Lidl do it again

[TheWM]

To be honest after their 40 year old a few years back, their whisky offering hasn't really been up there. But, without much fanfare, I was looking for some tools and came across their spirits (released today). How did I miss this????

34 Year Sherry Cask Finish Blended Scotch Whisky - £49.99 10,000
25 Year Sherry Cask Finish Blended Scotch Whisky - £34.99 24,000 bottles
22 Year Sherry Cask Finish Blended Scotch Whisky - £29.99 24,000 bottles
28 Year Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky - £49.99 6,000 bottles
22 Year Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky - £44.99 6,000 bottles

http://www.lidl.co.uk/en/10980.htm?id=24&ar=1

The blends are rumoured to be by Richard Paterson master blender of White & Mackay and Dalmore and I've even managed to find some tasting notes, which by the sounds of it seem excellent!

scotchwhisky.com/magazine/tastings/new-whiskies/batch-16-lidl-limited-releases/

When you consider a 28 year old speyside from Singleton at 4,000 bottles goes for £250 - this has to be worth a punt.

If I was married, I would be divorced, now I'm off to Lidl, I suggest you do too!!!

[A15UK]

you would think they would have them out ready on the shelves - not in two stores i went into in north london. especially as the press release says available in ALL stores. there were no members of staff who could assist me, either. as well as limited choice, they do not appear to have any form of customer service.

there was no shelf space in either - they had the usual queen margot, western gold and so on. nothing in their 'weekly special section' either.

if i can be bothered, i will try one of them again after work.

[TheWM]

I must have been lucky. They have a special display section at mine and had all of them available (admittedly they were still opening boxes). I grabbed one of each.

[opelfruit]

The problem is were all scrambling about because there is a whisky for a reasonable price with a good age statement on it. It could be from any distillery so it may not be to your palate - I for example, don't like Dalmore, which is where it's probably from.

We look at the age and we look at the price and we think "must buy" - well, must we? But that's because we've been conditioned to think it's a bargain due to the way things are nowadays.... If it's a whisky you don't enjoy then it's not a bargain, it's £50 you would not have otherwise spent - ie £50 wasted


The Islay would interest me more, but at that age and sherried it'll probably be a Bunnahabhain, and you've gotta be careful with older sherried Bunna.


I want to buy them to try them, but I'll get in more trouble than its worth if it do. Not worth it for me to take a punt
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[A15UK]

[opelfruit]

Indeed, sounds like a sherried Laphroaig but I can't see how they got some and at that price....
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[Diademo]

Distilleries often admit that they dump bad or very weak casks for supermarkets blends.

I'm also the one who is not drinking "rejected"? whisky - life is just too short:

[TheWM]

[A15UK]

[TheWM]

[McKay]

Got my wife to check a couple of stores looking for the Islay 22 year old single malt, but no luck.

[A15UK]

[opelfruit]

I don't think they are rejected casks, but they very often come from distilleries with high surplus, and casks that are just filler casks....nothing special but nothing bad.

I'm.not saying there is anything wrong with this range, far from it....They are bargains for what you're getting. All I'm saying is that a bargain is only a bargain if you were going to either buy it, or spend that money anyway. If not, and it's extra then you've not saved £200 on a bottled, you spent an extra £50

......my budget is up this month, and th punt isn't worth the fallout. I'm sure they're good, but I have other stuff I want to buy first. Let me know how they are, so I can be disappointed
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"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[Diademo]

I just don't see that there is surplus of 28-34 years olds cask at any distillery nowadays.

Casks for IB are often bought as new make and IB are putting them in their own casks (they bring them to the distilleries) and casks are matured at their warehouses. Brokers use different approach but they are not selling casks to the supermarket chains.

Of course, all blended whisky for supermarkets is not bad but there is a reason why they are getting them at these prices. Quantities for blends mentioned here are also not so big - decent casks would be sold in short period of time, for significantly higher price.

[TheWM]

I agree with you about 'normal' supermarkets and at these prices I can see why some may think that there's something suspect about them. But I am and have been a long time admirer of the German model. UK supermarkets are having to up their game and heavily discount just to stop the rate of sales drop and achieve parity as they have been used to serving up overpriced dross for a while (with the exception of Waitrose and to a degree Morrisons).

And people are starting to realize that actually 'branded' goods are just that. You pay for the advertising. What's in the tin is actually the same and often better.

I'll crack open some of the blended stuff this week and report back. I'm saving the single malts to compare with some of the stuff I get in Scotland.