Whiskey Tasting on the Edge

[jewelhux]

We are going on the Oct 16 sailing of the Edge and I would like feedback from anyone who has done the Macallan or Jack Daniels tasting events. Thanks in advance!

[hawkesbaynz]

I was disappointed when I did the MacAllan on Silhoette last month. Booked it online prior to the cruise. Had to enquire onboard when it was happening. Turned up twice to the Ensemble bar at 9pm to be told it was the next evening. 
 

Refused to return again the next evening as we had plans for a show. Barman got the whiskey out and did it then and there. He was already doing the Jack Daniels for a couple of guys. He just read about the whisky off a card. 
 

Really no comparison with the tastings I did on Islay in June and more expensive. A damp squib.

[Bo1953]

I have done the tastings on The Millennium, The Summit and The Edge and each was different in terms of time and presentation.

 

The quality of the tastings is based on the number of individuals participating and the presenter.

 

Fortunately, on all three ships I believed the tastings were great, with upwards of 12 individuals attending, it did limit the quantity to taste, but that was fine vs info and fun it provided.

 

Maybe due to a low sign up on @hawkesbaynzsailing it was moved and moved in hopes for more sign ups???

 

Will be doing it again on The Summit in May...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[jewelhux]

Thank you both for your responses. I appreciate your input!

[Moby Jones]

On 10/9/2021 at 8:35 AM, hawkesbaynz said:

I was disappointed when I did the MacAllan on Silhoette last month. Booked it online prior to the cruise. Had to enquire onboard when it was happening. Turned up twice to the Ensemble bar at 9pm to be told it was the next evening. 
 

Refused to return again the next evening as we had plans for a show. Barman got the whiskey out and did it then and there. He was already doing the Jack Daniels for a couple of guys. He just read about the whisky off a card. 
 

Really no comparison with the tastings I did on Islay in June and more expensive. A damp squib.

Just out of interest, what Macallan expressions were included in the tasting? Did they have age statement or NAS bottles? 

[Bo1953]

51 minutes ago, Moby Jones said:

Just out of interest, what Macallan expressions were included in the tasting? Did they have age statement or NAS bottles? 

Aged.... On The Millennium we had a 15 yo double cask and an 18 yo sherry cask on hand for the tasting.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[RICCruisers]

6 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Aged.... On The Millennium we had a 15 yo double cask and an 18 yo sherry cask on hand for the tasting.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Bo - That might be worth doing the tasting. It sure beats the Macallan Quest and Lumina they try to pour in the bars if you’re not specific in what you ask for. 

[markeb]

9 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Aged.... On The Millennium we had a 15 yo double cask and an 18 yo sherry cask on hand for the tasting.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

 

We've had this discussion before, Bo. My experience (now three years removed 🤕) on Equinox was the opposite of yours. I think we had three, I believe they were all NAS whiskies, and the tasting leader was not well informed.

 

And I've become OK with NAS whisky, as long as the distiller has picked good barrels for the mix.

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, RICCruisers said:

Bo - That might be worth doing the tasting. It sure beats the Macallan Quest and Lumina they try to pour in the bars if you’re not specific in what you ask for. 

r - Please remember that each tasting is different, yet they do have a variety of Macallan's, at least four if not five, has been my experience.

 

The styles will vary pending on the presenter and what is available on-board, too.

 

In fact you can ask once aboard who will be the presenter for the tasting and reach out to them about your preferences for the tasting...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Edited October 11, 2021 by Bo1953

[Bo1953]

7 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

We've had this discussion before, Bo. My experience (now three years removed 🤕) on Equinox was the opposite of yours. I think we had three, I believe they were all NAS whiskies, and the tasting leader was not well informed.

 

And I've become OK with NAS whisky, as long as the distiller has picked good barrels for the mix.

The main reason I remember what we had on The Millennium is I wanted to purchase a bottle or two from Duty Free, only the double cask was available and the pricing was astronomical, for me. LOL

 

Yes, a poor leader can make the tasting boring and unenlightening, at that juncture one could learn more from one of the bartenders than the leader...

 

I settled to wait until I got home and purchased a bottle of NAS from my local liquor store... LOL and that was a bit more than what I wanted to spend, YET I have managed to keep quite a few drams in the bottle for special occasions and special guests.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[canderson]

1 minute ago, Bo1953 said:

Yes, a poor leader can make the tasting boring and unenlightening, at that juncture one could learn more from one of the bartenders than the leader...

Had given passing thought to this event, but you're both bringing up questions that I'd had, and for which there's apparently no good answer.   Who typically runs these events, and typically, do they really have a clue about the goods?  If I'm not going to learn anything, there's not much point in attending.  I can grab a good pour somewhere aboard and enjoy it, but a good presenter could add a lot.  If one were to ask who was doing the presentation, what clues might one use to know?  Not expecting a distillery rep (that would be sweet), but ???

[Bo1953]

7 minutes ago, canderson said:

Had given passing thought to this event, but you're both bringing up questions that I'd had, and for which there's apparently no good answer.   Who typically runs these events, and typically, do they really have a clue about the goods?  If I'm not going to learn anything, there's not much point in attending.  I can grab a good pour somewhere aboard and enjoy it, but a good presenter could add a lot.  If one were to ask who was doing the presentation, what clues might one use to know?  Not expecting a distillery rep (that would be sweet), but ???

I must input that on The Edge, the presenter was underwhelming,  BUT we were a group of 12 and there were a few passengers who provided some input about what we were drinking and that added to the overall enjoyment of the tasting, to say the least...

 

Still a roll of the die on both counts...

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[Moby Jones]

14 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Aged.... On The Millennium we had a 15 yo double cask and an 18 yo sherry cask on hand for the tasting.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Thanks for the reply. The 18 yo sherry cask is a real surprise. Funnily enough I collect the annual releases of these! 

I'll take a look when we're on Reflection next year. 🙂 

 

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, Moby Jones said:

Thanks for the reply. The 18 yo sherry cask is a real surprise. Funnily enough I collect the annual releases of these! 

I'll take a look when we're on Reflection next year. 🙂 
 

m - when is your tasting???  LOL

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[Moby Jones]

4 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

m - when is your tasting???  LOL

 

Cheers and bon voyage

lol, they're for my sons inheritance. 

I'm not sure on supply in the US but the Glendronach 18 Allardice might appeal if you liked the Mac 18.sherry cask. It's very well regarded by sherry bomb fans. And it's one third of the price! 

Sadly I've never seen any Glendronach expressions aboard Celebrity ships. 

[Bo1953]

Just now, Moby Jones said:

lol, they're for my sons inheritance. 

I'm not sure on supply in the US but the Glendronach 18 Allardice might appeal if you liked the Mac 18.sherry cask. It's very well regarded by sherry bomb fans. And it's one third of the price! 

Sadly I've never seen any Glendronach expressions aboard Celebrity ships. 

Well, Papa I hope you will be around for such a long time that I do not have to worry about inheriting them, we can enjoy all along!!! LOL

 

I will look for your recommendation... Thank you

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[TeeRick]

50 minutes ago, Moby Jones said:

lol, they're for my sons inheritance. 

I'm not sure on supply in the US but the Glendronach 18 Allardice might appeal if you liked the Mac 18.sherry cask. It's very well regarded by sherry bomb fans. And it's one third of the price! 

Sadly I've never seen any Glendronach expressions aboard Celebrity ships. 

Here in my state (PA) we can only get the Glendronach 15 year sherry cask and by special order.  Listed at $100 USD.  

[Bo1953]

47 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Here in my state (PA) we can only get the Glendronach 15 year sherry cask and by special order.  Listed at $100 USD.  

Since I live 15 minutes from a PA liquor store, I will get over there and order a bottle, which means that I will not exceed the two (2) bottle limit in place currently!!! LOL

 

Cheers and bon voyage

[markeb]

13 hours ago, canderson said:

Had given passing thought to this event, but you're both bringing up questions that I'd had, and for which there's apparently no good answer.   Who typically runs these events, and typically, do they really have a clue about the goods?  If I'm not going to learn anything, there's not much point in attending.  I can grab a good pour somewhere aboard and enjoy it, but a good presenter could add a lot.  If one were to ask who was doing the presentation, what clues might one use to know?  Not expecting a distillery rep (that would be sweet), but ???

 

Obviously you're not getting a distillery rep or even a distributor's rep doing the tastings. Hopefully you get someone with some taste for whisky. The size and honestly interest/experience of the group will effect your tasting, but those are pretty much out of your control on a ship. It sounds like Bo had a smallish group that was into whisky; I'm pretty sure my group was larger, and some had never really done a whisky tasting. I think they did all the usual tricks (coffee beans, chocolate, etc.) to get people to look for aroma and flavor notes. So they did try.

 

If you were going to a serious whisky tasting on land, odds are that everyone (or 90%+) in attendance would be a serious whisky fan. And you'd steer your tasting in that direction. And you can do that even if you're doing a single distillery, like Macallan, or a conglomerate like Diageo. But the ship is largely all things to all people, and the product is the product they normally carry. I don't remember what it cost, and I did enjoy it, but if there are 3-5 whiskies, you're paying $35-40 for the event, and 3 of the whiskies are available in your premium package, then you're counting on the event itself being worth the cost. And I think there's some variability in the event.

 

If you're into whisky, but don't have a lot of experience with Macallan, it could still be nice as it's something of a vertical tasting with small enough pours that you can still taste the last whisky. Which you really couldn't do with an ounce of each at the bar!

[canderson]

Have done single malt tastings in Scotland but have never had a Macallan tasting.  I'm not into peat monsters, so Macallan works for me.

 

I'll see if I can find out who is presenting before the event, ask a couple of questions, and decide from there. Thanks, all, for the forewarning.

[TeeRick]

4 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Since I live 15 minutes from a PA liquor store, I will get over there and order a bottle, which means that I will not exceed the two (2) bottle limit in place currently!!! LOL

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Ah but you have Total Wine in NJ and they very likely have it in stock.  

[TeeRick]

4 hours ago, markeb said:

 

Obviously you're not getting a distillery rep or even a distributor's rep doing the tastings. Hopefully you get someone with some taste for whisky. The size and honestly interest/experience of the group will effect your tasting, but those are pretty much out of your control on a ship. It sounds like Bo had a smallish group that was into whisky; I'm pretty sure my group was larger, and some had never really done a whisky tasting. I think they did all the usual tricks (coffee beans, chocolate, etc.) to get people to look for aroma and flavor notes. So they did try.

 

If you were going to a serious whisky tasting on land, odds are that everyone (or 90%+) in attendance would be a serious whisky fan. And you'd steer your tasting in that direction. And you can do that even if you're doing a single distillery, like Macallan, or a conglomerate like Diageo. But the ship is largely all things to all people, and the product is the product they normally carry. I don't remember what it cost, and I did enjoy it, but if there are 3-5 whiskies, you're paying $35-40 for the event, and 3 of the whiskies are available in your premium package, then you're counting on the event itself being worth the cost. And I think there's some variability in the event.

 

If you're into whisky, but don't have a lot of experience with Macallan, it could still be nice as it's something of a vertical tasting with small enough pours that you can still taste the last whisky. Which you really couldn't do with an ounce of each at the bar!

Mark I attended a whiskey/whisky tasting event I think on Silhouette a couple of years ago.  It was run by the guy who was the cashier in the on board liquor shop. Not an expert.  You certainly would have known more than him from what I have seen of your posts here.  But these events get money from curious customers and  also funnel them back to the shop for purchases.  A good marketing strategy but not really for whisky experts.  By the way the liquor shops have open bottles of some brands and you can ask to try them ( for free).  No need to pay for a whisky tasting event!😎

[markeb]

7 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Mark I attended a whiskey/whisky tasting event I think on Silhouette a couple of years ago.  It was run by the guy who was the cashier in the on board liquor shop. Not an expert.  You certainly would have known more than him from what I have seen of your posts here.  But these events get money from curious customers and  also funnel them back to the shop for purchases.  A good marketing strategy but not really for whisky experts.  By the way the liquor shops have open bottles of some brands and you can ask to try them ( for free).  No need to pay for a whisky tasting event!😎

 

I think that's the problem when someone asks this sort of question. It's like asking about a Mondavi tasting. A lot of it depends on your previous experience and interest. But if your experience level is no more than medium, then these type events are probably worth the time. And they can be fun regardless. But if it's a wine tasting onboard, for instance, I can pretty much guarantee I'll go insane and head straight for the nearest bar with a good Pinot Noir (oops, the good ones are only by the bottle...)!

 

Oh, and 18 year old Glenmorangie is really nice on a Monday evening...

Edited October 11, 2021 by markeb

[Moby Jones]

On 10/11/2021 at 4:25 PM, Bo1953 said:

Well, Papa I hope you will be around for such a long time that I do not have to worry about inheriting them, we can enjoy all along!!! LOL

 

I will look for your recommendation... Thank you

 

Cheers and bon voyage

Here's my thoughts and I do have interests in the Scotch and Japanese whisky industries. 

The Macallan is a great distillery. But it trades on its name a lot. Buy a vintage bottle produced in the 80's or 90's and compare it with a modern day expression. There is a very real difference. These days the parent company Edrington have realised how popular Macallan is with investors and collectors who trade these bottles on the secondary market and have thus priced many bottles accordingly. Their 'limited editions' of very ordinary NAS liquid can be released here for anything between £100 to £750 each. But they come with pretty packaging,maybe some artwork from a famous photographer and a lot of prestige etc. 

If you like sherried cask Scotch then try and source miniature bottles from Glendronach, GlenAllachie or even Glenfarclas and see how agreeable you find them before buying full sized bottles. All three release very good expressions for a fraction of the price of similar Macallan expressions. And there's a very real chance you'll prefer them. 

Incidentally the Glendronach 15 year old revival mentioned in the thread is also very good. If you do try any of them please let me know what you think. 
 

[Bo1953]

3 hours ago, Moby Jones said:

Here's my thoughts and I do have interests in the Scotch and Japanese whisky industries. 

The Macallan is a great distillery. But it trades on its name a lot. Buy a vintage bottle produced in the 80's or 90's and compare it with a modern day expression. There is a very real difference. These days the parent company Edrington have realised how popular Macallan is with investors and collectors who trade these bottles on the secondary market and have thus priced many bottles accordingly. Their 'limited editions' of very ordinary NAS liquid can be released here for anything between £100 to £750 each. But they come with pretty packaging,maybe some artwork from a famous photographer and a lot of prestige etc. 

If you like sherried cask Scotch then try and source miniature bottles from Glendronach, GlenAllachie or even Glenfarclas and see how agreeable you find them before buying full sized bottles. All three release very good expressions for a fraction of the price of similar Macallan expressions. And there's a very real chance you'll prefer them. 

Incidentally the Glendronach 15 year old revival mentioned in the thread is also very good. If you do try any of them please let me know what you think. 
 

As it so happens, I will be hosting a bourbon and whisky party first week in Dec...

 

I will get full bottles of each to taste with my guests and take it from there...

 

Thank you for your input and info...

 

Cheers and bon voyage