New Ardbeg Committee Reserve!

[karlejnar]

It was selling for 29.99£! Ridiculously low for something so special and limited! I wonder if Ardbeg ever expected such a response?

Personally I think they should have limited the number of bottles to just one per committee member. In that way more people would get the chance of tasting it

I'd like to believe that all you good people that got two bottles are going to open one and keep one for later

I certainly do not hope any of you will be tempted to sell one just for a quick profit

And I hope my bottle is safe stashed away in Jackie's cupboard for my later collection

[Di Blasi]

When I do finally get mine, I'm sure I'll hold on to both of them for a bit, not sure how long exactly, and let them mingle and get comfy with my other bottles in the collection. Yes, I'm planning to keep at least one for much longer prior to opening it.

[Deactivated Member]

I'd like to believe that all you good people that got two bottles are going to open one and keep one for later

I certainly do not hope any of you will be tempted to sell one just for a quick profit

Why not? That would make it available to someone who did not pounce quickly enough.

I also should have one stashed away. Hope it keeps until October....

[Deactivated Member]

Personally I think they should have limited the number of bottles to just one per committee member. In that way more people would get the chance of tasting it

I suspect that more people will get to try the whisky by rationing it to two bottles per customer than if they'd rationed it to one.

I certainly do not hope any of you will be tempted to sell one just for a quick profit

Why not? How does what other people do with their whisky affect you at all?

[Spirit of Islay]

Why not? How does what other people do with their whisky affect you at all?

He's only expressing an opinion on what most whisky DRINKERS think of the quick buck makers/profiteers that have latched onto the malts market especially the Ardbeg side of things .
After all this is a place to express an opinion i believe ......
Slainte from once again Sunny Port Ellen and hopefully Midge free Managers night at Bunnahabhain tonight
Gordon

[irishwhiskeychaser]

......... what most whisky DRINKERS think of the quick buck makers/profiteers that have latched onto the malts market especially the Ardbeg side of things .........

Gordon

I can see why people get upset about this but at the end of the day it is not the seller that sets the price on Ebay it is the buyer and this is what people need to understand. Mr T has explained this already. If you can't afford it don't buy it as there are plenty more whiskies out there and remember no one will ever get to taste every whisky so you are not really missing out. Not even the famed Jim Murray or Michael Jackson get to taste every single bottle type it's impossible. In my experience most people that I buy whiskey off on ebay are also enthusiasts like myself. And I too sell the odd bottle on ebay and I would hope to make a profit no point otherwise. I see no harm in it and fair play is all I can say.

[Deactivated Member]

He's only expressing an opinion on what most whisky DRINKERS think of the quick buck makers/profiteers that have latched onto the malts market especially the Ardbeg side of things .

But you might just as well get exercised about the price of old stamps or first editions of books or houses or antiques or shares or anything else that has a secondary market.

For what it is worth, this Oogling is a very young, cheap whisky that probably tastes pretty rough. Ardbeg is only able to sell it based on its reputation as a collectible whisky. Nobody would normally pay £30 for a 3yo (4yo?) whisky. If it were not for the secondary market, this whisky would probably not exist at all and nobody would taste it - if tasting is important anyway. I think this, more than anything, is a case of people paying for a rare label and a collectible container that is worth more than the incidental contents.

[misa]

Actually doesn´t taste rough at all considering it´s 59.9 % alc.vol.

[Deactivated Member]

Actually doesn´t taste rough at all considering it´s 59.9 % alc.vol.

Hardly a ringing endorsement, though...

[Aidan]

Personally I think they should have limited the number of bottles to just one per committee member. In that way more people would get the chance of tasting it

I'd like to believe that all you good people that got two bottles are going to open one and keep one for later

I certainly do not hope any of you will be tempted to sell one just for a quick profit

And I hope my bottle is safe stashed away in Jackie's cupboard for my later collection

I'm going to decant mine into 6 billion glasses and share it with the entire planet. You can have whatever the tea totalers don't want.

[Spirit of Islay]

For what it is worth, this Oogling is a very young, cheap whisky that probably tastes pretty rough. Ardbeg is only able to sell it based on its reputation as a collectible whisky. Nobody would normally pay £30 for a 3yo (4yo?) whisky. If it were not for the secondary market, this whisky would probably not exist at all and nobody would taste it - if tasting is important anyway. I think this, more than anything, is a case of people paying for a rare label and a collectible container that is worth more than the incidental contents.

I was going to reply to this with an 8 letter word rhyming with the word Horlicks but i'll put my tasting notes instead ......

Ardbeg Committee Reserve – Yong Uigeadail (The Oogling)
Young Ardbeg mixed with a 2002 sherry Butt
ABV 59.9%
Colour - Bright Bronze
Nose – Bags of Malt (most I’ve tasted in an Ardbeg !) , Cereal , peat , the sherry is fighting to get through but not quite winning .
Taste – nice young spirit , very sweet , bags of peat and after a few tastes the smoke burst out and then the touch of sherry emerges .
Finish – Sooooooo Long , still warming the cockles of my heart ………
At first it seems very young and spirity but given time it opens up beautifully , another example of how much the distilling has improved since the "Bung it through" Allied days .

I've just been sitting in the Old Kiln Cafe for Lunch (hey it's a dirty job but someones got to do it !) and all the time there have been two of the girls packing orders for the Oogling , there were at least ten large sacks of orders waiting to be taken to the post office (all the orders are sent from Ardbeg via the airport so only a certain amount go out at a time ....it's a small plane !) . I got talking to one of the girls and we were discussing the e-bay sales etc , they're not happy about it but they know there isn't a lot they can do about it but what they are doing is trying to suss out the people who have placed multiple orders via the internet (Naw ! get away ! people don't do that !!!!) . I hope knowing the good people of Ardbeg pretty well by now ,They'd want people to drink their whisky !

Along the same line but slightly off Topic.....

I wonder how many of the £60 6yo Bowmores we'll see up for sale shortly ? Not alot seeing it has went down like a lead balloon with everybody i've talked to ......
Bunnahabhains 14yo PX finish is pretty good (went back for a second bottle ) but i don't think it will be popular , which is a shame .
The Laddie festival Valinches are pretty good , The "Drambusters" Bourbon is the best another stunning 1990 , The 1989 sherry one (Mayor of Islay) is the next best and the "Cotes Du Rhinns" (1988 Ace'd in a wine cask) is the weakest of the three but still highly drinkable (it says specially dedicated to Nick on the bottle ...... ) .

It's been a great week , always nice to support your favourite Island and it's distilleries , just The Condenser Ball and Ardbeg Day to go.....

Slainte
Gordon

[Deactivated Member]

Well if the ebay sales upset the good folks of Ardbeg so much, you'd have to ask yourself why they restricted it to so few bottles. If they made an ongoing supply of 3yo, I guess they'd hardly be able to shift it at £30 a pop. And I doubt that even such a limited supply would have sold out if the identical whisky had been distilled by Glenallachie (to pick a random example).

The truth is, this is a whisky aimed squarely at collectors or pokemon trainers (gotta catch 'em all) and Ardbeg obviously pitched the price too low. But given that Ardbeg initially thought it looked OK to sell 1300 bottles at £30 a go, why should they fret about people who sell the stuff on? Ardbeg still has the money they set out to make.

[Spirit of Islay]

If they made an ongoing supply of 3yo.....

The youngest is 4yo (one sherry butt) , the rest is very young (probably 7/8yo) just to keep the facts right.....

The truth is, this is a whisky aimed squarely at collectors or pokemon trainers (gotta catch 'em all)

I don't think so .... there are a few people i can think of who would be well peeved at that comment , going off these and your previous comments about Islay whisky (i.e. Bruichladdich ), have you got something against the Isle and it's whisky ? I'm fascinated to know .....

Slainte
Gordon

[hpulley]

I'm a drinker, not a collector, and I wish I could get this one, AVY, ASY, LOTI, etc. I'm trying desparately to get some imported but no to avail. Committee members in north america get nothing more than marketing material, TEN and old Oogie. I wish we did better and not just to 'collect them all'.

Harry

[Deactivated Member]

I have nothing agailst An t-Eilean Ile. I am rather fond of Ardbeg, as it happens, and I cut my teeth on Laphroaig. I'd probably rate Bowmore as my favourite all round distillery and I adore some of the whisky that Jim McEwan must have set in train. These are points I have made on this forum time and again.

As you know, I find some of Bruichladdich's publicity stunts rather distasteful - the most recent being their casking of foreshots to much fanfare. I don't rate their whisky, but so long as they don't damage other distilleries by taking custom away from their more traditional products or by forcing other distilleries to "alter" their products, then I have no major issue. And their mangling of Gaelic does grate. But this hardly amounts to a grudge against the whole island.

I wasn't aware that I'd said anything terribly controversial about the Oogling. I have bought my regulation two bottles and may well try it in due course. I don't know whether the Oogling is 3 or 4 years old because I don't know the date of distillation of the 2002 component. If you do, then I'll defer to your knowledge. I don't have high expectations, though, because whisky that young tends to be rather hot, thin and one dimensional. Perhaps this is the exception.

The only immoderate words I have seen in this thread concern the rabidly anti-collector and anti-speculator viewpoints - as I have seen on other, non-Ile related threads. To my mind, people who espouse these views are unrealistic. The whisky industry is an industry - much as some distilleries try to pretend it is all whimsy - and the basic rules of supply and demand will pertain- the market will find its own price. You can wish that people could all agree to pay low prices (but enough to sustain distilleries, natch) and never re-sell whisky - but you might as well wish that we could all love one another and there'd be no more war.

I'm afraid, though, that if you only tolerate adulatory comments about the distilleries of Ile you'll end up believing that there are far more people than me with a vendetta about the place.

[Lawrence]

"Bung it through" Allied days

Who do you think made the all the Ardbeg 10 we're drinking now???? Seems to be a bit of a statement that does not quite follow through.

[Frodo]

This is true Frodo. The only Brora I seem to be able to find in NZ is several bottlings from the G&M CC range (d.1972 b.1996 / d.1982 b.1997).

Have had a few bottlings of CC whisky before. Disapointed every time. LCBO currently has a bottle of 10yr Imperial (CC bottling) on sale for $60 down from $80. Still won't touch it because I haven't tried it yet even though I am on the lookout for Imperial.

G&M bottlings have been hit and miss for me when taking into consideration the price. Had a 25yr Longmoren which was pretty good, but have had others that didn't impress me so much.

[Frodo]

If you can find some good IB's of Clynelish, you'll get the idea of what Brora is about.

I tried some Clynelish at a tasting, and it wasn't really that impressive from what I can recall. It was a G&M Cask Strength 13yo, and my notes indicate a fairly ho-hum beverage. Perhaps Brora/Clynelish isn't for me?

See what I mean?

[Di Blasi]

Unbelievable to wake up this morning and find the 2nd bottle is going for 141€ now! Wow! What other tasting notes are there from the people who have tasted it?

[Deactivated Member]

If you can find some good IB's of Clynelish, you'll get the idea of what Brora is about.

I tried some Clynelish at a tasting, and it wasn't really that impressive from what I can recall. It was a G&M Cask Strength 13yo, and my notes indicate a fairly ho-hum beverage. Perhaps Brora/Clynelish isn't for me?

See what I mean?

All the G&M Cask bottlings I've had have been very good (although it's not that many, and not the Clynelish). It's the CC's I won't touch. It just seems a shame to water down the product to 40%. Does anyone know if these are chillfiltered as well? I would assume so at that strength. If G&M were to bottle these at 46%, ucf, they could really revitalize this line.

One thing about G&M is that they purchase casks on filling and mature them themselves in their own warehouse. This is surely riskier (if perhaps cheaper) than buying mature stock for bottling.

[Lawrence]

LCBO currently has a bottle of 10yr Imperial (CC bottling) on sale for $60 down from $80.

Frodo, that's a decent price for Imperial and there is very little of it in the market place, my recollection is that it's a middle of the road dram, good but without any 'high' points.

[Frodo]

LCBO currently has a bottle of 10yr Imperial (CC bottling) on sale for $60 down from $80.

Frodo, that's a decent price for Imperial and there is very little of it in the market place, my recollection is that it's a middle of the road dram, good but without any 'high' points.

I had a really nice dram of Imperial from a Provenance bottling at Allens a while back, and really liked it. Not that different from a lot of other laid-back speysiders, but I would have liked to get into a bottle and find out.

I agree that $60 is a decent price for a 10yr old that isn't produced anymore, and I've been thinking about it for some time. Either Lord P or hpully gave me a good review of the bottling and I'm tempted to get a bottle. I just can't get over the fact that I've never had a good CC bottling, and I'd really need to taste it before I bought one.

I was tempted though, as $60 isn't that much for SMSW. If it goes down to $50, I'll take a flyer on a bottle.

[Frodo]

It's the CC's I won't touch. It just seems a shame to water down the product to 40%. Does anyone know if these are chillfiltered as well? I would assume so at that strength. If G&M were to bottle these at 46%, ucf, they could really revitalize this line.

I would agree with this although I don't think this is why I avoid the CC line. I like other whiskies (especially OBs) that are CF and coloured. There has to be some CC whiskies I'd go for, but I wouldn't buy a bottle on faith like I would with the Provenance bottling line.

[Spirit of Islay]

"Bung it through" Allied days

Who do you think made the all the Ardbeg 10 we're drinking now???? Seems to be a bit of a statement that does not quite follow through.

Hi Lawrence ,
To use the full statement "another example of how much the distilling has improved since the "Bung it through" Allied days " , it has , in their day they only used the distillery as a planned filling for their Blends , it was well known that no care was taken in the maintainence of a stable phenol level , No mashing was carried out on site as the mash tun was dismantled (i remember being told on a tour by a very learned gentleman the wash was shipped from Laphroaig) and they have also been stories of the purifier been switched off . Their cask selection probably wasn't up to the current owners . I used the bung it through as a generalisation so next time i'll take greater care in explaining my statements .
Slainte
Gordon

[Lawrence]

Sorry Gordon, I hope I didn't touch a nerve there but I thought I saw a disconnect with your statement but as always there are two ways of looking at things. I think it speaks highly of you that you didn't point out that a Canadian company almost destroyed Ardbeg.

[Spirit of Islay]

Nae Bother Lawrence !
Come to think of it Hiram Walkers produced most of the whisky everyone raves about today (the 70's stuff) so we won't hold that against you .....
Pity you hadn't have been over in Edinburgh a few days earlier we could have had a dram together in the Vaults and at the Whisky Fringe .
Slainte
Gordon

[Aidan]

Mine arrived today. I noticed on the bottle it says "never-to-be-repeated". I wonder does this just mean at this age?

[Aidan]

My bottles arrived today. The booklet that comes around the neck is hilarious.

Ah now come on. Hilarious?

[lbacha]

Well good news to people still waiting on their orders. My Credit Card just got charged this monday for 2 bottles. So now all I have to do is wait for the postman.

Len

[lambda]

My bottles arrived today. Too warm for me to drink whisky today though.. but I hear the weather is "improving" the coming days

[Aidan]

My bottles arrived today. Too warm for me to drink whisky today though.. but I hear the weather is "improving" the coming days

I believe the weather is set to cool in September 2008, by which time your Ardbeg will be worth about 500 euro.

[Deactivated Member]

Ah, will the Ardbeg be worth €500 or will the container be worth €500 and the contents be purely incidental?

[Aidan]

Ah, will the Ardbeg be worth €500 or will the container be worth €500 and the contents be purely incidental?

Probably neither will be worth €500, but some will pay that much...

Actually, if anyone has some incidental contents of a particularly rare whisky, please send them to me. A cheap container will be fine.

[Jan]

[Deactivated Member]

I'd love to send you the incidental contents, but I can't see how I could extract them without damaging the extremely valuable (and intact) containers.