The rose-tinted enthusiast will tell you, with total certainty, that whisky today is terrible compared to the bottles of the past. For a long time I dismissed this as nostalgia talking. But last weekend I revisited a firm staple that genuinely got me thinking, and I have come to an uncomfortable conclusion. Sometimes those wise old sippers are right.
So I decided to put that whisky tale to the test, examining three bottles that have declined in my own experience alongside two brands that deserve a second chance.
Talisker 10 is the whisky that started this whole train of thought. This was my stepping stone dram, quite possibly the first full bottle I ever bought and certainly my first repeat purchase. I still remember that salty, cinnamon-bolstered brine, all wind-in-the-hair drama. Yet on two recent occasions, once in a pub after a festival and again as the prized gem in a friend’s collection, it was simply limp. With the recent rebrand throwing away so much heritage, I now find myself too scared to open my own 4-year-old bottle. It may end up being a time stamp of when Talisker truly hit those mighty highs.
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READ THE STORYHighland Park 12 tells a similar sad story. I tried it blind recently and honestly mistook it for one of those novelty duty-free blends. A follow-up sample just after the rebrand left me equally underwhelmed. We do drink with our eyes, and I wondered if I was being unfair to the liquid. The brand insists the recipe is unchanged, but I am far from the only person convinced it is not the dram it once was.
Now, to end on brighter notes. Jura 12 is a genuine surprise. Yes, it sits at the lowest legal ABV, but this fully ex-bourbon matured expression stands head, shoulders, knees and toes above every previous Jura I have tried. Glasgow 1770 has been an even greater joy. Their move from 50cl to 70cl bottles without raising the price earned deserved praise, and the liquid is a fruity slap in the chops every single time.
The verdict is nuanced. Some icons like Speyburn 15 have been diluted into a shadow of themselves, while ambitious newer distilleries are quietly outperforming the legends. Progress and decline are happening side by side. So tell me, which whiskies do you think have gone downhill, and which gems are worth watching out for?
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To hear my full thoughts on these whiskies, check out my YouTube video.
