I love both of these drams so much! The 15 is a real sherry-bomb with a full body, the 17 is a smooth and very complex whisky in my opinion. They are similar but still, there are some major differences in their styles. Thanks for the awesome content, you Sir have one of THE BEST upcoming whisky channels on YT!

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

That's so kind of you to say, Aeron! Thank you. I've been enjoying the 17 more as I sit with a dram at night. It is more complex and less sherried on the taste than the 15. Cheers!

Your playing has gotten smoother. Good job.

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much, Troy! I don't know if it's a trend or just a good guitar day, but I'll happily take the compliment. 😂

Tried the 15 yesterday... got zero alcohol. and I drank it side by side with a 43% Tamdhu 12... the alcohol was definitely more present on the Tamdhu. The Glenfarclas 12 reeks of alcohol comparably. This 15 is really, really good. Never tried the 17 but at 43% I'm not really inclined to.

@WhiskyRiffs

6 ай бұрын

I wouldn't discard an expression just because of a lower ABV. Some of my favorite Irish whiskies are bottled at 40% or 43%.

My pal @jaystorey just bought a glenfarclas 21 and recommended me your channel. Enjoying this so far.

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Thank Jay for me, please Reece! And welcome to Whisky Riffs! I'm happy to review expressions that I've missed if you have suggestions. Cheers!

First time I’ve seen your video. Well done. As a fellow whisky lover from Scotland I enjoyed your video and guitar work. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🥃

@WhiskyRiffs

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for finding my channel, Steven! We love visiting Scotland. Cheers!

@stevenmcfarlane8831

Жыл бұрын

@Whisky Riffs great to hear you love our small country. On your recommendation I tried a 15 year old glanfarclas. Love,y dram, well balanced. Added just a few drops of water. Opened up just a bit, lost nothing if it’s character. Very nice dram indeed. My favs are glendronach 12, Deanston, Old Pulteney 12, Auchentoshan ( 10 mins from me ) have a few lovely bottles . Cheers. 🥃🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🤘

The 15 is available in Alberta Canada in a 750 ml bottle at a very reasonable price One of my favorites

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Bill. I saw that Jon, The Whisky Neighbour, reviewed the 15 last year so I assumed Canada had access. I'll just have to keep searching here in SF. Cheers!

The first time I tried a Glenfarclas was while visiting Scotland in May. My brother-in-law and I each ordered a dram of the 40 yr. at the bar in the place we stayed. It was amazing! For the age the dram was reasonable which is why we tried it. I am now obsessed with Glenfarclas and chasing that 40 yr. taste. I was able to find the 12 yr. locally which is good and relatively inexpensive. I was just in Chicago this past weekend and was able to find a bottle of the 25 yr. to try. I haven’t opened it yet, but am definitely looking forward to it! Great video!

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Ooooo! A Glenfarclas 40? I bet that was nice. I stumbled across Glenfarclas years ago when their 25 year was the only affordable ($150) heavily-aged dram in the San Francisco shop I was in at the time. Ever since, I've loved keeping one or two of that brand in my whisky cabinet. I think you'll enjoy the 25 year. Cheers!

Hey Kevin, keep up the great work! Love the content. Have you considered doing a face off on some of the cheaper scotches that put out a some long aged bottles? I bought the 29yr Duncan Taylor for $200 and it was surprisingly great! Similar but Bette than the Quinta Rubin

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Todd! I'm always on the lookout for third-party bottles of brands. I thought I had a line on a 27 year old Laphroaig (I think it was a Dimensions bottle from Duncan Taylor) that was around $200 but it turned out to be over $700. What brand was the 29 year Duncan Taylor that you bought? A Glenmorangie?

@MrVividwords

2 жыл бұрын

@@WhiskyRiffs It says Duncan Taylor Aged 29 years aged in oak casks, Sherry finish distilled at North British at 54.9 abv. I don't see any indicators of others involved but i was quite impressed considering the brand. The scotch guy at my local (biggest scotch selection in town store) recommended it to me and i have been very happy with it. Cheers and keep up the great work, I got my friends watching you now, so watch out for the Florida love.

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrVividwords Thanks for letting me know and for sharing my channel with your friends!

This was an excellent comparison. After I found out the importance of checking ABVs (because chillfiltering follows the low ABV) I simply refused to buy a bottle of scotch at less than 46% ABV. Some seem to have hundreds of dollars to continue to throw at the low ABV chillfiltered scotches, NOT ME. Your comparison reaffirms my theory. The difference between the two ABVs is really shown up in your tasting. I just don't care to buy the low ABV chillfiltered releases of any distillery. Glendronach, Balvenie, Glenlivet, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, etc.I consider my money is best spent on the better quality of at all. Don't be shy or reluctant to call out these so called prestigious distilleries for the watered down stuff they present as greatness. The Glenfarclas core range should All be at least 46%. We all know it. We visited the Distillery in 2019 and I guess they liked us cause they insisted the only bottle we take from the distillery was the 15yr. Not the 105 or anything else from the core range, just the 15yr. The only one that's worth it. You just reenforced my opinion. Unless you have to time and money to continue to search out and explore the world of low ABV chillfiltered scotches that are so likely to lead to disappointment. IMHO, just saying

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Hi Cecil, I agree and disagree. Not all sub-46% ABV are overpriced or lower quality. As my whisky collection grows, I am pickier about where my budget goes. There are some mass-market expressions that I've never been able to justify, but I've always enjoyed the Glenfarclas 12 and 25 year expressions. Cheers!

@cecilrobbins5182

2 жыл бұрын

@@WhiskyRiffs thanks for the reply. Perhaps, one of these days I will have a more tolerant viewpoint. Quite frankly I felt betrayed when I realized that these scotches were watered down and then chillfiltered to stay clear with ice or chilled. I was a salesman when we rolled out the first craft beers and we had to educate the drinkers the cloudy was good and meant flavors. But not here in Scotland. The newer distilleries are trying to hold to the higher quality and some of the old guard is giving us enthusiasts a treat witness Glenlivet 12 yr illicit still @ 48% and non chillfiltered, on the label! Compare it to the core range and you see what low ABV chillfiltered does. That would be great show for you. The face off it's a thought. Thanks for all you add to my life and all the others, keep riffing.

Look for a tobacco note on the 15, it's there. It's nutty too.

@WhiskyRiffs

6 ай бұрын

An interesting set of notes. Thanks!

Just opened my 17 after a couple of months of waiting to open it. Wow what a dram. Tried the 10, but there is a world of difference between 10 and 17. I would try a 15 in the future, especially with the characteristics you mentioned, i think i might prefer the 15.

@WhiskyRiffs

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for sharing, Rassamdul. I agree that the 10 doesn't compare to the 17, but everyone's tastes (and budgets) are different. If you do get a chance to compare the 15, I'd love to know your thoughts. Cheers!

I can enjoy the coco, spice, and drying nature of the 17, but I have brought the 15 home far more often. Such an excellent, rich Sherry dram!

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Since I don’t have your easy Canadian access to the 15, I’m going to have to work harder to replace this bottle. Cheers!

@WhiskyNeighbour

2 жыл бұрын

@@WhiskyRiffs we are spoiled that way! Thanks again for sharing your thoughts on these!

There is only one whiskey I've heard of that has the same expression available in chill filtered and non-chill filtered. It's Wild Turkey Rare Breed. The standard expression that you can buy everywhere is the chill filtered version. The non-chill filtered version is a travel exclusive. I haven't been able to try them both myself, but another KZread channel directly compared them, and they claim that the non-chill filtered version is vastly superior and packs much more flavor than the regular stuff.

@WhiskyRiffs

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the education. I didn't know that about the Rare Breed expression. Cheers!

Glenfarclas has a very good price point. I have 2 expressions at the moment. A 15 year old at 52.1% ABV and the 2004 - 2015 family cask at 60.4% ABV. Especially the last one is just great.

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

I looked at buying one of the Family Cask editions when we were at Glenfarclas last year, but didn't know which one to invest in at the time. Looks like I should have grabbed the 60.4% ABV one. Enjoy!

@matthijsrisselada7186

2 жыл бұрын

@@WhiskyRiffs To be honest it was the cheapest Family Cask I could get my hands on. They can be quite expensive.

im usually a peat head, but glenfarclas 15 is my weakspot. i just get such as nice long sweet finish that i dont get with many other whiskys.Maybe only with Cardhu 12 another of my favourites despite its questionable specs of low ABV, chill filtered and coloured as most diageo.

@WhiskyRiffs

Жыл бұрын

And it's hard to beat the price of Glenfarclas expressions - especially the older ones. Cheers!

Great review. I already have the 17 and i am geeting ankther bottle soon. I am in between the 15 and 105. Which one would you recommend?

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Thanks! If the price between the 15 and the 105 is similar, I'd say try the 15. The 105 definitely brings the heat, but I've really been enjoying the additional sherry notes from the 15. Let me know what you decide and cheers!

@Hocky_World

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you for your reply. They are the same price where i am; Alberta Canada, high $ 90s. Since they were on sale at 15% off; i bought both of them.

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

@@Hocky_World That would have been my solution, so well done! 😂

Nice review. My question is, aside from the details, which is simply more delicious to you?

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

Right now, the 15 is more my speed. I like the extra fruit notes in that expression. Cheers!

@catnapgee5357

2 жыл бұрын

@@WhiskyRiffs thanks!

Great show: ABV offers a bit more on the nose : AGE more on the tongue. If (big IF) indeed nose is 60%+ sensory, I go for higher / highest ABV... as for Chill : Nochill = no chill offers a MORE oily/buttery + thicker feel on the tongue.

@WhiskyRiffs

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, Timothy!

Another two bottle comparison? Verily, there is virtue in volume.

@WhiskyRiffs

2 жыл бұрын

These two bottles had to go together. Splitting them into two episodes would be like splitting up brothers during an adoption and I would never do that. ;) Cheers!

The 15 is better than the 17 just as the 21 is better than the 25.

@WhiskyRiffs

3 ай бұрын

I'm glad to hear that not everyone believes older = better. More is not always better and better is very dependant on personal preference. It's why I don't grade whisky reviews numerically. I'd give higher marks to a high ABV, peated Islay Single Malt over most bourbons, but that doesn't mean my preference is better for everyone. Cheers!