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Flavored Scotch? (longish)

With apologies for a lengthy post, and in hopes of getting past the recent brouhaha over my (perhaps too emphatically expressed) opinion about Ardbeg, I'd like to pose a few serious questions and perhaps start a thread that provokes some thought.

It's a common practice among producers of comestibles and potables to add recipe variations to their basic products in hopes of attracting additional customers. The results range from success to fiasco (viz. New Coke) but the practice goes on. In the alcoholic drinks industry it can most obviously seen in all the new flavored vodkas on market.

I'm going to guess -- and please correct me (gently, thank you) if I'm wrong -- that Scotch whisky used to be (say 30 years ago) matured in oaken barrels that had previously been used, if at all, only to age earlier batches of Scotch whisky. But today we see a plethora of whiskies aged (or at least finished) in casks that had been used for sherry, bourbon, port, and who-knows-what-all.

So now the questions:

  1. Might not a case be made that this is the whisky industry's way of flavoring the product so as to increase sales?

  1. Are we getting away from traditional Scotch, and might people a generation or two from now have forgotten what traditional Scotch is "supposed" to taste like?

  2. Does it matter? (To put this last question in perspective: I cannot legally buy Cuban cigars in my country, and grew up with Dominican cigars, so I am conditioned to like them better than the occasional Havana that passes my way. Does it matter that I don't care for what my grandfather would have said cigars are "supposed" to taste like?)

I welcome your comments and opinions.

HS

Reply to
Howard
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it was spot on.

here in the UK they have withdrawn various types of coke only to reintroduce them after most people have forgotten about the first release. we have just had a ressurgence in coke with lemon, i think that was doing the round in the uk 10 years ago but lost popularity but now its back.

off course, a business needs diversification to maintain market share. if another company started to sell malt matured in sherry casks it would claim that as a unique selling point and score over rival companies and have market share over that sector.

what is traditional about scotch? selling single malt on a large scale is a relatively modern idea. if we are talking tradition maybe it should also be made in the way that it used to be but i doubt it will have the finesse and consistency that todays produce has.

doesnt matter to me. if it tastes good thats fine. if you like water with it thats cool, ice - no problem. anyone saying otherwise should question why they drink it. is it not for the flavour?

last time i gave my opinion i got flamed, and like last time this is only my opinion and others, im sure, will disagree. i still would drink urine over ardbeg ;0)

DK

Reply to
Doner Kebab

"Howard" skrev i melding news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com...

Nah, that's not quite right. AFAIK it was traditionally emptied casks from imported sherry that were used. For different reasons sherry casks has become expensive, and Bourbon barrels took over and are most commonly used casks now - and has been for at least a few decades. New (unused) casks are never used for Scotch, I believe.

But today we see a plethora of

Sure you can say that. But they often do a good job at it don't you think? I mean, they often end up with a good product, a new "expression" which contributes to the appreciated variety of SMSW.

Possibly. But what is "traditional Scotch"? Before someone long ago came up with the idea of using old sherry casks and store the whisky, they drank newmake.. So to some extent evolution is a good thing.. Today the Bourbon cask matured Scotch is definately the most common. Correct me too if I'm wrong, but I believe regulations/law demands that whatever casks they use has to be made of oak. Perhaps that will change too in the future?

Well, yes, maybe it does matter. Something is maybe lost on the way. But with Single Malt Scotch, the majority of the bottlings available are still more ore less "traditional", so I see no urgent need for alarm yet.. I welcome the variety!

Gunnar

Reply to
Gunnar Thormodsaeter

"Doner Kebab" skrev i melding news:7TYBe.287$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe2-win.ntli.net...

Well, I respect your opinions, and appreciate them too. It's just that when I sit in front of my computer with a glass of good Scotch and read the latest posts here, when certain boodily fluids are mentioned the yellowish liquid in my glass doesn't seem so attractive anymore ;^)

Gunnar

Reply to
Gunnar Thormodsaeter

Boubon casks are most common because they're cheapest. My understanding is that the law here (USA) requires that a cask only be used once for bourbon, so there are lots of them available. It's a case of the demand (among Scotch makers) being a reflection of the supply.

HS

Reply to
Howard

The demand is such that Glenmorangie at least owns the casks before they are used for bourbon. I think I remember reading that MacAllan does the same with Sherry casks.. there may be others as well.

Reply to
ajames54

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