so much better just 10-15 years ago. And I don't blame the distillers. It's the multinationals corporations trying to force supply, and it's the schmucks willing to line up and pay the upsold prices for these whiskeys just to gain clout on the internet. Support Dingle. Support Arran, support AnCnoc, support Dingle, support Kilkerran support Benromach. Sale are sales, and money talks, but choose to supposed quality over status.
I struggle with the Irish whiskeys, 80% of them I've tried all have the same base flavor notes. with exceptions like Redbreast and Green Spot. Anybody on a budget could be just as happy with a Jameson or Sexton IMO.
It depends what type of Irish whiskey. There is single malt Irish, single pot still and blended Irish. Powers 12, Red Breast, Spot series and Middleton are all excellent. Sexton is single malt and Jameson is more of a blended Irish
@@steveno7058 Redbreast cask is $86 and Powers 12 is $65 for me. Soft pass.
Sexton was awful to my pallet, like candy. If you also don’t like sweet green apple notes I suggest trying Bushmills Prohibition Recipe. It’s drier than standard and almost what some would call cask strength. And it’s a mere $27.
@@robfut9954 Stay away from all Canadian offerings then, nothing but sugar candy.
@@leeknowlton7303 ironically I’ve never bought a Canadian whisky. Thank you for the heads up though.
Cassis is black currant, did you mean Quassia?
. . . Cassia
🤤🙌🏻😁
Thoughts on Wild Turkey Rare Breed? 🦃
It's an OSWA winner.
@@nickashton3049 that's why I thought I would try to get his opinion
He did a video on it last August, check Ralfy review 990
@@joetjoepjoeserneejm thanks I will check that out
Its solid. But if you can get Russells Reserve single barrel get that instead. Both come from the Wild Turkey distillery but the RR is the more premium version and more age
🇮🇪🥃☘️🥃🇮🇪
I've been disappointed with recent Middleton purchases of Yellow Spot 12 and Red Breast CS 12. Ok, but not worth the money and the hype. Unbalanced, with too many sour / bitter notes. Might be living off of well executed batches of the past...
I just didn’t care for the Blue Spot.
I stopped drinking Irish whiskey before I stopped drinking scotch because the prices became so similiar there was no more point as scotch is just more interesting. Powers 3 swalllows was the last one i had and it was really tasty. Even crap Irish whiskey here in the states is way over priced and marketed to cats chasing a lazer pointer.
Cassia, not cassis.
There is very few whiskeys, which I am very fond of
I like yellow spot quite a lot, but recently tried blue spot and I cannot believe how nice a drinking whiskey. It is.
I Don’t really understand why I disagree with your opinion of this whiskey, but I suppose everybody has their own distinctive likes and dislikes in terms of smell and taste
Same here. My partner adores it.
Virgin oak is one of the worst top notes of modern whiskies. Absolutely can’t stand it, cooks the signature of the whisky.
I thought the malt mentions supposed to be funny, not just unrelated words.