E-pistle #13/15 - Ask an Anorak: Dumbed Down Malts?
.... Dear All, this is indeed true and is the case with most malts nowadays.
Quality is going downhill as the big brands and distilleries have a hard time to keep up with demand. How could anyone foreseen let's say + 16 years ago that the maltwhisky consumption would boom in recent years. I'm convinced, although there is no actually proof, that the current classic malts and others too are in fact being dumbed down, no matter what it means. I strongly believe that older versions of f.e. Lagavulin 16yo contained a portion of casks much older then 16yo simply to add complexity to the whisky, which is nowaydays no longer done. Lagavulin 16yo is nowadays just 16yo old, not a minute older. Just my guess !!
This happens not with all brands, proof the new Glenfarclas 105 to be much better then previous versions.
The new 105 contains a bigger portion of sherry casks and the average age of the new 105 is 10 years compared with the old 105 that contained lesser sherry casks and with an average of only 8 years old. So not all distilleries dumb their malts down. The new 105 casks and composition was personally selected by George Grant himself and a first demonstration that the new generation whiskymakers might move back to quality rather then quantity. So George, keep up this good work !!
http://www.maltmaniacs.org/ADHD/mm13a.html -------------------------
Jag har druckit Glenfarclas 105 buteljerad från '90 talet och framåt. Kvalitén är förvånandsvärt hög och jämn och med tanke på att endast sherryfat används för lagringen är priset mycket bra, speciellt på tax-free.
http://puteljen.blogspot.com/2011/06/glenfarclas-105.html ----------------
Från början var buteljeringen åtta år men sen 1989 har den varit minst 10 år gammalt.
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