ralfy review 1049 - A Historical Whisky Story.

[@cutulphashby6972]

Thanks Ralfy, this is why I continue to come back here time after time- honest opinions backed up by experience!

[@lordprefab5534]

You nailed it Ralfy. I went from bonding port pins on a gravel floor of a basement warehouse to palletising hogsheads six high with a high reach forklift in brand new storage sheds in my career in the whisky industry. The myth and mystique is just a load of crap, and the stories I hear from former workmates are desperate, with inept public school, graduate trainee management treating the workers like shit.

[@boundslarry]

After hearing today's story and all I learned from it, I have decided it's definitely time for me to order your three books for the treasures they must contain.

[@JazznRealHipHop]

Finally getting around to reading your first book I’m about halfway thru. My next malt moment I’ll make a toast to your health Ralfy hope you get better soon!

[@dram_kruzhok]

Great rant, Ralfy. Rushing through a whisky tasting "to get your money's worth" is like robbing yourself to get richer. These people are depriving themselves. Whisky takes patience and it's worth it. I don't even think that a proper tasting is possible in a bar or festival setting, IMHO. It might as well be on ice or with cola. Only on your own, like reading a book, or with a few friends who are into it. Wine and beer are festive, whisky is contemplative. At least for me.

[@alehhandro1]

We just recently had one of the most extreme examples of owners and managers not giving a dime about their employees. Impact Plastics in East Tennessee. Whoever runs it didn’t let employees leave work during hurricane Helene until it was too late. Several people were killed by the flooding waters on inundated roads. Your rant is very appropriate! If no one rants things like that will keep happening and judges will keep siding with owners and management even when their decisions literally kill people.

[@MortAllachie]

With the discontinued Longmorn 16 in the glass I’m looking forward to the story. Get well soon 💐

[@b1gsteve251]

Another brilliant rant. Never change. Sláinte Mhath 🥃

[@TheZiggyman01]

Very interesting video. Thanks for the insight and opening our minds up Ralf👍

[@nicktheflybradley]

Hi Ralfy, thank you for such a good honest rant! Well said. Nick from York

[@saintuk70]

Have to agree regarding the tourist version of the whisky industry, but this can be said about so much of Scotland's history for the visitors - it is the Sir Walter Scott effect. Today, whisky is highly automated with staff being overseers of that process rather than being part of it. This is all fine as industries do change and progress. Even Springbank has changed, oh how I love Springbank too. When I worked there in the 80s to early 90s it was all manual. When we did distil it was 12 hour shifts with a 15-16 hour shift on a Friday, each of the 4 nights (Monday through Thursday) I was up shovelling draff down the hopper, we'd be in the stills/water tanks/mash tun etc ever Thursday night for the clean after the final spirit run. It was hard work but the best way to learn the industry. Just a wee note - Partick isn't a whisky "area" of Glasgow, you'd more lively bump into the ship builders and grain workers. Actually, one of my Christmas nights out from a distillery in the west of Glasgow, our first pub stop was in Partick for a liquid breakfast.

[@macwild23]

Great insight and a welcome break from the romanticised storytelling of whisky production.

[@nledaig]

These are the days that the neocons want us to go back to. "Parma violets" and "stench". Yup. Two expressions that fit together. Good wee video R.

[@markushofer4874]

Thank you, ever so entertaining Get well soon

[@luminar5]

I know how you feel, been bunged up myself, story’s are good more please.

[@deandurandt3438]

Finally! A Scotsman I can understand! :-)

[@superodfx]

I have the green nose, too. I can’t even be bothered drinking a spirit. I bought a kg of ginger on special and a kg of honey, peeled the ginger and blended the lot to a paste, that’s a mule kick in every teaspoon

[@carlubambi5541]

Good Tuesday morning from chilly Toronto.. We are in the middle of winterizing our home putting all the summer furniture in the garage and having to rent a stirage locker for what does not fit.. But I do have enough space for another bottle of single malt and a bourbon and maybe a bottle of port. The tree crematorium is getting cleaned out and annual fall maintenance getting done as we speak. I understand the anguish about old buildings being neglected especially when a good product was produced out of the facility, cloathing food and beverage and yes furniture.. We have lost many in Toronto to China, Mexico and America.. AS FAR AS THE EXPLOITATION OF Monster CORPORATIONS exploiting nostalgia and history for profit is making many a drink unacceptable in price and quality... You will never hear about the slave labour by some of these nostalgic Brands

[@robfut9954]

The ability to smell anything at all could be a sign of Covid, be very careful and take care of yourself.

[@kevinmrn]

Definitely see a lot of littlemills bottlings these days. Good to have a cold once in a while, but hope its not too bad!

[@stanbrown915]

WOW....Passion

[@Mylatestdram]

Period. Mic dropping moment. This wasn't a rant, just a man telling the truth. We had to respect our surroundings to maintain our own integrity.

[@Bob-ts2tu]

I take each new scotch i try on it's own merit's, (or at least try to), usually after reading peer reviews or from people such as yourself, but it's still very difficult to escape the narrative or be influenced to some degree by advertising, and we don't always know the goodies from the baddies, but anyhoo thanks for the story, even though it's not just limited to the scotch industry and i'm sure a lot of crap still goes on today, even with the so called regulations we are supposed to have. GL

[@greigmartin4339]

We need another Hot Toddy video. It’s been a while…

[@SimonneNZ]

This doesn't just happen with whisky. People making actual product in factories are often low-paid and apart from their scheduled breaks there is very little down time during their shift. I did a brief stint in a cheese factory where the sales and marketing buzz was all about the quality hand-made artisan cheese. The reality was that it was hard manual labour with lots of manual handling injuries, carried out by staff earning far less than the sales and marketing people. Cheers!

[@jaybowling]

Hope you’re back to 💯 soon, Ralfy.

[@michaelwood3203]

I visited Cuba several years ago. Communism ruled people lives but a sub culture existed. People needed more so the black market was their solution. I discovered that the poor workers in cigar factories would take small components. Some a few empty boxes, some the bands, some a few cigars etc. In their villages these would be surreptitiously assembled to create a finished product and these sold on the black market. Similarly rum distillers had small amounts run off on a hidden pipe network. The needy find ways to survive even when it is crime. Hardship and suffering imposed on the needy by the greedy correlates with criminal behaviour.

[@HOLDSWATH]

The sub culture still exists, don't buy cigars off the street in Cuba!

[@barryhamilton7845]

Loved when Littlemill was there,nobody really bothered with it though. Im from Mountblow/Dalmuir and grew up at the back of Auchentoshan and played in the grounds as a kid in the 80s when security wasnt as prevelant?? I could only imagine if Littlemill was still opened today and how it would be getting on with the right owners? I've only ever tried official bottlings from miniatures from the 90s,although I was considering starting to collect their bottlings? But you actually see more indies of Littlemill as you probably know and they sell in their hundreds depending what age and what cask and what bottler? Tried their peated version Dunglass aswell,bottled only in 1967.

[@saintuk70]

So that was you we had to chase when we were on late/night shift!

[@125ctg]

I suspect Ralfy’s winky won’t work unless he’s lecturing and hectoring. He signs his letters to the editor as ‘Angry from the Isle of Man’.

[@whompbiscuits8930]

I'd say most drinkers have zero idea how much hard labor can be involved in making whiskey. But even if they did, they'd likely guzzle it anyway, which is rather disrespectful to the workers.

[@Martin-uj7wj]

I doubt the workers care mush as long as they get paid.

[@dram_kruzhok]

Somehow I feel that it's even more disrespectful that more than half of the retail price is made up of taxes and duties in most places. As hard as they work, great whisky would still be quite affordable, if not for all the crown's fees. Of course, their wages are also heavily taxed. And their housing. And energy. And so on.

[@Martin-uj7wj]

@@dram_kruzhok I imagine there will be a bit more tax payable after the budget. There is still plenty of decent whisky around at sensible prices, you just need to hunt it down and don't fall for all the nonsense hype.

[@velviaman3206]

The sixteen men of Tain bovine faeces comes to mind.

[@forlornHope]

Cheers 🥃

[@yaktaur]

What are some good old school books on these histories? :)

[@Rob-rg4oe]

You've got so wound up, you actually forgot to tell the actual story of the Little Mill theft 🙂

[@marcwhiskey]

The whisky fest has really don't itself a disservice. It got incredibly expensive which makes people rush through to "get their money worth". It's unfortunate. I can't go to them anymore. Not only is the selection near me the same year over year, but the price has more than doubled and the people pouring are not knowledgeable of their product.

[@ikiruyamamoto1050]

Oh for pete's sake Ralfy, is your economic diatribe supposed to be the "whisky story"?! Get a GRIP man! What a bunch of sentimental blather. The people at the bottom, manual labor section of a business almost ALWAYS make the least money. And, that does NOT justify THIEVERY as you seem to imply. I'm sorry, but the customer owes ZERO to the laborers making the product...except the dear coin they give over...and they can do with it what they will! Are you supposed to be the high priest of whisky decorum? C'mon Ralfy do you say a prayer for fast food employee who made your burger...and bring him a Christmas bonus so he can get by?! Does the poor Asian who made your shoes keep you up at night....ad infinitum !

[@dane5896]

I was watching your funeral story and I thought you sounded sick 🤢

[@GaryMartinDobbs]

I've off to search pathe news whisky. Enjoyed this video. I've got a lot of respect for you and love you videos, but I think you are wrong in knocking those who take whisky as a cocktail (coke, ginger ale, soda etc). What is wrong with that? They pay for their drink and why shouldn't they take it the way they want? remember the downturn i whisky sales when it was seen as an old man's drink, well that is absurd. You pay your money and you should be able to choose how you consume your drink without being dictated to and saying that you are disrespecting the hard work that has gone into producing the drink. Now that is absurd. I do take in what you say though and the workers are always exploited. I'm from a working class coal mining village so I know all about this. However, when I take a dram over ice or as a cocktail I see nothing wrong with that.

[@mr2gordons940]

That's a lot of anger to haul around for the remainder of your life. Nothing constructive in this review, I hope you can find some peace and soon! Perhaps someone will come along to solve some of these problems in the industry, I would not be surprised if it comes down to someone from without.