ralfy review 918 Extras - Consumers v customers (big difference)

[@jaredpruett2056]

Ralfy you’ve helped create a monster because me at 26 in Texas, will go to the store and stare at the (Glen Grant, Tobermory, Bladnoch, Bunnahabhain, etc) for like 20 minutes, mulling it over in my mind before I buy, as people 20 & 30 years older will walk past me and go straight for the Johnny Walker & Macallen… Thank you for this. I feel a wee bit out of the ordinary in a fantastic way😅 cheers sir!

[@ralphwatten2426]

Stay away from the Bunnahabhain, it's terrible stuff!

[@peatbull3426]

@@ralphwatten2426 WoW. Such a terrible opinion!! Just be objective and keep your personal opinion just for your self. Bunna is fantastic whisky, one of the best at all for millions of our Malt community. 🙋‍♂️

[@ralphwatten2426]

@@peatbull3426 Hey, Laz, I'm trying to save it all for me. It hit 45F today so I was on my back steps watching the snow melt with a wee dram of "Bunny" with my dog. Between you and me it's great stuff but don't let that get out. Maybe the other guys will spend their money on Dewar White Label or something.

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . happy to help !

[@adbl.d6324]

so so wrong..there are many many great Bunny bottlings

[@bigleemac]

Should definitely add a retailer section to the next OSWAS, let’s shout about the good ones and support them.

[@stantheorange]

I like that idea!

[@rafarutka4823]

Good idea, but ther should be some category of retails, good one within Europe, within Scotland, within Internet...?

[@VinceW187]

Retail globally is tricky, and what if the retailer bumps the prices on the winners? My advise, go to the small shops where the retailer knows his product and doesn't mind spending some time talking about it

[@mic982]

@@rafarutka4823 And maybe America.

[@davet7185]

Yes Ralfy, I have really enjoyed your extras and each and every one of your most valid points. I've been there initially as a 'consumer' but have increasingly benefitted and learnt from each and every vlog you have produced. Additionally, I have acquired good reading material and have a better understanding of the manufacture and history of whisky production. I'm working my way to being a fully informed customer, but I would stress that we need more specialist retailers; only then can this journey make meaningful strides. Brilliant as always Ralfy; good man yerself.

[@johnw1597]

When I look back over the past 5 or so years that I have been on my whisky journey, I cannot believe how much I have learned from watching this channel. Knowledge really is power, and over time, you genuinely do get the sense of what is good and bad quality. When I speak to anyone who wants to get into whisky, the very first thing I do is direct them to this channel, to give them a good basis to start their journey. The only issue I have now, is that my pallet is well and truly spoilt and refuses to entertain the more 'inferior' bottles I already have! Cheers Ralfy, keep up the magnificent work mate.

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . happy to help.

[@WhiskyLock]

Great video and thank you for the mention! Although I must admit to occasionally buying whisky from supermarkets the vast majority of my purchasing is done through specialist retailers both online and locally. I'm sure this video will get a lot of people thinking about the effect of their purchasing and do a lot of good. Things like 'organic' and 'environmentally friendly' are slowly becoming common in the whisky industry. Maybe soon we will add Fair Trade (or something similar) to that list. Cheers!

[@Alexandr_Titarenko]

Very good analysis Great video and thank you for the mention!

[@giuseppeiaria6564]

Very good analysis Ralfy. An important issue from proactive customers is to identify the intrinsic quality beyond marketing bells and whistles and identify their own balance between price and content.

[@seanmrussell]

One of the few channels I watch where I'm not fiddling and getting distracted with other electronic devices. I can't remember the last time I bought a bottle of whisky from the supermarket. An A'Bunadh for £35 perhaps. And GET THIS. I posted a list of small and independent whisky retailers on my SherryBomb group, to give people a heads-up on small businesses that have a wealth of knowledge about whisky. It was brilliant and helped the retailers and the consumer alike. Only for Facebook to take the post down. Twice. I also like seeing the fallout that appears on social media groups where any number of people wage virtual war with their opinions and feelings. And a lot of them don't even drink the stuff.' Keep flying the flag for the rest of us, Ralfy.

[@lechbojarski5869]

Best spent 22:57 min. today. Thank you, Ralfy ❤️

[@FerNightwalker]

One truth after another, with the strength of a hammer, SIMPLY BRILLIANT Ralfy, I love it when you state things in a simple, direct and forceful way.... I wish more whiskey-tubers and whiskey-bloggers would do the same. Thank you very much for the teaching. Cheers

[@brianmundie1647]

Hi ralfy , well said , i live in helensburgh & just a few years back my local co op used to stock ardbeg 10 , ben nevis 10 , arran 10 , ledaig 10 & even springbank 10 but not anymore ! These days its all nas & the odd jura 10

[@distlledbrewedreviewed]

Thanks Rafly I must be the most interesting man in the world based on my whisky purchases. I love your reviews, Cheers!

[@kingzaire2444]

I keep a bottle of Johnnie Walker Double Black and MacAllan 12 around for my consumer friends lol

[@sundowner62james69]

My already low opinion of Super Markets is now even lower! Spot on again Ralfy , cheers.

[@langbroekmd]

Ralfy, I ticked all your boxes on the consumer side. I bought your books through Amazon (awesome reads), but in Canada they are not allowed to sell achohol. Which also includes most non-Canadian online shops. I guess this is good for our liquor stores. I'm quite lucky to have a Wine & Beyond store in my city. Wine & Beyond is Western Canada's largest liquor store with over 6000 wines, 2500 spirits & 2200 beers. They have two isles about 40' long each, filled with single malt whiskies. A very nice selection and the best prices around to boot. A whisky consumer drinks their whisky from a proper glass which is equally good for nosing as it is for sipping. Shot glasses and tumblers a no no. For me a balance between nosing and sipping is 50/50. 👍 😊 👌 Slàinte Mhath my friend!

[@JohnSmith-nf8bi]

Dave, I live in America, if you’re desperately bugging for something in particular, lets figure something out, more of a favor than business.

[@gregb8824]

Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know about wine and beyond till you mentioned it. Your are correct, good value and selection. Staff not as informed as they could be on Scotch but that's why I'm here!

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . thanks for buying my books.

[@calebsteingruber6906]

I've been a subscriber to your channel since 2016, and would consider myself a customer, except that I don't purchase that often, but when, it's usually from a trusted online shop here in Austria. I sometimes purchase the home blend from Lidl or Clynelish and Glen Garioch when available at Hofer (I believe that's our Aldi). Due to tight budget I tend to not try many different malts, but tend to stick with my favourite distilleries, Ardbeg, Springbank, Glenfarclas, Glen Garioch, Bunnahabhain and Clynelish. I actually have very few bottles, and only tend to have 2 or 3 open at a time, and go slowly. I have managed to hold on to an older Bunnahabhain 18 (2016) as well as the older Springbank 10. A part of me really wants to hold on to them, they've gone up significantly, but also would love to try them...same with Elijah Craig 12 yr, which is long discontinued. I'd be curious to know your opinion on popping vs holding on, when getting another is highly unlikely.

[@coppullcaveman]

Whisky is for drinking but only when your ready for it. May it be weeks, months or years, you'll know when the times right 🙂

[@NickBR57]

Gone are the days when I could buy Port Ellen annual releases and a'bunadh batches at reasonable prices in Waitrose. Unfortunately I can't go to Marc's Good Spirits Company, living down here in Suffolk so my best bets are now TWE and RMW when I visit London. Everything you say makes good sense.

[@luijdiaz]

Ralfy, you know me so well. Greetings from Canada🍁

[@ralphwatten2426]

I use Scotch to tour Scotland one bottle at a time. The flavor is the flavor of where it comes from. ralfy helps me on my tour. Thanks ralfy.

[@neilynmafan3975]

Thanks Ralfy. A cracking episode. Just bottle killed the Ben Riach Malting Season whilst listening . Thought about another bottle as it’s f’in lovely. But no, gone up £20 since I ordered the first. However , did find it at decent price eventually. Not getting the JW kicking though? Love the Green, black and Platinum this year, and I’ve got the Year of Dragon, as I’m 60 this year! It’s all down to personal taste. Need another book Ralfy….

[@kevinbartlett9499]

Green is fantastic 👌

[@Andre-nt4dn]

Hey Ralfy. Thanks to you I have transformed myself from passive consumer to proactive customer. Now I prefer to buy integrity malts . Thank you and guys like the Whiskyfriend Alan , Aquavitae, Whiskyneighbour Jon in Canada, Whisky novice JIm and more. Keep up the good work !

[@ibelle42]

As someone who lives in the southern USA, I pine for the options you've got...

[@davidm_shaw]

In Australia, you can't buy alcohol in the supermarkets, but the big bottle shops (aka liquor stores)-and even some of the smaller shops-are *owned* by the supermarkets. Any idea if they play by the same strategies? It's difficult one here, because the specialist stores in Aust often mark up their prices massively (e.g., Kilkerran 12 goes for AU$130 where I am). You end up torn between paying overs by going to your specialist, or getting a fairer price through the big chain stores. It stinks either way.

[@graham2954]

You can find some gems in the really small shops though. I recently found some Quinta Ruban 12yo AND Quinta Ruban NAS which I think ended in 2010.

[@davidm_shaw]

@@graham2954, my best find locally at a specialist retailer (though not an "old gem" per se), was a bottle of Linkwood in Signatory's Un-chillfiltered range. Superb. Easily the best Speyside I've ever had.

[@graham2954]

@@davidm_shaw That's a decent find.

[@davidowen2834]

Hi Ralfy. There’s three specialist shops near me and that’s where around 95% of my purchases are. Its not just buying but its the chat and trying a dram or two , also these shops don’t sell just whisky but rums, gins, bourbons, and cigars.Cheers Ralfy.

[@Hvitserk67]

Very interesting. I'm not a regular whisky drinker. I like whisky, but I rarely buy it. Some time ago I received as a gift three half-full bottles whisky/bourbon + an old book "The Oxford Companion to World War II" (1995) by a friend (he really knows what I like). The three half-full bottles were Amrut Fusion 50%, Buffalo Trace 45%, and Bulleit 95 Rye 45%. Fantastic stuff and my experience with a few drops of water was almost out of this world. Maybe not quite unique, but clearly very high up and especially the Amrut impressed with its warm strength and smell/taste of nuts and peat. None of these bottles were/are expensive (which was not the point of the gift), but the quality in relation to the price of the bottles was/is extraordinary. If you know what to look for, there is no problem finding the right quality at a relatively low price :)

[@jaxson1948]

Very nice discussion Ralfy!

[@francisojavierpuertamaya9086]

Gracias Ralfy por tan excelente ilustración sobre un tema tan importante, sobre todo teniendo en cuenta la información que te envió Whisky Lock, pues yo trabajé con mercadeo de grandes retailers y efectivamente todo ésto y más es cierto.

[@mic982]

This initial disappointment with a fairly expensive single malt happened to me recently with the Ardbeg 10. But then, I think it's more me than the distiller. I clearly have not acquired a taste (yet) for heated malts. I shared a small dram with a friend yesterday and he thought it was delicious. I may give him the 2/3 full bottle in trade with another.

[@sandrofazzolari8833]

Excellent Extras… I was saddened when here in Italy 🇮🇹 Glen Grant 5 yo (beloved by all Italians ) was dumbed down to a NAS coloured Generals Reserve and prices jumped 20%. I whole heartedly agree and thank you for all your insight and advice. Kindest regards, S.

[@vinosmanuel]

Look for G.G. Arboralis, it's said to be 6 years old, tastes better than the standard 5 and its priced at 19,99€ at least in Spain.

[@robfut9954]

Ralfy, does the UK not have “liquor stores” commonly found like in the US? Here it’s either illegal to sell liquor in supermarkets or where it’s allowed the selection is poor. So there are liquor stores near every neighborhood. Are these types of stores rare in the UK?

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . yes, the UK has a good selection of liquor outlets as Government are not so 'controlling'.

[@robfut9954]

@@thewhiskybothy that’s good, I was starting to worry that all you had to choose from was grocers and a handful of specialists. In the US liquor stores are dominant. Mostly because the government is really weird with who they allow to sell liquor. Beer on the other hand can be sold even in gas stations.

[@reysalamin2766]

Thanks Ralfy, in Panama Republic 98% of the offer is from Diageo, little to choose from, the positive thing is that we have the Arran 10!

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . Arran 10 is your first 'collection' so stock up as it may become unavailable the way things are going.

[@reysalamin2766]

@@thewhiskybothy thanks Ralfy for sharing the information, the Arran 10 here at $42 is still a good stuff

[@sav7568]

Ralfy is being a little tough on the supermarkets. Provided you are patient there are bargains to be had on quality spirits but you might have to wait 3 or 4 months before spotting one. eg right now Aberlour 12 is 30 pounds at ASDA, Old Pulteney 12 is 25 pounds at Waitrose. Nice.

[@joejanca]

A good local/independent shop is invaluable! I'm lucky enough to have a local store whose staff has never steered me wrong, and who have introduced me to a few distilleries I otherwise might not have paid attention to, and which are definitely not available in big box retailers.

[@NSAJ33]

Cant find anything at supermarkets here in Texas. Aldi's, Walmart's and others carry wine and beer but no whiskey. They only have liquor stores. Totalwine and Specs. Specs usually cost more than Totalwine.

[@daggjerstad715]

A great comment and video...

[@daveandrews5485]

I used to work in the wine industry in Australia and the British supermarkets charge huge amounts for eye level shelves. Tesco charge as much as a million GPB for eye level shelves and in store promotions.

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . with Tesco, I can believe it, I very rarely shop there.

[@dram_kruzhok]

This is all definitely very interesting. I think grocery retailers have very tight margins overall, so it's no surprise that they try to capitalize on everything they can. Of course, that doesn't really change the fact that "buying whisky at supermarkets is hostile to distilleries". I happen to agree and prefer the specialist shops, alas there are none anywhere nearby (liquor control state). As a result, we don't have Arran, don't have many Deanstons, no Springbank, no Kilkerran, no Glencadam (and this list goes on). I would argue that "buying at supermarkets WHEN YOU HAVE A CHOICE TO BUY AT SPECIALIST SHOPS is hostile to distillers". Buying is always better than not buying, it can't possibly be hostile in itself.

[@Themilkmanskid.]

I'm a consumer that doesn't know what balance in a scotch is really. I've heard that balance is a good thing, but think that it isn't because if I feel like having a particular dominant flavor that day, then I'd reach for a dram that has it. But maybe it should be balanced with some other note to "round" out the dram. Haven't a clue what I'm talking about here, so I would love to learn about balance and roundness. Could you make a vid about this please? Maybe could be an xtras using a couple different drams for examples. Thanks Ralfy as always! Didn't know where to put this comment/request, so I put it here.

[@ADSCP]

I totally agree with Ralfy. I don’t earn much, but it’s ok for my standards. I try to spend my money with quality and that means I try to search and compare with the maximum detail possible because it’s my money and it’s hard to earn it. Here in Portugal is the same landscape, in supermarkets there’s always the same stuff. Fortunately with wine is different.

[@majornut9728]

Oh, and by the way. In Sweden we can only by spirits in special shops "owned" and run by the government. A monopoly. However, I have heard/read that they are a little aggresive sometimes when negotiating the price when they buy in the stuff.

[@MrPsiman]

The newer Cadenhead’s Classic Rum blend with the yellow label and capsule is not as good as the previous with the copper capsule and white label. I’m glad I stocked up on the white label 2017 version.

[@DileepB]

Amazon does not sell alcohol in the U.S. Interesting to know that they do in the U.K.

[@shamrock5725]

Yes they do sell in America.

[@Mikego55]

New Hampshire has state owned liquor stores, impersonal wholesale feel. I spend a lot of time touring other states in search of “exotic” malts. My biggest concern is the shaking in the saddlebag.

[@perkristiansandgren4132]

Spot on mr Ralfy 👍

[@johnglenet9854]

Very true even found well established firms selling online and in store and this week on two occasions to different shops where I have ordered on line going through the whole transaction to get an email a few days later saying sorry when we’ve gone to pick it out of stock to me that is really bad customer service and would I like another bottle of something else Would you like a cup of tea or his coffee instead. One of the shops being so old and well-established go back to the 1600s should know better

[@graham2954]

Australian Duty Free Shops are sometimes not cheaper than some distributors. It pays to do a bit of research.

[@paulz3002]

Ralfy dropping truth bombs. 100% spot on.

[@CPW1991]

Ralfy, overall I agree with the prices in travel retail but there are still bargains to be had. I frequently pass through Heathrow on my way back to the European continent and I always look for good deals. A couple months ago I found a 1.0L bottle of Ardbeg 10 for 35 pounds, prior to that a new 1.0L Balblair 12 for 36 pounds. Deals are everywhere as long as you don't stop looking, like the pro-active customer does haha!

[@sav7568]

German airports offer good duty free prices as does Dublin although the whisky does have to be Irish. I agree that Heathrow has mostly quite high prices on whisky.

[@MrPsiman]

I found the Jane Walker 10 L.E. All malt pretty decent but it’s a one and done. I only payed $27.99 and it seems worth it but Diageo seems to have out done themselves on this one and won’t get produced again

[@jamiecompton8116]

I’m a Johnnie Walker fan, especially the Green Label.

[@martindouwe6099]

Great Extra, spot on!

[@joemartin7227]

Excellent video. Although I'm only taking my first baby-steps into the world of single malts, you only need to change the word 'whisky' to 'cigars', 'rum,' 'bourbon' etc. (things I do know a bit more about) to appreciate the truth being spoken.

[@francisojavierpuertamaya9086]

Hola Ralfy, has pensado alguna vez en traducir tus libros al español? Lo digo porque hay muchos términos usados en whisky que no tienen una buena traducción al español.

[@majornut9728]

During my years of tasting/drinking whiskies I have learned that more expensive is not automatically better. However I do not understand the idea of buying a bottle to collect. Mostly because I cannot "save" a bottle. Bottles are made with a cork made for opening and a hole for pouring out the whisky into a glass. :-)

[@Mikego55]

I have 150 single malts in my larder at the moment, I don’t “collect” I just buy more than I drink. two of every one I like.

[@majornut9728]

@@Mikego55 😲 I could never do that 😁

[@Mikego55]

I do have a limit on how much I spend on a bottle, but I have been enjoying scotch since 1987 when I worked on subs in Holy Loch. 35 years of this or that bottle adds up.😎

[@jameszimmerman8701]

Very enlightening. Thanks

[@rafarutka4823]

Our taste is changing, the environment is changing, this same whisky can taste all times as used to but we can feel different, and I pretty know that this same bottle can taste differently especially after COVID...

[@Collwila]

I saw a video recently saying harvesting peat should be cut back at the very least. I wonder what the industry thins about that.

[@danhammer106]

Those very words sow dread in any whisky lover's heart, but considering that the industry is so rigid in their ways now, I guess their main problem is that they source it within Scotland, where it could indeed grow in scale into something serious. I'd be curious about the possibility of trying Canadian peat, or as Ralfy once mentioned, Knockdhu used old railway sleepers to feed their kiln, which in turn must've provided for an interesting tarry whisky 😗👌 so there's many exciting avenues to explore.

[@rhodes1591]

... and cheers ! 🥃

[@davegilmour1895]

Tarasgeir is the traditional peat "shovel".

[@lordprefab5534]

My wife ordered a specific whisky from our local specialist shop for a friend's 90th birthday. I went collect it, and the salesperson handed over the bottle with no interaction. I browsed the shop on the way out and decided to buy a bottle of Kilkerran 12 for myself. He rang it up and had nothing to say. This lack interest in customer and product really ripped my knitting, and has put me off dealing with them again, in their new much larger premises, which show some folk aren't bothered about poor customer interaction.

[@brian6x]

An exception?

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . It does happen, wrong place to work with a wrong attitude.

[@graham2954]

you might need to explain 'ripped ma knitting' to some of the folks here.

[@adrianhughes5831]

Ralfy, is there any chance you can put up a link to the Whisky Loch' - I can't find it on KZbin

[@adrianhughes5831]

Thank you!

[@DavidUKesb]

Passive consumers will also almost certainly drive an oversized fashion vehicle which litter the roads these days.

[@The_Beverage_Stand]

I usually love your channel Ralfy, but this video feels kind of gatekeep-y, I have a long wishlist of Whiskeys I have looked at on Amazon, I have browsed and bought Whiskeys at my local supermarket (I just bought the Ardbeg 5yo this weekend) but I do not put ice in my drinks, I don't "knock back" anything, I have looked around my local area and I do not have a local specialist retailer and do not have the experience to buy online and not get ripped off on either bottle price or postage, Whiskey isn't a secret club and I and others like me, shouldn't be looked down on for trying to obtain it in the only ways open to us

[@diegodiaz380]

You're so luckky to have access to a huge variety of whiskies, whether in supermarkets or little shops, but where I live we are at the mercy of the multinationals, and the small importers bring so little of the good stuff.

[@Punisher9419]

I probably only buy a bottle once or twice a year but when I do I always try and find something a little special. Still though I won't pay more £55 a bottle.

[@pinanti]

Well , this was interesting to see ! A sh*t show 😄 , well said.

[@vpvirta]

Imagine if you cannot buy whisky from supermarkets or specialist shops, but only from government owned monopoly where prices are high and selection is limited. Online retailers don't wanna ship to your country either because of ridiculous alcohol policies and law. For me, Amazon is the only place to find whisky and save some money. Even there only a few shops deliver alcohol to my country.

[@kevincobb6630]

Semantics. They are synonyms. We are all Customers. We are all consumers.

[@tussk.]

I buy a fair amount of my whisky in supermarkets simply because its more convenient. I have 4 of the bigger names within a mile or two, so getting a decent 12yo for under £30 is easy for me.There are some very good whisky shops in town, but they are full of the most godawful snobs, and the prices are usually 20% higher, so the casual consumer steers well clear of them. What bothers me is when I see somebody walk up to the whisky section, glaze over when they see all the boxes, and the drivel written on them, and pick up a bottle of grouse because it;s what they know and what theyre familiar with. Who wants to buy a Bowmore 10 at £30 only to find that its awful? And it is. Ive spoken to a few people and given my opinion on whats a good dram for the money, but most of the time they just want something that tastes ok and wont challenge them. This is almost entirely the fault of the industry. Who wants to risk asking for a Toiteach an dhá and getting the pronunciation very, very wrong, especially here in Scotland? Oh, and Amazon needs to do something to filter out the whisky reviews that give 1 out of 5 because the box was damaged in transit.

[@juiceterry1818]

Having worked in a Whisky shop before I think your snobbery comment is way off the mark. If you go into these shops and chat to the staff, most will be happy to have the craic with you and hopefully send you on your way with something you've not tried and that suits your budget. Look at the Twitter and Instagram pages of independent retailers and it will give you an indication of the inclusive nature of many of these traders who are passionate and who, at the end of the day, need to build customer loyalty and confidence. Sometimes we are intimidated by our own lack of knowledge, but if you are watching Ralfy then you are already pretty clued in and are also on the same page as the independent retailers.

[@tussk.]

@@juiceterry1818 not all the staff are snobs, and not all of the customers are either, but there is a decent percentage that are, and thats what puts the casual buyer off unfortunatley. I have lost count of the times Ive seen a staff member sigh or sneer at somebody who cant pronounce a whisky properly, or doesnt know thier speyside from thier backside. Theres a great little shop on Rose Street in Edinburgh that has rare and very expensive bottles in the window, and is a favourite of mine. The guy who runs it knows his stuff and is generally happy to chat and find you what you need, but theres a huge Johnny Walker store just around the corner with flashy lights and t shirts. Guess which one the general public prefers. The staff in the JW shop most likely know nothing about whisky, but they know enough about the crap they sell to make people feel comfortable and safe, like going to Japan and getting a menu written in English. Im willing to bet that 99% of the people who shop there would be much happier with pretty much anything else, but they wont go around the corner because they feel intimidated because they dont know enough to ask for it. Thats the problem and thats where the industry needs to stop with all the esoteric babble on the labels. the snobs and corksniffers who have practiced and rehearsed thier spiel about smoky notes with a hint of spring thyme under a mountain at midnight arent opening the world of single malts up, theyre shutting it down.

[@JR-nl3mh]

Greetings to our Whisky Lord.

[@danhammer106]

Seen many people much smarter and better educated than myself become silly dolts around a bottle of whisky, even before they actually got buzzed. Our prevalent drinking culture never ceases to amaze with it's utter absurdity. Whisky shouldn't be about any social designations whatsoever, not to mention much less about getting sloshed. Whisky is just a weird spacetime abnormality with a slight transcendental component. And it's fun too. Edit: gosh, to think that I'm stone-cold sober writing that last part...

[@mic982]

I'm trying to get to the stage of 'customer' from the 'passive consumer' stage but I've got a long ways to go yet. (see my comment below). But gin? No, no, no, never, no no no...!

[@baka3489]

@Ralfy Do you plan to write next book in the future 🤔??

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . writing it right now, ready for December.

[@ironmantran]

SO, i belong to a NEW Oxford word category : con-tomer, I am ! !

[@darkoanton5]

Just remember that historic room temperature is not what it is today.

[@VinceW187]

Good toughts

[@Themilkmanskid.]

Back again for my final rant and then I'm done. Not long ago I told someone in a livestream that Old Pulteney 18 is my fav dram now, as I gave it a taste at a store a month ago, and it was like a WOW factor. Bought a bottle immediately. A week ago I opened the bottle, and as already mentioned elsewhere on one of these vid's, it smelled and tasted of bourbon. Don't know how old the bottle was that I tasted at the store. Also a month or so ago I bought Glenfarclas 17, Craigellachie 17, and anCnoc 18. Total for the 4: approx 550 CDN. The Craig (exact batch number Ralfy reviewed most recently) had the least bourbon flavor in it, but all disappointingly are huge bourbon boms! There is absolutely no malted barley flavor in them that this amateur can detect. Being that modern "scotch" has moved out to the bourbons, I'm moving to. Instead of going to Scotland next year and claiming my plot of peat at Laphroaig and visiting other distilleries, going to Scandinavia instead to rediscover vodka. Absolute no disrespect to any human whatsoever, so when I say this there is no human in mind: My final words to my used to be favorite drink are: F OFF modern "scotch"! Thanks Ralfy and a few others for your knowledge over the past year and some! It's been great learning from you, but my taste buds can't take the new bourbon flavor of "scotch" anymore. My note to all "scotch" reviewers: if you use the words "sherry bom" in your reviews, then use the words "bourbon bom" when it is one please, so we know what we are spending our dollars on. Thanks all who tried to help me in my journey over the past year and a half❤ I guess you never know what's on the trail ahead as you hike on. I"M OUT!

[@jean-sebastienroy6231]

Felt very disappointed when I had my first sip of GlenAllachie 12...Then I missed my Islay stuff. Point blank

[@carlubambi5541]

All big box stores ,grocery stores charge rent for the space on the shelf .It should be made illegal .Rampant price fixing all over Canada and the rest of the world !

[@kennydaglishfan7460]

The proactive book customer will look at Ralfy’s book on Amazon but not buy. oh, wait?

[@wilseph1]

Ralfy!

[@jenspersch7197]

Have to agree, the more colourfull and outlandish the packaging becomes. the more dissapointing the content. Or maybe my taste spuds are degenerating, who knows.

[@bobbybrooks4826]

There's nothing he said about alcohol products that's not true of the so called experts and professionals IN EVERY SINGLE FIELD in our so called democracies... Be it doctors, lawyers, scientists, historians, piolet, Baker, candlestick maker.....

[@JohnSmith-nf8bi]

🌻

[@triplecap4307]

I'm not being judgmental I am just judging correctly. LOL

[@theredrevolver4875]

Is it bad I just drink co-ops own brand!

[@rhodes1591]

yeee ... ❤️

[@cavandavidson1185]

Ralfy I love your videos but I'm not sure about this one. You are preaching to the converted. Beware of sounding a little smug.

[@HOUTX77]

I completely agree with you. It’s not a good look.

[@Malt454]

Producers cash in on their reputations in two ways: by increasing prices and cutting corners... until quality, reputations and demand start to decline and then they start over again. The "experts" don't drink, or buy, what the average consumer does, and most are far too deep in the pockets of the producers who keep them working to be honest anyway - after all, most "experts" effectively "took the Fifth" on the fundamental question of whether age matters to whisky when the industry wanted to significantly ramp up NAS to help meet demand. When you're a "whisky expert" and you "don't know if age matters" when whisky is aged BECAUSE of the difference it makes to the product, well, it pretty much speaks for itself in terms of the real value of that "expertise" to the consumer vs. the producer. The consumer vs. customer thing is interesting, but it doesn't really bother me who drinks what, how or for what reason; there's just too much truth about whisky that's going unsaid from those who DO know better for me to worry about other people adding ice to their drink or what it says about how they live life. I guess the point being made might be something like "an unexamined whisky (like a life) isn't worth drinking (living)" and I personally agree with that most of the time. But being "proactive" in this sense doesn't, I think, necessarily make people harder to dupe, but rather sometimes gives them more things to be duped about (like NAS). Bear with me. There's a fair amount of snob appeal to the idea of "really knowing whisky", and producers play to this just as much, if not more, than they do to the punter who really doesn't give a damn. For, however much they don't know about whisky, you'll NEVER get a punter to spend thousands on a bottle and then argue to you that it was "worth every penny" as a consumable product - and rarity and investment value has nothing to do with quality, or whisky generally, as a consumable. Ironically enough, I think that it is the "proactive customer" who is, on average, fleeced by producers and retailers to a far greater degree than the punter, because that customer can be sold a bill of goods on multiple fronts based on what is really the very little that they think they know - while the punter has no whisky ego to take advantage of. The punter might well overpay for what they get (say a 50-60/100 whisky), but the "anorak" usually pays far more for their 80-95/100 whisky - the anorak certainly gets the higher quality, but the punter usually has the better value on a Quality/Price Ratio basis; scored fairly, JW Red IS a better value than JW Black or Blue. So, who is the one being fooled, and about what? A little learning can be useful, but it can also be a dangerous, and expensive, thing.

[@ΓιώργοςΛαμπαδαρίδης]

I agree on a lot of things and disagree on a lot of others. First let me say that Johnny walker black although o don't find it a value for money choice it STL has better quality/price ratio than the red label imo... Don't drink jwr it's horrible. Just buy a teacher's , cheaper and better. Still horrible bit with better aspects... On the other point you are making, yes the "knowing" proactive customer may be more eligible to duping but that goes to show he/she are not really knowing and either in the process of exploring in which everyone makes mistakes or thinking they know when they are novices. In the first case it's alright, if you don't fail you won't learn, on the second case there is unfortunately no cure for stupidity. Knowing and thinking of knowing is really different. Experiment and find what you like and not what they are trying to sell you, it's ok to disagree with people.😀

[@Malt454]

@@ΓιώργοςΛαμπαδαρίδης - Thanks for the feedback and, I don't know - if one actually takes the score and divides it by the price, I think the Red still does better than the Black, unless you give the Red a joke score of 20 or something. If I give the Black an 87, which I think is at least fair, and divide it by the $59.95 CAD at my local store, I get 1.45; for the Red to only equal that, its score would have to be around 48.5 at $33.45. I certainly don't argue that Red is great, but I would argue that it's more than a 50 if Black is an 87. Other people's prices, and opinions, will of course vary. On the larger question of the JWs, I agree completely that there's a minimum level of acceptable quality that comes into play for many people, regardless of any level of price/value. As for the rest, I guess I felt the punter was being slightly looked down upon, and largely for losing at a whisky game that he had no interest in playing from the outset. My other point, essentially, was that taking a hobby seriously doesn't necessarily result in serious knowledge about a hobby - and I think that it's something that folks in the single malt community should keep in mind.

[@thewhiskybothy]

. . . very articulate comment !

[@danhammer106]

@Malt454 first of all, thank you for taking the time and thought to make your point mate, it's not often we hear that it may in fact be our enthusiasm that's making us overpay. It may be true indeed, to a certain extend. But as me da said back in the 90s: I'd rather buy 1 bottle of Laphroaig 10yo than 10 bottles of Johnny Walker Red. Granted - most of the +100$ bottlings I ever tasted weren't any better imo than a Clynelish 14yo (or in many cases even Glencadam 10yo for that matter). Although I haven't tasted anything super-fancy yet (save maybe a 25yo IB Springbank once).

[@Malt454]

@@danhammer106 - Thanks very much for the feedback. I thought my original comment would receive a lukewarm welcome at best - and I find it understandable if it does. I think it's completely true that most people have a maximum amount that they'll spend regardless of quality, just as they have a minimum level of quality that they'll accept regardless of price. One certainly CAN find better quality by spending significantly more, but the Quality/Price Ratio then becomes something that you pretty much have to hold your nose to and ignore. At the 90+/100 mark, the Law of Diminishing Returns can hit your whisky dollar pretty hard. While I like the Green even better, I can certainly understand people who say that the Blue, to say nothing of the various upscale Blues, is the best in JW's line. It's a fine, more than competent, whisky, but to me the price doesn't justify the quality you're getting. Once you start spending hundreds on bottles you're actually going to drink, I think you HAVE to start telling yourself (and often others) that these bottles ARE intrinsically better in order to keep one's self respect - because to do otherwise is to admit you've been had on some level. It's essentially an "Emperor's New Clothes" thing, and I think it's at the heart of a lot of whisky snobbery, bottle boasting and a type of confidence game that the whisky industry has been playing on whisky "anoraks" for years. Paradoxically, the higher priced the whisky, the less chance of it actually being consumed as opposed to collected/flipped so, at a certain high price point, product quality could be said to be far less of a consideration than bottle rarity. Anybody actually opening a bottle costing hundreds, let alone thousands, SHOULD be able to look forward to something truly exceptional; whether that always pans out or not is another question.

[@swedishburrito5073]

❤️👍🥃

[@duckyguy1147]

Johnny Walker is overrated now. Period! Tasted red label some years ago, it was harsh. Even my friends don't like it.

[@hiugregg4503]

It's worth noting that informed whisky drinkers (in the UK) can leverage their knowledge and the use of some Amazon specific tools to get some great deals. Websites like CamelCamelCamel give you email alerts when a whisky goes below whatever price point you set. Amazon won't have many limited editions or indie bottlings, and there are valid concerns about the ethics of shopping there, but in value for money terms for some core bottlings (Clynelish, Bruichladdie/Port Charlotte, Arran, etc)... Hard to beat! But there are also tools that will work with specialist retailers. Google allows you to make custom search engines that will only search a select few sites. Great for comparing prices/stock across a list of reputable stores such as those from the OSWAs!

[@ThomasTVP]

The "Malty ... whatevers" has been getting long in the tooth for some time.

[@gregb8824]

Agreed, I always skip 30 second into the video. Problem solved!

[@afewfairthings]

homiletic