ralfy review 978 Extras - More about cask wood.
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- Опубликовано: 23 май 2023
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After all of these years watching this Ralfy on this channel it's still refreshing, entertaining, and eccentric and I love it. Thank you Ralfy, and thank you to the community.
Alex in New Jersey, USA
Thank you for doing extras like this! Always learning.
❤just another superb vibeo from superb RALFY.I think that you have made many enemies in the whisky industry but this is life keep walking ralfy we love you.
I'm 21 and I've been drinking whiskey since 16 and quality whiskey since 18. The whiskey industry fascinates me like no other subject, but for whatever reason, the maturation of whiskey is my favourite topic. I generally favour bourbon and tennessee whiskey but I also have a special place for Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey.
I have watched almost all of Ralfy's extras and I've not found a better source of whiskey knowledge than a man who's been passionate about whiskey for decades.
Many thanks for the knowledge, Ralfy. Know it does not go unappreciated.
"Amongst my jobs..." Nobody expects the Ralfy Inquisition! 😅
As for Speyburn, a mate got me the 15yr old for a birthday, and decent if unspectacular. But then I tried blending it and it takes exceptionally well to many malts, both peated and unpeated. Useful for future blended malts and be interesting to blend then further marry/mature in good oak. 🥃
Great information. I love what Speyburn have done with this and the Arranta cask finished whisky. Interesting and good value.
ye, ... an idea: some bottom fishing 🎣! ... Lidl whiskey, Ballentines, JW, what's the best of the cheapest ! ... should be among easily available stuff.
Absolutely marvelous perspective.
splendid video.... together with 932,933 and 934 you give a lot of information of the role that casks play!
we from "Oerfrysk", make since 2020 a whisky and started with old 310 ltr.PX casks and 540 ltr.Oloroso casks; we asked our caskman-supplier to deliver us the same casks as before...the answer is: there are less authentic casks but if he finds them we are happy...but not from the price! all American Bourbon casks are made "new" by coopers but the taste from the original content is GONE! so: what is the use of telling that you bought a Heaven Hill cask while it is totaly recontructed? in fact; it is no longer a Heaven Hill cask!
Great chat Ralfy. Looking forward to more on casks soon 😊
Thank you. Keeping the powder dry and true to yourself👍🏻
Es la segunda vez que veo éste video, me parece muy muy interesante. Muchas gracias por compartir tus conocimientos al respecto 👏👏👏👌
I’ve been self aging oak cubes in various sherries and ports (and other things) for well over a year. Can’t wait to start a new round of experimenting with these. I did some after a month or two, but now the “previous content” effect will be much more like a commercial cask finish hopefully 🤞
Really in depth educational ep from Rafly as usual :)!
Sell side market anway nowadays. Lots of new whisky lovers without too much understanding in whisky will just purchase a bottle based on the brand besides price.
In terms of demand and supply and the elasticity of a whisky. If the majority or big production guys don't update or just use good cask for the top range product and charge 500% percent of their cost eg if core range items only give them100-200% margin max with the additional cost with soso or bad case. They don't and shouldn't invest for better cask for the core products given they have more than enough demand . Bad for consumers for sure but that's the fact for most big sellers nowadays I guess.
For the small producers, they may not have the required demand to justify the increase of cooperage service ( inhouse or outsources) ,increase cask cost for better cask or they may make a loss or greatly increase their operational risk in case the extra profit due to better quality can't cover the extra cost or may lower the demand a lot due to whatever reasons eg majority of consumers are not educated enough to spot the quality difference from cask if the price go up and small brands have less pricing power and using better ingredients with extra cost may hurt them in total sales when it is the opposite for big brands which can keep increasing the price with better marketing and branding to a certain level without the need to increase the quality of the product like Macallan.
Same for apple, I don't like apple product but i own the stock anyway as fans will buy new model at all tiers with increasing margin every yr but basically same function and a slightly better or bigger monitor and camera.
Glenfiddich 21 (Rum cask finish) and Glenfiddich 21 Winter Storm (Peller Estates Niagra, Canada Ice Wine Cask Finish) are two of the best drams I've ever had.
I’m halfway to 136 years old. I remember when Glenmorangie started there diverse wine cask editions. I still have an old unopened Burgundy cask bottle I saved for a special occasion. Even though I have official bottlings in my larder, I search and scour for independent bottlings, they are much more interesting and honest presentations. Who ever heard of Blair Athol, or Fettercain, in the US?
I just got my first springbank 10 years old bottle from as store when I was shopping for Thompson brother bottle. I was so surprised to find THE LAST bottle for £55. Love your videos ❤
I agree with the old adage..."don't mix grape and grain". A second fill sherry cask is fine...but a first fill oloroso is too much for me. Virgin oak or Bourbon cask for me.
Sorted. Super xtras ralfy
More and more I have been into rum and much of it needs no aging or very little. It’s not over the top gimmicky hyping and doesn’t need some sort of prestige of long aging to be good. I’m so with Ralfy but much of RUclips is still stuck in the enamored whisky state and stage of being in some sort of silly mesmerization that is not even warranted. Ralfy is such a breath of fresh air because he has been around and nobody’s fool and panders to no crowd and only the truth when nobody else on RUclips will speak in truth for fear of ruffling feathers and getting cut off from so called prestigious events and distillery access and being able to do single cask picks to monetize off of. Blessings Ralfy
. . . thanks.
It's good to know the quality of cask if we have more inhouse otherwise it's really hard for consumer to know the quality of cask as there's no standard or law to show how good the cask is . Can only know the origin , types of the tree though distillery print a paragraph on the box if the cask is made by a specific type of tree in Us or somewhere in EU for the rare and expensive version but usually is marketing strategy though the rare version will use better cask for sure by charging 150+ USD usually but we can't tell the quality of the cask anyway. Information asymmetry for quality of cask ,barley and malting time is hard to be solved as those factors are not as direct as age statement Brand , age statement, basic cask inform eg sherry, wine cask , first fill sherry ,the msrp ,word of mouth and online review is what we can rely on in most cases.
Tell us what you really think Ralfy! 😂👊💯
This is one of your best Ralfy! Thank you. Keep up the good work.
Was in Auchentoshan yesterday and talking to someone who works there,and she was saying that the owners think theres is best between 20-27 years old. I was in to see what they had planned for their 200th anniversary as i only live over the back so i pop in quite often.
ye, 😱 ... 21 episodes away, from THEE BIG ONE, nr. 1'000 !!!
... everyone wonders, what will it be about ... ???
Honey melon versions…classic! Who are these people kidding.
Dear Ralfy, I have a suggestion for new categories for the Oswa:
- best cask strength
- best craft or semi craft (at least 43%)
- best 40%. To be honest I wanted to suggest especially this categorie. I do like craft presentation and cask strength generally more, but I have also a great sympathy for whiskies which achieve a lot with the minimum of 40%. Like Glenlivet 18, Edradour 10 (sipping it right now) and Laphroaig 10. The reason I like them is that they 'do' a lot with 'less poison'.
It is just a thought from the Netherlands.
Ok, I have to admit: I am comparing the Edradour 10 at 40% (which I enjoyed a lot) and the signatory version (46%). What a difference!
I'm surprised more distillers aren't more transparent about their wood policy, after all it is arguably the biggest impact on matured distillate. How many for example would declare whether their oak wood had been slow grown and air-dried as opposed to kiln dried? Also if their casks have been toasted or charred, given the influence of flavour on the whisky. But alas, even the best wood money can buy is of little use if the warehouse conditions are not taken into account, i.e. temperature and humidity. Distillers - if you have taken great care in maturing your product, please make a clear statement to that effect.
I laughed so hard at 6:16 , and you are so right.
Great class about barrel influence on whisky
Furthermore, certain spirits have different sweet spots for time in a cask.
time for a wee holiday ralfy, recharge and release (or just rank .... )
Dear Ralfy, glad you mentioned Glenfarclas 12 which in Italy 🇮🇹 is still available at a fair price. Hats 🎩 off to Glenfarclas 12 and Ardbeg 10 which are doing me just fine. Thanks 🙏 and kindest regards as always. S.
Glenfarclas 12, $57 in Toledo Ohio, our state is starting to get it and is really trying to bring in harder to find distillers
Ralfy, I'm a big fan of your reviews. But I do take issue with your claim that inferior American oak casks are flooding into Scotland and dragging down the quality of Scotch single malts. The region in the U.S. which has high quality white oak timber is vast--many times over the geographical area of Scotland. The crappy oak goes to make flooring, not whiskey barrels. Skilled labor is very expensive here in spite of what you may have heard. Cooperages do not waste that labor on inferior white oak when good timber is plentiful. Now, what American distillers are putting into the barrels varies quite a bit in quality. And how well it is matured varies considerably. That's where the problems are coming from--not very well-matured American whiskeys, mostly bourbon marketed as bottom shelf mixing whiskey. So the resulting casks are not able to impart good bourbon notes to Scotch whisky.
Oh I totally agree mate, we won't be getting the better flavours until we refine what goes into those casks to start with. Luckily your mkt is booming, so they do have choice, they just
might be tight with the cash.
Took the plunge today with a purchase of the Glengoyne Tea-Pot dram #9.(Sorry you have to live here) I debated with friends, as we know nothing ( other than in general terms) and as an NAS it needs trust I feel. So it isn't risk less but a managed call. Would it pass the test with so little info? I doubt it, but my gut instinct says 'Do it'😊 We will see if it worked out soon. P.S any idea how many teaspoons the style likes?
The guff about this cask and that cask does my head in. For example I worked in 5 whisky bonds and the last time i saw a port pin was in 1980. 90% of spitit is bonded in casks which have just been disgorged then just flung into the filling store. The marketing waffle is beyond belief and almost always disingenuous.
Does STR help revitalize and old cask?
Ralfy, I have to say that over time I have generally moderated my scores for whiskies as well based on my wider experience and being more realistically critical. I think it's a natural consequence of having spent many years exploring the smell and taste parameters of whisky, particularly single malts and becoming more selective in what I consider quality.
I'd argue 14 -25 yr is peak. There are some fine 14-17yr olds
@feik I need to know what are good? .Haven’t bought any finished whisky’s.
I think 10-14 is the top !
Clynelish 14 (haven't had recent bottles), Craigellachie 13, and as stated above Springbank 12 (also lagavulin, and red breast, both also cask strength), I've never had an 11 yr old scotch, and 10 years has some gems like Ardbeg and Ledaig. I don't know what 17-25 being the "sweet spot" means
Also, I've had some 30+ year scotches, and not one of them bad, some mind blowingly good.
Yeah, I’d give Glenallachie 17 the nod over 13, but it’s very close! Good example.
Spirit maturation is a non-linear dynamical process. The wood, previous cask content, cooperage, warehousing, climatic conditions (and more) have a massive impact on the range and quality of maturation of spirits. These factors render blanket age statements (without reference and transparency) nothing more than, as Ralph’s would say - marketing flannel.
Even complete transparency (as if you'd ever get it anyway) can't guarantee end results, but people who want more information won't get it by settling for less via NAS. If it's all really such a black box with so many variables, then there is nothing about whisky more flannel than Ralfy going on and on about factors that consumers will never see or control and pretending that it's education.
Reward good distillerys and tradition with your currency folks. There is integrity in that and if we want to see these companies succeed they need our purchasing support. Ive been on a springbank, torabhaig, bruichladdich, buying spree here in the states as its well stocked and and seriosuly overlooked by most buyers for lesser spirits marketing some bonkers stuff
Brilliant mate, we're not here for the cocktails - trust me!
Love the nose on this one but was not a big fan of the big cask influence. Prefer the 10 over this one.
As usual....Ralfy never fails to lay it on the line, calling a spade a spade and damn the torpedoes! Cant argue with the facts presented regardless if you like them or not. Thanks for your honesty.
Ralfy, as a long time subscriber, can you make a video about your passion for whiskey, where did it start, when did you discover whiskey for the first time. where did it begin this whiskey journey. I obviosly understand you didnt drink whiskey as a small child, but at what age did you feel, this whiskey, this is something special. where did this passion begin, this is a video we all want to watch and listen to. your passion for whiskey, this is something I think we all are curious of. thank you ralfy, may you live long and prosper.
@@artificial-frequencies thank you so much for answering me, I had no idea about the books.books are one thing but I think we all would prefer a video about the subject of ralfys passion for whiskey .thank you again, live long and prosper
New word: flannelisation.
test whiskey strathallan please
Is not Woodford growing their own oak trees?
My treasure is a Cadenhead Seven Stars 30 years (Blended Scotsch). I paid €104.
Ralphy, you are such a good Boy, i Always enjoy watching your Videos.
18:17 - you may be a bit premature with that, but boy I hope you're right. :)
Anyone using American Oak Tosted casks that have had bourbon gin them for 6 months ?
Hi ralfy another great extras, reading the news earlier today it seems Campbeltown will be getting a new distillery to add to the three already there , a glasgow based distillery are apparently building a carbon neutral distillery at the old raf base at macrahanish.
Two new distillries,Dalriada and Witchburn.
@@barryhamilton7845 ok, thanks for the info.
👍🇬🇧
Thanks for being there! If the romantic blurb doesn't get on my nerves, it is because I hardly read it. And I don't need to because I get my information from guys like you. When I buy a bottle, I scan the labels for info, yes. But I can afford to just scan and perhaps miss a bit. If I were a reviewer, I'd feel obliged to read more thoroughly. And then I'd be pissed off by the cliché (rom)antics!
Malt mates, for those of you who have read any of Ralfys books, which would you recommend and why?
In the mood for support and more knowledge
Thanks
Cask finishes is something I still haven't figured out in my own head. I mean, sometimes if something is thrown into a fresh sherry cask for 6 months it makes me think I'm just drinking strong sherry. And how much of a skill is there in it cask finishing... Or is it just a way of covering up average/sub par spirit? Or can a cask finish supplement a spirit, like seasoning a good steak before you cook it... Who knows. I certainly don't. I've sworn off buying finishes anyways. (for now!)
Seems you may have a some misunderstanding of cask finish products. Good news is you can learn a lot from Rafly and that will benefit you a lot for sure and save you lots of money from bad cask finish or non cask finish whiskies given you really understand what Rafly said in his valuable and unbiased reviews. Cask finish is just one of the optional process before bottling , the cask , the white dog and when to bottle the spirit are the keys probably.
You can do proper tasting of at least 10-15( can be done easily in 1-2 commercial tasting event or with a few tasting with friends) cask finish textbook whiskies from relatively big producers with moderate price so you will have a lot more exp and understanding cask finish is not just marketing or total bs and probably can figure out something about cask finish or you just don't need to worry if a whisky is cask finished or what, just judge it objectively in terms of nose, palate, after taste , price( cask finish doesn't always affect the price greatly) , with or without e150 , chilled filtration and availability in market.
It's all about the distillery, the honesty of the firm or mother firm ( eg how many % of margin they wanna charge you given they have more than enough demand) ,problem is not about the cask finish technique itself, it's a great innovation and result lots of interesting and good whisky. Cask finish can both do good or disaster to a whisky , non cask finish whisky will be affected by the single and only barrel in the same way either. By totally ban all cask finish whisky may not be the best and wise option for a whisky lover but it's your choice for sure. Understanding/learning more for the whole industry /the distilleries you like and the specific whisky you are going to buy or wanna try are the keys if you really like whisky deep down in your mind and wanna keep this as a long term hobby.
@@wilsonwilson7533 your arrogance in the first paragraph stinks.
@@mincey808 chill bro, I'm just saying my view about cask finish and how I learn and understand about cask finish product by doing tasting on commercial event focusing in cask finish product and I just share my view to you that you can understand better about cask finish by watching and learning from Rafly or other sources thius you can know better if you really like or dislike cask finish product before giving a stereotyping idea of a certain idea /believe or product . Sorry if my comment hurt or stinks you, will be more careful about my wordings. I guess most of us love and willing to learn more about whisky with an open mind as we all enjoy and support Rafly unbiased and educative reivew. Peace and love :)!
V=Q/C Love you Ralfy
Speaking of "battle of the giants", I wonder what a 6-year Octomore-level peat bomb would do in *new* American oak ala bourbon? Or just new oak altogether? I've noticed quite a few American single malts being aged in new American oak, and when I compared mine to a 46% NCF single malt scotch recently, the difference in flavor strength was very pronounced in favor of the ASM.
On value, it's now a simple equation. Just use Ralfy's malt mark as the quality denominator. For instance, here in NC USA, this Speyburn 15 is $60. The malt mark (quality) is 81. So the value for this, given my prices, is $0.74. Do this for all whiskies (including bourbons, ryes, Japanese, etc) that Ralfy has reviewed, do it at your prices, and you can have your own little spreadsheet going. Decide on your threshold and voila, you can make a more informed decision.
Yeah, there's a lot behind that, money being a large part of it. I imagine there is a lot of pressure to show financial viability early on. So much bourbon gets kicked out the door in 2-3 years, and nobody really cares. The US in the middle of a huge Bourbon Boom as well. There isn't necessarily demand for a well aged American barley spirit. The people are happy with their over-oaked corn syrup. (Sorry, that was supposed to be the quiet part.) So when a malt distillery walks into the bank and says, "We need 6-7 years before our product comes into its own"... that doesn't fly.
But yes, an American barley malt aged 2-3 years in a standard ex-bourbon cask is going to fall flat. I have a 50ml sample of this in my cabinet right now. There's a second sample of a different American malt that was aged for one year in very small 2- to 10-gallon virgin oak barrels. That one is such an intense oak bomb that it still comes off kinda bourbony. But... if you blend those two malts together... it comes surprisingly close to a scotch whisky. I don't know why people don't take notes and create this kind of 2-3 year blend of large-cask and small-cask on purpose. It seems like a logical way to have something interesting available early on.
(Or should I shut up and create a US blended malt? "Red White and Blue Label"? I can't imagine I'd get sued for that name. 🙃 )
@undilutedryan Ah! Well consider me educated! I have been misinformed by my experience with the nascent craft whiskey industry popping up in places like Virginia and Maryland.
Two years, six years... bourbon is still over-oaked corn syrup to me. 🤣 I'll always be biased, but at least I know I'm biased. I always warn people not to listen to my opinion.
Ralfy loved the rant to be fair but yes the bullshit flannel u talk about i am from northern Ireland and we laugh at the bullshit of distillers especially me and a few whisky drinkers who laugh at the bottle at the full moon ardbeg 19YR its the pun of all the the jokes in the chats
Marketing will always follow format and medium. With online advertising and seemingly shorter attention spans I think any subtlety or craft has disappeared as marketing customers become obsessed with click counts and poor quality statistics.
The quality of American bourbon itself is getting worse IMO. As an American I can see how it went from a quiet, consistent industry to a fad where everyone is chasing the dollar. And the casks coming from here can’t be the better for the change.
A few videos more and I'll start drinking whisky! 🤭
If only all whisky reviewers were as forthright as Ralfy they would not have to wonder why I hold them in question and then make fun of them. There is so much of the blind leading the blinder in the whisky world on RUclips and most of it is coming from bourbon people and not the true malt people. I hope for a great falling away in bourbon which I believe is now starting to happen and in it’s infancy. Too much made to do about nothing that is worthy of the praise that has been heaped on bourbon and it’s mostly bloviated hype in a manufactured trend people have fell for. It’s a shame how impressionable many people are and it’s as if they are under some sort of spell
How important can cask wood be when the amount of time spent IN cask wood doesn't matter so long as Ralfy supports NAS marketing? Lecturing producers on what they need to do about casking makes absolutely no sense when you'll just swallow whatever they tell you about age maturation IN those casks anyway - age matters here, but not over there.
I still think Scottish distilleries should just buy new oak casks, first make their own bourbon/rye with them, and then use them for whisky: control of all the steps + reliable end product.
Bring your marks WAY DOWN Ralfy ! _______ So, my 50$ non-ionized, North Pole ice sourced, diamond-filtered, quintuple-distilled, mineral-enhanced, heavy metal-neutralized & fish-poop naturalized bottle of 1 Littre WATER is a sham ? ! huh... (LOL !)