15 Year Scotch Battle

Rob compares the Macallan 15 Double Cask, Glendronach 15 Revival and Glenallachie 15. Find out which Rob feels is worth your money.
#macallan #whiskytube #glendronach #glenallachie
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Opening Video and Music Produced by Monti
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• Video
Check out the Whisky Rant Podcast where Rob teams up with his buddy Jeremy to discuss all things whisky. Jeremy is the head reviewer of the KZbin channel Sipper’s Social Club.
Rob reviews the Springbank 10 Pedro Ximénez from 2022. This first fill PX cask finished Springbank come with lots of hype. Let’s see if it can live up to the high praise from the rest of whiskytube.
Check out the Whisky Rant Podcast where Rob teams up with his buddy Jeremy to discuss all things whisky. Jeremy is the head reviewer of the KZbin channel Sipper’s Social Club.
Rob reviews the Springbank 10 Pedro Ximénez from 2022. This first fill PX cask finished Springbank come with lots of hype. Let’s see if it can live up to the high praise from the rest of whiskytube.

[@benmarnoch4111]

Have a look at the Dramface article on Brown Forman and their decision to remove the non chill filtered statement on their Glendronach labels. If you believe them they were just trying to adhere to the Scotch Whisky Associations rules on chill filtration. Which are pretty clear, if you reduce the temperature from ambient and put through the filtration plant it’s chill filtered. That Macallan price is unjustifiable for a 15yo, it only encourages the others to think they can get away with it too. Having said that, I wouldn’t turn the chance to drink any of them.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

The Glenallachie is always an easy choice.

[@bradl2636]

My favourite 15's are Springbank 15, Glencadam 15, Glen Scotia 15, Tamdhu 15, and Glenfarclas 15. It's worth a trip to Tokyo once a year to get these at decent prices compared to dealing with patchy local supply and higher prices.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

My favourite is the Springbank 15 but feel bad mentioning it. This wasn’t meant to be a full 15 year rundown. Just felt that these three are often compared.

[@henrieliot]

Same here SB15 fav

[@bradl2636]

@@WhiskyInThe6 Sure. For me, it makes sense to fly from Perth (Western Australia) to Tokyo to pick up interesting bottles once a year. Particularly for Springbank. COVID hiatus ended for me last November.

[@Iceman-xe7jo]

Me flying to Tokyo for Scotch is not financially smart. 🤣

[@keithpetersen560]

I agree. Macallan is very distinct on the nose and palate. Easy to identify. Good comparison.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Cheers Keith.

[@martinbeen]

Had a Glendronach 15 and loved it. Still have a closed one. Also had a GlenAllachie 15, liked it alot, but the Glendronach 15 i had, was way better then the GA 15. Brands like Macallan and Springbank, i don't even buy, way to expansive.

[@DAL20012]

Recommend the GlenDronach 15 is great!

[@DrumondArt]

The Glenallachie 15 got incredible these past 2 years. Opened one bottled 2022 a couple weeks ago and have been loving it. One you should try and compare to these is the Tamdhu 15. I let it breathe for a couple months and it has been making my jaw drop, incredible! It's not cheap but considering I stocked up last year on a sale, I'm pretty happy.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Have a review of the Tamdhu 15 in the archive. Check it out. Cheers.

[@Rohit_M]

Great review of the 15's Rob. The GA 15 is an incredible dram and I agree with your score. The GA offerings seem to be getting better year over year which is hard these days. I never got the Macallan 15 but did grab the GD15 recently so will check it out to see how it compares to GA 15. Cheers Rob!

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Cheers buddy

[@michael72012]

@@WhiskyInThe6in Chicago I can get the Macallan 15 double oak for $139 and the glendronach 15 at $119

[@steelsteez6118]

so how did it compare? Im torn between the two!

[@Rohit_M]

@@steelsteez6118 Macallan 15 fits into a luxury category nowadays given the out of reach prices. GA15 is a great dram and GD15 is even better. These two are a great economical alternative to Macallan in my opinion. I would keep one of each if my budget permitted. Having said that I thumbed my nose and got myself a Macallan 12 Sherry release to compare and just recently opened it for the holiday season and the first couple of pours have been pretty good. If I had to choose just one out of the three, I would go with Glendronach 15 if you can ignore the much debated Non-chill filtered topic. Cheers!

[@djbeacon6895]

Rob, good 3 way. Glenallachie has found a great fit in the market with quality and price.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Ya it’s definitely a buy blind distillery for me.

[@pillcozby431]

For me Macallan Springbank and Benromach have a very distinct smell. You know it soon as you get a wiff

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Ya there’s some that are not equitable included in a blind tasting.

[@everwind5691]

Curious How the Tamdhu 15 would stack up. Early GlenAllachie were a little hot, I have noticed each new bottling incremental improvements which I ascribe to Billy's cask management strategies with the old juice. I think the new bottlings have been in the new casks longer. I still love GD 15. It does offer more depth than the 12 and while not as good as the 18 its old retail price of $100 US was a fair price point for what you got. New retail prices are crazy. Mac 12 Sherry is almost the same price as the GD 15 so that is a no-brainer choice for the GD, GA, or Tamdhu IMHO.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Tamdhu is solid. I think I have it an 88 when I reviewed it n

[@chazchilly9697]

Good job on this vid Rob…out of that trio the Glenallachie is my fav by far…can still have it shipped across the pond from a retailer for around £65…thats a great price point for it…over a $100 is a stretch though

[@WhiskyInThe6]

That’s a great price

[@davidmason4812]

Great review buddy, here in the UK you can easily pick up the Glenallachie and Glendronach for £65, but the Macallan will cost you £130, so at that price, I wouldn't even entertain it, the Tamdhu 15 is also worth checking out, just a shame that Edradour haven't re-introduced the 15yr Fairy Flag because that was an outrageously good whisky, great comparisons Rob, I enjoyed the video 👍🥃

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Thanks David cheers.

[@murduk88]

GlenAllachie 15 is easily the cheapest of the three here in Texas, so good news for me. 🥳🥳

[@martinbeen]

Also here in Nederland. Sometimes i can buy a GA15 for 63 Euro. GD15 for like 90 Euro. Macallan, i don't know, i think it will be like 150 Euro.

[@austintierney4828]

Background music sounds like Elliott Smith -- respect. And thanks for the review...although I kinda knew Glenallachie would take the cake ;)

[@WhiskyInThe6]

The song is a Saints and Mountains original. I actually posted it a couple weeks ago on here. It’s also on Instagram. Glenallachie definitely had this in the bag from the get go.

[@mcapdevila]

Nice comparison! I wonder where Tamdhu 15 and Glenturret 15 would have landed among this bunch.

[@mcapdevila]

Ok I see now a few others also suggested Tamdhu 15 - so not original lol

[@WhiskyInThe6]

If I had to guess Tamdhu would edge out the Glendronach. Not sure about the Glenturret

[@MarcelB74]

I totally agree, 🥃

[@mendipfox1650]

Defo need a ‘Farclas 15 in the mix here. 😊

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Was thinking about it but there’s bourbon cask in it I believe.

[@andrewmckay8972]

Was the Glenallachie 15 2023 or an earlier iteration? I saw Ralphy found an earlier bottling on review hot, needed water, a lot of time and made him cough afyer sampling it? I've recently cracked my 'Springbank 15 2022 ' and absolutely mindblown as to how impressive that is. Considering buying the Glenallachie 15...

[@WhiskyInThe6]

It’s a 2022 I believe. This one has virtually no heat.

[@colinblyth2101]

good review. Hadnt realised the Glendronach 15 now has Oloroso back in the mix (i was sure it was just PX in a recent version), so a good excuse to try again

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Decent stuff for sure

[@edgewalker7459]

I was disappointed in the glendronach , but I had been drinking the Arran 18 beforehand,so maybe my tastebuds were spoiled lol ,, wouldn’t buy a macallan ,, glenallachie is a great dram

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Hard to compare anything to that Arran.

[@SippersSocialClub]

Would you take the Balvenie 15 over these?

[@WhiskyInThe6]

No. Too much of a gamble for each cask. Also too expensive.

[@carlosc9127]

Thank you for the video.

[@peterwhite507]

You must have finished off the Glenfarclas 15 since it missed out of the flight, :)

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Is that 100% sherry? Can’t remember.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Also have a Speyburn 15 I didn’t include. I figured these three are often mentioned in the same breath.

[@peterwhite507]

@@WhiskyInThe6 Yes, likely refill maybe

[@Zmann86]

If you can get a bottle of Macallan Rare Cask for under $290 USD then it's really (in my opinion) the bottom floor for where Macallan starts to be amazing. The 12 year, 15 year are just nowhere near as good for what you're paying. The 18 year is good, but then you're paying even more for that than the Rare Cask.

[@its5150]

I have several bottles in my collection which I bought when the prices of scotch were actually well priced. These days I refuse to buy scotch because of how much they have gone up in price & the quality of sherried scotch isn't what it use to be ... just saying 🤷‍♂️ Nice review Rob!!

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Ya the days of stocking up for the future are gone. The future is now.

[@Hexagonal_Crank]

Yeah, that 2 point difference between the Glendronach and the Glenallachie is justified. I've put them head to head multiple times last year and the Glenallachie beats out every time.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

🙏🏻

[@ironmantran]

Hol'on Teach, that guitar intro is not even a full bar ! -------- KGBO has TUllibardine15 for 110, G'farclas-15 for 110, ... which could replace that off-white bottle there. NICE VID + agreed about the malt of the Valley of the Rocks !

[@PeatLova]

Awesome comparison, Rob. Tough comparison. I'll watch instead.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Thanks brother. Cheers!

[@travisfaircloth]

I'm sure that all 3 use similar seasoned casks. 24mo seasoning is widely practiced. The GA most likely was reracked out of bourbon into sherry when BW took over. I think the Edradour 10yr Signatory Vintage 46% or Edradour Caledonia 12yr would probably beat all of these imo. The older BW Revivals though are on another level. Cheers sir!

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Actually if you check out the rant with Roy, Jeremy actually has an Edradour 10, Macallan 15, Glenallachie 8 and a Two Brewers in a blind tasting and the Edradour came last.

[@sikhpilot.]

​@@WhiskyInThe6Edradour in all likelihood use very wet casks. It's no longer whisky, it's like a syrop liquor. I'll be honest, I had the signatory 12 I think, cost about £110 and it genuinely was so disappointing. They sell it on colour, not on taste. Sad really. Plus the Edradour spirit itself isn't too attractive on the palette as the cut is very wide and it's quite a dirty spirit. Dirty is not necessarily a negative term. It's just a very wide cut.

[@Haunted-Amelia]

I found the Glenallachie 15 had a bit of burn/warmth going down. Nice aftertaste though

[@WhiskyInThe6]

It really depends which batch.

[@morriszack4853]

Rob, that GlenDronach is filtered and the distillery is not being transparent about their level of filtration. They've lost my custom.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

You’re probably right

[@Halliskyes]

Rob, I salute you

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Cheers

[@teddyballgame25]

The DO Macs are terrible.

[@steveno7058]

Glendronach is chill filtering. The excuse about the SWA regulations is BS. Tons of brands still have non chill filtered on the bottle

[@WhiskyInThe6]

I wouldn’t be surprised if you are right.

[@christian_K2308]

Ralfy made a couple of videos on this as well. It's a shame that they changed direction when BW left and BF took over. But there are amazing choices to turn to like the GA or Tamdhu...

[@ADSCP]

Does the Glenfarclas 15 compares well to those?

[@WhiskyInThe6]

A lot less sherry forward but still very good.

[@martinbeen]

@@WhiskyInThe6 And what i like about Glenfarclas is the price, i think i can get a Glenfarclas 15 for 55 Euro. We must respect those brands that still keep the price normal. Like the Springbank 15 is 195 Euro.

[@steelsteez6118]

​@@martinbeenit's not the brands that "keep the price normal" it's the retailers. The retailers are the ones that bend you over backwards and take you to the back shed as soon as they start to notice a particular brand/batch/expression etc. gets a little popular. It's why you see it creep up in price slowly. They adjust in demand. Sometimes if it gets popular enough (like Springbank whiskies) theres no shame and youll see a $100-150 increases with zero shame.

[@Xminor79]

I don’t understand the hate GlenAllachie 15 gets. (Actually, yes I do….Ralfy). I love the 15. If you love sherry bombs, you shouldn’t have a lot of negative to say about it. GlenAllachie make some of the absolute best whisky on the market. Next to basically any other distillery, it almost seems like they’re cheating 😂….Macallan, as usual, can kick rocks

[@WhiskyInThe6]

To his defence, old batches weren’t as good as newer ones.

[@rares_21]

You don't have a place for Glen scotia 15 there? Don.t know what to say,man...

[@WhiskyInThe6]

The Scotia isn’t a sherry cask exclusive.

[@rares_21]

@@WhiskyInThe6 ,but enough to make scotia 15 superior to these ones;)

[@edmorrison699]

Have you ever been salmon fishing in New Brunswick?

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Not in New Brunswick.

[@Brad-ic4bp]

I think Highland Park 15 should be in that battle (and come in second, after Glendronach). Yeah, I know Highland Park technically is slightly peated, but I don’t taste it at all.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Wasting the biggest fan of the hp15

[@Brad-ic4bp]

Picked up a GlenAllachie 15 today, and you’re right - It’s the best 15, even edging out Glendronach 15. I tried GlenAllachie 12 a couple years ago and was not impressed, but it just goes to show what a difference a few more year sun the wood can make.@@WhiskyInThe6

[@JenniferJames007]

The 'scoring/marking' system for whisky is awful and it needs to change across the board! For example... I am a whisky lover and money no object, and there are many in this category. I want to know which of those three 15 year olds is the best whisky and by what degree... regardless of price I want to know your scores on the whisky 'alone' If you must give a second mark which includes it's value for money, then yes give it a second mark for that too! But Rob, I want to know and I need to know you guys score for the 'whisky alone' Then I know which one to go buy... or not to buy! I have the 'exact' information I need... I know which is the best whisky and if it's important to me also the price... Separately please! Murking the waters and mixing the two elements into one score is just crazy, leaving me guessing! 😨 Oh btw keep up the good work, I love your channel 👌👌 Jennifer x

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Definitely a fair request. Cheers Jenny.

[@JenniferJames007]

@@WhiskyInThe6 Hi Rob, thank you for your reply.... so in relation to my comment... please tell me how close the scores were on 'whisky alone'? I know you marked the Macallan down for price but how much of the difference in score was that price factoring! How close were the scores for the actual whisky in the bottle? Thank you Jeniffer x

[@fbi8364]

Rob, regardless of your familiarity, please do it blind next time.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

The Mac nose is far too distinct.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

I honestly feel like doing it blind would have been even more misleading.

[@keithpetersen560]

@@WhiskyInThe6 Totally agree with you Rob

[@fbi8364]

Blind removes your ego and biases.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

@@fbi8364 Jeremy and I started a 10 bottle best 18 year old blind. The first round was four bottles and we both guess all four correctly.

[@jimmcdevitt6084]

Anyone who compares multiple scotches without cleansing their palate or Aires the nose can’t give a true evaluation.

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Not my first rodeo with any of these but I understand your concern.

[@chazchilly9697]

Must be a Liquor Hound fan 😂 True to a certain extent but not as important to the expert taster imo

[@georgecallemarquez]

666

[@WhiskyInThe6]

Mark of the beast. I stick to one 6.