The Great 2013 Dram Adventure

Day 1 Planning, shopping and a surprise tasting guest.

Our wives have gone shopping for gifts, some of the kids are out with an aunt and the others are playing peacefully. Time to plan.

First up, what are we going to drink and how will it be arranged? We set out all his bottles and divide them into appropriate categories. Some are easy. 3 Amrut's. 2 open A'Bunadh (34 and 38) and an untested 30. 3 Bruichladichs. Then a couple we don't plan. A Macallan fine oak and Glenlivet 18. We put together a CS series out of Balvenie 15 single cask, Glenlivet Nadurra and the untried Glendronach cask strength batch 2. Anything we buy may be added somewhere. I brought a sample of Booker's and we'll figure out something.

Then we have to plan the trips. We decide that tonight, unless something comes up, will be a "recon" mission to most of the area's better shops.

The wives return, the evening approaches. My wife and I have a deal. If she buys shoes I get to by scotch. She tells me I get to buy $800 worth of scotch based on her shopping trip. I tell her I hope she's joking, but that I will go ahead and do that (no intention of spending that level of coin...).

The first place we hit is Crowfoot Liquor. It's a small store of a chain, but I notice a bottle of Booker's (can't make out the batch) and 2 A'Bunadhs batch 36 catch my eye. We snap photos of the batch and the price and move on.

Next a CoOp where we find sample bottles of Amrut cask strength. I've never seen, let alone tasted, this before in a store. So we buy three. One to taste, and one each for a later date. Safe bet. If we don't like it the sample bottles were not too pricy. If we do, glad we have more. We also note intermediate sherry priced below $100, the lowest I have seen in Canada. Snap a photo to remind us and we're off.

Next stop CSN, where I had seen the Springbank cask strength advertised as available online. It's there, but it turned out to be a different batch from the one I had. Snap a photo and on we go. Before we leave we see a display of Glenfarclas family cask bottles from 1961 to the 1990s. I see my birth year. I don't even bother to ask how much this 38 year old single cask sherry dream bottle costs....boo hoo.

Next to Crowfoot, the flagship store. We go to the scotch section....it's gone! In actuality, they moved everything (big move) across to the other side of the store, and the selection is bigger than ever. We are offered samples by three different people, and ye answer our questions thoughtfully. Unfortunately my hopes that I could pick up another Springbank claret wood are dashed. They are out. Good thing I still have the spare I bought last year. They have the old CS for tasting (looks like about 20 cc in the bottle) but the new one in the shelf. Amrut IS is there plus Khadambam, which I thought was long gone.

We settle on a sample of Springbank 12 CS single barrel from a refill ex-sherry cask. Nose is great but I find the peat a little abrasive on the palate. We also try Benromach Peat Smoke (only later do we notice it's just been Ralfy reviewed). Beautiful nose, thin on the palate, maybe because we had a cask strengther just before.

They have Booker's and it's the same batch as the ones I bought in Toronto....temptation. But I tell my brother in law to try the sample before he decides if he wants one.

Next a bigger COOP. We find similar stuff. The 50 year old Glenfiddich is gone, but a small 50 cc bottle remains. Only $4000+. A surprise find is a reasonably priced Tomatin 3 bottle sample box. We both know little of this distillery but it's worth a try...education of course... I also pick up a bottle of Soju. I've seen it consumed in a lot of Korean TV shows! and tried it once so I figure I should introduce my brother in law to it. I note that, surprisingly, in Toronto you can get three times the variety of brands (3) and they are cheaper. Also, Octomore 4.1 is 30 dollars cheaper than I paid for it in 2011. Should I get another? It's easier to open 1 if you have 2. Plus the 5.1 is there, a little more pricy (must be the extra 2 ppm).

Last stop is a Safeway. Nothing of interest.

So we return. Debrief. Most of my wish list (except Amrut Portonova and Springbank Claret wood) is available. We now know where to get it, I just have to bring up the courage to decide what to get and what to leave, knowing that my wife will not take too kindly to filling our suitcases with alcohol that will take me years to drink.

We get home. We now have 4 established sessions planned (adding the CS samples to the Amrut line), and now the Tomatins. Only 8 evenings, many of which are busy. Better get started.

Our niece, freshly 18 and new to Whisky (other than with coke), agrees to join us. We quickly develop as close to a beginner series as we can come up with.

First up, Glenlivet 18. Easy, 43%. Great nose. She likes the palate (I find it thin). Ok, good start. I discard most of. Mine and we decide to move up the the 16 year Nadurra. We all like this one. And it improves with glass time and a little water.

Then I open the sample of Booker's. As expected, very different, but given the predecessors (no peat or strong wine finishes), we all like it (well, I've liked it for a couple months now).

Last up, Jonny Walker Red. WHAT? SERIOUSLY?

Yes. I wanted to show her what is a good scotch, and what is a bad scotch, and the contrast was perfect. Actually, the 63% of the Booker's probably dulled the buds enough to prevent gagging. She tried it, found it tasteless and unimpressive, and finished her Booker's.

I think we have a convert. Tomorrow (actually, today as it's well past midnight now) we'll aim for another tasting and I hope to complete the shopping before Christmas. Decisions decisions....

Happy dramming!

Looks like you're going to get through the holidays ok.

All those shops and you missed the best two in the city. You need to visit Willow Park and Kensington Wine Market. There is still Portonova around as well.

@antihero

All in good time....

Day 2: Journey to India (I’m writing as I do this)

No time to go exploring today. But we finally sat down to dram. We decided on the Amrut gamut, as it offers a number of finishes and will introduce our niece to Peat at the end.

First up, Amrut Cask Strength. We split the 50 cc bottle in three. WOW! what a start! First thing I noticed on the nose was shortbread cookies or cookie dough. A pleasant spiciness. After sniffing about 15 minutes, we tasted. SYRUP! Sweet. Mild burn if the sip is too large. Pleasant, long finish. With a few drops of water my brother-in-law extinguishes the cookies on the nose.

We edit the buying “wish list” to include this if we can find it anywhere... other than the samples at the coop it hasn’t surfaced anywhere.

Next, the Intermediate Sherry. Nice nose. A little less sweet and more spirity than the last one. Definite Sherry on the nose, especially as it opens in the glass. What a rich taste! Next we add a drop of water, and it actually increases the burn and makes it a little bitter. No worries, a few minutes later and it’s opened nicely. We search around and find some milk chocolate for my niece and she see the transformation with the next sip. Another hit.

Portonova’s turn. The nose hits you right away. warm, sweet port. Spicy, says my niece. The taste, neat, hot and spicy. Ginger, nutmeg (says brother in law). With drops of water and time it smooths out beautifully.

At this point my daughter kisses me, and her comment is “whisky lips..ha ha ha”. She correctly identified that this was indeed whisky, but not Scotch. Not bad for a 6 year old.

Last, but not least, the Fusion. (?batch 6) This will be the first peat expression for my niece. How will it go over?

On the nose, it’s interesting. The Amrut signature is there with a hint of smoke. On the palate... mixed reaction. I really like it. It tickles my niece’s nose, but she likes it.

So what did we like the best? I’d say all four were excellent, but we all gave the edge to the “Cask Strength” tonight. I wouldn’t turn away any of these at any time.

Tomorrow (now today), we will try to make it to KWN and Willow Park, and perhaps buy some of the bottles we’ve hunted.

Happy Dramming

@Nozinan what a great adventure in Amrut. Sorry, I accidentally gave you a thumbs down (my iPhone is much too small for these interactions) but please know that I meant the opposite. I'm still partial to the Intermediate Sherry you all had and it's still my favorite from the Amrut's I've tasted so far. Would love to get my hands on a Cask Strength also. Let me know if you find one.

@Nosebleed

If I find some more and get to see you, I'll be sure to share. My brother in law certainly isn't planning to give up his sample bottle.

Willow Park has the Cask Strength

Day 3: Cask Strength adventures but no drinking.

Today we headed south to the two major shops that we hadn’t hit yesterday. We dropped a niece and nephew at a movie ( a long one thankfully) and headed on the Calgary trails to Willow Park, flagship store.

Oh my goodness! This place is the biggest liquor store I’ve been to in Alberta. They even have washrooms for customers. Hear that LCBO? Customer service! Although part of the reason we came was to see it and look at the extensive collection, we were also after the Amrut Cask Strength that @antihero told us was there. Imagine, if we hadn’t found the miniatures hiding between others we had no interest in, we would never have known.

We quickly found the cask strength in metal cannisters but sadly it appeared to be a different batch with a slightly different ABV. I still felt I should pick up a couple, never having tasted a bad Amrut. Next to it was labelled the Amrut Single malt at ~ $46 or so. But my brother in-law’s (B-I-L) eagle eye noticed that the boxes next to it were also the CS, and closer inspection revealed two bottles from the same “limited edition” as the miniatures. yay! I should note they are no longer available for sale at Willow Park... but we did leave a couple of the newer ones (one did come home with me).

On the way north we made our way to the legendary KWM. I have to say that it was NOTHING like I imagined. After reading a lot about it on another website and perusing the online catalogue I thought it would be huge. Instead it’s a pretty small store with an interesting but small selection of Scotch. Nothing against KWM. It just proves that size isn’t everything. We met one of the whisky experts who offered to help us if we needed it.

Next we made our way north again. While my B-I-L went into a store I popped into a small independent liquor store where I was greeted by a poodle who ensured I wasn’t up to anything before letting me in. Not a high end place by any means. So surprisingly, of the 2 single malts available one was A’Bunadh!

Heading up further we went back to the Coop with the Amrut miniatures and I picked up a few more to give as gifts. I know it’s twice as expensive for the same volume of whisky but it’s nicer than a clear glass bottle with writing on it...

We picked up the movie-goers and went to dinner. There we were told that tomorrow would be our day to make breakfast, and so we used the excuse to head to yet another liquor store before hitting the grocery store. There we came upon the most surprising find of the day, resting (out of reach for me), above the top shelf. MORTLACH.

A G&M bottling exclusive for COOP liquors. Distilled 1998 bottled 2012 (so 13 or 14 years old, didn’t say). Cask strength refill ex-sherry cask.

I have a special place in my heart for Mortlach. The man who introduced me to spirits and sparked my interest in learning about whisky had a fantastic collection, but the only thing I ever saw at his place that was open was a Rare Malts bottling of Mortlach. But I have never tried it.

At 100 dollars a bottle I’m hesitant to buy on spec. It seems a steal for a cask strength mid age well-respected distillery. Any one have any experience with this?

Got home too late to dram. Hopefully tomorrow night.

Until then, happy dramming!

Day 3 - the best laid plans...

Not much to post from a spirit point of view. I did buy a bottle of Booker's for someone to give as a gift, but there was no time for more adventures. By the time we got home from dinner and settled the kids it was time for the traditional ( in my in-laws' family ) midnight deli plate.

After some salami and cheese I introduced my family to the Korean tradition of Soju shots. We each had 2. They didn't taste like anything. I felt a little buzzed even though it's the equivalent of one oz of 40% Whisky. I guess drinking it over a minute is very different from 3 hours....

4 more nights.... Four more sets to go through. Absolutely no margin for error.

Day 5 - Christmas Cheer

Oops, the last post should have said day 4.

Today we had a single meal just after noon. We settled back home to an early evening of dramming. 4 of us tonight. Last night after my post we introduced a nephew to single malts. Our niece made a return visit.

Tonight we decided to go with the orphan cask strengthers.... Balvenie 15 YO single cask follwed by Glendronach CS batch 2.

First the Balvenie. It’s at 47.8%, bottle number 9 from cask 13524. The nose was very nice, with sweet fruit and honey. The taste was a bit more bitter and rough. A little water and some air time smoothed things over a little. Not a favourite. I remember really liking cask 1976 when I tried it a couple of years ago.

After a couple of palate cleansing shortbread cookies, we moved on to the Glendronach. I’ve tried the 15 (liked it) and the 18 before (liked it a little less) but the distillery was new to everyone else.

We all found this one a little spirity, and “spicy”. My brother in law and I liked it after air time and a few drops of water but i think it was too challenging for the niece and nephew. Our niece didn’t finish her dram.

B-I-L and I slowly finished our glasses over a board game with others but when they moved to Pictionary we bowed out and poured from his open A’Bunadh #34. It opened up nicely over a quarter of an hour with a few drops of water, and as I post this I’m settling in with it. It may be a long night...

@Nozinan fantastic accounts of what apears to be an incredible bonding experience and dram adventure. Dram on! I'll be happily awaiting the next installment.

Day 6 - slowing down, and 2 surprise finds.

This morning I surveyed the situation. Between the two bottles my B-I-L had waiting for me and the ones I bought here, I now had 5 bottles and 5 miniatures to bring back in my suitcase. And I still hadn’t bought any Springbank CS, Amrut IS, or made a decision on the Mortlach. The fact that there was a neglected Khadambam for ~$120 and the 3 editions of Octomore for sale (+a comus).... If I had unlimited money and unlimited space, and unlimited days in the future to enjoy this bounty....

I was suddenly hit with guilt... I know that the financial shock will easily be forgotten, especially since there’s nothing worth buying in Ontario and I plan to be there for a while. But the fact is I had a 2 year supply to add to my cabinet that’s already overflowing so how much is enough? Do I REALLY need to have a second bottle of every whisky I’ve enjoyed? What am I saving up for? There will always be a new must-have malt somewhere that is available for sale.

So I decided that as much as I would LIKE another Amrut IS, more Octomores, I probably wouldn’t be able to justify buying them (regardless of the high spending limit my wife pulled out of the air for me. There are so many new ones I want to try, when am I going to drink them anyway? (Decision subject to change without notice.)

But my B-I-L was still interested in looking over stores we hadn’t stopped at yet, to see if there were any back-batches of A’Bunadh (I did snap up one of the 36s I found earlier in the week for him and he was pleasantly surprised on the 25th. And we did have other errands to run.

Our first stop of consequence was to COSTCO, where we heard there was apparently JW Blue for sale for less than $200 (just to see, not to buy...). The JW wasn’t there, but we happened to notice a bottle of Kirkland 7 year old small batch bourbon. At $37 with tax, we had to try it, and put it head to head with the remains of the Booker’s sample I had brought.

We scooted around town and stopped at a few liquor stores, big and small. Nothing new really turned up. I saw the cask strength Mortlach at another COOP. As tempting as it was, given I could not find any reviews, no one messaged me to say GO FOR IT, it’s a refill ex-sherry cask, and $100, I decided to pass on it. I think it’s a case of “try before you buy”.

What I did find, that surprised me, at one of the stores, were, four pristine bottles of FC John’s Private Cask #1, supposedly long sold out (definitely gone in Ontario). I know of at least one Connosr member who’d be in heaven... .

Just as we were heading home we stopped in a small family run liquor store just near where I’m staying, because we’d not explored it before. They had a surprisingly good variety of low, medium and some high end stuff. I saw (but didn’t buy) my first Baker’s, and then....

A Springbank revelation! Not only the (new) 12 YO CS at its least expensive, but the long-sold out everywhere CLARET WOOD!

There went the resolve. I quickly reduced the number of available Claret Woods by one. So what if I can’t take it home with me? I can leave it here to bring home next trip. It took every bit of self control not to buy both. As for the new CS, we decided that if we get a chance to taste the new version and like it, we might get some.

Back home after dinner we decided to make it a light night. Kirkland bourbon vs the Booker’s. I’ve posted a formal review of the former. Booker’s clearly won. I won’t be bringing a bottle of Kirkland home with me.

Two more nights. Not sure what we’ll be able to cover. But each day brings with it something new...

Happy dramming!

@Nozinan - Extremely enjoyable Fantastic reporting! Hunting for dusties is something that most members relish.

Not much for Day 7.... I will rap up with a 2 day finale tomorrow.

Day 8 - The final chapter.

Yesterday was a slow day. My B-I-L wanted to scour the city for a batch 44 or 45 (A’Bunadh) so we were going into every small store we passed. We went back to the main Crowfoot to see if we could get a taste of the new Springbank 12 CS (we had seen the dregs of the old one available at the beginning of the week), but unfortunately they only had one bottle left so there would be no tasting.

We headed back home and made the decision: The small store near his home still held a few of the CS 12 and one Claret Wood. One way or another that Claret Wood was to be removed from that store. He decided to get it to keep in Calgary and I came home with a CS 12 YO. If I open it and like it before they’re all sold out he’ll get me another.

He didn't feel like a dram, so I helped him out by finishing the 15 cc that were left of his Amrut IS after he decanted it into a small bottle.

Today we had to run a few errands but decided to stop at any accessible liquor store. The first CO-OP had Amrut Portonova! I thought I would never see that again! My resolve to stop purchasing melted like an ice cube on hot asphalt. B-I-L, who actually has only a small sample of the stuff, showed more control (of course, he can always go back...).

But then we went to another CO-OP, one on the trans-Canada for anyone interested in following up, and whoa! What a selection! My eyes fell right onto....A’Bunadh Batch 44! Three bottles.

Truth be told, I’d probably prefer the (cheaper) proven 44 over the 36 I had bought, but the 36 is the next I plan to open and thenI’ll have one of each in reserve, and how many can one really own? But here is where B-I-L lost his control, because he really wanted a 44 (perhaps to open when he turns 44). So he got one. My eyes lingered over the three Octomore expressions but my buying was (almost) done.

At this point we were instructed to return ASAP with vietnamese noodle soup for the kids. After ordering we ducked into the neighbouring Liquor Depot, and lo and behold, more Amrut Cask Strength batch 1! But I couldn’t do it. On the way out we noticed that they had Amrut Fusion 50 cc bottles in a metal tin. One of those made it into my hands, a fitting souvenir to end the maddening buying spree which was this vacation in Scotchland.

After dinner neither of us was up to dramming, so it was time to pack. Subject to being overweight at the airport, I was able to cram the following into our bags, and hope I will end up with the same when we land tomorrow night:

Amrut Cask Strength ( 2 different batches) Amrut Portonova Springbank 12 YO CS Springbank 12 YO CS Claret Wood Aberlour A’Bunadh batch 36 Glendronach CS batch 2 Bowmore 15 YO CS Laimrig

Amrut CS 5 miniatures Amrut Fusion miniature

So eight bottles and 6 miniatures (the latter should make nice gifts).

I calculate I’m adding 3-4 years to my current supply. To say I have no plans to add anything else would be true, but 6 months ago I would have said the same thing....

What would I have added to this with an unlimited budget and defective frontal lobe inhibition? 1 or 2 Amrut IS, another Portonova and original CS, the G&M Mortlach I saw, and the entire range of available Octomores. I'd probably have opened the Springbank CS, and if I liked it, bought 2 more. And of course, the Glenfarclas family cask that was distilled in my year of birth.

Thus ends the 2013 Calgary Dramming Adventure. I’m here in the summer in 2014 but I don’t expect we’ll have time to shop (we may have a few drams), but wait till December 2015...

Happy Dramming!

@Nozinan cheers to your adventure! Thanks for sharing!

Sadly, I had to leave the Portonova behind. Just no room. So it's safe with B-I-L until my return to that fair city. I'm sure I'll have many malt moments even without it...

@Nozinan wonderful account of a fabulous dramming adventure this holiday season. Shame to leave your Portonova behind for next time as that is a good dram; but I think you did just fine with the rest of your finds. Keep on dramming....

Shame it's been so busy of late. Would have loved to have poured you a dram while you were here. Next time.

@Nozinan, no of course you are not going to spend $ 800 on bottles of whisky...who would do that?

"How many bottles can a person own?" Many.

@antihero

I will give you that opportunity when I visit in August. Perhaps I can bring something, like a Bladnoch, that you've not tried yet.

@Victor

I could have spent over $800 on A bottle of whisky - but I didn't even ask how much the Glenfarclas family cask cost.

I did end up buying 7 bottles (one as a gift). If I'd bought everything i wanted i could have gone over the "limit".

Remember, there's precious little to purchase in Ontario, so i get to blow my liquor buget all at once...

Wow.... just rereading this thread brings back memories of those carefree days.... to think that THEN I thought I had too many bottles...

@Nozinan I must have missed this thread 6 years ago. Fascinating reading. I think it's been about 5 years since Andrew Ferguson took over KWM. I think, these days, they punch well above their weight.

@BlueNote No doubt KWM has evolved...

It was a real eye opener to reread a 2013 thread. It certainly gave me pause for reflection. I was worried I had too many bottles at a time just before my collection exploded in size. I was proud of bringing a handful of bottles home when later trips resulted in over a dozen packed, plus boxes mailed.

While I kick myself about the Octomore Comus that was left behind (because I know @paddockjudge really likes it), it reminds me of a simpler time, a time when I was more naive. A time before I had discovered bourbon or rye or Canadian whiskies...