Among all the Tubers, you are the best to describe and un-veil (or suggest) cask influences and things behind the aroma/scent/rancio . . . I say this, cos' I blend my malts a lot (since 1991) and I use NAS for initial punch-in-face effect, then the higher age for complexity/contemplation fx, and the higher abv 46-47% for endurance.
Old Pulteney Clipper is a nas special release to promote an around the world sailboat race that took place in 2013-14. They were one of the sponsors of a boat in the race. A shop in California that does a good job of finding forgotten palates in the back of distributors warehouses got a bunch of it last fall. It's 46%, and I think back then, they were more likely to put some older casks in vatings because this is very good. $20usd, so I ended up buying 6 of them. Cheers
Bunnahabhain Stiuireadair on the cheaper end and Glen Scotia Victoriana on the more expensive end have been my favorite NAS whiskys so far. This OP Harbour sounds interesting. Cheers!
Thanks for yet another excellent review Shane. Not a whisky that is on the top of my wish list, so to speak. Normally not reaching for NAS whiskies, but I have to admit I like Machir Bay, Corryvreckan and Port Askaig 100°proof Slàinte mhath
We get an Glen Scotia Campbelltown 'Harbour' here in Australia. It's 40% non-craft & cheap too. I'll stick to the OP 12 plus I think. Thanks for taking one for the team :)
Kilchoman Machir Bay, Sanaig and Lock Gorm are all NAS...and excellent...Ardbeg An Oa, Corryvreakan, Uigeadail, All Ardnamuchan, Aberlour A'Bunadh, Glen Scotia Victoriana...it turns out I like quite a lot of them ;)
i have bought a couple of budget supermarket whiskies of late and to be honest they have not been too bad as an every day drinker, i will need to give this one a go. Thanks for the review Shane.
I haven't had the OP Harbour but have had the OP Pineau Des Charentes NAsS and wasn't a fan. I always go back to Glen Scotia Victoriana as a favorite NAS. Cheers!
I bought the M&S Glenfarclas 10. I’m enjoying it but I’m not sure it’s all that far off the OB 10. I must get a dram of the standard 10 to compare at some point.
@WhiskyLock I have those 2 early blends of TB but they haven't really rocked by boat. And gone are the days when a JW Green Label or the A'bunadh represent permashelves. Nowadays I enjoy the Rock Island (Oyster )I found the Old Perth Sherry Cask Strength to be astonishingly good for the price. However, blends are only a try-before-I-buy category for me.
I've given up on Old Pulteney. I think my casual dram these days is anything by Benromach. I like the Indian NAS expressions but I can't think of any others that I buy with any frequency.
It's a shame because I used to love the 12 and 17. The current 12 15 and 18 just don't hit the mark... I keep getting tempted to buy the set to review but I don't want to risk the expected disappointment.
About 50% of my scotch single malts and nearly all of my blended malts are NAS. But most of my whiskies with age statements are aged 14 years or less. I think a lot of NAS whiskies stand up well against 10-12-year age stated whiskies. I'm more concerned about the quality of the whisky vs the price and tend to base my purchases on favourable reviews. Cheers!
It's interesting how views change. And interesting that if we go back even further there was a time when a lot of whisky was NAS. Some might say that the current expectation of age statements was born out of the popularisation of said age statements during the Whisky Loch era when there was a surplus of aged stock 🤷♂️ I think you hit the nail on the head when you said about basing purchases on favourable reviews though. We're beyond the point where brands can release sub par NAS whisky and get away with it because we're all too well connected and informed.
Among all the Tubers, you are the best to describe and un-veil (or suggest) cask influences and things behind the aroma/scent/rancio . . . I say this, cos' I blend my malts a lot (since 1991) and I use NAS for initial punch-in-face effect, then the higher age for complexity/contemplation fx, and the higher abv 46-47% for endurance.
Thank you very much 🙏🥃
Old Pulteney Clipper is a nas special release to promote an around the world sailboat race that took place in 2013-14. They were one of the sponsors of a boat in the race. A shop in California that does a good job of finding forgotten palates in the back of distributors warehouses got a bunch of it last fall. It's 46%, and I think back then, they were more likely to put some older casks in vatings because this is very good. $20usd, so I ended up buying 6 of them. Cheers
I remember that but never got to try it. Sounds amazing for $20. Cheers 🥃
Bunnahabhain Stiuireadair on the cheaper end and Glen Scotia Victoriana on the more expensive end have been my favorite NAS whiskys so far. This OP Harbour sounds interesting. Cheers!
Stuireadar is a stone cold bargain if you time it right. Cheers 🥃
Thanks for yet another excellent review Shane.
Not a whisky that is on the top of my wish list, so to speak.
Normally not reaching for NAS whiskies, but I have to admit I like Machir Bay, Corryvreckan and Port Askaig 100°proof
Slàinte mhath
All good examples. I think Machir Bay might be my favourite NAS 👍🥃
We get an Glen Scotia Campbelltown 'Harbour' here in Australia. It's 40% non-craft & cheap too. I'll stick to the OP 12 plus I think. Thanks for taking one for the team :)
We get that too. It's a decent introduction to Glen Scotia and Campbeltown but that's probably about it 🙂 Cheers 🥃
Kilchoman Machir Bay, Sanaig and Lock Gorm are all NAS...and excellent...Ardbeg An Oa, Corryvreakan, Uigeadail, All Ardnamuchan, Aberlour A'Bunadh, Glen Scotia Victoriana...it turns out I like quite a lot of them ;)
People never talked about *those* NAS whiskies when they're talking about NAS do they? Lots of great malts 👍
i have bought a couple of budget supermarket whiskies of late and to be honest they have not been too bad as an every day drinker, i will need to give this one a go. Thanks for the review Shane.
Yes, with reasonable expectations you can get something nice for very little money. Cheers Andy 🥃
I haven't had the OP Harbour but have had the OP Pineau Des Charentes NAsS and wasn't a fan. I always go back to Glen Scotia Victoriana as a favorite NAS. Cheers!
I need to get a bottle of Victoriana soon. Last time I tried it was at launch which was very nearly 10 years ago believe it or not 😬
I bought the M&S Glenfarclas 10. I’m enjoying it but I’m not sure it’s all that far off the OB 10. I must get a dram of the standard 10 to compare at some point.
That's pretty much why I gave it a miss. Thanks for sharing your experience 🥃
NAS are rare in my repetoire, but blends are on the rise tho
I've been really enjoying TB-BSW recently. What are your go to blends?
@WhiskyLock I have those 2 early blends of TB but they haven't really rocked by boat. And gone are the days when a JW Green Label or the A'bunadh represent permashelves. Nowadays I enjoy the Rock Island (Oyster )I found the Old Perth Sherry Cask Strength to be astonishingly good for the price. However, blends are only a try-before-I-buy category for me.
Ardbeg Uigedail or laphroaig Lore have to be my favorite NAS, definitely not opposed but they need to be special and higher abv helps
ABV FTW 🥃
I've given up on Old Pulteney. I think my casual dram these days is anything by Benromach. I like the Indian NAS expressions but I can't think of any others that I buy with any frequency.
It's a shame because I used to love the 12 and 17. The current 12 15 and 18 just don't hit the mark... I keep getting tempted to buy the set to review but I don't want to risk the expected disappointment.
About 50% of my scotch single malts and nearly all of my blended malts are NAS. But most of my whiskies with age statements are aged 14 years or less. I think a lot of NAS whiskies stand up well against 10-12-year age stated whiskies. I'm more concerned about the quality of the whisky vs the price and tend to base my purchases on favourable reviews. Cheers!
It's interesting how views change. And interesting that if we go back even further there was a time when a lot of whisky was NAS. Some might say that the current expectation of age statements was born out of the popularisation of said age statements during the Whisky Loch era when there was a surplus of aged stock 🤷♂️
I think you hit the nail on the head when you said about basing purchases on favourable reviews though. We're beyond the point where brands can release sub par NAS whisky and get away with it because we're all too well connected and informed.
I'm not anti NAS whiskies, however I do prefer then to be 46% or above.
Very wise
🥃👍😊😊