ralfy review 770 - Highland Park 12yo 'Viking honour' @ 40%vol:
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- Опубліковано 31 бер 2019
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Not a lot of people know that for one month a year Highland Park closes down for a month with no production to do a big clean up of the distillery. For one week of that month every employee must do work in the community, it could be helping old people or painting buildings in the community in Orkney. A fantastic whisky and that hasn't yet been corrupted
Awesome
Great story
Your “ramblings” as you put it, are actually a blessing! I truly welcome them Each and every week. Thank you.
I like this whisky a lot and I’ve a lot of whisky. It’s an easy, affordable drinker. Not everyone can afford £70+ bottles of whisky. At £25 it’s a bargain. As whisky fans it’s very easy to keep chasing that elusive new whisky-finish-mouthfeel etc. Sometimes you just need to stop and enjoy a nice humble dram. Searching for perfection is a slippery slope...
I agree... but at the same time, i'd much rather buy a bottle of Ardbeg. Similar price and much more bang for the buck imo. Sadly, the hype has caught up and now it seems to be sold out near me and has been for months.
@@yugen I was Thinking the same thing about Port Charlotte 10; about the same price and available.
@@joebart41 The Port Charlotte 10 it's three times the price of the HP 12 here in Italy :(
You don’t have to search for perfection, that’s just a straw man. It would help if you searched for an integrity whisky, bottled at 46%, non-chill filtered and no artificial colour added.
Yeah, this version is really inexpensive and affordable, but it’s just a boring, quite okay Single Malt. And I know that many people buying this are getting mad about it, but I just don’t care. I’m mad that Highland Park once was so much more, and it could be so much more ..
"The ocasional buyer lives in a blingy world". Incredible review, really enjoyed it, keep it coming.
Happy 10th anniversary, Ralfy. Great review and I really enjoyed seeing you with Roy live. So much fun.
Dear Ralfy, just want to thank you so much for your incredible researches. Just a pure pleasure to listen to your lectures, springs a lot of light on whisky culture for us. I'm sure your doings will help so much people to avoid alcoholism. Greetings and hugs from Russia.
I really enjoyed seeing you on Roy's channel (Aqvavitae) for your 10th Anniversary celebration. It was an epic moment in Whisky Tuber history. I'll be visiting Highland Park in July 2019 in my return to Scotland. But I have found the best Highland Park whiskies tend to come from the Independent Bottlers such as Douglas Laing.
This is a personal fav. It absolutely needs a drop of water. Here in Canada we get it at 43%.
I’m in the US, here in Maine, which borders/juts up into Canada. I’ve only seen this in one store and grabbed a bottle, we do get the 43% also
"It just brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it". Love that! It's quotable Ralfy. I might add to it by saying " but then , so does slamming your fingers in the car door." :) :)
Hey Ralfy,
Thnaks for the reviews. To maybe add some reference: the celtic/viking design on the all the new bottles of Highland Park actually come directly from a viking stave church located in Urnes in central Norway. It's at the end of the longest fjord here. As a whisky enthousiast and bartender living in Norway it's a fun detail to give to people when I do tastings for Edrington.
Keep up the great work,
Skål!
Excellent review! I enjoy reading the labels when in the liquor shop Ralfy, so much flannel to get past, but now we know what to look for. Thank you!
Highland Park 12 went downhill big time in the last 10 years. I used to love it. I took it for granted though. If I knew I would stock up on it back in 2010 when it was, also, 25 quid on supermarket offer.
Saving this for later. Just to say the 10th anniversary show with
Aqvavitae was brilliant. Just brilliant.
@X Agreed. Perhaps this three hour video of Ralfy and Roy was the reason UA-cam was created!
+ 1 -AWESOME INDEED !
A great piece of time, saved forever in the internet
. . . happy to share !
Hello Malty BaIty Ralfy, love your intro, love that period antique background(walls & furniture) that best suits your whisky reviews. And ofcourse your dressing etiquette. 👍😃
I understand one can add colorant direct to the product OR coat the barrel in preparation with colorant so it seeps measurably over time into the uncolored product when in the cask. A crafty lawyer-esque marketing department will always find a way to leave an impression whether the impression is entirely honest or not. “No colorant put into our new make” may literally be true but if the cask itself is bleeding caramel in the first place, it is a distinction without a difference.
I just bought the Highland Park 12. Waiting till Monday to celebrate an occasion before opening it. But I was curious what I’m getting into. I didn’t wanna watch a 20 min video necessarily. But I wouldn’t watch a scotch review from anyone else. Thanks again, Ralfy. Love your reviews!
Love the crying bit at the end. ha ha ha!
"Things move on, and I've got to modify my own attitudes". Awesome admission and healthy mentality, makes for a great non-bias review and reviewer. Very well done.
Wasn't that "all rounder" description made back in the day too though? Ralphy is just trying to be persnickety just to have something to complain about. Sometimes he gets on my nerves with his righteous indignation. As if whisky were supposed to be a museum art piece and not an agricultural, consumable product that will change over the years.
Ralfy, you're the great al-rounder.
Ralfy I am back to China now as I am watching this video, and sharing our meeting experience (malt moments) with my partner. Looking forward to our Glen Scotia Limited edition video review soon.
There should be an entire extras video of ralfy just reading hilarious cringy boxes
I'ev come across many a cringingly bad text on the side of a whisky bottle.
Off teh top of my head, I seem to remember that on the side of a bottle of Jura Superstition it was written something like, We have a custom on Jura that it's bad luck not to finish off the bottle in one day after you have opened it or something like that. can anyone tell me the exact quote?
Also, what does Ardbeg wite? That this is the greatest whisky in the world, or something like that.
Oh, how about The Glenlivet Nadurra (which means "all natural") when they have almost certainly put caramel colouring in it.
The Highland Park box blurb said nothing about the whisky itself; it was more like one of those meaningless mission statments companies are supposed to have.
This is an example of someone who, I think, TRIED.
‘Fresh, sweetly fruity and smooth bodied, Caol Ila 12 year old is as rounded and clear as the shapes of the still-room, glimpsed by hazy shafts of sunlight glancing through the morning cloud.’
This aged well! Ralphy extras have been a boon to the whisky community.
It brought a tear to my eye too... Thank you for your honest evaluations!
I really enjoy your reviews, I live in Kentucky... Thank you
Thanks for the review, Valour is 35€ here in Croatia, you saved me from unnecessary spending. I really liked older 12yo expression.
The lowest I have seen in Italy is 33.50 at Auchan Supermarket not all year round but for Christmas. So for the price tag you get, it should be quite a bargain. Otherwise you will have to go to the Isle of Man and buy it for 20 pounds
I wish I was here before buying mine,.,
its cynicism that separates the wheat from the chaff. ralfy does seem a bit less chirpy and "cheery" than in the earlier vlogs but i do like hearing a spade being called a spade and enjoy when he takes the piss. HP12 sits well alongside the glenfiddich 12 and glenmorangie 10 as a solid intro and at that price definitely worth having around the house for when the occasional whisky drinker visit.... or to "improve" with an old version or indy bottle. really enjoyed this review...
i was sipping the Highland Park 12 and watching ralfy's review-I must say its a lovely Supermarket single Malt with an interesting character that is best consumed while deciding which is the appropriate hot house tomatoes to choose for your bagged ham sanwiches that you are making for your return to the office
Ralfy, Picked up the 43% today, lovely Honey, Toffee and light Brown Sugar!! Thanks for another Great Review!!
The bottle of Highland Park 12 I have today is 43%, it is quite nice, cheers. I am in Canada.
My bottle of HP12 says Natural Color on the back label and is 43% abv. I'm in the US. I had a similar HP Single Cask 11yo @ 59.6% abv bottled for the state of Texas $69. Amazing stuff.
The 12-year old "Viking Honour" bottlings I've seen have stated "natural colour" on the back label of the bottle. It's listed under the tasting notes. Check the bottle again, Ralfy.
. . . your right, I will mention this in the next Vlog !
I was thinking it looked natural. In fact the older version is decidedly a lot darker. Does this mean it has colouring?
@Ralfy: in Germany by law the bottles have to have a statement of coloring if caramel is added. No HP bottle has this!
I never tasted this version but the one before. And this one needed time to open up. Not in the glas but in the bottle. Pour some more drams and forget the bottle for a couple of months. Should change to its positive (if it is not too different to the older version).
In December 2017 I bought 3 bottles of this Highland Park 12 year old in the central station in Vienna. The small label on the back says 'TASTING NOTES: Natural colour; heather honey sweetness; rich fruit cake; aromatic smoky peat'. Yours might be from another batch where they dropped the natural colour statement. Nonetheless, it has a weird orange glow to it hinting to caramel.
I buy Highland Park 15yo as my standard. I have tried several of HP's theme bottlings and also notice the ones with age statements do stand way above those that don't.
Let's just accept the fact that CHANGE is inevitable. I've down 2 bottles of the old bottling of Highland Park 12 and a bottle of this current version. Ralfy is really on point with his honest and w/ no BS review. This newer iteration is just too unpleasant to drink. It has that astringent-like mouthfeel and harshness. I will definitely miss that old bottling flavor that you will never ever get from this Viking Honour.
Boy, I had a HP 12 bottle distilled in 80s and bottled in 90s some time ago. Delicious. Started me on my whisky journey. Can’t say the same for current HP 12. Pity. Benromach 10 is a good all-rounder, in MHO.
On the back of the bottle it has the tasting notes in small print , here it also states natural colour on the bottle but in very small print - they should make it more clear
I'm in the states and have the 43%. I think it's very good. Easy drinking with not too much "smoke".
Hello Ralphy, the bottle of Highland Pak 12 I picked up a week ago says natural color in small white lettering on the back label of the bottle. It's in the upper left hand corner on the bottle. Cheers.
Same here
Howdy Ralfy, greetings from Moscow, Russia!) Your reviews are just like royal feasts for me), just kinda music to my ears)
My favourite Highland Park is the 15 year old SMWS bottling I have. 60% and lightly peated un-chillfiltered & natural colour. Single cask. I won't buy official bottlings anymore. The thick oily mouthfeel you get with SMWS bottles is fantastic.
. . . agreed !
Never tried the old version, but I just finished a bottle of the new version.... it wasn't great but I would be more around 87 or 88, it had a nice complexity
Thanks for being honest Ralfy. I find those recent HP "viking" (lol) expressions to be rather thin. Also with some unpleasant petrol/plastic smell and taste. So disappointing. In 2010-2012 I used to love my 12 HP, it really was a great all-rounder. At least we get 43% in Canada (but with a hefty price tag).
Hahaha, did the same recently for the exact same reason: £25 at Morrisons, I thought it wasn't much a risk... didn't dare to add water though as it's "only" 40% and was really bland at the first sip, lost my interest too quickly I should say. Will try again with a few drops, and will probably keep it for friends willing to try different whiskies... or as a first sip to prepare my palate for more complex ones! ;)
I enjoy this bottle as I enjoy your reviews. Hello from Michigan.
I will ALWAYS watch your reviews. For the rest of my life, as long as you make them. Wish so bad I could sit down and have a drink with you my brother. All the best from Gloucester MA!!!!
Really enjoyed this one. Cheers Ralfy!
My bottle of Highland Park 12 DOES state it’s natural colour on the back label ;-)
. . . good to see some progress with disclosure.
I really enjoyed the 15. I just picked up a bottle of this last week lol and I will open it next.
Highland Park is the perfect example of what has happened to the Scotch industry (and I'm not talking about quality). Scotch ruled the day for an extended period of time. I watched Oban almost triple in price from when I first started drinking scotch. Bourbon, which I couldn't give away, aged and aged til people started noticing the fantastic quality for dollar you were receiving. Scotch on the other hand, was enjoying nice margins of profit til this switch came about. Factor in the expansion and obvious ease of entering the distillation business and Scotch margins have come under great pressure. Non Age Statements allow for higher margin (newer whiskies) to be blended with lesser amounts of those older barrels that carry a higher cost load. They're an attempt to raise the distillery's profit margin. That's why, IMO, the Highland Park 15 is gone.
And there's another factor as well. Shifting Demographics and the World Economy as a hold. Let me address the latter first. Alcohol, and what you pay for it, is a much cheaper display of one's prosperity over buying a car, a house/apt, and the toys. It also conveys an air of class. 2nd point addresses demographic changes in the US. We have 10,000 people a day turning 65. People tend to drink less as they get older. The next largest demographic here is our Millenials. Trend followers, working to attain affluence, not settled in their ways. Producers have come under fast shifting conditions and I think some of the navigational skills are easily criticized.
And Ralfy, very generous of you to share the Rosebank with Roy. If it ever comes back I hope they'll market it as "So good, you'll lick it off a table in a hard gale...." . Can't tell you how many of us would have done the same.
Just became a patreon, mate. I love what you do.
I did a trip to Orkney to see the Neolithic ruins. I did an evening in the Lynfield Hotel restaurant sampling Scotches, mostly Highland Park expressions because the distillery was immediately next door. I got a taste for their product and, when leaving Heathrow, I purchased a liter of their 'Einar'. When I got home I was delighted with the product, but crushed when I was later told that it was a 'travel special' and only available through duty free shops. Ever since, I've been trying to replicate the flavor profile of 'Einar'. After wending through Talisker and Lagavulin 16, Benrioch Smoky 12 and the HP entry-level offerings, I finally picked up a bottle of Benromach 15 and I am finally come to accept that this is as close as I will come to the flavor profile I sought. I am somewhat content. One of these days, I might actually get a taste of Springbank or Longrow.
. . . good to finally get a match !
Thank you for the review Ralphy, I would be in the no caramel no chill filtration camp... and I'm not 'encouraged' by the Viking/Celtic hyper-marketing despite being Danish/Irish...
evan parkinson - I also prefer no caramel colorants or chill filtration in my whisky, however, I do appreciate Highland Park for paying homage to the culture and heritage of Orkney, in spite of not having any roots there myself.
"Its part of the culture", that cracked me up, the delivery was downright comic.
@ralfydotcom I recently found (for a decent price) a 2004 bottling of HP 18 yo. It smells and tastes like an impressive sherry monster in my opinion, compared to the recent HP I tasted. It seems like HP does not involve the same cask quality recently, am I right? And not only HP... (I'm not an expert, and sorry for my English).
It is actually a big misconsepction that those knot styles are celtic. That idea became popular because of irish manuscripts written by priests long ago, they loved to draw those knotworks, and they later engraved them on stone crosses and so on aswell. But that appeared out of the blue on the british isles. One version appeared at the same time the anglo-saxons arrived, whom are southern scandinavians and northern germans. But then it appeared again later at the same time the danes and vikings had alot of influence in the british isles. They did not exist there in previously celtic dominated periods.
But in scandinavia we can see the full evolution of these knotwork styles. We see how it evolved from the animalistic artsyles of the migration era where human features and animal features were mixed in all artwork on all wealthy metals and stones. We see how it developed into the many different knot styles, from the Broa style to the Oseberg style to the Ringerike style, which is the one I believe appears on the bottle.
This tells is that the knotted artstyle is purely of a northern germanic origin and was introduced to the celtic peoples by the anglo-saxons and the vikings. There is no development of it in the celtic artwork of previous periods therefore it is safe to say that it is not celtic in origin or even in influence since the true celtic artwork don't actually involve knots, but rather symmetrical shapes.
So I will rebuke you on this subject in defence of Highland Park. Though they might not be aware of it themselves, the viking stamp is perfect for a bottle of this style.
"Survive the Jive" is a good history channel which just made a documentary about this exact subject. I recommend checking it out if you're interested in this often ignored part of british hsitory.
. . . excellent comment, thanks.
At a point in this video you mentioned that u do not agree with someone calling Highland Park an all-rounder at this specific point in time and there can be many other malts that could be could be worthy of being called as such...
Now I'd love to hear (as an almost daily sipper of a dram or two) from you a few names of the malts that could be called that in the current times...
You are a legend ralfy
hi ralfy, what do you think of the 1990s highland park bottlings? worth paying a bit extra?
I just picked up a bottle of this, even with all the marketing wank on the box. Had a wee dram, and estimated Ralphy would give it an 83. And lo! Not a bad guess. Mind, I'm in the US and got the 43% version.
My highland I bought yesterday has 43 % abv.... I’m like the flavors... this is my first try so I can’t compare it... bought a 5th at $50
Flannel and Bumpf hahahahhaha. I need to incorporate that into a future conversation for sure.
I love Highland Park 12 as my daily! It makes everyday a special day.
@ralfydotcom What's a better all-rounder in this price range?
Hey, you're in luck Ralfy there is a bottle of this very cask on line at auction right now, that sure is lucky.
Returning to this while trying to find reviews of the new HP 21.
SPOT ON Ralfy. I do not always agree with his taste and decrees. But this is so in line with my own mouth and mind.
A wealthy lawyer was exited to turn me on to his new favorite Malt. It turned out to be HP 12. I didn't tell him how much better it once was.
Inoffensive and ok, and intelligently priced in NYC, around $50. But the previous HP 12 was totally different and SO much better that HP is dead to me now. Like the sad Mortlach 12, there are just too many options out there to spend money on such weak and unimpressive malts.
Except, someone just paid over $300 to give me the new Highland Park 21 yo for my birthday. Not opened it yet. But the old 21 was delightful, even if the 25 and 30 were way advanced from it, and once cost $300 and less. Sigh.
I was happy to have HP put out all those expensive expressions if it helped keep the main line 100%. Well the new 21 November release has bourbon casks in it. :o( The August might: They say some first fill sherry American oak, some first fill sherry Spanish oak, and "refill" casks that are not explained, so those may be bourbon. This came with no box, so no idea which release it is, yet.
I used to keep HP 12 around as a casual, mildly peated sipper, but my last bottle of HP 12 was awfully sulphured (spent matches, onions, and rotten eggs). Is this common, or do you think it was a one-off? I emailed Highland Park and didn't get a response so I gave that bottle away to a friend who is "sulphur blind" and enjoyed it. Much later, Highland Park responded saying "we control tightly for sulphur and this is the first time we've heard about this kind of thing." They asked to have the bottle back for analysis, but it was long gone. Do I give them another chance?
haha...love Ralfy...that is one SM that i don't have in my collection nor do i think i'm going to spend money on anytime soon. For the same price point i would rather take a aberlour, tomatin, aberfeldy or glerothes...all 12's all delicious...
Here in France at my local Intermarche the most expensive single malt is Highland Park Dark Storm. 105 euros! My hunch was something so marketed, so branded and hyped, had to be poor value. You have confirmed my suspicions.
. . . I would not buy it !
Really wanted to like this Scotch, was even recommended by my local shop owner. Watched you’re review, went and picked up a bottle afterwards. Understood it could be hit or miss, it started out good and just got worse. It does have an oily aftertaste, felt like I was drinking something from a gas station. There is no honor in the beverage, no fancy quotes or clever packaging can redeem this malt.
I would love to no were to buy the larger glen Cain glass,love this whisky great box and great bottle makes a good gift
It's like 65 canadian or cheaper.. I thought our prices suck because of taxes was always envious of Americas now I feel a lil better lol
yes . adding some water improve the taste. love to pay 20 pounds for this bottle in the local supermarket - quite a bargain ...
i found higland drive to be perfect when you add it to your milk bases turmeric tea, then its concentrated sweet taste really work well to balanced and enhanced the gentle bitter salty taste of turmeric. the advantage of the highland park is that you don't need to add a lot of it to your tea. just a few drops and your tea will come a live...
60 dollars and 43% alc here in the US. Great dram when i step away from islay 🤤✌🏽🥃
I'm finding the new bottling, much sweeter than the old 12yo. It also has a new locking cork.
didnt expect a mark that high. did the price and availability factor in there? highland park12yo was the first scotch i liked years ago. bit of a nostalgic mark for me :)
Highland Park does actually state "Natural Colour" on the back of the bottle in tiny writing.
It may have gone missing on the latest batches. Or Highland Park feeds the worst shite to Englishmen: bottle of 700 ml instead of 750 ml, 40% abv instead of 43% and some caramel for the orange tan.
. . . your right, I missed the small-print in the tasting notes.
@@ralfydotcom,,,,, Caramel is a "natural" colour ! They could add it and still say that.
A great presentation of smoky and peaty, greatly balanced. Aged just enough, right on that edge. Affordable at 65$ in US. Great bottle. Very pleasing and balanced scotch from the far north.
You should really try the 10 viking scars. I preferred that above the 12. The 10 is much fresher en blind I thought it was bottled at at least 43% instead of 40%.
Great as always!
We get it here in Canada at 43%. It doesn't make it any better. I'm not an experienced single malt drinker, but I've had three drams on three widely spaced days, and I've had the same reaction each time: meh. I don't have the patience to work my way up to anything. Give me the good stuff now or don't bother. I'm glad I've tried other, better Scotches before I tried this one. I didn't spend a lot of money on it, so I can trade my nearly full bottle for something I like, or even just give it away.
Hit the 'Like' button as soon as I heard;
"Things move on, and I've got to modify my own attitudes".
Enjoy these reviews very much.
It's strange that you get a lot of non-age statement whiskies in a supermarket. In Luxembourg, whiskies with an age statement are quite common. Talisker 10, Cardhu 12, Lagavulin 16 etc are the staple whiskies where I shop.
As always thanks for your informative videos :)
Ralfy. Check the back of the bottle. It clearly states natural colour. All Edrington malts are.
You can see why he's surprised though. Very dark for only saying 12 years on the bottle, I guess they use quite a few nice older casks making this? Who knows
Love the video Ralfy!
Just to add a bit, it does state on their website that they are committed to never adding colouring to their whisky, even if it doesn't say that on the label.
Alex Wiebe - Right, but.. if the colorant is not put into the new make, the new make can surely be poured into a cask prepared inside with the colorant. Technically, the Distillery can UNOFFICIALLY claim (NOT on label but perhaps an email) they add nothing to the new make. The CASK adds the colorant. It happens.
Yes age statement like the over looked glenrothes.. Which new bottles all have age statements.. They where one of the first going Nas.. And one of the first going back to age st.... I Still love an old rothes..
11 yrs ago rated 88/100 , 5 yrs ago 84/100 n now 82/100 probably ralfy gonna rate this again in re - review 80/100 in 2020
Hey, Ralphy! Happy new year! Could you please explain what is fusile (?) smell and taste? I am revisiting this review while having a glass of hp12.
. . . savoury, mineral, metal, exhaust, bitter smoke.
@@ralfydotcom got it.
I like your addition of saying you went around the back of the building to taste the whiskey!! I can say I've done that only a few times but it's always like heaven lol
I recently found a dusty old bottle of 12 on the shelf of my local shop.
I know its only a small thing but I do like how you can lock the corks on these Highland Park bottles
. . . you cant, you would need a tantalus box !
Sorry I lock was the wrong word I mean that you can fasten the corks because of the threaded parts on plastic head of the cork @@ralfydotcom
Put a little of the single cask in there to "bring it up"?
Brilliant Ralfy😂😂. HP12 was one of the first whiskies I bought, and I still think it's alright, although I have discovered some much better ones since then.
I must agree...they DO write some horse-shit on those boxes. Personally speaking...in a time when global warming, recycling, etc. etc., is never far from the news, I ask...is extra packaging even necessary? Tubes, boxes and oddly shaped carrying vessels may look nice, but I certainly don't need them for anything. And they don't make a poor beverage any more palateable.
You mention that there are many new brands out there with a better reputation, what are some of these alternative newer/better all rounders to look out for?
So are you saying they taken away Highland Park very distinctive peaty flavour to make it mass marketable? I have a friend and she comes of Orkney and we toured the distillery when I was there.
I wish I could go to your liquor shop... I can’t find some these bottles you mention
Not sure if it's just my bottle, but this reminds me of the Glenfiddich 18 YO Small Batch with a slight peaty smokiness.
The Celts did not live in northern Europe. They lived in southern France and southern Europe, according to the Romans who named them. The first reference to "Celts" in the British Isles was not until 1574 by one of Elizabeth I's courtiers used the term.
Such a massive colour difference between the two. What's your opinion from the older bottling you are comparing and the other before the Viking Honour?
. . . just 'different'
What is your recommendation on the bottling that holds the new crown of what the highland park 12 used to be?
Personally, i like the Viking Honor better than the previous version. Went through 2 bottles of each over the course os 3 years. At the moment I"m really into Islay but still greatly appreciate HP.
Unfortunately, inconsistency seems to be HP's middle name at the moment, however, the latest bottlings of HP 12 are much better than the offerings of the past decade or so. Still nowhere near the halcyon days of the mid 2000's, which were probably the best HP had bottled since the early 90's. If you can find and afford an 18 year old bottling from around the 2005 era you will not regret it as this was some of the best HP I've ever tasted (and I've been drinking this stuff since the mid '80's).
I starting out really liking the 12 year HP, now I’m not so sure.
Hello Ralfy, would you say that the 43% abv that is available here in the states would rank differently? I bought this bottle a few weeks ago, and I gotta say 82 Malt Marks seems rather low. Cheers!
It's probably better, just bear in mind that we pay the equivalent of ~$30 for the 40% version over here.