Comments on: The Balvenie 17 Year Madeira Cask – Merry Christmas to me!

By: A Bevy of Balvenie – Sizing up the new Caribbean Rum Cask release « Scotch Hobbyist’s Blog

Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:53:19 +0000

[...] year, I was fortunate enough to receive a free bottle of The Balvenie Madiera Cask 17 year for review from William Grant & Sons (parent company for The Balvenie). I really liked it, but [...]

By: Scotch Hobbyist

Scotch Hobbyist — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 05:19:57 +0000

Thanks Clair. I don’t know about class act, but I’m certainly not trying to hide anything. Thanks for stopping by my blog, and feel free to come back and keep me honest if it starts to look like I’m selling out.

[This comment brought to you by Cheezy Poofs. The perfect cheese-flavored snack to go with your evening whisky.]

By: Clair

Clair — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 02:02:55 +0000

Jeff, you’re a class act to take the time and respond to my post and actually post it. I think you have a fair point when you say you are a hobbyist and not a professional.

By: Scotch Hobbyist

Scotch Hobbyist — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:44:34 +0000

Hi “Secretary”,
Such a super-secret decoder ring society you folks have going there at D.T.W.C. But then, I guess I’m using “Scotch Hobbyist” as an alter ego, too. I even took my last name off of the About page after my boss googled me and gave me a weird look when he saw all of this “whisky stuff.”

Thanks for checking out my post and leaving the comments. I’ve never tried Madeira myself, but I’m a little weary of it, as I’m not a fan of sherry. On the other hand, I LOVE sherry cask matured whisky. Go figure. I think the straight sherry is just too sweet and syrupy.

If you got last year’s 17 year Balvenie Rum Cask in Australia, I would expect you to get this one, too. It’s just now showing up here in AZ, and most places still just have the rum cask. I just got lucky getting my hands on this bottle when I did.

Thanks,
Jeff

By: Scotch Hobbyist

Scotch Hobbyist — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 00:30:57 +0000

Hi Clair,
That’s certainly a valid point. While I feel that I didn’t let it cloud my judgment, perhaps my judgment is clouded in that assessment.

I’ve only gotten the Chivas and Balvenie “samples” for free. I think there’s definitely an initial desire to want to please the people providing them. It was very exciting to get these.

One way I’ve dealt with that initial euphoria is to take some time to evaluate the whiskies before posting a review. To be totally honest, my first inclination upon receiving and trying the Balvenie was to rate it a couple of points higher. After a number of tasting sessions and comparisons, I came down a little bit. That being said, I’m not sure getting it for free had anything to do with the change.

My current plan is to just keep doing things the way I have been. I don’t represent myself as a professional (“Hobbyist” in the blog name). There’s no advertising or money-making links on my blog. It’s just me talking about my passion/hobby in an opt-in format, and meeting some great people with similar passions in the process. I also don’t market myself to distilleries in hopes of getting freebies. I’m not sure how The Balvenie and Chivas found out about me, or decided it would be worth their while to include me in their campaigns.

If a distillery offers me free whisky, I’ll probably take it. If I write about it, I’ll do like I did with this post and make the nature of my acquisition obvious right up front. This way, anybody finding their way to my post through Google will be warned and can move along if they don’t approve.

Thanks,
Jeff

By: Clair

Clair — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 23:16:40 +0000

If you receive promotional scotch samples from promotion companies, how can you be impartial in your review?

Can you honestly criticize a liquor that you receive for free? You might fear not receiving more.

Do you feel your judgment is colored?

By: Secretary

Secretary — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 12:03:49 +0000

Not sure we get this expression down-under…alas no surprises there. I must admit I have had a real curiosity for this whisky since I heard about it on WhiskyCast. This mainly stems from a mate (visiting from the U.S.) recently giving me a cask strength Balvenie 15yo. I also developed my taste for Madeira whilst living in NJ for a year. I haven’t seen the fortified wine offered down here yet, but neither have I checked many online retailers. Not sure where I am going with this, but just wanted to say great post and I am very envious. I know Glenmorangie did a Madeira cask but not sure its still in production. I really want to like this whisky…enjoy!

Secretary,
D.T.W.C.

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:51:16 +0000

I got to try it at WhiskyFest but I haven’t scored a bottle for a formal review. Maybe Matt needs to head to the liquor store.

By: Scotch Hobbyist

Scotch Hobbyist — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:03:11 +0000

Thanks Richard. Have you tried this one? I thought you had done a review of it, but when I checked your site, that wasn’t the case.

By: Richard

Richard — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:55:00 +0000

Nice score brother, and a great review too!