Thoroughly enjoyable review as usual and what a terrific message in these divise times. I’m putting all of these on my tasting list… the bunna might have to be my next bottle. Really appreciate your videos-happy thanksgiving to you, Jon!
I absolutely adore the Loch Lomond 12. I recently revisited it - and poured a dram as I watched. From my initial impressions, it's actually gone up in my estimation. I'd give it my vote. Cheers Jon.
Happy Thanksgiving Jon! Yes, we are truly fortunate to have so much when many others have so little, or are struggling in conflicts that go far beyond personal and political disagreement. Every day we draw free breath is a blessing. 🙏 I like both of these, for different reasons. The Loch Lomond took me by surprise, I'm really enjoying it. The Bunna 12 is just a darned fine whisky! I only wish it wasn't $30 more than the LL bottle. For me, the value lies with the Loch Lomond, as much due to cost as anything. But I wouldn't say no to either one should a dram be offered forth! My better half actually has the next few days off, a rare and unusual occurrence. Looking forward to catching up with a few friends and sharing a fine whisky or two! Cheers 🥃😊🥃 "m"e 🇨🇦
YEs, $30 more is a challenge, but here, I can still pick up Bunna for low $60s, which is awesome. Cool you have some time with your partner, enjoy the weekend!
From one canuck to another, Happy Thanks Giving Jon. All 6 in the category are winners so this is a tough category to pick out one. I believe #1 depends on the mood, season and all other reasons as per your preference. You simply need to try these 6 whiskies and some of them are still accessible for many on the value and availability front.
Yeah, they are both terrific. The B12 is the best one I currently have, it is excellent. And of course the Loch Lomond is Captain Haddock's favorite whisky!
Value. What is a sensible definition. First is price, but price must be qualified by the underlying requirement that there is good quality too. There is a dilemma when the price variation is significant. What else will effect the choice, probably availability. There is a real possibility that the vote will tend towards availability. My thought is that the final outcome may be skewed because of this imbalance. I do hope that a chart will be published to show the proportionate voting with cost per bottle and production numbers of the batches. Happy thanks giving to the Canadians-and thanks for an excellent review.
Excellent insight, and I would agree that availability would play into a category such as this. I will pass on your thoughts on what might be published. Thanks for sharing, and the encouragement. Cheers!
For me, the Loch Lomond is what I voted for. It’s only $34 USD here where the Bunnahabahn 12 is $60. I enjoy the Bunnahabahn 12 more but it’s almost twice the price of the Loch Lomond 12. So in the “value” category, I must choose the Loch Lomond. For reference, the rest of the offerings in this category are also way more expensive than the Loch Lomond. I guess it just depends on what you deem a value and the cost of each scotch based on where you live. Happy Thanksgiving to you. We have to wait until November here in the US.
Markets are different too. For me, the Bunna was only $10 more, which keeps it in the category. Still Loch Lomond was the least expensive here for me too. Thanks for sharing!
Several of our friends online really love it though. I'm going to let it rest for a month or so and come back. I'm hoping there is another layer I just haven't picked up on. Good category here for my me. Do you have a pick?
I love the Bunny 12 and it is one of my favourites. Alas, in Ontario the price is pushing $100 now, so not sure I could call it a "value scotch" anymore. I'll keep buying it, though, and Bunnahabhain knows it, unfortunately.
@@WhiskyNeighbour I've only had three of the six. I like the Ledaig when I am in the mood for smoke, but find that it is sometimes too raw for my taste. The Loch Lomond is delicious and still a great value.
You're a fine reviewer indeed, but my only criticism is that you're missing out on the higher end gems if you're trying to keep it budget friendly for the viewers, and their palate development will hit a wall with not grow beyond to explore the likes of say, Tamdhu 15, Benromach 15, Arran18, Redbreast 21, Springbank 15 (if it could be obtained) and so many more older higher end gems that are important bottles to experience along the whisky journey. But hey, you do what you feel is best, just throwing that out there. Cheers!
@@WhiskyNeighbour Oh certainly, but pretty much none of them are mind blowing, or.. at least, super delicious like for ex. Tamdhu 15. I mean, around the $100 point or below for me, the best whiskies are Talisker 10, Glen Garioch 12, Red breast 12 CS, and back in the day I would have said Clynelish 14 (but sadly no longer), and many are delicious, but the "really" delicious ones, well, lets just say, after a while, you gotta trail off further away from the moon towards a farther planet to get really interesting delicious stuff that will just make the whisky connoisseur driven with passion. That's a journey!
Hi people, I have a general question. Is there any real connection between price ranges of whisky and their quality/taste? Are bottles out of the price range, lets say, €70-80 'always' better than bottles of €30-40? Or above €200 better than bottles of €100? The real expensive bottles of thousands or ten thousands of euros, are they that tasty or is it just status? Does anybody know if one of those bottles you sometimes read about, which are sold on auctions for hundreds of thousands, ever opened and how did it taste?
I hope other people jump in here. Over the years, I have sought to answer this for myself. Of course, just my opinion, but I really notice a difference between the 30/40 and 70/80 range. In fact, that is the biggest jump for me. As for 200 vs 100? It totally depends on the release, so hit and miss. Beyond ... I've only had samples of bottles that fetch 500+, never owned. Again, almost always good whisky, but not nearly the improvement jump as the first bump. Anyone else want to ring in?
Those are great questions and short answer is, it depends. It depends on the quality of casks, maturation and honestly who the distillers are. After all it takes a skill or two to make a whisky. My take is, the flavors are discernible going from "entry" level 30-40 offerings to say 80-90 where you do get some age stated offerings. The 100 to sub 200 category can land you some real gems but again some not so great finds. Beyond that in the higher priced categories, it seems to me that the market is setup for trading. I have not owned any 400-500 or a thousand $ bottles and it would take me a lot of tastings, research and convincing to get into that category personally. The whisky would have to check a lot of boxes and the quality would have to be exceptional to grab that much out of my wallet.
@@Rohit_M thank you. My personal experience till now with 'expensive' bottles is, for me than is above €100, I tend to let them closed and say to myself and family: "These I save for a special occasion". With bottles up to €70 I haven't got any problem whenever I want to. Between €70 to €90 I am somewhat carefull. Above €90 are Special Occasions Category. The last 2 months I have created a new category for my self, the Drink Daily Bottles, bottles up to €30. This because I realised I was buying more and more Special Occasions Bottles and thinking: "Will these bottles still be closed when i'm passed away?" 🤣 Result of this is that I order a lot of Drink Daily Bottles nowadays. Till maybe someday I can start a shop myself. Also its more and more the case that I hear myself defending: "I'm not an alcoholic" to visitors, why I have so many bottles of whisky, seeing their frowned faces when entering my living room and seeing unopened boxes whisky on the floor because my cupboards are already full. Its a nice but addictive hobby, that whisky.
@@JustMeNotYou I can relate to your dilemma. I too started buying more of what I consider my own personal collection but then I realized I need to open and drink some of these damn bottles. So I am getting more of what I now enjoy with some to put away for future in between. But I agree with you this is one heck of an expensive hobby especially now that the whisk(e)y market has gone parabolic in prices the last few years. Cheers mate!
Thoroughly enjoyable review as usual and what a terrific message in these divise times. I’m putting all of these on my tasting list… the bunna might have to be my next bottle. Really appreciate your videos-happy thanksgiving to you, Jon!
Thanks! I hope you are having a great weekend too! and yes, all of these are great releases, cheers!
I absolutely adore the Loch Lomond 12. I recently revisited it - and poured a dram as I watched. From my initial impressions, it's actually gone up in my estimation. I'd give it my vote. Cheers Jon.
High praise. I need to try it again in a few weeks. I am not perfectly healthy, so I may be missing some notes here.
Jon Happy Thanksgiving. I wish you and your family a rich celebration of the wonderful part of the world we live in.
I hope you and yours have an amazing weekend too. We are blessed, even through the current hardship. Cheers!
I have been sipping along with some Bunnahabhain 12... I voted for Bunnahabhain 12 and Ledaig 10 even though I have enjoyed all of the others.
All of these are good IMO. Thanks for dropping in
Happy Thanksgiving Jon!
Yes, we are truly fortunate to have so much when many others have so little, or are struggling in conflicts that go far beyond personal and political disagreement. Every day we draw free breath is a blessing. 🙏
I like both of these, for different reasons. The Loch Lomond took me by surprise, I'm really enjoying it. The Bunna 12 is just a darned fine whisky! I only wish it wasn't $30 more than the LL bottle. For me, the value lies with the Loch Lomond, as much due to cost as anything. But I wouldn't say no to either one should a dram be offered forth!
My better half actually has the next few days off, a rare and unusual occurrence. Looking forward to catching up with a few friends and sharing a fine whisky or two!
Cheers 🥃😊🥃
"m"e 🇨🇦
YEs, $30 more is a challenge, but here, I can still pick up Bunna for low $60s, which is awesome. Cool you have some time with your partner, enjoy the weekend!
this is the toughest category for me Jon....so difficult....good job as usual my friend....
Thanks. So many good whiskies here eh?!
From one canuck to another, Happy Thanks Giving Jon. All 6 in the category are winners so this is a tough category to pick out one. I believe #1 depends on the mood, season and all other reasons as per your preference. You simply need to try these 6 whiskies and some of them are still accessible for many on the value and availability front.
Happy Thanksgiving to you too! Agreed, there are no losers in this batch, and so much depends on mood.
Yeah, they are both terrific. The B12 is the best one I currently have, it is excellent. And of course the Loch Lomond is Captain Haddock's favorite whisky!
Yep! Thanks for dropping in and sharing some thoughts!
Value. What is a sensible definition. First is price, but price must be qualified by the underlying requirement that there is good quality too. There is a dilemma when the price variation is significant. What else will effect the choice, probably availability. There is a real possibility that the vote will tend towards availability. My thought is that the final outcome may be skewed because of this imbalance. I do hope that a chart will be published to show the proportionate voting with cost per bottle and production numbers of the batches. Happy thanks giving to the Canadians-and thanks for an excellent review.
Excellent insight, and I would agree that availability would play into a category such as this. I will pass on your thoughts on what might be published. Thanks for sharing, and the encouragement. Cheers!
Great review I would have chosen bunn 12 too.
It's so good! Thanks for dropping in, cheers!
I really start to enjoy my bottle of loch lomond 12! Budget springbank for me... :D
Nice, and good comparison. With Springbank now where to be found, it definetly has a little funk to it too!
For me, the Loch Lomond is what I voted for. It’s only $34 USD here where the Bunnahabahn 12 is $60. I enjoy the Bunnahabahn 12 more but it’s almost twice the price of the Loch Lomond 12. So in the “value” category, I must choose the Loch Lomond. For reference, the rest of the offerings in this category are also way more expensive than the Loch Lomond. I guess it just depends on what you deem a value and the cost of each scotch based on where you live. Happy Thanksgiving to you. We have to wait until November here in the US.
Markets are different too. For me, the Bunna was only $10 more, which keeps it in the category. Still Loch Lomond was the least expensive here for me too. Thanks for sharing!
Bunna12 is a great value for money. Always try to find one on sale
Me too, an all time favourite for me!
I am with you here, Jon. Loch Lomond is a nice whisky, but it falls a little short compared to the other nominees here. Cheers🙂
Several of our friends online really love it though. I'm going to let it rest for a month or so and come back. I'm hoping there is another layer I just haven't picked up on. Good category here for my me. Do you have a pick?
@@WhiskyNeighbour Yes, I have noticed that as well.
I have put my vote on the Kilkerran🙂
@@sowlegwhiskyreview5501 A solid dram for sure!
I love the Bunny 12 and it is one of my favourites. Alas, in Ontario the price is pushing $100 now, so not sure I could call it a "value scotch" anymore. I'll keep buying it, though, and Bunnahabhain knows it, unfortunately.
I am spoiled over here, but I've heard it continues to go up. Good flavours though! What do you think of the other releases here?
@@WhiskyNeighbour I've only had three of the six. I like the Ledaig when I am in the mood for smoke, but find that it is sometimes too raw for my taste. The Loch Lomond is delicious and still a great value.
@@briansimpson4310 Very cool. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
The way you give all these 3.25 to 4 just shows how good they all are yummy...
I know. I love them all, but I would choose different ones based on mood or company!
You're a fine reviewer indeed, but my only criticism is that you're missing out on the higher end gems if you're trying to keep it budget friendly for the viewers, and their palate development will hit a wall with not grow beyond to explore the likes of say, Tamdhu 15, Benromach 15, Arran18, Redbreast 21, Springbank 15 (if it could be obtained) and so many more older higher end gems that are important bottles to experience along the whisky journey.
But hey, you do what you feel is best, just throwing that out there. Cheers!
Thanks for the tips. Lots of good whisky to explore for sure! Do you enjoy any of these value whiskies still?
@@WhiskyNeighbour Oh certainly, but pretty much none of them are mind blowing, or.. at least, super delicious like for ex. Tamdhu 15. I mean, around the $100 point or below for me, the best whiskies are Talisker 10, Glen Garioch 12, Red breast 12 CS, and back in the day I would have said Clynelish 14 (but sadly no longer), and many are delicious, but the "really" delicious ones, well, lets just say, after a while, you gotta trail off further away from the moon towards a farther planet to get really interesting delicious stuff that will just make the whisky connoisseur driven with passion. That's a journey!
@@dernkross9095 Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I voted for Bunnahabhain.
Solid Vote!
Hi people, I have a general question. Is there any real connection between price ranges of whisky and their quality/taste?
Are bottles out of the price range, lets say, €70-80 'always' better than bottles of €30-40?
Or above €200 better than bottles of €100?
The real expensive bottles of thousands or ten thousands of euros, are they that tasty or is it just status?
Does anybody know if one of those bottles you sometimes read about, which are sold on auctions for hundreds of thousands, ever opened and how did it taste?
I hope other people jump in here. Over the years, I have sought to answer this for myself. Of course, just my opinion, but I really notice a difference between the 30/40 and 70/80 range. In fact, that is the biggest jump for me. As for 200 vs 100? It totally depends on the release, so hit and miss. Beyond ... I've only had samples of bottles that fetch 500+, never owned. Again, almost always good whisky, but not nearly the improvement jump as the first bump. Anyone else want to ring in?
Those are great questions and short answer is, it depends. It depends on the quality of casks, maturation and honestly who the distillers are. After all it takes a skill or two to make a whisky. My take is, the flavors are discernible going from "entry" level 30-40 offerings to say 80-90 where you do get some age stated offerings. The 100 to sub 200 category can land you some real gems but again some not so great finds. Beyond that in the higher priced categories, it seems to me that the market is setup for trading. I have not owned any 400-500 or a thousand $ bottles and it would take me a lot of tastings, research and convincing to get into that category personally. The whisky would have to check a lot of boxes and the quality would have to be exceptional to grab that much out of my wallet.
@@Rohit_M thank you. My personal experience till now with 'expensive' bottles is, for me than is above €100, I tend to let them closed and say to myself and family: "These I save for a special occasion".
With bottles up to €70 I haven't got any problem whenever I want to. Between €70 to €90 I am somewhat carefull. Above €90 are Special Occasions Category.
The last 2 months I have created a new category for my self, the Drink Daily Bottles, bottles up to €30. This because I realised I was buying more and more Special Occasions Bottles and thinking: "Will these bottles still be closed when i'm passed away?" 🤣
Result of this is that I order a lot of Drink Daily Bottles nowadays. Till maybe someday I can start a shop myself.
Also its more and more the case that I hear myself defending: "I'm not an alcoholic" to visitors, why I have so many bottles of whisky, seeing their frowned faces when entering my living room and seeing unopened boxes whisky on the floor because my cupboards are already full.
Its a nice but addictive hobby, that whisky.
@@JustMeNotYou I can relate to your dilemma. I too started buying more of what I consider my own personal collection but then I realized I need to open and drink some of these damn bottles. So I am getting more of what I now enjoy with some to put away for future in between. But I agree with you this is one heck of an expensive hobby especially now that the whisk(e)y market has gone parabolic in prices the last few years. Cheers mate!
how do you feel about Loch Lomond 12 today?
Good Scotch. Especially if you enjoy a hint of brine/oil in your Scotch. Reminds me of Craigellachie a little.