On the other hand...

It’s difficult to argue that there is much value in the review of a product which the author hasn’t, in fact, tried. However, in an effort to present the other side of the “it’s expensive, so it must be a rip-off” argument which inevitably crops up every time a release like this is made available, here goes.



Some things are expensive, some things are cheap, and people tend not to agree on which is which – for some people spending more than £20 on a wristwatch (or a bottle of whisky) is a terrible waste of money, for others spending less than £100 might seem foolish – why, just think how much more you’ll enjoy the £100 watch than the £20 one?



If someone would rather have the thing than the money, who are we to stop them? It’s all a matter of degree and perspective – almost everything we buy would be considered expensive to our parents. Does paying £2.40 for a latte represent good value for heating up 11p worth of ingredients? Of course not! Unless it does, unless you’d rather have the frothy coffee than the money in your pocket, in which case it is.



I can’t afford to spend £9k on a bottle whisky, in fact I can’t afford to spend £9k on a car, but if I had a few million in the bank and that amount of money were neither here nor there to me I might well indulge myself with a bottle like this – the drinking of which would, I’m sure, be a unique and remarkable experience.



From the reviews I’ve read of this bottling, it sounds utterly delicious – I love Japanese whisky and this is a good 20 years older than anything I have ever tried. I would dearly love to see what that additional maturation does for one of my favourite spirits.

