Is Expensive Whisky Worth the Price? Clynelish 14 vs Brora 30 & 38
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- Опубліковано 15 жов 2024
- The Whisky Rant Podcast Ep 13. Is there a law of diminishing returns with Scotch when age and price go up? We review Clynelish 14 and compare it Brora 30 and Brora 38. Plus, Malt Reviews have their first ever live show and giveaway some epic samples! Guess who won some??
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Scores:
After my initial score I add or subtract points relative on how I perceive value (based on what I paid for the bottle). A zero value means I think the price is justified.
0-69.5 - Don’t bother trying, life is too short for bad spirit.
70-79.5 - Worth trying, but you’re not missing out if you don’t.
80-84.5 - I recommend trying.
85-87.5 - Definitely try this!
88-92.5 - I recommend buying a bottle blind!
93-95.5 - Stuff you reserve for special pours!
96+ - The meaning of life.
I bought the Macallan 1951 Fine and Rare in or around 2009 for £2300. It was absolutely delicious and enjoyed as much for the historical context. You have to read up on what was happening in 1951 as you nose it to enhance the experience. I am glad I opened it even though it would be worth more now.
It’s nice to share with someone who can understand and appreciate something 😊
Its been great sharing this Brora with friends!
I swear me and the fellas were just having this conversation we were sipping on some 14 and I’m like I wonder how much better Brora is compared to CL14. Awesome video.
Big difference in quality but probably bigger difference in price if you know what I mean.
As a Scotch enthusiast myself, I have no problem spending 2100$ for a Brora 38 year old which is still available in my local Total Wine but let’s not forget it’s a 38 y/o cask strength single malt from a ghost distillery. Yet there are times that spending this amount of money is pure stupidity. Like mentioned in the discussion is Highland park 30 worth it? Well when it was 600$ yes but definitely not at 1200$, or how about Macallan 25 which I’ve tried it 3 times and I can tell you Glengoyne 25 completely destroys it for a fraction of cost. I’m spending insane amount of money on Scotch recently but honestly it’s really hard to talk about value once you pass 300$ unless it’s Springbank or something that I know somehow is unique.
I agree, scotch that's produced every single year and priced way higher than something like a Brora 38 makes no sense. I've been disappointed by a Mac25 as well. The old nas cask strength bottlings are better IMO.
I was thinking what to say until 15 minutes in and then it became obvious when you started talking about the price difference between Highland Park 25 and 30. The question "is it worth it?" is actually irrelevant when you get to that level. Only rich people can afford to spend £500 on a bottle of whisky. It doesn't matter if it's worth it because that's not an issue for people with that kind of wealth. For me, a bottle of whisky that is churned out every year for that price with no special history could never be worth that kind of money. I'm not rich, or single, so to blow money away on a tasty drink (and let's not get mystical, that's all it is) is the wrong thing to do. I don't want to be a hypocrite because I overspend on alcohol but I try to keep my feet on the ground. Living in the U.K I can bag some interesting single barrels by being selective. Would I buy Springbank 21 or 25? No way, far too expensive. £300 for something sat in a barrel for three years in Taiwan, seriously, what are you smoking? A bottle of whisky or tickets for the family to visit Italy, it's insane. A blowout to Italy is worth it because it is unique and special and will improve and enrich your life forever. A bottle of whisky or the Sistine Chapel? Unless you're rich you have to choose your poison. Expensive whisky is nice, I get it, it's great but I'd rather see the Sistine Chapel or buy a new car.
I love Mike and Narbi and their content but they can obviously afford to indulge their hobby. I think many people are being irresponsible with high value purchases and turning their backs on solid whisky due to the excitement (I've done it myself) but we need to live within our means. I applaud Ralfy for getting this as well and choosing to review quality affordable whisky and bringing it back to the people. The more people indulge in this modern overpriced unicorn junk the more the prices go up. You ask who is buying it? When you buy Springbank/Highland Park/Laphroaig etc, 21 or 25 the message is out. People will pay anything.
Im not rich my any means, but I also don't have other expenses some people have. In all the years ive been buying whisky i've purchased a few expensive bottles for special occasions and haven't regretted them. That being said, this Brora was essentially $1,000 off and will probably be the only one I ever buy. I've enjoyed every pour and sharing it with friends, to me, it was worth it. Some people like travelling, some people like cars, some people like collecting weird junk. All depends on your own personal enjoyment and interests. But yes, everyone needs to live within their means, and be responsible. A lot of people get angry when we review expensive bottles, but we love whisky, and are willing to indulge every once and while.
@@SippersSocialClub I don't get angry with expensive bottle reviews, they can obviously be really interesting and I have the odd splurge myself. The question was are they worth it and I don't think they are.
@@welshtoro3256 I guess you can say that about any whisky purchase. I have a few bottles that were in the $50-$150 range and they will just sit on the shelf. Not worth their price at all.
@@SippersSocialClub Very true. Buying cheap is often false economy. I think you made that point very well in your excellent beginners video. I have friends that refuse to spend more than £10 on a bottle of wine because they are convinced it all tastes the same and nothing I say can convince them otherwise. They think I'm a snob but I'm sure most of the stuff they drink is horrible.
I pondered this for a while.....I'm guessing that most of us watching this could afford a Brora quite easily. All we'd have to do is save our Scotch budget for one year or two or three and then go and get that Brora. But we don't. Because we'd miss out on all the other experiences we could have trying 10 or 20 other bottles. So I guess the answer is that it isn't worth it.
That's what I'll keep telling myself......
Oh and we need the "LCBO sucks" counter back, but make sure you set it up for scientific notation, because it will need to display some large numbers!
Great rant!
Got the Brora for essentially $1,000 off, and it will probably be the only one I ever buy. I think the experience from this bottle is perhaps as enjoyable as multiple other bottles scotch, but perhaps not. Its all relative to each individual. I've certainly enjoyed every single pour and sharing it with friends. Ill work on updating the LCBO ticker! haha. Cheers
@@SippersSocialClub I know you hate it when us older guys say we were picking them up for a couple of hundred pounds. I remember when you could go in the Clynelish Distillery shop with all the Brora's lined up at that price and they would give you a generous sample of each to try before you buy!!
Hey Jeremy
I know you had shared a bottle of the Craigellachie 23 with Rob. If i am not mistaken though, you have yet to review it. Would it be possible to know your personal score for it?
I am asking this to compare with this affordable Clynelish 14 to which you've just given 88.
I would score it 90
@@SippersSocialClub same score as Rob.
You guys are great. Cheers!
Cheers!
cheers Mike!
Those Cairdeas releases have always been decently priced well at the LC, unlike the regular releases. QC is something like 96$ now....
yeah, makes no sense haha
I have thought that the price difference between an 18-year-old and 12 can't possibly just be for six extra years of maturation. Surely each distillation process brings a slightly different result. Can they all be exactly the same? Then, they must be using better (more expensive) casks for the 18-year-old. Of course, there is a different demand for the different ages. ie someone will pay 2-4 times more for a slightly better product. What does waiting six extra years bring to the storage cost? Two-three bucks, if that.
Distilleries pay tax on all inventory they have in the warehouse. So each year a barrel is sitting there is costing them money. It could be true that they use better barrels for older bottlings. Vatting a large batch of 12 year old can allow for some unfavourable casks to be included, whereas vatting a smaller batch of 18 may be more noticeable.
Don't want to taste the same experience over and over vs this is a great tasting bottle why drink anything else mentality this made me compare whiskey to relationships lol
haha! love it
Talking my language...
The ultra premium prices are for the ultra premium 1% population... heard of some sport stars and rock stars with bar tabs over a hundred grand spent in a night.
Dont expect too much from Lbco. Monopoly of market, union pokes, political swings, 5 levels of bureaucracy on pricings, terrible search logics on website, name mis-spelled, . . . great episode. I am just gald i had a room full of stock to last a long - long - time, without having to spend 200$+ for a 15yo. . .
for drinking,, for sure not worth the price. for collecting or investment, Maybe, at the right time right price for the right bottle!
Nothing wrong with a Nissan Altima as long as it didn't have a CVT transmission in it. Stay far away from those. Clynelish 14 is really nice. I won't be buying any Brora anytime soon.....or any Highland Park higher than 18 years. Stupid pricing on some of these bottles.
Even the 18 has gone up a bit. I remember paying $400 for the 25 and $850 for the 30. Those prices have pretty much doubled in the last 4 years.
I cant stop staring at that patch of hair. BCL is selling Glenfarclas family casks for $18K....looks like LCBO and BCL are competing with each other
🤣 bad hair a product of teaching a kickboxing class at 6:30, showering at 7:40, putting kids down with the wife at 8:00 and Jeremy arriving at 8:30 to film a podcast
@@WhiskyInThe6 please teach me how you get your kids to sleep at 8:00
@@indieingot34 there are consequences. Ie: my hair lol
Whoa. what a horrible haircut. Dude 😂 .. I hope it was by accident
haha!