FYI For My Fellow Scotch Lovers

[elessar]

If any of you enjoy a good dram of single malt like I do and I know some of you do (You have been recognized. Let's say by one of your opposite numbers...). If you haven't already stocked up now is the time. There will be a 25% tariff imposed on Scotch starting on Oct 18th. I'll be grabbing a handful of bottles tomorrow. Just a heads up.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Balls.

 

[milehighpiper]

Well I'll be &@*#$! It seems this is a dispute over airplane sales... What in the ever living $&%@ does selling a plane have to do with scotch or anything else?!?!?!? I attached the one and only article I looked up. Like most Americans I do a quick search, skim over the article and base all of my decisions on that.

Joking aside, it would not be a bad time to buy some booze anyways. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve/Day are around the corner!

 

[augiebd]

I was going to buy a bottle of scotch today and chose beer instead. Now I will just have to go back for the scotch.

 

[lawdawg]

Trade war! I think this is intended as a punitive tactic to gain leverage in negotiations rather than a long term / permanent tariff, but then again these new EU tariffs are arising from a dispute between Airbus and Boeing that's been going on since 2004.

 

[lawdawg]

One more thought: Anyone got any recommendations for any good American single malts?

 

[seldom]

Good grief. Does anyone know if a bottle purchased at a foreign airport duty free shop is subject this tariff?

 

[mikethompson]

Is there a source on this?

Is this just for US consumers or elsewhere?

 

[elessar]

Is there a source on this?

Is this just for US consumers or elsewhere?

I have been in the AZ mountains for a week and spotted the tariff news on Forbes as I was catching up on the goings on in the world. After some quick Google Fu it seems that this is definitely going to happen Friday. I think this is just for US consumers.

 

[bron340]

F word! Single malt is expensive enough with out the tariffs.

 

[shanez]

One more thought: Anyone got any recommendations for any good American single malts?

Not exactly "single malts" but:



The second bottle from the right is a rye and is estate bottle cask strength. I have bottles ranging from 107-114 proof. I drink it neat even at those strengths and it is fantastic!

 

[lawdawg]

Not exactly "single malts" but:

View attachment 4815

The second bottle from the right is a rye and is estate bottle cask strength. I have bottles ranging from 107-114 proof. I drink it neat even at those strengths and it is fantastic!

I already drink a lot of bourbon

I picked up a few single malt essentials today and saw that sometime over the summer, Glenlivet did a terrible label redesign. The new label is fine, but the original was a classic.

The original:

776 × 1176



The new design:



490 × 686

No idea why they would even think a redesign is necessary. The old label and green bottle had a lot of character and were easily recognizable, while the new redesign is pretty generic and blends in with everything else on the shelf. Scotch people are mostly the kind of people that like classic designs, old labels, and a continuum between an old bottle and the new. Scotch isn't really very trendy, so I don't get the "updating" of something where the tradition is part of the appeal. Just seems like one of those unnecessary "ain't broke, don't fix it" type of things. No big deal in the long run so long as the malt in the bottle is the same - we're not drinking the labels

 

[voorhees]

I agree lawdawg. There was no reason to change labeling or bottle color.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Anyone got any recommendations for any good American single malts?

Only one I've had that was worth a shit was McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt. Got a little peat content (similar to Caol Ila, maybe a bit less), easy to drink and smooth. Certainly won't stack up against many of the better Scottish variants, but it's a solid offering at a reasonable price. Reminds me a bit of Connemara 12 (a peated irish whiskey, one of my favorites).

McCarthy's Oregon Single Malt Whiskey - https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/clear-creek-distillery/mccarthys-oregon-single-malt-whiskey/

 

[shanez]

Scotch isn't really very trendy

Au contraire, Scotch is very trendy at the moment. Combine this with the amount of people that can afford a more expensive bottle (vs. say 20 years ago) and we are now seeing shortages, especially in the more aged versions.

Whisky lounges are popping up all over the place as well. My guess is, Glenlivet wanted to get that "double barrel" on their label.

I can remember MacCallan 25 for $699/bottle. Now its two grand. Nothing has changed other than it's slightly less available now and more people can, and are willing to, pay that much.

That being said, my 2 regular Scotches are Glendronach 12 year and Benriach 10 year. (I actually prefer the Benriach 10 to the 12.) I order 4-6 bottles of either at a time for around $50/bottle to make sure I always have them on hand. Single bottles are on the shelf for as much as $70 (sometimes less) per.

I'm not quite sure what an American single malt is other than someone trying to specifically produce whisky (not whiskey) in America, in which case there really aren't any as good especially for the price. Anything at the $50-ish/bottle mark had better be good as there are any number of competitors which are. Anything at the $100-ish/bottle mark had better really be something. Tomatin 18 (at $80/bottle) and Bunnahabhain 18 (at $110/bottle) are tough to compete with. Most American anything fails to compete at this level. I'm not sure why so many American producers think their stuff is worth their asking price although a lot of people do pay it.

Also, I will throw a shout out to Nikka for both their Coffey grain and Coffey malt whiskies. Both are great and won't break the bank unlike most other Japanese whiskies, most of which aren't very good or are very expensive.

 

[alaskanpiper]

I can remember MacCallan 25 for $699/bottle. Now its two grand. Nothing has changed other than it's slightly less available now and more people can, and are willing to, pay that much.

Their 18 year could be had for a mere $175 a couple years ago here, now all of the sudden it is $275. There is however a secret little watering hole in Anchorage that will pour a dram of Macallan 25 for $50. I think it would cost more than that by the bottle these days.

I really like Aberlour for a great speyside/sherry bomb value. Cheaper and better than Macallan or many others, and a 16 year offering for $60 here.

I think where most american distilleries struggle when it comes to single malt is they simply don't have the money to put the product in barrels for long enough. Distilling something and then sitting on it for a decade before the first sale is not everyone's favorite business strategy. This is why many of them start out selling things like vodka and gin, and extremely young whiskeys. Others import older stock from other distilleries and get around it on a technicality by bottling it in the US and marketing it as american whiskey when it is not (Whistlepig for example, although it is great rye whiskey).

 

[shanez]

I think where most american distilleries struggle when it comes to single malt is they simply don't have the money to put the product in barrels for long enough.

True. If you wanted to release an 18 year statement today you'd quite obviously had to have distilled it 18 years ago. 18 years ago no producer imagined the demand being what it is today. Even 12 years is becoming an issue which, I think, is why we're now seeing all the non-age statement market variants. The demand is so high there is a rush just to get product to market.

While I'm not a fan of many of these new non-age statement bottles and I find most of them "gimmicky" there are a few that are pretty good.

 

[alaskanpiper]

While I'm not a fan of many of these new non-age statement bottles and I find most of them "gimmicky" there are a few that are pretty good.

Agreed. Many of the bigger brands (Glenmorangie, Glenfiddich, etc.) are definitely riding the hype train with all kinds of barrel shenanigans and dumpster fire craziness. But there are plenty of good ones. Jura Superstition, Talisker Storm, Highland Park Valkyrie, Aberlour A'bunadh, The Dalmore Cigar Malt, Ardbeg Uigeadail, Kilchoman's offerings, Oban Little Bay, and many more are worth trying.

 

[elessar]

My guess is, Glenlivet wanted to get that "double barrel" on their label.

I think this explains the label change. Many makers are doing interesting things with different barrels. Others are just trying ride the coattails with clever marketing/rebranding.

 

[elessar]

Agreed. Many of the bigger brands (Glenmorangie, Glenfiddich, etc.) are definitely riding the hype train with all kinds of barrel shenanigans and dumpster fire craziness. But there are plenty of good ones. Jura Superstition, Talisker Storm, Highland Park Valkyrie, Aberlour A'bunadh, The Dalmore Cigar Malt, Ardbeg Uigeadail, Kilchoman's offerings, Oban Little Bay, and many more are worth trying.

I certainly also agree that much of the barrel craze is just shenanigans (pistol whip anyone?). But I was quite surprised with the latest from Glenfiddich. I didn't realize they did a peated malt and the combination with rum casks is quite flavorful. I picked a bottle up on my pre tariff stock up.