Saw this at a local costco… knew that ommegang has been doing a bunch of GOT bottlings, but admit this surprised me.
The most surprising aspect? 9 year old, same price as the flagship 16. Anyone know anything more? Is there anything to this other than being 7 years younger and in a fancy package?
I am not convinced I would buy in any case as I hate gimmicks, but was still curious.
Yeah, me either.
I haven’t seen any of the bottles in stores, but I would have bought the Lagavulin and Talisker, maybe some of the others.
-Al
Even at the same price of the more mature, flagship products?
Yes. Lagavulin has special 12 year old releases (one per year) that I believe sell for more and are often more interesting than the standard 16 year old. Some of them are essentially collectors items, highly sought after by fans of the house. Special releases are also interesting in that they are casks selected to show something different than the flagship blend, like an individual vineyard block or barrel selections with wine. They aren’t just the same product with fewer years in cask, and can display some of the diversity of expressions that are possible.
My understanding is that some of the Game of Thrones releases are a standard product in different packaging, but others are not. The Lagavulin is not and I think Talisker also is not. I like those producers and that’s why I would pick up these two if I ran across them.
-Al
Thank you Al that is the information I was looking for
Al is exactly right about Lagavulin’s annual Cask Strength Limited Edition. It’s a 12 year, but I’d take it over the regular 16 any day, and think it’s one of the best values in the market almost every year at ~$125 on release. The 2018 just came out a few months ago in the US, and I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but based on previous years’ we bought several. I haven’t had the GOT bottle - I have an aversion to fancy packaging - but would not dismiss it based on its age, knowing what I know of Lagavulin. If it is cask strength, that is also a big plus in my book.
The Lagavulin 9 year is listed as 46%, so not cask strength. The Talisker has no age listed, appears to be a blend of years. The packaging doesn’t do anything for me, either, I haven’t seen the show so the house names and crests don’t mean anything. To me, the interest is just in special bottlings.
-Al
FWIW, the Clynelish also looks interesting, it’s bottled at cask strength.
-Al
I’ve heard reviews from multiple people on this and the other Game of Thrones releases. Other than the Oban, people have been very disappointed.