Deanston 12 v. Arran 10 v. Glen Garioch 12, and May the Best Value Scotch Malt Win
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- čas přidán 25. 04. 2022
- We all have those questions that keep us up at night, questions which (as Kant says) we cannot ignore but which at the same time we have not the power to answer. For me one of those questions is, "What's the best Scotch malt you can buy for fifty bucks?"
So far the mighty Bunnahabhain 12 has been in the lead on that question (see • My Shopping Bag: Fine ... ), but that doesn't mean there aren't other contenders worth a review. Many of them actually are available in the US at the price in question, such as the noble competition provided by Mortlach, Ardbeg, Glencadam, and others... and then there are others that should qualify even though the actual American MSRP is a bit too brutal, even though in fact they may not quite make it over at all. But on the Scotch market also as Kant says, Sollen should extend further than Sein. What we've got for this session, then, is a mixed trio of one malt that you can buy south of the magical $50 mark right now versus two malts that should be so available in a better world. Stats:
- Deanston 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (OB, ex-bourbon casks; bottled circa 2021; unchillfiltered, 46.3%), 86+/100
- Arran 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky (OB; L 18 06 21, non-chillfiltered, natural color, 46% ABV), 85/100
- Glen Garioch 12 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky (OB, ex-bourbon and sherry casks; L9 262SB2, bottled circa 2021; 48% ABV), 88/100
The Arran is a terrific little island malt that gets bonus points for getting knocked over in the biggest spill I've had on the channel thus far... but for my money the new king of sub-$50 malts in the US market is the magnificent little Deanston, which is even a bit better than its old Burn Stewart stablemate the Bunnahabhain. Malty and citrusy and mineraly-smoky in equal measure, it's deeply unfashionable in a world dominated by wine casks and peat but good lord is it good.
And yet even that monster still isn't the best malt here: out of nowhere and against all odds, Big Daddy Kane style (that's a reference to • Live Freestyle 95 (Big... ), a Glen Garioch that isn't even available in America anymore sweeps in at the last minute to crush all contenders. You can't buy the flower power at issue here unless you have access to European shops, but if you've got a Passion for Whisky then such Fine Drams might still be worth seeking out. If you know what I mean.
Fantastic channel. Love the variety of spirits
Thanks! That's the idea!
Very nicely done! Love the GG 12!
Thanks! All hail flowery spirits.
Been eying the Glen Garioch. Will pull the trigger now.
Good review.
Cheers 🥃
Thanks and enjoy!
I have all four and would personally rate them Glen Garioch, Bunnahabhain, Deanston and Arran a distant fourth. I enjoy all four but I could weep when I hear what folks are paying for them in North America, UK and EU. In Singapore only the Arron 10 can be picked up for under US$ 100, sometimes. The Bunnahabhain can be as much as US$150.
Oof, those are some brutal prices.
Thanks for this. I love a good value dram! For me it has to be Doorly's 12 year old
Working on rounding up some Doorly samples right now, actually...
Finally got my hands of some Deanston 12. You were right about the virgin oak not being great. However low price and higher proof made it a good cocktail scotch
I hope you like it! I'm thoroughly impressed.
Glen Garioch is my fave...90/100!😃😋🥃
And just think, it's actually going to be _better_ in a few years...
Great review, I bought GG for low 40s few years now I can’t find it anymore.
Thanks! It's out there, just not so much in the US...
Couldn't agree more with your conclusion. The Glen Garioch 12 yr old is ridiculously good! Here in BC Canada it's about $65 cad plus a chunk of tax. BC stands for bring cash, so that's actually a screaming deal when compared to pretty much every other single malt. I'm dying to try the 18 yr old renaissance!
Thanks! Yeah, I'd say grab up the Renaissance series while you can...
Four of my favorite single malts (even though you didn’t review the Bunnahabhain this episode). One of the great mysteries of the age - how has Beam Suntory not ruined Glen Garioch (yet)? The only explanation is that they have forgotten that they own it. The only sherry cask single malt I find more interesting is the Edradour Caledonia 12. Hopefully we will see that reappear.
The Edradour is easy to get here in Germany, though ~65€ seems a bit high. For comparison, I can find Glen Garioch 12 for 35-40€ (sometimes around 30) an the 15 is 75-80€ (I saw it for 59 just last week).
Heck, sometimes *I* forget Beam-Suntory own GG, maybe they do too.
Craigellachie 13 is $53 here in Boston and is a fantastic value to my palate, though I agree that Bunnahabhain 12 holds that title. I'll have to try that Glen Garioch 12.
Craigellachie keeps getting better as the years go on. Have you tried Aultmore 12? I'm thinking of picking up a bottle. Same parent company and within 5 cents of craigellachie
I've got a little Craigellachie 13 sample lying around here somewhere, I'll have to find a good video theme for it...
3:30:
It's not surprising to find Scotch cheaper in Germany than in the UK, that's actually the norm for bottlings with good availability in Germany.
The UK is on the lower end of the European spectrum when it comes to regulation but towards the higher end when it comes to taxation, Germany is near the bottom for both.
The (online) wine & spirits market in Germany is very competitive with many small- and mid-sized players and a few big ones like Amazon who can push down prices when they feel like it.
I've seen Ardbeg Ten, Arran 10, Bunnahabhain 12, Clynelish 14, Deanston 12 & Glen Garioch 12 all for under 30€(~$32) here in Germany,
some even approaching or just under 25€(~$27) (incl. shipping, if applicable).
It's also not unusual to find Bourbon & Rye in Germany at prices below most if not all of the US. I paid 21,14€(~$22) for my last bottle of Buffalo Trace (1l, 45%), 22,90€(~$24) for Wild Turkey 101 (1l) and ~30€(~$32) each for Eagle Rare 10, WT Rare Breed, & Four Roses SB.
We're generally quite privileged here in Germany, when it comes to prices and availability of spirits.
Whenever you recommend something on your channel (apart from store picks and US-only bottlings), I can generally find it easily (mostly in Germany, sometimes shipped from France or the Netherlands) and at an even better price which is great for me but catastrophic for my wallet.
(For viewers in Germany:
The bargain hunting site Mydealz is the best place I know to find the best offer prices when they pop up.
You'll also find instructions for how to exploit Amazons "subscriptions" (which are just single purchases with extra steps in Germany) for better prices there.
Generally, pick your candidates and set price alarms using Idealo and Keepa (browser plugin, specifically for Amazon) to catch the best prices when they come along.)
Good information! Also, now seriously considering becoming an expat.
@@differentspirits4157 The prices I mentioned are the best bargains that can be found, not quite the norm. I'm an avid bargain hunter, getting those prices takes some patience and a list of interesting candidates to work from.
You should settle somewhere close to the French border (which side doesn't really matter, the EU being what it is, though Drankgigant & Drankdozijn will give you better price if you're in Germany), not too far from Luxemburg (Even better prices but no online retailers that ship abroad). Maybe pick a spot close to one of the good online retailers to cover your day to day needs (some have a retail store, others at least offer pickup, some might be hiring). Knowing your tastes, you're gonna want to explore France and all the locally produced stuff that never makes it outside France (or even outside its region), Freiburg (im Breisgau), Trier or Strasbourg would make for a good home base.
I think'll open that bottle of Clynelish 14 I got for 24,64€ now, just to rub it in...
@@kaktuskontrafaktus Building a case for moving to convince my wife right now.
I own three of four of these bottles (Arran, Bunnahabhain, Deanston) and am now appreciating the prices of these in England compared to the US. Shame rum on the other hand is not so good Hampden overproof will set you back £80 over here :(
And still worth it even at that price! 😂
Ralfy likes all of these and gave the Glengarioch 12 a whopping 90/100
Yup! I don't know if I'd go that crazy, but for a 40€ bottle I'm going pretty dang crazy.
Absolutely love the Glen Garioch... is it hard to find for you in the last couple years? Hasn't been on the shelf here in an age.
I haven't seen it around Chicago in forever. There might be a handful of spots in the States that still have it, but otherwise it seems to have abandoned these shores...
@@differentspirits4157 Well, I'll stop holding it against my local shops, then. I'm in Kansas, if you aren't seeing it I doubt I have much chance. Maybe I'll find some old stock in my travels... do you have any experience with the NAS Founder's Reserve or whatever? That's still kicking around.
@@jasoncoates1835 it's fun! but you may also want to check on some of those overseas retailers. Y'know, on the off chance that you can buy and transfer ownership over there and then have them ship you your property...
The problem with searching for the best value malt is that prices on most whiskys are wildly inconsistent usually based on location and demand. All the bottles you have there, I have paid over $50 for. Those are roughly 55-65ish around me.
You're not wrong, and that's part of why I don't account for price in my scoring. (You may have noticed I snuck in a malt that mostly isn't even available in the US at the moment.)
I got the Arran 10 at Total Swine for $43 a few months ago with a $5 coupon because I wanted to see what all the hype was about but it's around $60 at most places
Yup! Except Europe for whatever reason.
I had a GG12 sample years ago that was utterly boring but I'm glad they're back and thriving.
My concerning, unsubstantiated theory is that Suntory will use the revamped Glen Garioch for Japanese blends similar to Nikka using Ben Nevis. GG doesn't have the notoriety of Bowmore or Auchentoshan so it's a prime candidate.
Possible, but wasn't Suntory part of the big push for newer, more restrictive JSLMA rules?
@@differentspirits4157 And a year later I bought my own GG12 (in large part to your review!). My batch is markedly different from yours. Less ginger and more cinnamon, but still great stuff for a basic, available OB. That amber ale tasting note was a great callout. As for Suntory, you're very much correct so...*shrugs*
Glen Garioch has had a spotty history, but it seems that those in charge are committed to quality. I just hope we get some other, older expressions here in the US. You can just tell this distillate will sing with some more age provided the casks are not overwhelmingly first-fill.
Different Spirits must be silenced! Glen Garioch 12 is indeed excellent, but $50 it is not...here, anyway. It was. I can find it easily, but it's more like $80 now. Fortunately I have a couple bottles from before it went up.
It is in other parts of the world... cough...
nothing is touching Benromach CS 2007 11 year on closeout here for $39.99. I got Port Charlotte 10 for $57 yesterday. A pretty good cheapy was the Jane Walker 10 L.E. all malt that was a closeout at $27 and Johnnie Walker out did them selves on this one but it was a one and done L.E. and it was about 42% ABV with a nice little sherry going on with a little peat on it. The new blender Emma Walker at Johnny Walker knows what she is doing and the new stuff she has been blending has been all good. The 2020 L.E. John Walker 200th anniversary at 51% ABV was pretty decent at $70 but again it was a L.E. Newer Loch Lomond 12 is now a pretty decent malt and it's coming in at around $30something and I got it for $22 for a Holiday gift box with 2 added mini's in the box. should have bought a few of them at that price. The new Compass Box- Orchard House is $50 was kind of a let down from them and came off a little young for the price but it's not bad after the bottle opens up after a few months but for the price there is a lot out there that beats it like their own Spice Tree that is only $5 more here and it's well worth buying multiples of at that price and I bought a half case. Kilkerran 12 was the deal of deals when it was under $60 and glad I bought a half case of it because i knew it was going to shoot up in price and now it's $90 to $100 and don't get me started on how Springbank stuff is now jumped majorly in price. I'm glad I was stockpiling it over 2 years ago knowing the prices were going to go up big in the U.S.
Sounds like you're stockpiling quite a lot! 😅