MacPhail 40 year old info

by **r900p** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 6:08 pm

I have just seen a MacPhails botlting 40 year old for £88, i've had a quick look on the web about the bottling and have not luck, all i can say is its their own bottling with a white label, i have a miniature bottling of ten, which is similar.

Any info would be great,

Thanks,

Rob

by **vitara7** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:28 pm

g+m machpails is cheap for a reason.

its whisky that they bottle under there own macphails livery as they have not been given permission by the distillery/s to use the name on the bottle, that and its there poorest aged casks.

but on the other hand, where else you going to get a 40yo single malt for £88

by **r900p** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:31 pm

Thanbks V7

thats what i thought the value, well i'll have to have a look at it. should or will the bottle have any reference to where the whisky has come from.

Rob

by **vitara7** » Mon Mar 12, 2007 7:38 pm

i cant say for sure if it has or hasent any referance on it, id say no for the reason that the macphails is an ongoing brand, so one time the might put whisky from distilley x into it, but next time it may be from distillery y an that may be from another region alltogether. but again, im not 100% on that.

anyone else know for sure?

by **Admiral** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 4:01 am

its whisky that they bottle under there own macphails livery as they have not been given permission by the distillery/s to use the name on the bottle, that and its there poorest aged casks

Sorry Vitara7, that's not an entirely accurate statement.

MacPhails is a house brand for G+M, and yes, this allows them the luxury of changing the ingredient malts for each bottling. However, it is not always because the contributing distillery has disallowed them from stating the name.

Also, it is definitely not a label for getting rid of the poorest casks. I can assure that some pretty decent casks go into MacPhails, and I've enjoyed a few of their bottlings with other colleagues who have been equally impressed.

The reason the bottling is cheap is because they can only charge what the market will bear. And the reality is that single malt drinkers rarely shell out big bucks for bottles when they don't know what the distillery is.

I can't say I've tried the 40yo, but I've tried 18yo and 25yo and on those experiences, I would happily recommend it.

Cheers,
ADmiral

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 4:45 am

Admiral wrote:The reason the bottling is cheap is because they can only charge what the market will bear. And the reality is that single malt drinkers rarely shell out big bucks for bottles when they don't know what the distillery is.

Then why do they do this, when they could get more money by releasing whatever it is they have under one of their other labels, identified?

by **Admiral** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 6:01 am

Maybe they don't know themselves?

With finishing and re-racking constantly going on, plus several million or so odd casks floating around the place, it wouldn't surprise me at all if there were full casks in warehouses where no one was too sure of what was actually inside!

Cheers,
ADmiral

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:16 am

An amusing thought...but they have to know they're 40 years old, don't they?

by **Admiral** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 7:21 am

Or it could be a case of the "Glenfiddich" policy:

A tiny, token amount of some other malt is added to the cask, which means it can't be labelled as 'Distillery X' single malt.

Glad to have amused you. :wink:

Cheers,
ADmiral

by **vitara7** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 5:31 pm

Admiral wrote:However, it is not always because the contributing distillery has disallowed them from stating the name.

Also, it is definitely not a label for getting rid of the poorest casks.

only going on what i was told first hand by a high(ish) ranking ex-employee of G+M

by **Admiral** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 8:44 pm

Interesting. Same here! Except the guy I spoke to isn't an ex-employee, but the managing director. :wink:

Cheers,
ADmiral

by **vitara7** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:05 pm

well an MD isnt really going to tell you anything negative about his her whisky if it was or wasnt the case.

i mean, when someone comes round to veiw the house your selling, your not going to point out the cover up jobs you done to hide the wood worm or dry rot now are you

personally, i dont like G+M that much anyways, but i do think they have a bloody great shop that im in at every chance, altough i wouldnt ever buy any of there own stuff.

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:57 pm

G&M have a very wide range of products. I've never been let down by the Cask label (oops, there was that one Pulteney). The CC's are generally too watery for me, but some have praised them.

I can't imagine anyone letting crappy casks sit around for forty years, and then bottle them as a 40yo. Even at a relative bargain price, a buyer expects something reasonably special from such. If you've had it and don't like it, please do tell us about it.

by **vitara7** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:05 pm

i dont think the macphails 40yo in marketed as the whisky drinker, or even the whisky buyer for that matter. its a birtday malt. by that i mean some wife who knows hee haw about whisky pops into a shop, see a 40yo whisky and thinks o my hubby is 40 soon ill get him that, its only £88, and its only about 2-3 times what he pays for a 10-12yo.
thats whos its aimed at.

by **Admiral** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 10:13 pm

Yes, you're definitely on to something there, V7, in that it is obviously aimed at a slightly different (or at least, specific) market.

As you rightly say, most knowledgeable malt enthusiasts would pass on it, simply by virtue of the fact that's 40 year old and very cheap....hence we immediately suspect there's something dodgy about it!

Still....I say "good on G+M" for trying to cater for everyone.

Cheers,
ADmiral.

(Hey....shouldn't you guys be asleep right now?)

by **r900p** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:27 pm

I have guess from that V7 and Admiral i have made myself out to be a it of a plonker, i never looked at it that way. Lesson learnt.

Have stayed well clear of it.

Rob

by **vitara7** » Tue Mar 13, 2007 11:33 pm

no rob, your not a plonker. its called learning, thats the reason this forum is here, so we can learn from others. we are always learning, and i for one never want to stop learning.

on the plus side for the bottle, £80 odd quid for a 40yo single malt is dirt cheap.

by **Deactivated Member** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:43 am

Have been thinking about this...I suppose, strictly speaking, that these would be G&M's "worst" 40yo barrels. It's all relative.

by **les taylor** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:49 am

V7 wrote:-

personally, i dont like G+M that much anyways, but i do think they have a bloody great shop that im in at every chance, altough i wouldnt ever buy any of there own stuff.

V7 if you never buy at G&M why do you go to their shop?
Also what does hee haw mean? :wink:

by **vitara7** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:52 am

i do buy from G+M everytime im in, i just dont buy there own stuff. they do tend to have distillery own bottles that you cant get anywhere else.

by **TheLiquorBaron** » Wed Mar 14, 2007 12:25 pm

Here is a way at looking at it...When are you going to get to experience a 40yr old Scotch at £80 odd.
Personally I wouldn't think a 40yr old could be too crapy?? IMO, buy it if you have the $$ spare, your probably only going to spend it on your wife anyway :wink: