Scotch: where's the value?

I tried to buy the latest pair of Kilkerran batch strengths at retail, like, really tried. But ended up stuck with auctions bidding in frustration. This led me to wondering; where's the value nowadays?
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[@stevelandwonder4760]

Anyone interested in value in whisky in 2022 should watch this; and all done in 15mins. Well done!

[@WhiskyGeek]

Haha cheers Steveland 😁🥃👍

[@Thomas_Ekstrom]

That Benromach Organic is just beautiful 👌

[@WhiskyLock]

All solid picks. I especially like that Distell even keep their older expressions reasonably priced. Deanston 18 and Ledaig 18 would have been fairly reasonably priced even 10yrs ago. I'm not sure how (or why) they're doing it but it shows us the kind of prices that all the other distilleries could be charging. Cheers 🥃

[@WhiskyGeek]

One of those things we'd best not shout about too loudly or they'll no doubt 'adjust' it 😂 They do actually seem to give a toss about the consumer/fan-base. Cheers Whisky Lock 🥃👍

[@craigblair6222]

Top job Ben! Didn't think you'd have the bandwidth for new videos at the minute. Useful one too. I've had Deanston, Loch Lomond and GlenScotia in my selection at home and have enjoyed them all

[@WhiskyGeek]

Took much longer than I would have liked! Squeezing it in here & there whilst everyone else is catching up on sleep 😅 Cheers Craig 🥃👍

[@davidelourenco2537]

Just what we needed!

[@WhiskyGeek]

Cheers Davide 🥃👍

[@TimothyAonokBass]

as always, thoroughly enjoyed the video.. cheers!

[@WhiskyGeek]

Cheers Timothy 😁🥃👍

[@donaldstewart9654]

Great stuff Ben, got a few of these on my shelves. Looks like I need to add some that I haven’t. Thanks for the suggestions mate and congratulations on the latest addition to your family. Slàinte.

[@WhiskyNeighbour]

Great whiskies and so many are a good value! Congrats on the expanding family, I wish you and yours good health and happiness for years to come!

[@WhiskyMystery]

Congrats Ben and great whisky round up.

[@WhiskyGeek]

Cheers Phil 😁 Only slightly jealous of all your Springbanks... honestly 😜

[@WhiskyMystery]

@@WhiskyGeek It was a hard battle to get them :-)

[@WhiskyGeek]

@@WhiskyMystery Yeah I don't even have to get on a plane so I've got no excuse really 😜

[@lukashavel7690]

Arran 10, Deanston 12, Ardbeg 10, Benriach 10 Smoky. These four are my main now. I do also enjoy Ledaig 10, Talisker 10, Port Charlotte 10, Glencadam 10, Old Ballantruan 10, Craigellachie 13, Clynelish 14. I am not a big port/sherry cask lover though. There are many great drams if you enjoy those casks. I loved Kilkerran 12, when it was under 50 dollars. For its current price Im done with it though. :(

[@WhiskyGeek]

Great line up there, and a few I need to keep an eye out for too! Not tried the new Benriach bottlings nor Ballantruan. Cheers Lukáš 🥃👍

[@davidowen2834]

Yes there are still good malts out there at decent prices 🙏. Getting less though. Enjoyed watching this Ben and congrats on the new addition to the family.🍼

[@WhiskyGeek]

Yeah it's sad to think who else would have been on the list too 1-2 years ago but have 'rebranded' or become so sparse that you can't really get a hold of them anymore. Thanks David 😁🥃👍

[@sabrinabenoit3454]

Congrats !!!!

[@WhiskyGeek]

Cheers Sabrina 😁👍🥃

[@carlossandiego7925]

Congrats on the newcomer to the family. Great list with a nice range of flavors and options.

[@WhiskyGeek]

Cheers Carlos 😁🥃👍

[@dramdaddywhiskey]

Love your presentation style. Subscribed and liked! Looking forward to more.

[@WhiskyGeek]

Cheers Dram Daddy Whiskey 🥃👍

[@silverlochwhiskyreviews6157]

Great list … not a fan of the Loch Lomond but the rest are definitely good value.

[@barrycullen]

Congratulations on the new arrival Ben

[@WhiskyGeek]

Thanks Barry 😁🥃👍

[@norry1636]

My local Morrisons has Loch Lomond single grain peated and non peated they also have the 10 year old. Bought them all and thought the peated was really strange. Just couldn't get into the coffey still style. Morrisons also had a Loch Lomond "classic" single malt which I avoided because at £18 I expected it to be awful. I checked Lomond's web site and couldn't find the "classic". Was this bottling for Morrisons only? I found it on another website at £40. Something wrong here? Anyway, after a while I gave it a try and it was delicious. 40% abv, non age statement yet light and fruity with a great wisp of peat in the finish. For £18 it is a bargain and beats the Glen Marnochs and Ben Brackens. Just my opinion!

[@dennistigchelaar3393]

Congratulations on the birth of your son! I hope you two get some sleep.😬 Nice topic of the video. Videos like this help me reduce the FOMO.

[@WhiskyGeek]

Haha we've been doing ok for the most part, 🤞 hope it continues as I head back to work this week. Cheers Dennis 🥃👍

[@glennandersen4748]

I think you missed Glencadam 10,13 and 15

[@WhiskyGeek]

Sad to say I've not had any of them recently. Have got the 10 & 13 waiting for me to open. Can remember them being well worth it though! Cheers Glenn 🥃👍

[@mendipfox1650]

Congratulations on the birth of your second son. I’ve got two boys, 4 & 2. An absolute handful, let me tell you! I managed to purchase the Loch Lomond Peated Single Grain recently for £15. It’s a decent dram. Also lucky enough to buy those two Kilkerrans at retail. Haven’t opened them yet though. Some good value choices here. A few additions in my opinion would be Talisker 10 (assuming you picking it up sub £35) & the Classic Laddie. Seen that around the £38 of late. I’m all about the independents these days. I was say 60% of my purchases tend to be. Luckily I’m part of a tasting club that tends to be mostly independent drams. It enables me to try before I buy which takes the risk out of it. There are some stinkers out there, but mostly great stuff. My most recent purchase has been a single cask 9yo Glen Scotia. Straight bourbon matured @ 57.1%. Can’t wait to pop it open. Slainte 🥃

[@WhiskyGeek]

Did you pick them up in-person or online? The only brick & mortar store near me have a nasty habit of overpricing everything, and by 2x or 3x for any releases like this. So I'm stuck competing online 🤔 Generally I struggle with Talisker (got one of their bottles coming up in the review queue), it's a distillery style I'm having to work at appreciating. Some of the most interesting stuff I've come across recently has been independently bottled. More authentic and competitively priced in a lot of instances too 👍 I think it was you who put me on to the Glen Scotia Campbeltown Malts Festival (rum?) bottling a while back, I've bought all but the Tawny Port one now I think 😉 They're making some great expressions. Cheers Mendip Fox 🥃👍

[@mendipfox1650]

@@WhiskyGeek err, yes. I think I may have. 2019s Rum finished black label release. Very tasty stuff. I bought the Kilkerrans over the phone by calling Cadenheads on the day of the release. Good auld fashioned phone! Haha. It worked a treat. Like you said, no chance online. Although I did manage to grab two Cambeltown Lochs online. Tasty. Two of my go to independent sources are Whiskybroker (always very good or excellent) and Southport whisky. They know how to pick a cask! 😉

[@welshtoro3256]

Yeah, the Ledaig 18 is a really solid pour and good value right now. It sort of faces the inevitable issue of how much better is it to its younger brother? I love the 10 but I think the 18 is worth the extra once in a while. Talisker 10 remains my bang for buck whisky as it's often on sale for £30 and the 18, good though it is, struggles to justify the extra cost. I feel the same for Bunnahabhain 12 and 18. Benromach are doing things right although the 21 has a really disappointing abv. The Batch 4 is excellent and reminds me of the pre-batch Imperial Strength (and the abv is almost identical too). The bottom line is we're reduced to looking at pretty young stuff but there's good to be found there. It's also worth checking out the online shops of the independent bottlers. you have to take an educated punt but there's good stuff there if you balance distillery, age and cask type. I'll add my bang for bick bourbon in the mix because it's an absolute star and that is Wild Turkey 101. It is one heck of a good drink for £30. Good video and congratulations on the new arrival. Question: which part of the woods do you come from? WT 🥃

[@WhiskyGeek]

That bodes well, I've only heard decent things about the Ledaig 18 so thought it was worth a punt. I love the Bunna 18 but am yet to pick it up @ £120. It would be one of the most expensive bottles I've bought. I know people object to the 43% Benromach's, and I'd love to see them higher ABV for sure, but I don't think it's compromised their expressions enough to detract. 46% would be better but 43% is still very enjoyable in my opinion. Not tried the 21 yet though. Yeah I love so much of the stuff (particularly the weird) independent bottlers are putting out. I picked up a bottle of the WT101 on the back of the bourbon blind we did a while back. A lot of people said I needed to try it and I found a bottle for £19 😁 I'm near Chester in the North West. Cheers Welsh Toro 🥃👍

[@philjones1013]

@@WhiskyGeek Bunna 18 @ £118.17 on Amazon atm.

[@robfut9954]

Tomatin is an excellent value. Glenmorangie and Ancnoc are also excellent value for what you get.

[@WhiskyGeek]

I had the Tomatin Cask Strength and Legacy on the list but cut them from the video as I didn't have the bottles to hand. Looking forward to cracking open a couple of Ancnoc's and seeing what the fuss is 😁 Cheers RobFut 99 🥃👍

[@robfut9954]

@@WhiskyGeek the 12 is excellent value in the US, which is where I am. The older versions are harder to find here, though.

[@osirisgolad]

The 18-year-old Ledaig is sadly touching £100 at €110+ on the mainland, so I've given up on that. I was going to say Glen Scotia 15 is missing from your selection, but I see the price has gone up a whopping 40%. Edradour 10 is also pretty good, even if the presentation is uncharacteristically weak by their own standards.

[@gaff6120]

lomond overly simple and boring(((((

[@WhiskyGeek]

Ah really ☹ I've enjoyed all of their stuff I've tried so far. Which bottles have you tried? There's so much variation in what they put out. Cheers gaff6120 🥃👍

[@gaff6120]

@@WhiskyGeek peated single grain with green label - "very harsh, bought a replacement for the great distilleries of the region, but there is practically no joy. nonsense". Single grain - "obviously vanilla, finally a lot more bourbon than real bourbons, this is both a minus and a funny discovery. too chemical"