Under the radar Malts

[Delboyscap]

Hi all,

Hope you are all safe and well during these challenging times. I was just wondering what Single Malt's or perhaps even blends you have found that often fly under the radar but are usually excellent quality?

I have recently discovered Ledaig/Tobermory and have found these excellent. I have also enjoyed a couple of bottles of Kilkerran recently too and perhaps my biggest surprise was a Tulibardine that i was not expecting much from but am actually enjoying as an easy drinking dram when I don't want to work too hard. I also think Caol Ila is underrated by most but not experienced whisky drinkers.

What gems do you like that are still relatively unknown?

[ralfy legend]

I totally enjoyed the killkeren 12,, the Cotswolds 3 surprised me and also glengoyne 12 recently was very nice.

[Alexppp]

'Under the radar' can be a deceptively tricky term - one person's hidden gem discovery can be another's daily dram. If I try to be objective - I think Ledaig and Kilkerran are already at cult status among whisky geeks, given how many times I see them mentioned. So I wouldn't call them under the radar, especially considering they consistently get glowing reviews and scores in the high 80s.

The other suggestion of Tullibardine - absolutely, that meets the criteria I would say.

The first distillery that came to mind when I saw the post was Glencadam. Both the 10 and 15 year-olds are excellent in my opinion, and I don't often see them recommended or talked about. Does Aultmore count as under the radar? It's certainly a bit more visible than Glencadam but again not talked about very much.

[Delboyscap]

Yes, must admit the Cotswolds whisky is on my radar having seen some of the reviews. I will add to my list. Have not had a glengoyne in a while so may go back to one of those too.

[Delboyscap]

Yes Alex you are quite correct, I struggled to think of the correct term myself really and thought perhaps "off the beaten track'.

I must admit I have been looking at Glencadam myself but have yet to try, here in Australia I can get the Glencadam at a decent price so may add that to the list. You are right though in that perhaps under the radar is not really what I meant, perhaps I rather meant distilleries that are not that fashionable. I think a lot of knowledgeable whisky drinkers would know most distilleries but interested in one's that are often missed by the masses. Arran seems to be getting a little more exposure recently but again have not tried too many other than the 14 year old i currently have open.

[MattS]

I think for those that like young peat then independent Bunnahabhain Staoisha can be worth a look and I think pretty good value as often they are bottled at cask strength.

I agree on the Tullibardine. I like the easy going bourbon Sovereign.

As for radar I think that varies by person. Many dark natural colour bottles seem to go fast so they have someone's attention. Adelphi's dark bottles sell out almost immediately as have North Star, James Eadie and the Cooper's Choice Mortlach Sherry Monster in past months.

[Brummie]

I would agree that Glencadam goes unnoticed by many. I know Glen Spey has very little original distillery bottlings, probably why it doesn't get noticed by many whisky drinkers but the Glen Spey 12 year old Flora & Fauna is worth seeking out and I have had a few cracking limited edition indie releases over the years, worth looking out for indie bottlings which are often reasonably priced as the distillery is so little known.

[Alexppp]

[lincoln imp]

For me it is Taninich, Inchgower, Macduff and Glentauchers.
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[Delboyscap]

Some great posts and great points made. As mentioned there are a ton of new distilleries about nowadays and it is hard to keep up. Just here in Australia we have gone from around a handful in 2010 to around 50 whisky distilleries, that's just in 10 years with 293 distilieries producing a range of spirits. That's only Australia, so I am curious to know people's experiences with say Dutch or Swedish whisky or from other countries.

Add to that we also now have access to malts that were traditionally only made for blends as above. I managed to get a Flora and Fauna Dailuaine 16 but have not cracked that yet but heard good things about it and the 34 years old has cracking reviews. Essentially I guess I am just looking to broaden my experiences but also perhaps to find distilleries that are producing great whisky at great prices that perhaps do not yet have that cult following, if if they do a mini-cult

[Quaich1]

For me, some of them are Knockdhu (Ancnoc), Glencadam, Dailuaine and to some extent some Jura expressions.
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
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[James T]

Knockando seems to pass under most peoples radar, they produce some good whisky IMO, in fact I am dramming some tonight and thats what brought it to mind

[TheWM]

Ben Nevis, Ledaig and actually exploring some young peaters such as Talisker, caol ila etc are a joy to try even thought they aren’t under the radar as such I don’t see them getting as much good press as they should.

[Alexppp]

[TheWM]