Norther Border Collection / CC 40yo

JP Wiser's will open up their distillery to tours every Friday starting November 10th. Here is a clip from the local Windsor CTV News. kitchener.ctvnews.ca/video/…

@boatracer, I called a few stores and they had no clue when the Lot40 CS and PC21 are hitting the stores. They said it still show inventory in the warehouse and not released.

@DevD So I guess it won't be coming out this weekend. See the tweet in the link below from the Toronto Whisky Society. twitter.com/TorontoWhisky/status/…

I don't think that was a "delay". That was what I heard originally.

Hey. Is this the same thing you Canadians are talking about?

reddit.com/r/worldwhisky/…

@boatracer, The pop-up store launch for NBC Rare was always the plan. Beware of fake news.

hello kitty is the "go to" source for this launch

So looks like about 60 bottles of the Lot 40 Cask Strength hit the Summerhill LCBO this morning and were gone in short order.

twitter.com/markbylok/status/…

@boatracer, Any other LCBO stores getting the Lot 40CS bottles

@DevD The messaging last week was that it was to start at a popup store in TO on the 16th, then work its way out to other "select" locations. I don't have insider info, just what I find on the LCBO site and what others are reporting.

@DevD @boatracer I think we can assume that there will be little rhyme or reason to the availability. It is likely to be frustrating for most people and a few will be really lucky.

Given the official line was a release date of October 16, I suspect insiders had the scoop on the Summerhill stuff being available, and many of these bottles are going to fall into the same hands over and over, until they are happy with their share.

I'm now twice as grateful my BIL was able to score some in Calgary.

If any of my friends are insiders who are reading this, it's not you I blame, but the KGBO....

I had a Corby “brand ambassador” tell me Oct 8. I’m still not optimistic I’ll be able to get a Lot 40 CS. But Bruichladdich Classic Laddie Scottish Barley is on sale, so that’s always an option until Nov 8...

@OdysseusUnbound I will limit my attempts to online or if not available, to a store near me. if it's available online I will let you order one to your local store. If it's available in brick and mortar in Toronto and not in Barrie, then if there's one close enough to me, I will pick one up for you.

@Nozinan I'll just wait until the dust settles. If I don't get one, oh well - I consider myself lucky enough to have already tried them all anyway....

@talexander Given that I have 2 in Calgary, barring any mishap, you will taste of it again...

@talexander On the other hand, I wish I had such a laissez faire approach. I highly respect and admire that.

@Nozinan Well, there's a lot of good whisky in the world...but yes the excitement of Canadian whisky releases achieving something approaching the excitement of a BTAC release is hard to resist.

Reddit review CC 40, I enjoy reading his reviews, seems to be fair (with the exception of his Danfields 21 review in which he is wrong :)

reddit.com/r/worldwhisky/…

Don Livermore posted on his Instagram that he will be at 600 King St. West Toronto LCBO from 5-8PM on October 19th and 20th. Regarding the NBC he says, "I may even sign a bottle or two. Limited quantities".

@Mancub Sure it would be nice to have a signed bottle, but then I couldn't open it...

I will wait and see if I can get it online or closer to home in a store...where I can use a gift card...

@Nozinan You wouldn't open and drink from a signed bottle? It's still signed when the alcohol is gone you know ;)

@Mancub but then my wife would want me to throw it out...

@Nozinan Fill it with something else and she'll be none the wiser! I use some of my favorite bottles for other things, infusions or infinite bottles. I have a Wiser's Last Barrels bottle that I use as an infinite bottle (living bottle) adding the last ounce or two from bottles on my shelf to it. To that particular bottle I only add sherry-aged scotch and bourbon too. Or you could turn a signed bottle into a nice lamp for your "drinking room" ;).

@Mancub I guess if it were an EMPTY bottle of NBC you could say "none (of) the Wiser".

But I don't have time to go downtown, fight traffic, and find that they have sold out... I'm satisfied to wait until December to bring it home.

I will, however, try to pick up 1-2 bottles for people who can't get them if I have access and I'm aware of the need.

So who is going to 600 King West today to try to fight for the slim pickings offered by the KGBO?

They list 18 of each of the bottles in stock. 18! They're either lying or greatly underestimate demand.

@Nozinan I'll be going at lunch (my office is 15 mins away from it). If I snag something, great. If I don't, oh well.

@talexander Good luck.... report back!

When I got there just after 12pm (I think it opened at 12) the lineup went out to the street (maybe about 30 people deep)? It was slow going, it took about a half-hour to get through, and just before I got to the front of the line they ran out of Wiser's 35 year old (which was the last remaining Norther Border Collection bottling). So they'd run out of NBC and CC40 by then. So I got nuthin'. Nice little whisky shop there though, with a tasting bar and tastings and events running every day/evening until Nov 12, when the shop turns from a whisky store to a "holiday-themed" LCBO. Then the pop-up closes for good on New Years Eve.

The whisky selection there was very good by LCBO standards. Saw a few bottles of Stagg Jr, which I hadn't seen at the LCBO lately. If you are in downtown Toronto, definitely worth checking out for fun and a little tasting. lcbo.com/content/lcbo/…

@talexander Yes, I saw a few STagg Jr. listed. "excellent batch" is my first impression. I now have more than I know what to do with.

I believe I predicted this outcome. Sorry you came away with bubkes.

I wonder if they will bring out 18 bottles a day to bring people back...

Who to blame...Wiser's or KGBO?

@Nozinan I honestly don't "blame" anyone. It's a limited release and I think the LCBO is doing what they can to get it out in a way that gives as much access as possible while minimizing a immediate sell-out situation (similar I guess to the BTAC collection, to go back to that analogy). It's funny how we complain that Canadian whisky doesn't get the respect that it deserves, and then when it finally does get that respect, we complain that (like with many premium bourbons and single malts) we can't get it whenever we want. I guess we can't have our rye and drink it too!

@talexander In this case many can't have their rye OR drink it too.