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Official PCF Whisk(e)y Thread (91 Viewers)

Picked up some bottles for a friend - curious about the rebel yell 10yr
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I'm trying to decide if I want to drive for 3 hours tomorrow to go get a Ardbeg Scorch Committee Release or if 15 minutes for a general release is good enough. Anyone have any experience in that department?
 
JustDave said:
I'm trying to decide if I want to drive for 3 hours tomorrow to go get a Ardbeg Scorch Committee Release or if 15 minutes for a general release is good enough. Anyone have any experience in that department?
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Those committee releases are hit or miss. While they’ll likely go up in price a little if you leave it on the shelf. I grabbed 2 arrrrrrrrrrdbeg bc it was committee release but I think the uigaildail is so much better

but if you do grab one I’m in for a sample. Lol
 
JustDave said:
I'm trying to decide if I want to drive for 3 hours tomorrow to go get a Ardbeg Scorch Committee Release or if 15 minutes for a general release is good enough. Anyone have any experience in that department?
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The Ardbeg Day Committee releases are just the same whiskies as the regular counterpart releases, but bottled at a higher strength. At MSRP they are worth the price difference imo but not sure about adding a 3-hour drive for it. Then probably not.

I liked the Scorch CR personally. I still think it does not justify the price compared to Ardbeg's core releases, which are all between good (An Oa) to great (all the others). Having said that, I buy them every year 'cause we never know when something especial like the Dark Cove, Alligator or Ardbog will drop.
 
ChaosRock said:
The Ardbeg Day Committee releases are just the same whiskies as the regular counterpart releases, but bottled at a higher strength. At MSRP they are worth the price difference imo but not sure about adding a 3-hour drive for it. Then probably not.

I liked the Scorch CR personally. I still think it does not justify the price compared to Ardbeg's core releases, which are all between good (An Oa) to great (all the others). Having said that, I buy them every year 'cause we never know when something especial like the Dark Cove, Alligator or Ardbog will drop.
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Wasn’t that far.
 
ChaosRock said:
The Ardbeg Day Committee releases are just the same whiskies as the regular counterpart releases, but bottled at a higher strength. At MSRP they are worth the price difference imo but not sure about adding a 3-hour drive for it. Then probably not.

I liked the Scorch CR personally. I still think it does not justify the price compared to Ardbeg's core releases, which are all between good (An Oa) to great (all the others). Having said that, I buy them every year 'cause we never know when something especial like the Dark Cove, Alligator or Ardbog will drop.
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Turns out I was about half way there anyways and so it was only like 30 minutes more each way to get to the shop that had the CR version around when they opened. I felt a big like a degenerate going into a liquor store at 10:02 am right after they opened...

I'd seen a few reviews that the CR versions were normally better than the general release so if you have the option pay the extra 20 bucks and get the CR version. It also seems like in the dark a lot of people don't think buying them is worth it if you are paying over retail, but VA is state controlled so everything just is retail, you just have to go to that one random store selling it. If you know it's something magical like some of the previous specials then yeah, spending a bit extra for them can be worth it.

This is my first CR, but I like the rest of the Ardbegs I've had, the 10 year, the Uigeadail, the Corryvreckan and the Wee Beastie.
 
JustDave said:
Turns out I was about half way there anyways and so it was only like 30 minutes more each way to get to the shop that had the CR version around when they opened. I felt a big like a degenerate going into a liquor store at 10:02 am right after they opened...

I'd seen a few reviews that the CR versions were normally better than the general release so if you have the option pay the extra 20 bucks and get the CR version. It also seems like in the dark a lot of people don't think buying them is worth it if you are paying over retail, but VA is state controlled so everything just is retail, you just have to go to that one random store selling it. If you know it's something magical like some of the previous specials then yeah, spending a bit extra for them can be worth it.

This is my first CR, but I like the rest of the Ardbegs I've had, the 10 year, the Uigeadail, the Corryvreckan and the Wee Beastie.
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LOL! I've been there, man, buying booze at store opening, LOL!

There wasn't any Ardbeg Day which I preferred the General lower ABV release over the Committee one. Granted I'm a high ABV guy. That's why I mentioned being worthy of a premium. Those Special Releases can be a bit of hit or miss although the misses are not bad, just too much money.

If you like those other Ardbegs you'll love the Scorch. It's a reved up 10yo to me, so, so Arbeg-y.! I tried from a friends bottle, just a couple of pours, and it got me excited to opening my own bottle soon.

Having said that, compared to what Laphroaig is doing with their Special Releases (10 Cash Strength and their Cairdeas annual releases), I think Ardbeg is going a bit over the board with their pricing. One can get Laphroaig's Special Releases for $75 to $85 and, on average, I think they out-quality the Begs, although they don't reach Alligator and Dark Cove levels...

On the core range though, Ardbeg > Laphroaig. It is tough to any distillery to beat the 10/Oogie/Corry triple punch.
 
ChaosRock said:
LOL! I've been there, man, buying booze at store opening, LOL!

There wasn't any Ardbeg Day which I preferred the General lower ABV release over the Committee one. Granted I'm a high ABV guy. That's why I mentioned being worthy of a premium. Those Special Releases can be a bit of hit or miss although the misses are not bad, just too much money.

If you like those other Ardbegs you'll love the Scorch. It's a reved up 10yo to me, so, so Arbeg-y.! I tried from a friends bottle, just a couple of pours, and it got me excited to opening my own bottle soon.

Having said that, compared to what Laphroaig is doing with their Special Releases (10 Cash Strength and their Cairdeas annual releases), I think Ardbeg is going a bit over the board with their pricing. One can get Laphroaig's Special Releases for $75 to $85 and, on average, I think they out-quality the Begs, although they don't reach Alligator and Dark Cove levels...

On the core range though, Ardbeg > Laphroaig. It is tough to any distillery to beat the 10/Oogie/Corry triple punch.
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One of my mainstays for a long time, when I'm feeling something that isn't my usual Irish is just Lagavulin 16. Really hard to go wrong there at all. I actually really like that for the most part they just do the 16 really well, that's the core of the range and if that was it, that may be enough. That being said, eventually, you do like to mix it up a bit and with Lagavulin there really isn't much to write home about in my opinion other than the 16. The normal Offerman was just alright, the young stuff they put out needed to go back into the barrel for 10 more years, and the Distiller's edition is a bit pricey for very similar to the 16.

That being said, Ardbeg seems to be going a bit over the top with all of the limited releases and different variants. I'm wondering if it's going to burn them in the long term or are the Ardbeg fans a big enough group that they will stick around. Ardbeg 10 is good and I feel good value for the price. I think the scorch is the most I've ever spent on a single bottle where I wasn't paying a ton of shipping on importing something from Ireland. It'll be interesting to see if it's worth 2x the price.
 
JustDave said:
One of my mainstays for a long time, when I'm feeling something that isn't my usual Irish is just Lagavulin 16. Really hard to go wrong there at all. I actually really like that for the most part they just do the 16 really well, that's the core of the range and if that was it, that may be enough. That being said, eventually, you do like to mix it up a bit and with Lagavulin there really isn't much to write home about in my opinion other than the 16. The normal Offerman was just alright, the young stuff they put out needed to go back into the barrel for 10 more years, and the Distiller's edition is a bit pricey for very similar to the 16.

That being said, Ardbeg seems to be going a bit over the top with all of the limited releases and different variants. I'm wondering if it's going to burn them in the long term or are the Ardbeg fans a big enough group that they will stick around. Ardbeg 10 is good and I feel good value for the price. I think the scorch is the most I've ever spent on a single bottle where I wasn't paying a ton of shipping on importing something from Ireland. It'll be interesting to see if it's worth 2x the price.
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Agreed. Lagavulin 16 used to be the best value in Islay Single Malt when it was $60, just maybe a couple of years ago. Now it's crept up to $100+ in some states. But yeah, $60 for a well aged Islay, sign me up. I do like the 8 (much better than the Wee Beastie imo) and DE but I agree that the DE price is up there. I'm a huge fan of the 12 Cask Strength but again, expensive.

If only the Lagavulin 16 was 48% (or at least 46%), man! Even at 43%, one can never go wrong with the 16.

Yes. Ardbeg seems to be playing a dangerous game with all the Special Releases. Glenmorangie is doing the exact same. It is no coincidence as they are both owned by LVMH. So marketing galore is the strategy. It seems to be working though. Both distilleries sell a ton! The redeeming fact is that the core range is still absolutely rock solid. They can always fall back to it if need be.
 
Anybody see the 16 yet?

Every Stagg Jr Release and Batch Number

Batch 16 - (Summer, 2021) - 130.9 proof (JUST RELEASED June 2021)

Batch 15 - (Winter, 2020) - 131.1 proof

Batch 14 - (Spring, 2020) - 130.2 proof

Batch 13 - (Fall, 2019) - 128.4 proof

Batch 12 - (Summer, 2019) - 132.3 proof

Batch 11 – (Winter, 2018) – 127.9 Proof

Batch 10 – (Spring, 2018) – 126.4 Proof

Batch 9 – (Fall, 2017) – 131.9 Proof

Batch 8 – (Spring, 2017) – 129.5 Proof

Batch 7 – (Fall, 2016) – 130.0 Proof

Batch 6 – (Spring, 2016) – 132.5 Proof

Batch 5 – (Fall, 2015) – 129.7 Proof

Batch 4 – (Spring, 2015) – 132.2 Proof

Batch 3 – (Fall, 2014) – 132.1 Proof

Batch 2 – (Spring, 2014) – 128.7 Proof

Batch 1 – (Fall, 2013) – 134.4 Proof
 

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