The most hated single malt...Loch Dhu?

[Jono]

I have not tried this stuff..black whisky... but I see it repeatedly mentioned as the worst single malt....terms like "licking an ash tray" or intense licorice etc.

Another mentioned is Cu Dhub. The products seem to have been destined for the European continental market...Netherlands, Scandinavia etc.

Despite the dislike in single malt circles, the Loch Dhu price is ^^ due to discontinuation.

Has anyone tasted one of these "black" whiskies?

http://www.maltmadness.com/shitlist.html The Shit List

http://www.loch-dhu.com/

http://www.loch-dhu.com/history.htm

The blackness comes from aging in double charred oak casks.....

http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/cu-dhub-black-whisky/

Cu Dhub....tasting note does not sound too bad...

A head to head review

http://www.whiskyfun.com/ArchiveDecember04-2.html

Both are despised.

[sku]

I recently sampled some really bad whiskeys and wrote reviews. Included in these was Loch Dhu: http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2011/01/whiskey-wednesday-worst-scotch-ever.html

The distillery said the blackness came from ageing in super-charred casks, but most people have speculated that it is actually do to a large volume of caramel coloring.

I haven't tried the Cu Dhub.

[bcrossan]

I run in the single malt crowd and it is definately up there on the crap list. Glen Eden is on that list too. I was "lucky" enough to taste both and they are utter crap. Funny enough their poor scores have made them somewhat collectible..... what the f is wrong with people?!?!?! :skep:

[sku]

I run in the single malt crowd and it is definately up there on the crap list. Glen Eden is on that list too. I was "lucky" enough to taste both and they are utter crap. Funny enough their poor scores have made them somewhat collectible..... what the f is wrong with people?!?!?! :skep:

I'd rather have them collect Loch Dhu than the good stuff. At least with Loch Dhu, there is a good reason to keep it unopened in the bottle.

[Jono]

Sku, your description helps: "Scotch mixed with prune juice and a dash of balsamic vinegar." I think I can actually imagine that taste combination...not good. In my experience, Bourbon does not have such a bottom range as does Scotch, would you agree?

[sku]

In my experience, Bourbon does not have such a bottom range as does Scotch, would you agree?

Interesting question. I think Bourbon has a more narrow flavor profile than Scotch, so maybe that accounts for it. However, I think with regard to both single malt Scotch and straight Bourbon, the products, even at the lowest end, are generally quite good. The worst you can say about it is usually that it's dull or lacking in complexity, but rarely do I find one that is just undrinkably horrific. That's what was so surprising about Loch Dhu.

But Loch Dhu wasn't the worst single malt I tasted. That honor would go to this obscure Japanese malt: http://recenteats.blogspot.com/2011/01/whiskey-wednesday-usuikyou-worlds-worst.html

[JohnHansell]

The bottle reminded me of part scotch, part bourbon, part dark rum. I think it indeed was due partly to the barrel charring and partly due to caramel coloring (and possibly something else...).

When it was released, my feeling is that they were trying to make a whisky that would compete with the other categories I mentioned above when used as a mixer--attempting to be the next "hip" thing to appeal to a younger audience.

Yes, it failed at the time. Maybe it was a head of its time, what with Crown Royal Black, Canadian Mist Black Diamond, etc.?

To me, it wasn't that it was the most terrible scotch. (I have had worse over the past 30 years.) It was, however, a waste of perfectly good Mannochmore single malt.

[Stu]

I agree with John. I was in Dallas one time when they were cleaning the shelves and I cleaned them out of Loch Dhu at well under $20/bottle. While it's not the greatest whisky in the world, I think it's far from crap (one mans opinion). I've drank it all as flask filler, camping trips, fishing boats, etc. but I wish I had some left to try now and see if I thought it was as bad as some of you say.

[BigRich]

I had it with a friend from Sweden. It was apparently very successful over there. It wasn't nearly as bad as what was said about it but it's not something I'd keep stocked at home.

[mier]

I have had it once Jono,heavy caramelized and charred.It was ment for the European market at first Asia&America would follow later.The whisky is just in one word disguisting.It was sold as a rarity just like the Fishky(a malt with a salted herring in it(Holland) and the celp whisky(Germany) with some seaweed in it.The celp i`ve tasted,it was a Islay whisky but i kept away from the fish.According to EEC regulations these gimmicks are not allowed to be called whisky due to the added ingredients.There were some trials about it than forbid them naming it so.

Eric.

[Jono]

The online prices that collectors are willing to pay for it are very high. Even bad can be good in some sense. One source I found claims to have the largest stockpile and of course they are asking hundreds of dollars for the bottles.... 215 British pounds.

http://www.loch-dhu.com/

The saying "Turning a pig’s ear into a silk purse" seems appropriate.

[craigthom]

I don't think seaweed would change the taste of some Islay whiskies much.

[Lost Pollito]

Loch Dhu is most certainly a waste of perfectly good Mannochmore. While I despise it, I find the Green Bowmore to be even more reviled. 22 year old Hart Brothers bottling that smells FWP, and a color that is actually green. Just ghastly stuff.

[sku]

Loch Dhu is most certainly a waste of perfectly good Mannochmore. While I despise it, I find the Green Bowmore to be even more reviled. 22 year old Hart Brothers bottling that smells FWP, and a color that is actually green. Just ghastly stuff.

[aaronbarker]

I'd go for Drumguish, a no-age-statement from the Speyside Distillery. It's cheap, I've found bottles for $9.99. It's putrid. I'd compare it to drinking cold oatmeal mixed with liquified cardboard that has been 'ageing' in a damp basement for the last 4-5 years. 'Finish' it in a compost bucket filled with dirty gym socks for 6 more months and you're close. I tried saving it by adding a little Cask Strength of an unnamed whisky (for it's own dignity) but it just wouldn't work. I suffered through 1/3 of the bottle and had to dump the rest down the drain. I'm just glad the EPA didn't detect it until it had diluted into the nearest river. I kept my eye open for any news of mysterious fishkills in the local waterways......

Quite bad.

aaron

[Jono]

aaronbarker, others agree with you:

http://www.whiskymag.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2012

http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/drumguish-single-highland-malt-scotch-whisky/

others pro and con

Whereas this fellow likes it well enough with cheese nips and also

likes Bowmore....

http://thescotchdigest.blogspot.com/2008/06/drumguish.html

Interesting how we all have very different tastes.

[aaronbarker]

aaronbarker, others agree with you:

http://www.whiskymag.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2012

http://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/drumguish-single-highland-malt-scotch-whisky/

others pro and con

Whereas this fellow likes it well enough with cheese nips and also

likes Bowmore....

http://thescotchdigest.blogspot.com/2008/06/drumguish.html

Interesting how we all have very different tastes.

Interesting, yes. The bottle I purchased was an older, lighter colored labeled bottle. Attending some events around the recent Chicago Whiskyfest, I was fortunate(?) enough to try a recent bottling. Well, it was better, but in the sense that getting punched in the gut 40 times is better than getting punched 50 times. Nowhere to go but up. It was a bit more watery and thinner which made it slighty more palatable, I was able to at least fend off the gag reflex....

I would say it pairs well with horseradish and bleu cheese, two flavors sure to overpower it's evil-ness. ;-)

aaron

[RegChumpington]

Loch Dhu is an interesting curiosity and a rite of passage, but not in the ballpark of worst whisk(e)y I've ever had. That honor goes to the Usuikyou which Sku mentioned upthread.

Loch Dhu to me is spirity, lacking much distinction in flavor, disorganized and not good. It's got this weird hint of sherry here and there but it's also got this astringency and bitterness to it. You shouldn't drink it but there are other single malts that are more pointedly objectionable (Glenrothes Select Reserve comes to mind). Loch Dhu is just... badly done.

Usuikyou by contrast is aggressively horrible. Chemical, vinyl, burning garbage, and a finish that is unmercifully long. It's hands down the worst I've ever had. It will wreck your palate for ANYTHING after so don't do it except for at the end of a tasting (and have something strong but cheap to kind of knock down some of the more immediately painful notes).