In the mid 2000's, about 2007 if I remember, I bought a bottle of Highland Park 18, which tasted awful. It literally tasted like horse shite was in the cask, no kidding. It also smelled like horse or cow shite. The manager of the shop from where I bought it agreed with me after tasting it himself and accepted it as a return. However, to my dismay, the rules were that it had to be chemically analysed as there had been cases of fraud of people buying expensive bottles, putting in cheap whisky and claiming it was "off". Several months down the line, I got the results of the chemical analysis and it of course came back as Highland Park 18 years old, but they also claimed to find no fault in the whisky. However, they agreed to replace it as a "Gesture of goodwill" So even though myself and the shop manager agreed the whisky was off, it took me almost 2 months to get a replacement bottle. It was a nightmare. By the way, regardless of the test results, I know there was something wrong with the bottle as I've had the 18 year old before then and since and loved it every time.
Great video Ralfy into a very important part of whisky production, Its one of the things I really enjoyed about the Glengoyne distillery tour as they really try to educate about the stages of maturation and how each cask has its influence on the end product. Another feature from them which is great is the wall where they show the different casks used and how each year the colour of the whisky changes and the amount of angel share that is taken. Slainte!
Over the years I have enjoyed Ralfy’s Whisky reviews and especially the extra knowledge about whisky. I like how you are dividing the reviews in my opinion; this way I don’t miss the extra knowledge accompanying the malt because I can’t find the malt in my area and neglect the review. Along the way I have also picked up other words of wisdom: “The quality we engage with enhances the quality of our lives” & “Clocks lie, watches don’t tell the truth, and time is not constant.” I would love to see a Ralfy Extra with more of your personal wisdom about life in general.
I've said it before, but it bears repeating, it's so genuinely nice to see you in good spirits Ralfy. Again, not that feeling otherwise is wrong or bad in anyway. It's just nice to see. Thanks for sharing a bit of time and whisky wisdom with us. Slainte mhath!
Hi Ralfy. This has been the most informative vlog since I have taken a real interest in Whiskey. Really really informative. THANK YOU. It has highlighted to me how conplex Whiskey production is. As much as an art and as well as a science. Also, I belive the proximity to sea and altitude are factors too, which I guess you have not enough time to cover in this vlog. Your vlog has also given me much more appreciation to the likes of Mr Glaser at Compass Box..taking malts and experimenting by marrying in hand pick casks to produce top quality (in my opinion) blends just amazes me. I could go on for hours. Fascinating!!! Very big cheers for this one Ralfy!.
So many factors come in to play. Very interesting Ralfy! Got me thinking about when my dad and brother and I made beer back in the 70's. We had one batch that was fantastic, and despite all our efforts to recreate it we never could. As far as we could remember we did everything the same, yet that one batch stood out from all the rest, still a mystery. Have a great day! Sincerely, Ossie
Thanks Ralfy, after watching 500+ of your reviews in the last 3 years and trying 300+ different scotches, that was the best review i have ever seen. It's worth it to pay Patreon for it. And to buy a Springbank, Mortlach, Ben Nevis now.
Great video Ralfy, I visited the Balvenie distillery last year and - as interesting as the other parts of tour were - I found the cooperage and related conversations about casks and butts to be the most enlightening. It’s something you don’t really tend to hear about outside of that environment so it was good to hear your opinions on the matter! Keep up the good work. 😀👌🏼
Interesting outlook on handling casks. There is a bourbon (Jefferson's Ocean) that is actually stored on ships to get a gentle amout of movement throughout the maturation process.
Hello from Ukraine! Thank you, Ralfy, for assisting me in the beginning of my whisky journey with your awesome videos! Malt mention: "Hello malty mythical minotaurs" :)
Fantastic Video Ralfy, I learn so much watching your video's, it makes me appreciate drinking the various whisky's we are able to choose from and what goes into them. Look forward to your next video, it really makes my week awaiting each new video.Slainte'
Ralfy - I hope you have a great day, as well!! The Port Ellen tired casks concept has me wishing that a bourbon producer would have the courage to do some extended aging from the get go with a 2nd or 3rd fill barrel. Might be interesting to experience extra maturity without those tannins than can be off putting. Kind regards!!
I was also thinking of michter's American whisky but just a fyi it's pretty basic and drinks well below the 41.3%abv. I think of it as a light whisky and enjoy it occasionally when I want something simple on a hot day.
DDIY NETWORK You both have me curious about that Michters American. My wish is that maybe a distillery could attempt aging beyond a traditional Bourbon's aging limits by tossing out the rules (and Bourbon name) and go for 20+ years in 2nd or 3rd fill casks. Kind of just doing the Port Ellen thing w/ the corn prominent distillate. The weaker casks might make that possible.....???
kerino1 I live in Canada and had the chance to purchase and sample many times in 2017 Canadian Club 40 year old corn whisky aged in 2nd fill char#4 bourbon barrels. IMO it tasted more like a 20 year old or less. I expected more for 40 years and I think the light nature of corn spirit, 2nd fill barrels and Canadian winter's played a row in its meh maturation and flavour. Currently, Im on the hunt for Buffalo Trace experimental series bottles where they try many different techniques like rice as a fourth grain, 2nd fill barrels and etc.
Indeed a great video Ralfy. Many people tend to think about sherry cask finishing: "the wetter the better", which usually results in some dark, intense - and in case of PX, very sweet - whisky without much balance or well-integrated distillate. Scotch just does not get better when they use barrels infused with young cheap PX. Need to try your sodium-bicarbonate trick one of these days as I have a Ben Nevis from a particularly sour/mouldy cask. :-)
Thanks for another informative "extra", Ralfy. You touched on the issue of casks being disturbed (shifted, rotated, relocated, etc.) and the negative effects on their contents. Would the same be true for bottles? Is it best to leave them alone, without any unnecessary shifting, jostling or jiggling ("no shaky-shaky!!") for however long one has them, in order to preserve the integrity of the spirits?
Hi Ralfy - awesome info as always. I was wondering... what are the effects of barrel orientation on the maturation of whisky? What flavour changes can be expected between casks stored on their side in racks versus those stored upright, stacked on pallets? It seems to me that there would be a greater surface area exposed to air when the barrels are lying on their sides. Thanks!
thanks for sharing ralfy. question on storage. I have had some fruit forward wine go bitter after being stored under floor in an unheated Scottish home. so I AM now a bit concerned that the cold could damage kill the taste of the whisky. any experience of this?
Ralfy, a profound question for you that's maybe also a little bit absurd: why is it that oxidation is so devastating on open *bottles* of spirit, but not on maturing *barrels* of spirit??? Is it that the positive influence of the wood outweighs the detracting effects of the oxygen? I am dying to know, in short, why a non-gas blanketed half-full bottle would be dead in a few years but a spirit in a wooden, porous vessel is OK after 20+? Your answer is much appreciated, malt mate!
Michael Tortorich, while you're waiting for Ralfy's response... I'd guess that the evaporating Angel's Share creates a slight pressure, enough to repel O2 molecules. Also, wood is only slightly porous, not like your bath sponge. things take time. then you have proportions: a half-empty bottle: 50% air to 50% spirit. Vs a sealed cask of hundreds of liters and only a few molecules reaching the content in any given moment. Besides, I don't know about "devastating", for a while oxygenation actually does a whisky good and then may gradually diminish its quality, which will also vary.
Interesting! Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Alex. Personally, I've never had the discipline to leave an open bottle for longer than 8 months (even when using Private Preserve), but I've tasted friends' bottles that have been opened for 1-2 years. For me a harsh bitterness kicks in very quickly *if one simply relies on the cork or screw top*. You're quite correct about some bottles getting better, of course. I've never enjoyed anything by Springbank, for instance, without waiting a really long time after opening!
I totally agree about some casks being simply too good to mature whisky. I came across sherry single casks of single malt that simply tasted like a higher ABV sherry, no trace of malt at all, and in the end, it's not that interesting !A maturation is succesful when the balance is achieved between cask and spirit influences. I think a little bit of luck is at work to make an outstanding whisky, even if you use the best possible ingredients you can't be sure of the results. That's what I like about whisky, it remains a bit mysterious.
I knew you were gonna say glenfarclas I literally said it right before you. What’s why I’ve come to LOVE glenfarclas though the direct fire and major cask influence really started doin it for me recently 👍🏻👍🏻
I may have written it before, but this thing with the soap permeating into the casks, likewise I think that it would be very smart not to paint the cask-caps, the paint odeur WILL get into the whisky to some extent, burn a number into it, or put a metal-plate or whatever, and handle the info in a management computer-system....
Thanks for this episode, this is absolutely the kind of information I enjoy...real information=real learning. I have a question regarding cask maturation differences from size to size, for example, a standard bourbon or sherry cask to a larger hogshead cask. I'm guessing smaller containment will give accelerated maturation, but perhaps hogshead will actually add benefits to the whisky if slowly matured for say 20yrs. My grocer is selling a Glen Spey 'Seud Na Alba' 20yr matured in hogsheads, price is 65€. Your thoughts are always appreciated! Cheers from Austria!
. . . never heard of that brand of whisky, no size of cask is better or worse in results, size is only a component of a wider 'provenance' of a whisky's creation.
ralfydotcom Alright, I'd read about smaller casks, due to lesser volume of whisky, giving accelerateted maturation due to more cask to whisky contact, hence quarter casks? I guess hogsheads are quite larger, so was wondering what 20 yrs would be equivalent to. I thinking perhaps 20 yrs would be required for a decent outcome, rather than a normal, "wow, 20 yrs, that's a good old aged product." Apparently, the Glen Spey is rather uncommon...this is perhaps an independent bottling special for my grocer? I've also purchased a Clynelish 14 and Glengarioch 12 from there, both very reasonably priced. And both receiving good praise from yourself. Thanks again for all your input, you are an important voice...people are listening!
It's interesting to hear this, I've noticed the new distilleries popping up are sending their casks elsewhere, does this mean the casks will suffer because they don't have a distillery manager on hand to constantly check them? Also there can't be many other industries where a punter can feasibly ask to see the factory and all its tools.
Greetings Ralfy- Have you heard of or ever looked into Rapid-Aged Whiskies? Just finished reading an article, called 'Cracking the Aging Code' (Whiskey Advocate-Spring) about the company, Lost Spirits, here in L.A., and their technology of advancing whiskey maturation, within weeks, and without barrel aging. Is there a growing interest in this side of the whiskey business and is it the wave of the future, especially for young whiskies?
Hi Ralfy. My missus and I, are really enjoying your videos. We watch a few every night in no particular order! As a total novice to the whisky world I've noticed you don't review 'no age statement whiskies'. I was just wondering why not and what advice you would give to buying these. We're in the process of building up a collection and it's just curiosity really. If you have talked about these I was wondering if you could point me towards which video it is. Thanks.
I believe many of the Islay distilleries that produce heavily peated whisky intentionally use older third fill barrels in order to preserve the phenols from the peat kilning of the malt they use. Those phenols responsible for the peaty, smokey, briny qualities are somewhat delicate and can easily be absorbed by the heavy char of a newer first-fill barrel. I made the mistake of putting some of my finest newmake in a relatively newer barrel and when I tasted it months later, the peat reak had all but disappeared.
Oh! One other thing: this month's issue of Whisky Advocate has a feature on Lost Sprits' ageing "reactors" and TerrePURE's chemical process that claim to produce the same flavours found in traditionally matured whiskies, but in a matter of days rather than years. I would love to hear your thoughts (ire) on these processes/claims.
Its fantastic how much knowledge is in a bottle of whisky. Say...if you do homemade “whisky” and buy new oak cask of 10l capacity, fill it with very pure quality vodka ( not flavoured Finlandia ) for about 3 years, can it be considered a whisky? Vodka should be the same thing as a new make spirit, yes? Or...can the new make whisky spirit be bought in mainland Europe?
Hi I just recieved a bottle after it travelled in a flight from uk 2 india n it leaked a bit through cork n seal mayb cz it was lying down in d baggage...so is it likely 2 evaporate or over oxidise now at 35 to 48 degrees c temperatire(summers) or i can keep it for an year or so safely???
Ralfy the watch example is terrible. Perhaps one of the worst as the most expensive watches have inaccurate mechanical movements as opposed to being quartz clocks. The latter are much more accurate (> 100 times) but are much cheaper. Reasons are psychological: design, tradition, cognitive biases toward craftsmanship, etc. The lesson is that sometimes the psychological reward from owning, the attachment to a poorly functioning, poorly built object will vastly overcome the benefit of having a better functioning, more efficient device accomplishing the same purpose.
If you're going to make the "extra" as long as you formerly did the review and the extra in one single video then you might as well put the two parts back together in one again.
![Who Wrote a Short Story That Seriously Disturbed a Teacher? | Dirty Laundry x Smosh [Full Episode]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bvHAy_rKoEI/mqdefault.jpg)
In the mid 2000's, about 2007 if I remember, I bought a bottle of Highland Park 18, which tasted awful. It literally tasted like horse shite was in the cask, no kidding. It also smelled like horse or cow shite. The manager of the shop from where I bought it agreed with me after tasting it himself and accepted it as a return. However, to my dismay, the rules were that it had to be chemically analysed as there had been cases of fraud of people buying expensive bottles, putting in cheap whisky and claiming it was "off". Several months down the line, I got the results of the chemical analysis and it of course came back as Highland Park 18 years old, but they also claimed to find no fault in the whisky. However, they agreed to replace it as a "Gesture of goodwill"
So even though myself and the shop manager agreed the whisky was off, it took me almost 2 months to get a replacement bottle. It was a nightmare.
By the way, regardless of the test results, I know there was something wrong with the bottle as I've had the 18 year old before then and since and loved it every time.
Great video Ralfy into a very important part of whisky production, Its one of the things I really enjoyed about the Glengoyne distillery tour as they really try to educate about the stages of maturation and how each cask has its influence on the end product. Another feature from them which is great is the wall where they show the different casks used and how each year the colour of the whisky changes and the amount of angel share that is taken. Slainte!
THX for this session. Love your art of knowledge"teaching"!
Over the years I have enjoyed Ralfy’s Whisky reviews and especially the extra knowledge about whisky. I like how you are dividing the reviews in my opinion; this way I don’t miss the extra knowledge accompanying the malt because I can’t find the malt in my area and neglect the review.
Along the way I have also picked up other words of wisdom: “The quality we engage with enhances the quality of our lives” & “Clocks lie, watches don’t tell the truth, and time is not constant.” I would love to see a Ralfy Extra with more of your personal wisdom about life in general.
One of my favourite Ralfy nuggets is, "Never buy anything you've seen on TV."
I've said it before, but it bears repeating, it's so genuinely nice to see you in good spirits Ralfy. Again, not that feeling otherwise is wrong or bad in anyway. It's just nice to see. Thanks for sharing a bit of time and whisky wisdom with us. Slainte mhath!
. . . happy to share the malt-moments !
Hi Ralfy. This has been the most informative vlog since I have taken a real interest in Whiskey. Really really informative. THANK YOU. It has highlighted to me how conplex Whiskey production is. As much as an art and as well as a science. Also, I belive the proximity to sea and altitude are factors too, which I guess you have not enough time to cover in this vlog. Your vlog has also given me much more appreciation to the likes of Mr Glaser at Compass Box..taking malts and experimenting by marrying in hand pick casks to produce top quality (in my opinion) blends just amazes me. I could go on for hours. Fascinating!!! Very big cheers for this one Ralfy!.
So many factors come in to play. Very interesting Ralfy! Got me thinking about when my dad and brother and I made beer back in the 70's. We had one batch that was fantastic, and despite all our efforts to recreate it we never could. As far as we could remember we did everything the same, yet that one batch stood out from all the rest, still a mystery. Have a great day! Sincerely, Ossie
Thanks Ralfy, after watching 500+ of your reviews in the last 3 years and trying 300+ different scotches, that was the best review i have ever seen. It's worth it to pay Patreon for it. And to buy a Springbank, Mortlach, Ben Nevis now.
. . . happy to help with the malt-moments, thanks for your support !
rogier x ....very much agree!
Great video Ralfy, I visited the Balvenie distillery last year and - as interesting as the other parts of tour were - I found the cooperage and related conversations about casks and butts to be the most enlightening. It’s something you don’t really tend to hear about outside of that environment so it was good to hear your opinions on the matter!
Keep up the good work. 😀👌🏼
Interesting outlook on handling casks. There is a bourbon (Jefferson's Ocean) that is actually stored on ships to get a gentle amout of movement throughout the maturation process.
found your channel from your big Clive feature and I'm so glad I subbed to you, cheers from America!
Hello from Ukraine! Thank you, Ralfy, for assisting me in the beginning of my whisky journey with your awesome videos!
Malt mention: "Hello malty mythical minotaurs" :)
Fantastic Video Ralfy, I learn so much watching your video's, it makes me appreciate drinking the various whisky's we are able to choose from and what goes into them. Look forward to your next video, it really makes my week awaiting each new video.Slainte'
Ralfy - I hope you have a great day, as well!! The Port Ellen tired casks concept has me wishing that a bourbon producer would have the courage to do some extended aging from the get go with a 2nd or 3rd fill barrel. Might be interesting to experience extra maturity without those tannins than can be off putting. Kind regards!!
Check out Michters American Whiskey. Its "Bourbon" from refill bourbon casks. Very delicious.
Hingle McCringleberry Copy. Thank you
I was also thinking of michter's American whisky but just a fyi it's pretty basic and drinks well below the 41.3%abv. I think of it as a light whisky and enjoy it occasionally when I want something simple on a hot day.
DDIY NETWORK You both have me curious about that Michters American. My wish is that maybe a distillery could attempt aging beyond a traditional Bourbon's aging limits by tossing out the rules (and Bourbon name) and go for 20+ years in 2nd or 3rd fill casks. Kind of just doing the Port Ellen thing w/ the corn prominent distillate. The weaker casks might make that possible.....???
kerino1 I live in Canada and had the chance to purchase and sample many times in 2017 Canadian Club 40 year old corn whisky aged in 2nd fill char#4 bourbon barrels. IMO it tasted more like a 20 year old or less. I expected more for 40 years and I think the light nature of corn spirit, 2nd fill barrels and Canadian winter's played a row in its meh maturation and flavour. Currently, Im on the hunt for Buffalo Trace experimental series bottles where they try many different techniques like rice as a fourth grain, 2nd fill barrels and etc.
What a great video 👌! Thanks for this Ralfy. This is a topic that’s often neglected and yet so very important! Cheers from South Africa 🥃!
Great job as usual. Thanks Ralfy!
Indeed a great video Ralfy. Many people tend to think about sherry cask finishing: "the wetter the better", which usually results in some dark, intense - and in case of PX, very sweet - whisky without much balance or well-integrated distillate. Scotch just does not get better when they use barrels infused with young cheap PX. Need to try your sodium-bicarbonate trick one of these days as I have a Ben Nevis from a particularly sour/mouldy cask. :-)
Thanks for another informative "extra", Ralfy. You touched on the issue of casks being disturbed (shifted, rotated, relocated, etc.) and the negative effects on their contents. Would the same be true for bottles? Is it best to leave them alone, without any unnecessary shifting, jostling or jiggling ("no shaky-shaky!!") for however long one has them, in order to preserve the integrity of the spirits?
. . . not so bad for bottles, except if you drop them.
Hi Ralfy - awesome info as always. I was wondering... what are the effects of barrel orientation on the maturation of whisky? What flavour changes can be expected between casks stored on their side in racks versus those stored upright, stacked on pallets? It seems to me that there would be a greater surface area exposed to air when the barrels are lying on their sides. Thanks!
. . . depends on the wood used in cask ends, storing up on end removes the top cask-end influence.
thanks for sharing ralfy. question on storage. I have had some fruit forward wine go bitter after being stored under floor in an unheated Scottish home. so I AM now a bit concerned that the cold could damage kill the taste of the whisky. any experience of this?
Ralfy, a profound question for you that's maybe also a little bit absurd: why is it that oxidation is so devastating on open *bottles* of spirit, but not on maturing *barrels* of spirit??? Is it that the positive influence of the wood outweighs the detracting effects of the oxygen? I am dying to know, in short, why a non-gas blanketed half-full bottle would be dead in a few years but a spirit in a wooden, porous vessel is OK after 20+? Your answer is much appreciated, malt mate!
Michael Tortorich, while you're waiting for Ralfy's response... I'd guess that the evaporating Angel's Share creates a slight pressure, enough to repel O2 molecules. Also, wood is only slightly porous, not like your bath sponge. things take time. then you have proportions: a half-empty bottle: 50% air to 50% spirit. Vs a sealed cask of hundreds of liters and only a few molecules reaching the content in any given moment. Besides, I don't know about "devastating", for a while oxygenation actually does a whisky good and then may gradually diminish its quality, which will also vary.
Interesting! Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Alex. Personally, I've never had the discipline to leave an open bottle for longer than 8 months (even when using Private Preserve), but I've tasted friends' bottles that have been opened for 1-2 years. For me a harsh bitterness kicks in very quickly *if one simply relies on the cork or screw top*. You're quite correct about some bottles getting better, of course. I've never enjoyed anything by Springbank, for instance, without waiting a really long time after opening!
I totally agree about some casks being simply too good to mature whisky. I came across sherry single casks of single malt that simply tasted like a higher ABV sherry, no trace of malt at all, and in the end, it's not that interesting !A maturation is succesful when the balance is achieved between cask and spirit influences. I think a little bit of luck is at work to make an outstanding whisky, even if you use the best possible ingredients you can't be sure of the results. That's what I like about whisky, it remains a bit mysterious.
Nice extra again Ralfy. I do enjoy them.
Your such an interesting gentleman Ralfy, I could listen to you all day.
Ralfy I REFUSE to go to another channel for a whisky review, so I hope you will get the time to review Ardbeg AN OA at some point :)
No chance: Ralfy does not review NAS whisky any more.
I knew you were gonna say glenfarclas I literally said it right before you. What’s why I’ve come to LOVE glenfarclas though the direct fire and major cask influence really started doin it for me recently 👍🏻👍🏻
I may have written it before, but this thing with the soap permeating into the casks, likewise I think that it would be very smart not to paint the cask-caps, the paint odeur WILL get into the whisky to some extent, burn a number into it, or put a metal-plate or whatever, and handle the info in a management computer-system....
Wow, respect 😊
Thanks for this episode, this is absolutely the kind of information I enjoy...real information=real learning. I have a question regarding cask maturation differences from size to size, for example, a standard bourbon or sherry cask to a larger hogshead cask. I'm guessing smaller containment will give accelerated maturation, but perhaps hogshead will actually add benefits to the whisky if slowly matured for say 20yrs. My grocer is selling a Glen Spey 'Seud Na Alba' 20yr matured in hogsheads, price is 65€. Your thoughts are always appreciated!
Cheers from Austria!
. . . never heard of that brand of whisky, no size of cask is better or worse in results, size is only a component of a wider 'provenance' of a whisky's creation.
ralfydotcom Alright, I'd read about smaller casks, due to lesser volume of whisky, giving accelerateted maturation due to more cask to whisky contact, hence quarter casks? I guess hogsheads are quite larger, so was wondering what 20 yrs would be equivalent to. I thinking perhaps 20 yrs would be required for a decent outcome, rather than a normal, "wow, 20 yrs, that's a good old aged product." Apparently, the Glen Spey is rather uncommon...this is perhaps an independent bottling special for my grocer? I've also purchased a Clynelish 14 and Glengarioch 12 from there, both very reasonably priced. And both receiving good praise from yourself. Thanks again for all your input, you are an important voice...people are listening!
The bottle is also #'d from a single cask, and stated non chill filtered and natural color on the label.
Really getting down to the nitty gritty lately! I'm learning some interesting things about the way distilleries operate - for better or for worse! 😁👍
Love your reviews . More Rums PLEASE ..
I got Laphroaig commercial before this, how appropriate!
It's interesting to hear this, I've noticed the new distilleries popping up are sending their casks elsewhere, does this mean the casks will suffer because they don't have a distillery manager on hand to constantly check them? Also there can't be many other industries where a punter can feasibly ask to see the factory and all its tools.
. . . all down to the care casks receive where they are stored, and the calibre of the warehouse.
Greetings Ralfy- Have you heard of or ever looked into Rapid-Aged Whiskies? Just finished reading an article, called 'Cracking the Aging Code' (Whiskey Advocate-Spring) about the company, Lost Spirits, here in L.A., and their technology of advancing whiskey maturation, within weeks, and without barrel aging. Is there a growing interest in this side of the whiskey business and is it the wave of the future, especially for young whiskies?
. . . yet to be convinced that this system actually works ! I have tried it myself with limited, but interesting results.
Hi Ralfy. My missus and I, are really enjoying your videos. We watch a few every night in no particular order! As a total novice to the whisky world I've noticed you don't review 'no age statement whiskies'. I was just wondering why not and what advice you would give to buying these. We're in the process of building up a collection and it's just curiosity really. If you have talked about these I was wondering if you could point me towards which video it is. Thanks.
. . . unfortunately, many NAS offer too little value for too much money.
I believe many of the Islay distilleries that produce heavily peated whisky intentionally use older third fill barrels in order to preserve the phenols from the peat kilning of the malt they use. Those phenols responsible for the peaty, smokey, briny qualities are somewhat delicate and can easily be absorbed by the heavy char of a newer first-fill barrel. I made the mistake of putting some of my finest newmake in a relatively newer barrel and when I tasted it months later, the peat reak had all but disappeared.
. . . good point, well made, they do this a lot on Islay !
would buy a watch, if I didn't give me a red whiskey nose lol :)
keep up the good work ralfy lol
Great video as always Ralfy!
Oh! One other thing: this month's issue of Whisky Advocate has a feature on Lost Sprits' ageing "reactors" and TerrePURE's chemical process that claim to produce the same flavours found in traditionally matured whiskies, but in a matter of days rather than years. I would love to hear your thoughts (ire) on these processes/claims.
. . . good luck to them, the customers will decide !
I like bacon and eggs
Why do they age in casks instead of in large glass tanks with wood plants anchored in them like tea?
. . . because it does not work !
Video quality is looking good
Its fantastic how much knowledge is in a bottle of whisky.
Say...if you do homemade “whisky” and buy new oak cask of 10l capacity, fill it with very pure quality vodka ( not flavoured Finlandia ) for about 3 years, can it be considered a whisky? Vodka should be the same thing as a new make spirit, yes? Or...can the new make whisky spirit be bought in mainland Europe?
Hi
I just recieved a bottle after it travelled in a flight from uk 2 india n it leaked a bit through cork n seal mayb cz it was lying down in d baggage...so is it likely 2 evaporate or over oxidise now at 35 to 48 degrees c temperatire(summers) or i can keep it for an year or so safely???
Just when I thought I had it figured it...it is so complicated.
. . . it is, that's the beauty !
Had a Glenfiddich 18yo and a William Grant Glen Fohdry 21yo, Was disappointed the 21yo...thought I knew why. Now am not sure.
@Ralfy Can you do a video about sealing bottles with parafilm? Cheers
Hy did already. Look for"how to keep open bottels fresh" or something like that
Seems your ralphy.com site is no more... true? I was hoping for a comprehensive list of your reviews by score.
Google sheet with all scores and other pertinent info.
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BuVCjv8FY9Wa2FJpKgLqQh9NwoSE3Okb_tasTtHbvC4/edit?usp=sharing
Ralfy the watch example is terrible. Perhaps one of the worst as the most expensive watches have inaccurate mechanical movements as opposed to being quartz clocks. The latter are much more accurate (> 100 times) but are much cheaper. Reasons are psychological: design, tradition, cognitive biases toward craftsmanship, etc. The lesson is that sometimes the psychological reward from owning, the attachment to a poorly functioning, poorly built object will vastly overcome the benefit of having a better functioning, more efficient device accomplishing the same purpose.
This is why you are #1
Ralfy here in Michigan, USA it doesn’t matter what you think about the whiskey once it’s purchased it can’t be returned for any reason.
@ralfy can you review Jameson signature please 😊
If you're going to make the "extra" as long as you formerly did the review and the extra in one single video then you might as well put the two parts back together in one again.
First
.
. . . Verified as First !
.