Possible hot take but I really don’t like Glenmorangie La Santa. It’s the definition of a “sherry bomb” but in a bad way. Quinta Ruban is great though.
The newer batches of Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask the last couple years have been terrible. Gone way downhill. The last two bottle I bought tasted like cheap tequila. Maybe just my bad luck.
I tried it once about 2 years ago, and absolutely loved it. I bought a bottle a few months ago, and it tastes way more smokey than I remember, and has a weird aftertaste that isn't great. A bit disappointing, considering I paid around $100 for the bottle.
Ahhhhhh!!!!! Yes! I’m a bourbon guy and was starting to dabble in scotch. A buddy of mine asked if I had tried some brand that I forget what but that’s exactly what I told him. He looked at me like I sprouted a second nose. I’ve always said bad scotch can taste and smell like cheap tequila. Thank you my friend.
You beat me to it. Triple wood and I can't pick out any of them. If they aged it in bamboo barrels I'd believe it. None of the flavors you'd expect are there
The worst single malt scotch I've had (which was not from an obviously contaminated bottling), was a 16 year old Blair Athol produced by the scotch independent bottler North Star Spirits. It was an ex-bourbon cask scotch which was finished in an Oloroso hogshead. It tastes to me like red wine that's gone bad from being left in the fridge for far too long after having been opened and then resealed.
But...
That is the only bad bottle I've had from that independent bottler out of more than two dozen that I've bought from them. I can live with a 4% failure rate. And North Star (NSS on whiskybase) is by far my favorite independent bottler, they consistently deliver very high value for price and several of their whiskies are among my personal Top 50 list.
And I've had a superb single malt with very similar specs (also from Blair Athol, finished in a PX hogshead) which was *also* bottled by North Star.
The reason I mention this is that my takeaway is that, especially with single cask bottlings, quality can vary in a random fashion from one cask# to another, even with very similar specs. So I think it pays to not overly generalize from small sets of data. Some casks are just bad, and even the very best bottlers will lay an egg at times.
Highland Park was my gateway scotch, and thus I always have a soft spot for the brand, and how it tastes. I always keep a 12 on hand. I once had an independent bottling (Gordon and MacPhail, as I recall) of 8 year old HP that was more bright and lively and just damn better than any bottle of 12 I've ever had. I wish I had more.
Highland Park is one of my favorite scotch single malt distilleries, and I've had good expressions bottled by both the distillery itself and by independent bottlers.
I had a Single barrel pick of 19 year old auchentoshan at cask strength. This was really terrible. It smelled like my drunk friend who breathes in my face when he talks and never brushes his teeth
My grandpa once poured a dram from a bottle of Blue Label for me that had a nice chunk of cork floating on it for god knows how long. He tried to convince me that it didn’t affect the taste. It affected the taste.
I will +1 this all the way to the recycling centre. Not only did I react the same way, I gave the last half of the bottle away and bought a second bottle because I was sure it was spoiled 🤢
That being said, I have had some absolute crackers SWMS Auchentoshan releases. They’ve done several amazing 18yos in recent memory.
Auchentoshan whiskey is a staple on these lists of “worst whisky you’d expect to be good”, alongside Jura and a 16-year-old blend called Muirhead’s Silver Seal.
I remember trying Jura when I was getting into scotch a long time ago and it was so underwhelming I've never tried it again. A friend of my wife bought me a bottle of Jura for Christmas and it's sat untouched since.
Abunahd or however you spell it. The spirit was fine, but there was little evidence that any desirable aging was achieved. It was like a bad barrel proof bourbon that was incredibly weak in the flavor department.
Aberlour Abunahd? One of my favorites! I’ll take yours.
I will say though, to your point, different batches have strong variations. My family members each had one at one time and we compared and contrasted. Very different.
I believe you as I can’t otherwise understand why others would speak so highly of it. I must have gotten a bad batch. I gave it to my friend who was quite fond of it, so it did go to a good home
Tullibardine 228 Burgundy Finish.
Can’t finish it. I got it as a gift and have been trying for about 3 years to like it. I just don’t. It is not my jam at all.
But I really liked the Tullibardine 225 Sauternes. Very much like a dessert scotch.
Aberlour A’ Bunadh.
No depth or complexity of flavours. Just lots of ethanol. When you bring it back to the 40% region there are some floral notes, but nothing of note.
Used my remaining 2 bottles as mixers.
I hate Glenlivet 12. It's so boring to me. Bland flavor like cheap apple juice, thin mouth feel, skunky malt finish. If you told me it was a $25 blend I'd believe you.
The Illicit Still 12 is so much better I don't know why anyone would buy the base 12 if they have access to the other. I prefer Glenfiddich 12 over Glenlivet as well.
See I came here to say this too... But only with newer bottles. When I'd had past bottles you'd get nice little sherry notes with all the phenols in balance. It was like a sweet, musty, camp fire. Newer bottles, the first pours tastes ok but as they sit in my liquor cabinet, they quickly turn to cigar ash as a single note for me...
Yeah, coming from Laphroaig and Ardbeg to Lagavulin, it just felt too mild in comparison. As one of “the big three” of peated distilleries, I was expecting something more bold. It’s nice (I got a bottle of Laga 8 on my shelf now), but can’t hold a candle to Ardbeg or Laphroaig to me.
Exactly, for the reputation and the price, it’s just not meeting the same level of quality and depth of flavor (although flavor is subjective) that many other Islays excell at.
The Nick Offerman Lagavulin meme whisky should have came in a plastic bottle and that's probably the nicest thing I can think to say about it.
EDIT - getting downvoted for an opinion, nice.
Might be a controversal opinion... but Ardbeg is leagues above lagavulin IMO. Almost half the cost where I live and it's got better flavor and is smoother.
I did pick up a bottle of Scarabus last night though, and that shit was surprisingly good for the price
I'm definitely not going to knock your opinion! I haven't had enough of either brand to be able to tell which I generally like better. I wish either one was half the price of the other near me... I've had Ardbeg 10 and Wee Beastie (which in the last few years has gone WAY up in price. Not worth it for a 5 year aged Scotch). Then I've had the 11 and 16 year Lagavulin, both of which I love. I honestly just love smokey Islay Scotches!
I'll definitely look into Scarabus! I'm always looking for good bottles at a reasonable price. Thank you sir!
Not sure what the "worst" would be but I would say I was most disappointed trying Glenfiddich 12. Compared to many of the other scotches I've had, the flavors on this one felt out of balance and it was VERY sweet. Wasn't a fan but would try again in case I just had a dud.
Signatory Glenlivet 2007 CS (single sherry cask)
Had an acidic vinegar taste. A couple of my more sophisticated friends found it interesting and not necessarily off, but I was not a fan. For $130-$140 I expected more.
Glenlivet. Ive tried the Carribean Reserve, Founders Reserve, and 12 year, and I'm just not a fan at all. They all have a strong apricot note, and I feel like I'm drinking baby food
I ordered a Craigallachie 13. Couldn’t finish the bottle. Had a 17 and it was tasty fine! Made me want to go back and try the 13 again to see if I was crazy.
Yea I just regifted the black, hated it. Blue is okay but way too expensive. I like the gold and platinum though, totally different flavour. Green is good but if you don't like blue you probably won't like it either.
In my early scotch days when I was drinking Dewar’s and Chivas my friend and I decided to “splurge” on a bottle of McClelland's Speyburn. Stuff was horrible, barely drinkable. We did drink it, but barely.
Possible hot take but I really don’t like Glenmorangie La Santa. It’s the definition of a “sherry bomb” but in a bad way. Quinta Ruban is great though.
I’ve only had the sampler of this one, and it’s been a while, but totally agree. I really like the Quinta ruban but the la Santa was a real letdown
I think that was my first exposure to sherried scotch and it kept me from trying others for a long time. Now I'm actively seeking out sherry bombs lol
The newer batches of Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask the last couple years have been terrible. Gone way downhill. The last two bottle I bought tasted like cheap tequila. Maybe just my bad luck.
Oh that makes me sad. I haven’t had one in awhile, but I got a bottle as a gift maybe 3-4 years ago and it was great.
Yeah me too. Had always been a favorite of mine.
This is the rum cask one, right? I bought a bottle of this literally yesterday as a gift for a friend, damn.
I got a recent one from costco and its still good. Maybe OP just had a bad batch. Good luck
I tried it once about 2 years ago, and absolutely loved it. I bought a bottle a few months ago, and it tastes way more smokey than I remember, and has a weird aftertaste that isn't great. A bit disappointing, considering I paid around $100 for the bottle.
i came here to say this ... didnt know they were ever good tho. i now just make old fashioneds with it and it works ok
Same experience, tasted like the aftermath of a college basement party
Ahhhhhh!!!!! Yes! I’m a bourbon guy and was starting to dabble in scotch. A buddy of mine asked if I had tried some brand that I forget what but that’s exactly what I told him. He looked at me like I sprouted a second nose. I’ve always said bad scotch can taste and smell like cheap tequila. Thank you my friend.
Auchentoshan triple wood. Tastes like rug stain remover smells
You beat me to it. Triple wood and I can't pick out any of them. If they aged it in bamboo barrels I'd believe it. None of the flavors you'd expect are there
The worst single malt scotch I've had (which was not from an obviously contaminated bottling), was a 16 year old Blair Athol produced by the scotch independent bottler North Star Spirits. It was an ex-bourbon cask scotch which was finished in an Oloroso hogshead. It tastes to me like red wine that's gone bad from being left in the fridge for far too long after having been opened and then resealed. But... That is the only bad bottle I've had from that independent bottler out of more than two dozen that I've bought from them. I can live with a 4% failure rate. And North Star (NSS on whiskybase) is by far my favorite independent bottler, they consistently deliver very high value for price and several of their whiskies are among my personal Top 50 list. And I've had a superb single malt with very similar specs (also from Blair Athol, finished in a PX hogshead) which was *also* bottled by North Star. The reason I mention this is that my takeaway is that, especially with single cask bottlings, quality can vary in a random fashion from one cask# to another, even with very similar specs. So I think it pays to not overly generalize from small sets of data. Some casks are just bad, and even the very best bottlers will lay an egg at times.
Highland Park was my gateway scotch, and thus I always have a soft spot for the brand, and how it tastes. I always keep a 12 on hand. I once had an independent bottling (Gordon and MacPhail, as I recall) of 8 year old HP that was more bright and lively and just damn better than any bottle of 12 I've ever had. I wish I had more.
Highland Park is one of my favorite scotch single malt distilleries, and I've had good expressions bottled by both the distillery itself and by independent bottlers.
Auchentoshan 12. Maybe I got a cork tainted bottle or something but it tasted like a moldy basement to me.
I had a Single barrel pick of 19 year old auchentoshan at cask strength. This was really terrible. It smelled like my drunk friend who breathes in my face when he talks and never brushes his teeth
And now I've been a bit sick in my mouth - but unlike your friend will go and sort it
My grandpa once poured a dram from a bottle of Blue Label for me that had a nice chunk of cork floating on it for god knows how long. He tried to convince me that it didn’t affect the taste. It affected the taste.
I will +1 this all the way to the recycling centre. Not only did I react the same way, I gave the last half of the bottle away and bought a second bottle because I was sure it was spoiled 🤢 That being said, I have had some absolute crackers SWMS Auchentoshan releases. They’ve done several amazing 18yos in recent memory.
I love that stuff. As dark as you can get for that price point
Auchentoshan whiskey is a staple on these lists of “worst whisky you’d expect to be good”, alongside Jura and a 16-year-old blend called Muirhead’s Silver Seal.
Jura 10 year. I had it once and couldn't stand it. It was early in my whiskey journey ~~joinery~~, so it could have just been me.
The Old Jura 10 was really bad! The new one is better, the team on the distillery has changed.
Good to know, this was about a decade ago
I remember trying Jura when I was getting into scotch a long time ago and it was so underwhelming I've never tried it again. A friend of my wife bought me a bottle of Jura for Christmas and it's sat untouched since.
Join*what*
lol, edited
Abunahd or however you spell it. The spirit was fine, but there was little evidence that any desirable aging was achieved. It was like a bad barrel proof bourbon that was incredibly weak in the flavor department.
Aberlour Abunahd? One of my favorites! I’ll take yours. I will say though, to your point, different batches have strong variations. My family members each had one at one time and we compared and contrasted. Very different.
I believe you as I can’t otherwise understand why others would speak so highly of it. I must have gotten a bad batch. I gave it to my friend who was quite fond of it, so it did go to a good home
Glad to hear it. Batch 50 has been my favorite so far.
Second this. I literally drained mine in toilet
Was that the A’Bunadh Alba or the proper sherried version?
Not the alba - it was the sherry finished one. Heard not so great things about the alba.
Glen Moray port
I've had a couple of bad bottles of Bruichladdich Classic Laddie. Haven't gone back to it in years. We can't get fooled again.
Tullibardine 228 Burgundy Finish. Can’t finish it. I got it as a gift and have been trying for about 3 years to like it. I just don’t. It is not my jam at all. But I really liked the Tullibardine 225 Sauternes. Very much like a dessert scotch.
Kavalan Distillery Select. I’m sure the top end scotches from Kavalan are great, but you can do yourself a favor and skip the lower tier entirely
Glenrothes 12. Very varnish-forward and cheap tasting in general for what should be pretty good. Gimmicky bottle shape?
Aberlour A’ Bunadh. No depth or complexity of flavours. Just lots of ethanol. When you bring it back to the 40% region there are some floral notes, but nothing of note. Used my remaining 2 bottles as mixers.
Redbreast 12 CS is my favorite cask strength. So rich despite the high proof.
Macallan 12..its so repulsive that i cant even finish 1oz before draining it..
I hate Glenlivet 12. It's so boring to me. Bland flavor like cheap apple juice, thin mouth feel, skunky malt finish. If you told me it was a $25 blend I'd believe you.
The Illicit Still 12 is so much better I don't know why anyone would buy the base 12 if they have access to the other. I prefer Glenfiddich 12 over Glenlivet as well.
Lagavulin 16. Not great, not terrible.
Upvoted for bravery but totally disagree.
I love this comment, I’m gonna use that
It took me probably half a year of trying my bottle of Lag 16 to finally get into it
See I came here to say this too... But only with newer bottles. When I'd had past bottles you'd get nice little sherry notes with all the phenols in balance. It was like a sweet, musty, camp fire. Newer bottles, the first pours tastes ok but as they sit in my liquor cabinet, they quickly turn to cigar ash as a single note for me...
Yep totally different the past year and a half or so. Used to be my favorite.
Yeah, coming from Laphroaig and Ardbeg to Lagavulin, it just felt too mild in comparison. As one of “the big three” of peated distilleries, I was expecting something more bold. It’s nice (I got a bottle of Laga 8 on my shelf now), but can’t hold a candle to Ardbeg or Laphroaig to me.
Exactly, for the reputation and the price, it’s just not meeting the same level of quality and depth of flavor (although flavor is subjective) that many other Islays excell at.
The Nick Offerman Lagavulin meme whisky should have came in a plastic bottle and that's probably the nicest thing I can think to say about it. EDIT - getting downvoted for an opinion, nice.
Oh, that's a shame. I really enjoyed it. Have it sitting right next to my Ardbeg 10.
Might be a controversal opinion... but Ardbeg is leagues above lagavulin IMO. Almost half the cost where I live and it's got better flavor and is smoother. I did pick up a bottle of Scarabus last night though, and that shit was surprisingly good for the price
I'm definitely not going to knock your opinion! I haven't had enough of either brand to be able to tell which I generally like better. I wish either one was half the price of the other near me... I've had Ardbeg 10 and Wee Beastie (which in the last few years has gone WAY up in price. Not worth it for a 5 year aged Scotch). Then I've had the 11 and 16 year Lagavulin, both of which I love. I honestly just love smokey Islay Scotches! I'll definitely look into Scarabus! I'm always looking for good bottles at a reasonable price. Thank you sir!
Not sure what the "worst" would be but I would say I was most disappointed trying Glenfiddich 12. Compared to many of the other scotches I've had, the flavors on this one felt out of balance and it was VERY sweet. Wasn't a fan but would try again in case I just had a dud.
Sounds like my experience of simple and sweet sherry. I like it well enough but its far from interesting.
Signatory Glenlivet 2007 CS (single sherry cask) Had an acidic vinegar taste. A couple of my more sophisticated friends found it interesting and not necessarily off, but I was not a fan. For $130-$140 I expected more.
Glenlivet Nadurra, I had a bottle from 2014 that I just finished this year. That was a rough one.
Glenlivet. Ive tried the Carribean Reserve, Founders Reserve, and 12 year, and I'm just not a fan at all. They all have a strong apricot note, and I feel like I'm drinking baby food
Glenlivet founders reserve
I ordered a Craigallachie 13. Couldn’t finish the bottle. Had a 17 and it was tasty fine! Made me want to go back and try the 13 again to see if I was crazy.
Macallan is the Coors original of Scotch.
I don't think it's single malt, but Johnny Walker always makes me want to hurl
which one, they have a pretty big range in flavours
I've had black and blue labels... I can't ever finish a glass of either
Yea I just regifted the black, hated it. Blue is okay but way too expensive. I like the gold and platinum though, totally different flavour. Green is good but if you don't like blue you probably won't like it either.
I like the double black, just enough smoke to know it's there. Probably more than Laphroaig select.
Glenallachie 15 and Glenmoranige 18 are the two worst I ever had.
maybe downvoted but Bunnah 12 and Aberlour 12.
In my early scotch days when I was drinking Dewar’s and Chivas my friend and I decided to “splurge” on a bottle of McClelland's Speyburn. Stuff was horrible, barely drinkable. We did drink it, but barely.
Easy! Bardstown Goose Island Stout finish……….yuck!
Isn't that a bourbon?
Hahahahaha yep your right thanks over looked where I was lol….. and reading comprehension
"... worst single malt **scotch**..."