3 Speysiders for Jimmy Young: Speyburn 10 Travel Exclusive @46%, Knockando 21, Glen Moray 18
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- There's great distilleries and not so great distilleries. There's overrated distilleries and underrated distilleries. But then there's the distilleries that don't even get rated as such - that your eyes just kind of pass over while browsing the bottles on a shelf or the names on a website, that don't even get enough notice from consumers or (yes) reviewers to be seriously judged alongside the Springbanks and the Glendronachs. Sure, we reviewers might throw out a review of Cardhu or something here or there just to mix things up, but even if we drop a decent score on it we "know" at the back of our minds that it's just not in the same league as the Clynelish we're going to review next week. Even if the Cardhu does better. It takes considerable effort to bracket out how good distilleries should be at their various pedigrees and pay attention to what's really there, i.e. the quality of the bottles they're putting out. But if you do, you may find that the "best" distilleries, underrated or overrated, don't always put out stuff any better than producers you never gave a second thought to.
So today's all about reviewing officially bottled single malts from no-name, "jobbing" Scotch malt distilleries that you probably never think much about - all from the Speyside because that's where those distilleries tend to reside - to see if we can find a spoiler. These three distilleries have all put a little something extra into the bottles in question, whence my buying them. Glen Moray has been on the channel before (at • Value Lives!! Glen Mor... I reviewed the standard range), but this 18yo, widely available for under a hundo, is not only older but has also quietly been bumped up to 47.2% and bottled with no chill-filtration. Knockando will sell you a 21 year old whisky (it's 43%, but still) for even less, and throw in a nice box and some glasses to boot. Meanwhile Speyburn, they of the bottom shelf of the grocery store, recently snuck a travel exclusive liter bottle version of their ubiquitous 10 year old into the airports (now at retail too)... which wouldn't be all that interesting except, if you read the fine print, you notice they made it 46% and (again) unchillfiltered. It's just that no one tends to read the fine print or, well, even look at these bottles. But let's see if they can deliver:
- Speyburn "Travel Exclusive" 10 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (ex-American bourbon and sherry casks, bottled 2021; unchillfiltered, 46% ABV), 84/100
- Knockando "Master Reserve" 1997 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (bottled circa 2019; 43% ABV), 83/100
- Glen Moray 18 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky (ex-American oak, bottled circa 2020; unchillfiltered, 47.2% ABV), 87+/100
(Also, if you're wondering what the heck I'm on about you can watch highlights of the Foreman/Jimmy Young fight at • George Foreman vs. Jim... .)
The Travel Exclusive Speyburn 10 is, no debates, the best version of Speyburn 10 ever made. The worm tubs and the Speyside fruit sing their song loud and proud: this should be the standard version of the 10, available in shops worldwide, and if you can find this version now then for the price I'm tempted to call it a no-brainer. The Knockando, meanwhile, isn't a very impressive whisky - it's pleasant if sort of vaguely nutty, dusty, and coffeefied - but I can't be mad, since it is an impressive gift set for any rising 21-year-old in your life.
And the best malt here is the Glen Moray 18, by miles. Remember that Ledaig 18 I reviewed a few months ago ( • Ledaig 18yo Single Mal... )? I like this better. It doesn't have the flashiest of styles - it's a lean and focused Mozart symphony of American oak, flowers, malt, and pleasant herbaceousness - but in a world of underperforming "great" whiskies this is a fantastic spoiler. Highly recommended; throw it in as the opening bottle of a longer, more famous tasting lineup and watch the fun.
Question of the Video: what's your Jimmy Young?
Extra special thanks to my Different Spirits on Patreon ( / differentspirits ) -
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I ignored Speyburn until the 15 showed up recently. It takes a while for the nasty sherry cask influence to subside, but is decent a couple months after opening. I wish they had an exclusive bourbon cask 15 or used better sherry casks. I don’t think you should judge a Diageo distillery on an official bottling. The owner doesn’t seem to be interested in Knockando and is one of their portfolio that I am praying they sell in the near future. I suspect there is a lot of potential in Knockando. Good luck finding an indie. No comment on Glen Moray since I haven’t purchased a bottle to date. I didn’t realize the 18 has an interesting presentation. Thanks for the review, even though the boxing rhetoric was lost on me 😂
Potential in all of these! Although truth be told, I... really don't think heavy sherry influence would play well with Speyburn's signature. The distillate is bringing plenty of grungy notes all on its own!!
An interesting tasting, thanks, and I like the boxing analogy. I've only tried the Glen Moray 18 YO. I share your assessment that it's good quality. This was around here in Australia for a while, and was mighty cheap, then it largely disappeared. I might go hunting because it really agreed with me. Keep punching, Scott.
I wouldn't be surprised if it popped up at a bunch of retailers around the world a few years ago, when it was first released, with most of it going unceremoniously to the closeout racks. Because Glen Moray.
I'm as reliable a Springbank fan as they come, but I'll happily steer anyone who asks far, far away from the 15yo. It's terrible. Nobody bats 1.000.
The ones I had weren't terrible! _Difficult_ yes, and overpriced, but some of those red wine releases? ooof.
@@differentspirits4157 Well, ok... "terrible, but still Springbank." I did have a pretty bad one, though. It was all on strawberry jam and wintergreen. Drank like OJ first thing after brushing your teeth and somehow got worse as the bottle went down. I scored it in the 70s... I don't think Springbank in tired refill sherry casks is my thing.
Its only saving grace is that I bought it in 2019, before whisky fully broke, and only paid $84 at a Total Wine.
I would not replace it at the same price, for what that's worth... much less the 160+ they ask now.
Hey, Scott!
Thanks for the splendid review of those overlooked malts. Especially in this day and age of outrageous price hikes of everything with decent age statement. I am particularly pleased by your assessment of Glen Moray 18 as it is among the most affordable 18 yo malt whiskies in Bulgaria, where I live. I can have a 0.7 l bottle of it for the equivalent of 76-77 USD by current exchange rates. 47.2% ABV, NCF and all.
Other affordable and nicely presented 18 yo malts on my radar are Speyburn (~84 USD) and Loch Lomond (~87-88 USD). None of them is being particularly raved about but everything else 18 yo that is 46% ABV or higher is way above 100 USD and IMHO very tough sale. Including the Ledaig 18 that everybody and their mother seem to be so excited about.
Cheers!
Thanks!! Buy with confidence, as they say. I actually reviewed the Loch Lomond 18 here somewhere too, although no Speyburn yet.
My local retailer made a mistake and was selling this version of Speyburn 10yo (46% ncf 1L travel exclusive) instead of regular 40% 0.7L for 29€. And Glen Grant 12yo 48% 1L ncf instead of regular 43% 0.7L for 30€! I bought 1 of each and was immediately charmed with the Glen Grant. I guess it's my sort of dram, so aromatic, tasty and it's easy to pick out honey, apple and other fruits and other various flavours in it for someone like myself who's not experienced. Bought another 2 bottles and they ran out of stock (or noticed an error). 90€ well spent :)
Speyburn took a while to figure out. The time it spent after opening the bottle did help, I reckon. At first I had it mixed with other whisky that I find tastier, Bladnoch (which is completely out of stock in my country for a couple of years now). My brother also visited with a bottle of Talisker that we added to it.
Now, after a few months, I'm liking this Speyburn more and more. Adding less water now than I did in the beginning. It is competent on it's now, lovely fruit and that green tea you mentioned :) And if not it serves as a wonderful base for adding other whiskys.
Speyburn has a very unusual signature, even by worm tubber standards. I'd love to see them do more interesting bottlings in the future - e.g., I can't help but wonder what a lightly peated version would be like...
Honestly a great intro to some overlooked distilleries and, intentional or not, you returned to the refrain at @30:49.
I haven't had Glen Moray or an aged Knockando, but I did gladly tear through a bottle of Speyburn 15 not too long ago. Speyburn, like most Inver House whiskies, really display their worm tubs more than some other distilleries that are known to use them. And it was fruity-clean unlike Craigellachie which gets soapy-clean for me.
Your Ledaig 18 link is incorrect fyi. Don't worry, even the greats never threw with 100% accuracy :)
Thanks!! Ledaig link fixed. 😂 I did consider getting that Speyburn 15, but that's been reviewed here and there and, well, _nobody_ seems to have noticed this duty-free bottle.
The long awaited Speyburn 10 travel review! My favourite flight starter.
...Wait, long-awaited?? Is there hype for this thing??? 😂
@@differentspirits4157you mentioned being aware of the stuff in a previous comment section so I had been wondering for some time whether you thought it was surprisingly decent or absolutely rank 😅
@@darienbragg4826 It's very decent but I'm also not surprised!! 😁