big stores own brand spirits any good ones?

emmet the rover

is there any own brand sprits whiskey,rum,brandys out there from big stores tesco,aldi,asda,sainsburys ect?

i always see them for sale a lower prices than similar competitors but never have the courage to buy them as i fell it would be a waste of money. however i still find myself wondering is a btl of own brand "reserve 12 year old ....." any use compaired to a middle of the road main brand.

i am not a wine or beer snob when it comes to brand names but i prefer quality products.


waiting in sober anticipation
emmetg

johnnyskeleton

Lidl and Aldi are great. My experience would be:

Beers - great quality beers at reasonable prices and cheap beer at cheap prices. You might not have the range of choice or the exlusive beers of a more specialised off licence e.g. Redmonds, but they certainly do the job for the money.

Wines - some great wines at extraordinarily cheap prices. Some of their wines are good for the price but not amazing e.g. for a while they had a chateauneuf for €12, but it wasn't the best chateauneuf.

Spirits - I have yet to try their whiskey and am a little snobbish about it, but their other spirits are good. You would probably get a better bottle of vodka there for €10 than you would get anywhere else for €20 (e.g. smirnoff, absolute etc). I suspect that their Vodka is usually high quality Polish/Russian stuff. Vodka drinking countries consider what we call vodka to be gut rot.

The other supermarkets e.g. Tesco, Dunnes etc tend to have worse quality own brand products, the idea being that if go in to buy the own brand but then trade up to the branded ones they sell at a higher margin because of an increase in quality. Because Lidl and Aldi operate on a different basis (stack em high, sell em cheap) and don't offer competing branded products, they tend to source high quality stuff at low low prices.

SBWife

I use white rum from Lidl for cocktails I wouldn't notice any difference between it and Bacardi to tell the truth.

The Aldi Irish Whiskey I think it's labeled Avoca would is made by Cooley Distilleries and it's fine - it's not going to compare to a super premium cask aged spirit but it's very drinkable and perfect if you're making hot whiskey or an Irish coffee.

emmet the rover

yea i used aldis cheapist own brand whiskey for hot whiskys (for medicinal puposes mostly) but apart from that i usually drink spirits neat or with a little splash of water to bring out certin flavours.
i am no conniseur mind .

Van Occupanther

Tesco White Rum is appalling both in taste and after effects. Used it for cocktails one night (piña colada) and it was fine (just about) but we felt awful the next day. Someone used it just with coke another night and had one of those throw yourself under a bus hangovers. A wine reviewer I follow on twitter (thegargleguru) recommends White Satin gin from Aldi though I've never bought it, not really a gin drinker.

irish_goat

Aldi's whiskey made by Cooley is grand, perfect for hot whiskeys and irish coffees.

Tesco 12 year old scotch is pretty decent too.

Dave_Kilkenny

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Spirits - I have yet to try their whiskey and am a little snobbish about it, but their other spirits are good. You would probably get a better bottle of vodka there for €10 than you would get anywhere else for €20 (e.g. smirnoff, absolute etc). I suspect that their Vodka is usually high quality Polish/Russian stuff. Vodka drinking countries consider what we call vodka to be gut rot.

No, their vodka is certainly not high quality nor is it from Poland or Russia. Rachmaninoff vodka blue being 40%ABV and red being 37.5%ABV, and a product of Germany. Its a vodka that not many would enjoy straight very rough, medicinal smell to it, and with a strong lasting burn. I suspect they are one of cheaper-European distillers that just buy bulk ethanol, dilute and rectify it.

Putinoff is the other LIDL Brand not much better, 40%ABV can't find where it comes from but like most low grade vodkas it has a harsh burn, lacking any subtle flavors, just a strong ethanol taste.

Both vodkas aren't something Id recommend straight, although they are grand for cocktails. Vodka truly is an art of subtleties and when you throw in a nice dash of fruit juice you are drowning out all of these subtleties. Im not saying LIDL/ALDI vodkas don't have their uses, but I'm certainly not calling them good vodkas.

johnnyskeleton

irish_goat wrote: »

Aldi's whiskey made by Cooley is grand, perfect for hot whiskeys and irish coffees.

Tesco 12 year old scotch is pretty decent too.

Any ideas which Cooleys are used? I suspect it's a rebranded lockes blend. There is a non age statement for €16, an 8 year old for €20 and a single malt for €35. Haven't tried them, but would probably go for a bushmills over the €35 quid one. The 8 year old might be worth a pop.

Dave_Kilkenny wrote: »

No, their vodka is certainly not high quality nor is it from Poland or Russia. Rachmaninoff vodka blue being 40%ABV and red being 37.5%ABV, and a product of Germany. Its a vodka that not many would enjoy straight very rough, medicinal smell to it, and with a strong lasting burn. I suspect they are one of cheaper-European distillers that just buy bulk ethanol, dilute and rectify it.

Putinoff is the other LIDL Brand not much better, 40%ABV can't find where it comes from but like most low grade vodkas it has a harsh burn, lacking any subtle flavors, just a strong ethanol taste.

Both vodkas aren't something Id recommend straight, although they are grand for cocktails. Vodka truly is an art of subtleties and when you throw in a nice dash of fruit juice you are drowning out all of these subtleties. Im not saying LIDL/ALDI vodkas don't have their uses, but I'm certainly not calling them good vodkas.

Aldi's vodka is called Tamova. It's €12, there is no identification of the country of origin, it's a grain vodka and it has won an IWSC silver award in 2009, for whatever that is worth. It's a drinkable vodka with none of the rough qualities that you would associate with cheaper vodka or even the likes of smirnoff, absolute etc.

It obviously don't compare with the €40+ vodkas, but that's not what this thread is about and it would be pointless to dismiss the aldi whiskey because it is not a midleton single cask or their €12.99 Chateauneuf because it is not as rare as the '82 Lafite-Rothschild.

emmet the rover

i saw that award some of those lidl/aldi spirits won and it seems several seem to have won the same medal???

johnnyskeleton

emmet the rover wrote: »

i saw that award some of those lidl/aldi spirits won and it seems several seem to have won the same medal???

Yeah, I'm not sure how much it is worth. It may be a "pay €2,000 and get a medal" type deal, but presumably if it is gut rot they wouldn't accept it.

overshoot

rachmananoff and club orange. you wont even realise your drinking complete tack

the beer revolu

Not an own brand but Tesco's are selling Russian Standard Vodka for €15 a bottle - that's cheaper than their own brand vodka.
I've tasted it and it's not bad (though I'm not really a vodka drinker, so what would I know?)
They've had litre bottles for €20 in the past which is even cheaper.

moonflower

the beer revolu wrote: »

Not an own brand but Tesco's are selling Russian Standard Vodka for €15 a bottle - that's cheaper than their own brand vodka.
I've tasted it and it's not bad (though I'm not really a vodka drinker, so what would I know?)
They've had litre bottles for €20 in the past which is even cheaper.

Assuming the €15 bottle is 750ml, then 750ml for €15 = 1lt for €20 Russian Standard is lovely though, especially for the price.


Op, the Old Hopking rum from Aldi is quite nice, it's €12 for the white rum and €13 for the dark. I also quite like Putinoff vodka from Lidl.

Black Sheep

I have a Michael Jackson whiskey guide knocking around the house somewhere, and he has quite a good time for many of own-brand products from Tesco.

Sometimes I think he takes a perverse pleasure in giving a 'cheap' own-brand whiskey a higher rating than a more expensive special bottling from well-known distillieries.

I'd be curious to know which of the Aldi/Lidl products are made by Cooley also.

stacexD

moonflower wrote: »

Assuming the €15 bottle is 750ml, then 750ml for €15 = 1lt for €20 Russian Standard is lovely though, especially for the price.

It's 70cl.
Russian standard is lovely vodka and 40% aswell, pretty much the only vodka I buy since I tried it a couple of months ago.
Rachmaninoff is gut rot alright, anyone who says different I dare you to take a shot of it straight and then make the same argument!
The night I went around handing out shots of that was the most puke my back garden has ever seen

emmet the rover

Black Sheep wrote: »

I have a Michael Jackson whiskey guide knocking around the house somewhere, and he has quite a good time for many of own-brand products from Tesco.

Sometimes I think he takes a perverse pleasure in giving a 'cheap' own-brand whiskey a higher rating than a more expensive special bottling from well-known distillieries.

.

thats the stuff i am talking about. i am heading to belfast soon and will pick up a btl of tesco 12year old single malt and report back. i have not heard a bad word siad about it online. its under €20 so can be drank after a few nice ones if not so good

Butch Cassidy

I would stay away from cheaper rums, vodkas and gins as a rule. Many of these would be barely suitable for cooking with let alone drinking.

As stated Cooley Distillers supply some supermarkets and a cheap bottle of "Piddly Piddly McSheamus" or whatever they're calling it would be better than Dunphys.

Can't comment on their Scottish whiskeys as I've never tried a shop one - Marks and Spencer's Kenmare is ok. I once bought a bottle of Sainsbury's Bourbon and it was utter rubbish.

There's a few different supermarket brands of Irish cream some of which are a nice and cheaper alternative to Baileys.

mikewest

The Aldi Avoca 8 year old whiskey is quite decent for €20. The cognacs from both Lidl and Aldi at €20 (Carrier & ??) are very decent for the money (not high quality but fine for regular drinking). Putinoff vodka from Lidl is better than Smirnoff et al normal price branded vodka just not a "premium" vodka. Aldi's premium gin which I can't remember the name of was very good the one time I bought it. Tescos cheapest gin is perfect for making sloe gin however I've never drank it straight but their 10 year old single malt whisky is vile.

Black Sheep

I've heard it said (or read) that because of contemporary U.S legislation around the making of bourbon (minimum requirements for distilling, ingredients etc) there are no truly bad U.S-made bourbons any more ... I'm not sure how true that really is, but to date I haven't been able to bring myself to buy a bottle of Old Samuel from Tesco. Anyone know how it compares to the likes of Maker's Mark, Buffalo Trace, Knob Creek etc.

emmet the rover

i picked up a bottle of sainsburys taste the diffrence 12yo highland single malt scotch whisky for under £20 for a 70cl bottle and i have to say it was/is very nice.

Peanut

OP I just posted a mini review of Clarke's Bourbon from Aldi.

I would also recommend their Highland Black scotch - it's the slightly more expensive 8 year old scotch that they sell.

Haven't tried their Irish whiskeys so can't comment on them.

emmet the rover

i see lidl are doing 18year old speyside single malt scotch for €30 have to give that a go . anyone tried it

shanel23

The Superquinn own brand whiskey @ 17€ a bottle is an absolute gem .

The Sainsbury's Dun Leire 8 yr old single has won many awards and is a brilliant whiskey .

Both are from Cooley

Aldi's Irish single malts are very good value too and won't disappoint.

Brockagh

johnnyskeleton wrote: »

Any ideas which Cooleys are used? I suspect it's a rebranded lockes blend. There is a non age statement for €16, an 8 year old for €20 and a single malt for €35. Haven't tried them, but would probably go for a bushmills over the €35 quid one. The 8 year old might be worth a pop.

It would be pretty close to the Locke's. And the single malt would be pretty close to the Locke's single malt. There has to be some differences. They're not allowed just relabel one whiskey as another. Then again, every batch of whiskey is slightly different.

Dun Leire from Sainsbury's is very good. Won Irish whiskey of the year in the Whisky Bible last year, although I think that's stretching it a bit. IDL don't do shop's own brand whiskey anymore. I think Kilkenny might have been the last of that. I could be wrong, of course. Bushmills might do it, but I don't think so, certainly not widely. So, basically, every shop's own brand Irish whiskey you see is likely to be Cooley.

Brockagh

If you're in the UK, Aldi are releasing a 40 yr old Speyside single malt on Thursday. Amazing value at £49. Glenfarclas, most probably. It won't last long.

johnnyskeleton

Brockagh wrote: »

If you're in the UK, Aldi are releasing a 40 yr old Speyside single malt on Thursday. Amazing value at £49. Glenfarclas, most probably. It won't last long.

Not in Ireland? Damn their eyes!

Brockagh

Well, I don't think so. I couldn't find it on their Irish website. Maybe they'll come up with a 40 yr old Irish for the Irish branches. Maybe in 40 years' time.

emmet the rover

the 40yo is only in uk aldi stores as far as i know and is limited to 3000 so there will not be too many on the shelfs and most agree selling a whisky that might get up to £300 at a auction for £50 is a publicty stunt

KJ

shanel23 wrote: »

The Superquinn own brand whiskey @ 17€ a bottle is an absolute gem

I agree, the superquinn whiskey is really good. Excellent value too.