When is it acceptable to return a bottle?

elmsley4

I bought a bottle of Highland Park 12, and it the past, the taste has been sweet honey and a light smoke at the finish. Wonderful stuff.

I recently purchased a bottle at a new store where one of the workers is a whiskey expert. I took the HP 12 home and tried it - far different than what I'm used to - very herbaceous and a bit bitter. I called the store and asked about returns and the expert said if it's off to return it.

I took it in and asked him to try it. He did and told me there was nothing wrong with it, it's classic HP 12. Additionally, he commented HP isn't really peaty, it's more a nose of heather.

I took the bottle home and tried again, this time with more water and then I got the difference: this bottle has a TON of heather. The sweetness is lingering there, but it's got a STRONG bouquet of heather and dark caramel. Gone is the light sweetness of honey and light coating of smoke I loved in prior bottles I had.

So - one one hand, HP is a quality scotch that will have variations from one bottling to the next. I get it. That said, I really miss (and wanted) what I had prior. So should I be able to return the bottle if I'm not happy, even though the bottle is not acrid, it just has a much different flavor profile? I'm really not happy with as compared to what I had in the past. I want to support the store, so I'll probably just keep it and try another time. If the bottle was expensive, > $75, I would likely push to return... What are the thoughts around this???

Thanks for the thoughts!

Cheers,

JG

horst_s_2

Single Malt Scotch Whisky is a natural product and there are variations. Typically the variations are not very big. But over the time - everything changes. Wood sources, production processes, master blenders, ... There are so many influences to a whisky, that it is more normal that the taste changes than that it stays constant. What you are finding better or worse might be completely different to that what other people think.

How should a dealer accept a return, when his wholesale dealer or the official distributor will not refund the bottle? In such a case s/he can't take back the bottle. If the bottle shows a corky smell - it is completely different. Everybody will accept a return and will be refunded.

Absorber

Well, in Russia you can never return a bottle of spirits if you already opened it