Dreaming-of-Islay
GlenDronach Allardice 18 Year
Single Malt — Highlands, Scotland
Reviewed
June 18, 2018 (edited August 30, 2018)
The whisky may represent my single biggest disagreement with the Distiller ratings. 84 is a crime! This 18-year old whisky, matured entirely in oloroso sherry butts, is a spectacular example of the genre. Vanilla is immediately noticeable, along with the complexity typical of older sherry drams: figs, caramel, and rich, buttery sweetness that reminds me of cashews or a particularly creamy nut. Another great thing about older sherry-aged drams is that they develop a smokiness that doesn't come from peat, but makes for a lovely finish all the same. At $150 or so, this is an expensive bottle in the U.S., but it's a bargain compared to the $250 that Macallan 18 commands. It's a bargain in another significant way too. Because GlenDronach shut down entirely from 1996 to 2001, the current whiskies labeled "18" in fact contain whisky from right before 1996 (since none of the 2001 and later whisky is old enough yet). That makes this, in reality, a 21-year old whisky. Thus, this year and next may be the last change to grab this "special" Allardice that is in fact far more mature than its age statement suggests.
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I love it! To be clear, I'm not dogging the app or site for the opinion, I just disagree with it. Debating these things is part of the fun, maybe more than half the fun, of the hobby!
@The_Rev amen!
@The_Rev - Amen!
@Rick_M I like to think of all of the perspectives (including those of the expert reviewers) as being like having four Gospels in the New Testament canon...the richness of the varying perspectives only adds to the experience!
@Slainte-Mhath - My apologies! I got your comment on the CB Flaming Heart confused with the criticism of SM by another party. 18 hours of travel back from Scotland and no sleep is to blame for all of this. :)
@Dreaming-of-Islay Sorry for spamming your review, but in cases like this I really miss a forum for discussion. And btw, there is a new 2018 version of Flaming Heart just hitting the shelves, so a new opportunity for everyone to make their own opinion :)
@Slainte-Mhath I was being a little over exuberant for dramatic effect lol.
@Generously_Paul Why should I complain about price levels and substandard malts? I don't buy these whiskies, and there is still plenty of choice available. And I don't see any 'misguided outrage', just constructive critism based on facts. No hard feelings, really!
@worldwhiskies95, @Slainte-Mhath, @Rick_M you guys need to give this a rest. Direct all of this passion (I was going to say misguided outrage), towards the exorbitant prices we all have to pay for substandard malts these days. And the equally ridiculous prices for the exceptional ones. Always remember that this is a free app with no ads, be thankful for what we have here. So what if the “expert” scores don’t match popular opinion? Who’s it hurting? Can I get an amen @The_Rev?!
No, it was not Stephanie Moreno who reviewed the CB Flaming Heart. Anyway, time to move on as @Rick_M said. Since when are only the last 10 comments shown?
@worldwhiskies95 - your comment is gone due to the 10-comment limit. Time to move on.
@worldwhiskies95 - SM is for Stephanie Moreno. The expert reviewer in this instance, I believe.
@Rick_M Regarding “experts”, this is a common term in sports when most mainstream sports media outlets wrongly predict who is going to win the division, playoff round, or championship
@Rick_M What does SM stand for?
@Slainte-Mhath - Even in this instance, I think your criticism is well founded as it always is. I consider anyone writing professionally on a subject an “expert” and thus open to such.
@Rick_M Didn't mean to offend anyone, if that was your impression. I was simply referring to the fact that reading her review and seeing that score doesn't make a lot of sense. From what she wrote, this could have been a score of 90. Hence, I was wondering how that ratings was made.
@Slainte-Mhath - yes, I have to admit that the CB Flaming Heart review seems out of place, but you have to consider the body of work. She has been Distiller’s go-to person for peated whiskies. As to “agendas,” @worldwhiskies95 just spent twice as many words on his/her criticism of SM than over 200 whisky reviews posted. Why the hyper focus on SM?
@Rick_M Not quite sure what you are referring to. If you mean the CB Flaming Heart review, as I did, that was exactly my impression. Furthermore, I am struggling with the title 'expert'. Most people who consider themselves as experts have often an agenda of their own (Jim Murray, etc.). I am not an expert by any means, but if you try to write 'an objective review' of a spirit as Distiller expert (which is hardly possible, as everything is more or less subjective), you should at least try to give a reasonable explanation why you score something very high/low. And yes, @worldwhiskies95 nailed it, that comparing Distiller scores does often not make a lot of sense when they come from different reviewers.
@Slainte-Mhath - if you think this reviewer hates peat, then you just haven’t been paying attention. Am I misunderstanding you, or are our opinions that far apart? I would rate this person as Distiller’s foremost peat expert.
@Slainte-Mhath @worldwhiskies95 totally agree on the bias from one reviewer effecting overall scale and ranking. But that’s gonna happen when it’s just opinions and tastes. Instead of following reviewers or looking at rankings, I tend to get advice from a few users here that I might share a common taste with ( you guys, LeeEvolved, @Scott_E, others)
@worldwhiskies95 The biggest issue with Distiller scores is that different reviewers have a different understanding of what a certain score actually means. Hence, the comparability is not always given. Also, I am wondering why someone who hates peated whiskies is allowed to give low scores on excellent peated malts. Just leave that to someone else, it's an acquired taste!
@Dreaming-of-Islay @Slainte-Mhath Also, Partida Añejo was ranked 80, while the Silver is a 90 and the Reposado is a 92. Casa Noble Añejo is an 81. Jose Cuervo Especial Silver, a mixto tequila, is an 81. Comparing Cuervo Especial to 2 premium añejos is beyond insane.
@Dreaming-of-Islay @Slainte-Mhath Your comments are very true. Stephanie Moreno can be a very tough grader at times. She has grossly underrated bottles on this website. These include Midleton Very Rare at 84 (Jack Daniels ranked 85 by Rob Morton, same as Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Crown Royal Deluxe ranked 83), Gran Duque D'Alba Brandy at 78, Gran Duque D'Alba XO at 83, Cardenal Mendoza and Cardenal Mendoza Carta Real at 86, Louis Royer XO at 84, Remy Martin XO at 80 (Basic Remy Martin VSOP ranked at 83). The biggest issue with the rating system is one person writes the review and rates it with the rating being the entire website's rating, possibly leading to biases from the reviewer. I think all reviews have to be on a consensus basis before posting to ensure more accuracy in rating. Here is what Stephanie Moreno said about Midleton Very Rare: "for the price, one might expect A BIT MORE COMPLEXITY AND DEPTH, so points deducted accordingly." She deducted a lot of points just on a little complexity being missing in her eyes?
I agree that the Distiller score of 84 is way too low. However, my single biggest disagreement remains the 77 points rating for Compass Box Flaming Heart.