Norther Border Collection / CC 40yo

Reviews of that HP Full Volume are starting to come out elsewhere. At least, this is the first one I've seen, and it's very positive:

reddit.com/r/Scotch/…

Lot 40 and the rest of the releases are now available online at the LCBO.

@boatracer

*AND.... The Public Service Award of the Month goes to......** @boatracer

Thank you very much! I've ordered a Lot 40 CS.

@Nozinan Can't take the credit. Saw it on Mark Bylok's twitter feed this morning. I was able to get mine in store last week so want those who aren't near the cities that have been "blessed" with the release so far to have a crack at it.

twitter.com/markbylok/status/…

@boatracer but you brought it here. Much appreciated.

And the next day... Lot 40 CS is the first to sell out online. I hope those who wanted it were able to order it. Still plenty of Wiser's 35, Pike Creek 21 and G&W Little Trinity.

I received an email that my Lot 40 CS has arrived in the store. One step away from having that in my home. Exciting, but I will only believe it if I see it.

@Nozinan Surely even the KGBO would not be cruel enough to deny you at this stage.

@BlueNote wouldn't put it past 'em

Just got this email. I’m a happy, happy boy. I’ll be picking it (Lot 40 CS) up Monday after work, before heading to Toronto for a Companions of the Quaich dinner; special guest is a “brand ambassador” from Ardbeg/Glenmorangie. Plus, I’m 99.999999999% sure I’m picking up a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail at a fair price (plus other sample-sized goodies) on Tuesday from a person whose identity I cannot disclose. It’s going to be a good week.

@OdysseusUnbound It's a good thing it's not a race...as I got my Lot 40 CS today, and picked up a CC40 for a friend to be named later.

Interesting, the rep at Spirit of Toronto said there would be about 2000 of each release (we're excluding CC40 here) for all of Canada... yet my Lot 40CS bottle is number 4539 of 4968. That's almost 2.5x what they said.

Did they lowball it to get people to madly dash and grab what they could?

That being said, if Lot 40 CS were available near me I'd probably grab another...it's pretty good.

As it stands in Ontario:

1. Lot 40 CS - 21 in stores province wide

2. Wiser's 35 - 41 online, 112 in stores (figures , it's more than twice the price)

3. CC40 - 38 province wide, 22 in one store in North York.

The eagle has landed. I repeat, the eagle has landed. I picked this up before visiting my brother in Toronto and attending a Companions of the Quaich dinner and tasting.

@OdysseusUnbound How was the tasting? I had to miss it unfortunately.

@talexander It was just ok. The tasting was as follows:

• Glenmorangie 10 Original. Ok. Very standard.
• Glenmorangie 12 Lasanta. A bit underwhelming.
• Glenmorangie 12 Quinta Ruban. Very nice. May have to get a bottle of this. Chocolate cherries come to mind.
• Ardbeg 10. No surprises, I love this dram.

I won one of the draws and chose a half-full bottle of Ardbeg as my prize. I shared it with the table as I could not bring this in an Über. I was hoping to get a taste of An Oa, but it didn’t happen. Nevertheless, the Glenmorangie/Ardbeg Rep was quite personable and very Scottish, so it was fun.

@OdysseusUnbound Thanks - yes that's all pretty standard. I've never tasted the Lasanta though. Actually, I'm one of the few who dislike the Quinta Ruban. I've tried to like it a number of times but honestly, I can't stand it!

@talexander Interesting. I found the Lasanta comparable to my Glenfarclas 12. Not bad by any stretch, but not world-changing. I really liked the Quinta Ruban, though someone told me I’d be better off picking up an Amrut Portnova (spelling?). I’ll have to keep my eyes peeled.

@OdysseusUnbound That Amrut is amazing!

@Nozinan "the rep at Spirit of Toronto said there would be about 2000 of each release (we're excluding CC40 here) for all of Canada... yet my Lot 40CS bottle is number 4539 of 4968. That's almost 2.5x what they said."

"Maybe he misspoke, but he's an actual representative from the company not just someone throwing out random dates. I'd suggest contacting HP themselves if you want clarification, but just because you can make a case that it's a 17 year old whisky does not make it so."

"Listen closely to what brand ambassadors say, and do a bit of research on same and you'll find they don't always know what they're talking about...."

some believe everything whisky sales people tell them (occasionally, while well lubricated), curmudgeons who hide behind their keyboards take sales pitches with a grain of salt ... caveat emptor

at the risk of appearing to be attempting to drive traffic to my twitter acct, here's my take on the subject of this thread: Lot 40 CS: link text

@65glenfarclas Not sure what bringing together 3 different quotes adds to the discussion.

Also not sure why people switch account names on this site.

@portwood / @65glenfarclas

@Rigmorole / @Cunundrum / @whateverthekirkheiscallinghimselfnow

At least @OlJas explained the switch to @MadSingleMalt

@SKEPTIC Sorry for wasting everyone's time with off topic posts, but I'm skeptic about "information" given by brand ambassadors.

as for the "name change", just being an a-hole hiding behind my keyboard

We all should be skeptical about the information we get from anyone representing a brand - ambassador, importer, master blender, anyone - their agenda is to sell you whisky. They may also simply get something wrong.

@talexander True, but I don't understand the reason to be inaccurate about the number of bottles of a special release. But I guess that's one thing we CAN'T pin on the KGBO.

So have you tried all 5 yet (including CC40)?

@Nozinan It could've just been a mistake, who knows? No, I haven't tried all five of what I've purchased yet, though I did buy an extra bottle of G&W17 and opened it. Of course, I've tried them all before, but just not those bottles.

@talexander It's been 6 months since SOT. The Lot 40CS is just as I remembered it in my review. The other's we'll see. I haven't opened my GW 17 yet. Too many opened bottles, not enough liver.

@Nozinan Probably were only 2000 bottles released in Canada of Lot 40 CS. The rest are heading south and over to MoM and TWE.

A lot of effort still being put into promoting a whisky that is sold out .... UNLESS, there are thousands more barrels to be tapped, so they can stock it in chain restaurants like the Keg ;-) link text

@65glenfarclas Ha - as you know, tweeting is not a huge effort! I doubt it's totally sold out...

@talexander the effort & cost is in the organized tours, tastings, etc (led by the master blender himself not a low paid tour guide) - not Twitter per se