Great review! I am from Maine and can't find Springbank anywhere. I do have relatives on the Cape (Dennis), I might have to stop by John's next time I'm down there. Thanks again for your insight, cheers!
Great video, John. Mental "limitis" are flexible.... you know what I mean :) I just paid 212 USD for the Springbank 18 yo. Compared to today's prices it's actually a BARGAIN, believe it or not. Compared to what you can buy for the same amount of money... the value may just not be there. Fair enough. Bbut on the other hand - it's Springbank. Are you tempted? I know that I am. Any time! And by the way... do yourself a favour and stopping by at that delightful 15 yo if you get the chance... (that one is a beauty, imho, and considering price/value it may actually be my favourite of the bunch). Cheers buddy!
Mental limits are flexible 🧐. Agree the 15’s are decent value all things considered… older SB’s need higher abv’s IMo… SB12 all day long for true DB dna Cheers🥃
I like your frase:"It's just whisky guys". I'm totally into whisky but your frase makes me laugh about myself and other whisky lovers when I realise: He's right, it's just whisky.
Hi John greetings from London some challenging whiskeys need time to open up I rarely watch reviews from a sample only also my palate changes winter summer food your having before I’m very much appreciating your journey as similar to my own keep up the good work 🥃
Great review. I agree, the Springbank 18 is much better, but the Springbank 10 still has a nice roughness to it. A suggestion: Add a few mililiters of SB18 to a dram of SB10. With just a 1 : 10 ratio, or even less, the difference is huge. The SB10 looses some of its bitterness, without loosing its strength, and gains in complexity. When one doesn't have the money for a SB18 bottle, one might just get a sample of it to blend into SB10 drinks.
If Coca Cola was a premium luxury item. The can would cost say, $500. You’d have reviewers raving and glowing about its taste and experience of drinking such a fine soda. Would it be worth the $500? No. It would be worth .50 cents. It would cost $500 however. Would it be worth paying that much if it simply wasn’t available for all? It depends on how much frivolous spending money you have available for such indulgences. I could never justify paying that much for a single bottle. If money wasn’t an issue then it wouldn’t matter. They charge $60 for a simple glass of O.J. In Beverly Hills to those type of people. Because money is almost irrelevant. But for many, it’s taste or experience could never match the trouble of setting aside such amounts. Think about it. We drool when we imagine the tasting notes ,comparing it to vanilla , caramel, cherries , citrus, barbecue , chocolate, fruitcake. When in reality, all of those things, the real things that have those flavors and taste better than any scotch are relatively inexpensive. It’s a great experience. I partake in it. I suggest spending within your budgets. I’ve spent lots of money in this hobby of ours. But nowadays with the prices going insane, I try to always remember it’s “Just whisky folks”.
Great analogy! I’m at the stage in life where Now have more than a lifetime supply of unopened bottles. There are still relative bargains out there like Craigallachie 13 and Talisker 10 and Lagavulin 8 for $50 in my area but my philosophy now is trying hard to only buy Must try/buy… especially as you state with the crazy prices of many offerings. At the end of the day…It’s just whisky 🥃 Enjoy what you have ….
@@justwhisky exactly. I so wish I’d started collecting say, 5 years earlier. I’d have stocked up on some 25 yr olds. Most of which are all now unaffordable. As an example, I remember seeing Glenfarclas 25 on sale in total wine for $139! It’s now $250. Or Glendronach 21 for $130, it’s now about $300 or more. Those I missed out on. Luckily I did stash several Laphroaig 18s and Springbank 12s for $100 and bottles such as OP 21 for $140 or the old style Glendronach 15s and 18s for $85-$100as examples of what nowadays seem like great bargains. But I truly fear that most new to relatively new drinkers will be priced out on many of scotches not too long ago wonderful and affordable experiences. So sad. I’m holding out hope that Ralfys prediction of the standard 12 yr olds costing $100 in a year or so don’t come true.
So one thing I'm always curious about is how "difficult" a whisky is. Articulating what whisky difficulty is challenging. How you come across this term? If so, how would you describe whisky difficulty?
Hmmm... all my videos are unedited live one takes so sometimes I use words liberally and off the cuff. “Challenging” would be a better word choice. Having said that... some neck pours are not indicative of the full bottle experience, some needing oxidation while others not. Hope that helps.
Not all followers are old whisky fan, personally I prefer the 12 to 18yo spritely character of a younger whisky, so allowing a choice between an older whisky & younger cask strength maybe an option.
Great review! I am from Maine and can't find Springbank anywhere. I do have relatives on the Cape (Dennis), I might have to stop by John's next time I'm down there. Thanks again for your insight, cheers!
Love Maine! Have cousins in Bar Harbor area.
Cheers 🥃
Great video, John.
Mental "limitis" are flexible.... you know what I mean :)
I just paid 212 USD for the Springbank 18 yo. Compared to today's prices it's actually a BARGAIN, believe it or not.
Compared to what you can buy for the same amount of money... the value may just not be there. Fair enough. Bbut on the other hand - it's Springbank. Are you tempted? I know that I am. Any time!
And by the way... do yourself a favour and stopping by at that delightful 15 yo if you get the chance... (that one is a beauty, imho, and considering price/value it may actually be my favourite of the bunch).
Cheers buddy!
Mental limits are flexible 🧐.
Agree the 15’s are decent value all things considered… older SB’s need higher abv’s IMo…
SB12 all day long for true DB dna
Cheers🥃
I like your frase:"It's just whisky guys".
I'm totally into whisky but your frase makes me laugh about myself and other whisky lovers when I realise: He's right, it's just whisky.
Just trying to keep things in perspective. 😀
Hi John greetings from London some challenging whiskeys need time to open up I rarely watch reviews from a sample only also my palate changes winter summer food your having before I’m very much appreciating your journey as similar to my own keep up the good work 🥃
Thanks for the encouraging words... that’s exactly my mission.... the journey.
Was this the July 2020 release of theb18 year old?
Jan 7 2020
Great review. I agree, the Springbank 18 is much better, but the Springbank 10 still has a nice roughness to it. A suggestion: Add a few mililiters of SB18 to a dram of SB10. With just a 1 : 10 ratio, or even less, the difference is huge. The SB10 looses some of its bitterness, without loosing its strength, and gains in complexity. When one doesn't have the money for a SB18 bottle, one might just get a sample of it to blend into SB10 drinks.
I love mixing. Thanks for the tip... will try it
If Coca Cola was a premium luxury item. The can would cost say, $500. You’d have reviewers raving and glowing about its taste and experience of drinking such a fine soda. Would it be worth the $500? No. It would be worth .50 cents. It would cost $500 however. Would it be worth paying that much if it simply wasn’t available for all? It depends on how much frivolous spending money you have available for such indulgences. I could never justify paying that much for a single bottle. If money wasn’t an issue then it wouldn’t matter. They charge $60 for a simple glass of O.J. In Beverly Hills to those type of people. Because money is almost irrelevant. But for many, it’s taste or experience could never match the trouble of setting aside such amounts. Think about it. We drool when we imagine the tasting notes ,comparing it to vanilla , caramel, cherries , citrus, barbecue , chocolate, fruitcake. When in reality, all of those things, the real things that have those flavors and taste better than any scotch are relatively inexpensive. It’s a great experience. I partake in it. I suggest spending within your budgets. I’ve spent lots of money in this hobby of ours. But nowadays with the prices going insane,
I try to always remember it’s “Just whisky folks”.
Great analogy! I’m at the stage in life where Now have more than a lifetime supply of unopened bottles. There are still relative bargains out there like Craigallachie 13 and Talisker 10 and Lagavulin 8 for $50 in my area but my philosophy now is trying hard to only buy Must try/buy… especially as you state with the crazy prices of many offerings.
At the end of the day…It’s just whisky 🥃
Enjoy what you have ….
@@justwhisky exactly. I so wish I’d started collecting say, 5 years earlier. I’d have stocked up on some 25 yr olds. Most of which are all now unaffordable. As an example, I remember seeing Glenfarclas 25 on sale in total wine for $139! It’s now $250. Or Glendronach 21 for $130, it’s now about $300 or more. Those I missed out on. Luckily I did stash several Laphroaig 18s and Springbank 12s for $100 and bottles such as OP 21 for $140 or the old style Glendronach 15s and 18s for $85-$100as examples of what nowadays seem like great bargains. But I truly fear that most new to relatively new drinkers will be priced out on many of scotches not too long ago wonderful and affordable experiences. So sad. I’m holding out hope that Ralfys prediction of the standard 12 yr olds costing $100 in a year or so don’t come true.
So one thing I'm always curious about is how "difficult" a whisky is. Articulating what whisky difficulty is challenging. How you come across this term? If so, how would you describe whisky difficulty?
Hmmm... all my videos are unedited live one takes so sometimes I use words liberally and off the cuff. “Challenging” would be a better word choice.
Having said that... some neck pours are not indicative of the full bottle experience, some needing oxidation while others not. Hope that helps.
Not all followers are old whisky fan, personally I prefer the 12 to 18yo spritely character of a younger whisky, so allowing a choice between an older whisky & younger cask strength maybe an option.
Agree that value for money often declines with higher age statements