The Bothy - Whisky For The Year 2025

[@crazygangrel]

I’ve been watching your channel for a decade. I’m in Scotland for the first time ever and touring the Deanston distillery tomorrow based on your review. Thanks so much for everything you do!

[@martinbeen]

I am having a Deanston 12 year now. I love Deanston, for me they bring something special, and the price is still good.

[@norolexnosex2946]

Congratulations Arran. 🎉 all their whisky releases are fantastic. Can’t go wrong with Arran.

[@pollokstudios]

my whisky of the year is the standard port charlotte 10 year; it can be hard to find a lot things where I am located at, but the bruichladdich santa claus comes through every now and again. I appreciate the consistency and quality the deliver to me and hope they don't ever go astray.

[@kyriakoskyrousis5052]

Thank you Ralfy! It has been a pleasure to listen and learn from you for yet another year and I hope that the next one will be happy and merry for you and your loved ones! Best Wishes from Athens!

[@thomasmclennon4746]

God bless you and keep you safe in the coming year. You are the only KZbin whisky reviewer whose skill, judgment and evident integrity I've come to trust.

[@michaelm.9680]

Thank you Ralfy! Keep on exactly as you've always done, please. Great choice, the Arran 10.

[@plethoranz]

I love Arran. I can't comprehend why distillaries can't make products that are as reliable as this. The 10 year tastes significantlty better than many 15 years. So great, on my 4th bottle.

[@greatestytcommentator]

'Isle of Arran' 'I Love Arran' 😊

[@thomasrogers3008]

I was disappointed with Arran 10. Prefer Arran Quarter Cask by a long way.

[@nutyyyy]

Really good bottlings and great prices.

[@potterendergaming5335]

@@thomasrogers3008 I love both but the quarter cask is better I agree.

[@SimonneNZ]

Arran is one of the few distilleries that I have multiple bottles of. The others being Kilchoman and Ardnamurchan. Thank you for guiding me through my whisky (and rum) journey. Looking forward to more videos in 2025 with some cat cameos from Billy and Fluffy. Cheers! 🥃

[@danielfrozenwind]

Merry Christmas Ralfy, I picked up another Arran 10 at Waitrose for £36 a couple of weeks before Christmas, so happy to see our thoughts aligned on it! Here's to 2025!

[@ytbenny1964]

I am forever grateful for all that you do Ralfy. You are one of the few whisky reviewers that does not monetize their Chanel via excessive ads. I would not judge you if you did but for a man that constantly insists on integrity you walk the path fine sir. Cheers

[@leroygibb9243]

Thank you Ralfy for another year of keeping it real 👍

[@dkek383]

Great video. Im new to whisky but I've bought a bottle of the Bunnahabhein 12 year old you covered in another video which I'm enjoying much more than any whisky I've tried before.

[@Watchman999]

Great message and BANG on. All the best to you Ralfy. Here’s to a wonderful 2025. Slàinte Mhath.

[@jamesmavis577]

Merry Christmas to my favorite KZbin whiskey community.

[@SimonJoyce-t8j]

Wishing you a very happy 2025. Just watced this with a glass of Edradour Caledona. Probably my all time favorite! Cheers Ralfy

[@gtrlover3983]

Happy New Year Ralfy!

[@xandrop]

Greetings from Ukraine! Just have ordered one. You never know what will be tomorrow, so enjoy a quality malt if you can.

[@raycroal]

zalenskyy is the devil

[@SteHughes90]

Stay safe

[@giveusanepleasebob992]

Take care mate but how do you feel about zekensky buying mansions and chateaus around Europe for him and his family whilst his people are not in a good place.???

[@raycroal]

@@giveusanepleasebob992 he is the biggest criminal in the world

[@ic3105]

Wish you safety for you, your family and friends.

[@chentim1751]

thanks! Ralfy, thank you for the great work in this community. Happy New Year to all.

[@omegha10]

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year dear Ralfy. Have been a regular viewer since the early days when I was a student. You have shaped my whisky experience & guided me in this exceptional taste exploration journey. Thank you for sharing your wisdom & guiding us to make the right call in this big maze of spirits. Looking forward to more videos. Cheers :)

[@everwind5691]

I am really looking forward to the Return of Arran 14! I also a huge fan of the Arran 18. Thanks Ralfy for helping guide me on my whisky journey.

[@jackthepickledhound]

Haven't bought any of the new bottles, with the braille, still have 2 old 10's and an 18 in the bunker. I didn't love the 14 the way most people did, but I'd grab a new one immediately if I ever saw it. As bad as 2024 has been, all is well when the Arran 10 is on the shelf and I have seen it all year long. Might actually pick one up now that it's famous again.

[@chriskellas2902]

Happy new years Ralfy, looking forward to 2025!, you are a my Malt Guru!

[@ANG3Lx0FxL1GHT]

I'm a new sub this year (2024) liking the content. Checking the older videos when I can.

[@PaulShaw-f7s]

Happy new year to you Ralfy, I’m new at this and I find you are the most honest and knowledgable in your reviews. I have already learned such a lot from your posts. Busy building my collection and all based on your reviews.

[@MrBarberGuy]

Happy New Year and Slainte Ralfy!!!!

[@brownwaterboys8304]

Glad you gave the Whisky of the Year to Arran again. Its one of my absolute favorites. Plus since I already have a few bottles, it'll save me a little money too ;) Time to pour some Arran and celebrate :D

[@murduk88]

Been watching since 2018 and have loved every second - along with every word of your fantastic 3 books. Got my trip to Scotland booked for summer 2025 and am flying into Glasgow, not Edinburgh, specifically so I can visit the Bon Accord and Pot Still, take a gander at the bottles at the Glasgow Whisky Co. and generally walk about Ralfy's town. Thanks for all you do!

[@jeffthompson9178]

The Pot Still is quite a whisky bar. Enjoy your trip to Glasgow.

[@rubenheijstek5070]

Ralfy......thank you so much. I discovered your channel not long ago but i very love it. I love you point of view, your honesty and your reviews very much. And i am as you are a huge fan of Arran. I have 19 bottles of them and every one is a gem. Thank you for the support and i hope 2025 will be a very good whisky year. it is a pleasure to listen and learn from you. With all the best regards from The Netherlands.

[@WendellMacKinnon]

Thank you, Ralfy, for another great review. So very much worth the watch. I wish you a very happy New Year and peaceful jacket!

[@davewilson6018]

Thank you for years of terrific reviews and guidance! Happy New Year to you malt mate!

[@dextercool]

This year I'm just gonna focus on maintaining the perma-shelf bottles, the tried and tested bottlings, the ones where I know what I'm getting since entering this 'hobby'; with Ralfy and other KZbinrs, we know where to spend the money for the best bang for the buck.

[@witsch123]

natural Whisky rules. have a great new Year and stay healthy! *sláinte mhath*

[@RemoteViewr]

Great message Ralfy, keep it up!

[@SippersSocialClub]

Came for the whisky, stayed for the rant on added-sugar ice cream lol. Congrats on another amazing year Ralfy! Cheers :)

[@spg270872]

Happy New Year Ralfy - love your content. Was amazing to meet you at the Bon Accord in September.

[@danmorgan7775]

Well deserved choice. Arran 10 is one of the most available and reasonably priced integrity malts sold in my region. Will raise a glass on new year's eve to bring in 2025.

[@dannosnorthshorewave]

Thanks to the both for your crumbs of wisdom, that has taken me home many times…

[@SesveteBoyz5]

Greeting from Croatia and all the best for Christmas Ralfy.. Definitely the best channel for whiskey drinker s,and im grateful that you choose bottles for whiskey of the year that are actually obtainable... Im trying to pass all the knowledge from your channel to my whisky workshop group :) And for the malt mention... Hello from Little whiskey workshop Zagreb,Croatia to all malty mysterious musketeers of the malt table of magic ! Slainte !

[@RxSquatch]

Merry Christmas, Ralfy. Thanks for your presence and wisdom. Hope you have a great year. (Signing in from Indianapolis, IN, USA)

[@mrboomslang8852]

Ralfy I was here from the beginning and will be there until the end! Just got two bottles from the whisky exchange! Had to double check the price! Both signatory Macellan 13 yrs Mortlach 11 yrs both at 57.1% £93 for the both including delivery!

[@Goettel]

Good health to you, Sir.

[@luminar5]

More rums more Armagnac sounds good, great reviews again this year, it’s a tough ask but keep it up. Happy New Year

[@robfut9954]

100%… rum is where the value to quality is now

[@varun198081]

Thank you Ralfy for sharing your wisdom over the last so many years. Your honest and straight to the point views is hard to find these days. I discovered Springbank only after following your channel and have been amazing. Stay healthy and see more of your videos in the new year 2025.

[@bateptesicus]

Happy New Year Ralfy! I've been among your audience for over 5 years and I very much enjoy sitting in my armchair and listening to you. Happy New Year to all maltmates! Let the new year will be full of great quality whiskies in decent prices to sip and enjoy! Slaìnte a chàirdean!

[@bateptesicus]

True 20:41 there is new research that says everything above 60ml of 40% alcohol more than 5 days a week, both for man and woman, stop or weakens the anabolic sygnals.

[@shanenesic2484]

@@bateptesicusTrue it’s probably all the poison your system can handle.

[@heisenbergguy7772]

You’re always ahead of everyone by a year. We’re living in 2024 Sir. I have 5 tall bottles of the old Arran 10.

[@WhiskyNeighbour]

Excellent thoughts, glad I've been coming to the Bothy for many a year. Thanks for the pick, and cheers to 2025 and more integrity Malts!

[@gretchman]

I've been watching your reviews for going on 15 years now after a friend bought me my first bottle of Laphroiag as a gift. I'm so proud of you and your commitment to integrity in your work. I wish you a happy 2025 and continued growth and success! Now it's time to spend the afternoon tracking down a bottle of Arran...

[@rkostyantyn]

I'm so glad that I have Arran 10yo Cask Strength James MacTaggart Anniversary Edition. Thanks to Ralfy, I stocked up with a few bottles a long, long time ago 👍

[@gaboridze]

Thank you Ralfy for so many years of the whisky's world and beyond. Happy new year, have a good health and stay please this way.

[@BleakCosmicVoid]

A true KZbin gem 🙏

[@WhooshFlyingHorse444]

A happy 2025 to you Ralfy. You are unquestionably 'The Dram Father'. Thank you for your much appreciated whisky reviews and insightful commentaries. Your guidance and imparted knowledge has helped me understand and enormously appreciate this magic potion we know as Scotch Single Malt Whisky. Keep up your good work. With sincere & kind regards. PS. Any chance you could consider giving us a future full review about drinking whisky from a medical & personal health perspective please?

[@onewomanswhisky]

Have yourself a healthy, safe, and joyful new year! And, as always, thank you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge with complete honesty 🙏 Cheers, my friend...🥃🥃 Marian 🇨🇦

[@karnac69]

As always Ralphy, I enjoy your rants & reviews. You have certainly educated me about whisky and I share that information with my malt mates. A great new year to you.

[@Rohit_M]

Arran 10, 18, QC, Sherry all are very very good and Arran 10 is well deserving of return as the whisky of the year 2025. Great pick Ralfy!! Happy New Year and much heath in 2025.

[@lyacoubian]

Hear, hear... 🥃 Wishing Ralfy a happy and healthy 2025.

[@leoyu1070]

Rarely I mean rarely I saw such a big big thumbs up from Ralfy for such a affordable whiskey!!! Happy new year everyone and I will surely get one of this to try soon!

[@thomasedward9065]

Merry Christmas ralfy

[@princeofwine]

You are the most honest, passionate and authentic whisky reviewer. Bravo and happy new year 🎉

[@davidc6863]

Thank you Ralfy. This great session with you seems like a State of Whisky 2024 presentation. Your selection of Arran 10 is (as you often say) - in my opinion- excellent and fully justified. Thank you for a great year of wonderful presentations, looking forward to 2025 following your channel. Happy New Year!

[@patrickwcowley]

Heartwarming Season's Greetings to you Ralfy, I've watched your videos at times over 10 years and I always wanted to thank you for being there for us, sharing the authenticity of your spirit, teaching us about whisky, and offering your kindness. But you do so much more than that, and I always worried I couldn't write you an eloquent thank you compliment, I always wanted to. Within a week of each other, I have finally tried Talisker 10 & Caol Ila 12, but I wouldn't have made good decisions about purchasing if you hadn't taken the time to help us along. I hope that 2025 is a very bright and beautiful year for you, and thank you for being a friend to us and making our lives better. Wishing you all the very best and thank you for being you and putting in the hard work that you make look easy to provide quality content. Hope to see Scotland and the Islands around someday! Cheers, and a heartfelt Thank you very much!! From Rancho Palos Verdes, California 🌊🥃🎆🌠

[@yorkie2789]

Wise words as always Ralfy, have a Happy New Year. I look forward to continuing my whisky journey with you next year.

[@andrewjudd9001]

Arran 10 is a fantastic whisky especially for the price.

[@BrothuhV84]

Agreed, Ralfy! Wonderful content as usual. Cheers to you and family. May you have a wonderful year which you rightly deserve.Thank you for all that you do and who you are! I've been following for 15 years now. Where does the time go? Lol! Thanks for being my whiskey mentor. I can't thank you enough for your contribution to mine and other's whiskey journey. You da man! Slàinte Mhath! 😎👍

[@curtishopkins4160]

Merry Christmas and a happy new year Ralfy. Rgds, Curtis

[@LeeONardo-n6g]

As a 2024 new subscriber I really appreciate your insights into how and where to find the quality malts, my stash (definitely not a collection) is all the better for it, my own malt mates are happier with the examples I share with them all on a regular basis. Some are now even gifting me quality options, we're swapping a few bottles, quality malt mates, sharing quality malts. Keep up the great work, enjoy the new year celebrations with a wee dram of something amazing from your own stash.

[@jonv5316]

Good, honest work here Ralfy. What a difference this channel made in my self-respect and understanding of a good subject. What happens in the whiskey world is but a reflection of global geopolitics.

[@ACHUNDOI]

I bought Arran after your last review.I now consider it my favourite dram and keep buying it because it is consistently beautiful.Thanks ralphy.😊

[@carlubambi5541]

Happy New Year and a happy belated Merry Christmas.Thank you for running the tree crematorium(Biofuel heating furnace) it helps us grow oak trees and barley and corn

[@wisgisipper6890]

Ralfy, this video really hits home, and I agree with all of your points. I haven't been buying scotch at all, maybe 2 bottles this whole year. I'll probably be dropping my SMWS membership as well because things are just getting too expensive and then I need to pay a $30 postage to get items and by that time I'm in over $180 which I can't sustain after I retire next year. I have been focusing on products that that provide bang for the buck and are good, tasty products and from distilleries that put the customer first. I refuse to get pulled into these situations of limited releases, secondary prices on new products and so on. I'll find good products from distilleries that I enjoy and at reasonable prices. Just wish I could get Arran here in my area, used to but that seemed to dry up through the past year or so. Thanks again and I'll look forward to your content in 2025. Happy New Year...

[@ricardomoraleslevin654]

Thank you Ralfy for another marvelous year filled with quality whisky! I’m really looking forward to the next one!

[@-xirx-]

Merry christmas and a happy new year for 2025 Ralfy. Thank you for introducing me to this wonderful hobby. I have been watching you for years, but finally took the plunge in 2024. 😊 🥃

[@alanc12402]

Arran is a solid choice for whisky of the year. Their Sherry cask was excellent and they make fantastic Robbie Burns Single Malt.

[@Cheeeesseee3678]

Very much enjoy the content youve been outting out for years Ralph, and long may it continue! I do though want to clarify something regarding sugar in ice cream. Now, it was only mentioned in passing but i just want to perhaps clarify to people that these 'extra' sugars in ice cream perform significantly more duties than just adding sweetness - if at all adding sweetness. Different sugars have different characteristics when used in ice cream which affect things like the freezing point of water and the softness of the ice cream. Sucrose is your standard granulated 'on your cornflakes' sugar, 'classic' sugar if you will. Just because an ice cream includes others does not necessarily mean what you described. Dextrose is less sweet than sucrose and significantly reduces the freezing point producing a smoother and less sweet ice cream. Fructose on the other hand also lowers the freezing point, producing a smooth ice cream but it is sweeter than sucrose. Invert sugar is sweeter than sucrose, reduces the freezing point in the same manner of dextrose but has a greater affect in reducing ice crystals making a smoother yet more robust ice cream. Ice cream manufacturers use combinations of these sugars to achieve the desired outcome for their product, but just because a label shows 3 types of sugar within this doesn't mean they've trippled the total amount of sugar otherwise needed to produce an ice cream. Thats not too say there isnt far too much sugar in modern food acress the board, because there is, especially in savoury.

[@michaelwood3203]

Agreed that Braille is good but many lose their sight and do not have the Braille skill. It is important that key information is large and well defined against a contrasting background. All the best for the year ahead to you Ralfy, and to all the many malt minions making merry mayhem.

[@Norris_84]

That time of year again, love these end of year vids. I have been following your channel for quite a few years now Ralfy and I would like to thank you for the rants, the recommendations and the honesty. You've helped me a great deal with my journey in whisky. I'll be cracking open my Springbank 15 to bring in the new year and I'll raise a glass to yourself and all the malt mates and wish you all a very happy 2025. Slainte mhath

[@chrisdunne8719]

Ay Up Ralfy - a belter, banger and boomer to roll from 2024 into 2025. Trends are our friends and your illumination/reflection of many of them offers us great value in many ways. Thank you. I will continue to guard my wallet and only open it for those distilleries that value my patronage and the implied relationship we have. Those that see me and us a part of demand curve which can be shaped and shifted as they see fit simply won’t get a sniff. I too will employ economics. I hope the like of Glenfarclas rise to meet the challenge in 2025. Many, many thanks again Ralfy. You’re like gold, ever dull. Slainte 🥃and 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼to Arran 10 I’m nursing a bottle slowly to joyous end right now

[@MarcelBergmeester]

Have a happy and healthy new year Ralfy! Thanks for all your work!

[@markwalker2995]

Well said Ralfy 👏

[@Polonolo99]

Excellent stuff. Have a bottle in my stash and love it.

[@JR-nl3mh]

Te video of the year, that we are expecting all year.

[@RHTWiese]

Very much agree, always have it in my cabinet.

[@DaveP668]

And for those in the UK this dram is currently on sale in Waitrose for £36.

[@JonathanRL98]

Love your channel. Best regards!

[@jarrettmcgregor1001]

I'm really pleased to hear, Ralfy, that you will be focusing on more quality whisky's in 2025. I look forward to watching, learning, and enjoying these vlogs in the New Year. All the very best to you and yours in 2025 from Christchurch, New Zealand.

[@irish5359]

Clap, clap, clap, I just opened a new one for my Christmas guests.

[@1marktanderson]

Ralfy the world can change and call it whatever it wants to but you and I can still call it firewood. 😎

[@danleonard3600]

Excellent choice. Consistently high quality. My all time favorite was the Arran 14. I really miss that one but the current range is still excellent.

[@johnoberto2659]

Happy holidays. God bless

[@r.j.wheels6755]

The anticipation for this video was intense lol. I feel so relieved 😂

[@jreganinfo]

Cheers, Ralfy. I was grumpy much of 2024 myself, resolved to make a positive effort in 2025 to be more positive! A good friend who works at a very high level in retail, restaurants and distribution says there has been a huge drop in demand for alcohol across the board in 2024. Lots of increased interest in thc/cbd and non-alcholic/"mocktail" product lines.

[@Mr_Blootered]

Here's to affordable quality whisky in 2025. Slàinte Ralfy, keep up the good work.

[@pi17835]

I guessed right just before you revealed it 😃 Great choice, I really like everything they did over the past few years (basically since they changed the design; didn’t try them before)

[@steveanderson3444]

A damn solid choice. Quality spirit with no b.s. packaging. It's just good old meat and potatoes scotch whisky. From the Scotchdale Bothy to the Whisky Bothy, Happy Hogmanay, Ralfy. You have yourself a damn good 2025 as well.

[@Mike-qw7vf]

Wonderful

[@gregoryciesla542]

Thank you Ralfy. Your ramble sums up my exact same feelings of the scotch whiskey market these days. Great choice for whiskey of the year. Arran 10 is one of my favorite bottlings for high quality, affordability and availability.

[@garytaylor3149]

Always a little clarity in a world of Scotch Mist, good to hear an unbiased honest opinion Ralfy

[@risknerd1772]

Happy New Year, Ralfy!

[@deeshmond]

Very deserving WOTY. Arran 10 was a big stepping stone early in my malt journey and I’ve never had a bad bottle of any Arran since. Best distillery in the world imo. Cheers to a peaceful 2025, Ralfy (I think I should have the same theme!)

[@edwardcardoza2138]

Thank you Ralfy sir I am your ardent follower Merry Christmas and Happy New year

[@John_Krone]

Excellent and insightful video. Interesting information on how modern palate and sugar dependency is diverting the appreciation of fine and authentic Scotch Whisky.

[@jakubhaska3707]

Thank you Ralfy for all reviews and comments. I wish you all the best in 2025. 🥳