What did you NOT buy and why?

@Victor My dear big sister only sends Whisky to me that I cannot source. She has even sent Whiskey to some friends here direct from Nova Scotia. She however does not know Whiskey from Vodka :)

@Astroke I have benefited greatly from the generosity and kindness of your sister. Please wish her a Happy Holidays for me. And to you as well.

@Astroke They also serve who source.

I will NOT be buying a bottle of Lot 40 18 Year Old Cask Strength Single Cask. The “advance order” of 18 bottles will be sold online, on a first come, first serve basis tomorrow Dec 18 at 18:18 (or 6:18pm). That in and of itself guarantees that I couldn’t secure one if I wanted to; I can’t commit to that specific a time and my internet isn’t that reliable. The $250 + shipping puts it totally out of reach for me. The remaining bottles will be sold in 2022 in what I can only imagine will be a breathtaking spectacle of incompetence only the LCBO could pull off. Look for bottles coming soon to a profiteering flipper near you.

@OdysseusUnbound Reminds me of the Forty Creek 22 year Rye debacle lottery at the LCBO. 105 bottles and nobody got one. They do show up periodically on FB for $3k or so. I cannot type fast enough to get in on 18 bottles. Maybe if there were a few hundred I may have stood a chance.

@OdysseusUnbound as much as I love Lot 40, I'm not paying 250 bucks for ANY Canadian Whisky, I don't care how old it is - even lot 40!!!

When I started this crazy hobby in 2010, Cdn whisky came in bottom shelf bottles @40% ABV. I had various arguments/discussions online including with the dean of Cdn whisky - Davin DeKergommeaux who claimed Cdn distillers (among other crazy reasons) couldn't bottle single cask/cask strength whisky because they drained barrels from the heads of the casks. Similarly, Forty Creek's founder John Hall responded to my question about 40% ABV in a Spirit of Toronto "masterclass" that low abv tasted better.

Kudos to Dr Livermore for almost singlehandedly pulling Canadian Whisky into the 20th Century, but for this punter, its too little, too late. Canadian distillers had an opportunity to grab my $$$ and build brand loyalty when I was "building my collection". Now I have too many bottles and refuse to pay crazy money for more whisky, no matter how "limited" they claim it to be!

@65glenfarclas Lock Stock & Barrel 18 year Rye, sourced from ADL will run you $250 US plus tax. Whistlepig 18 batch 1 (Hiram Walker Rye) cost over $400 US. An 18 year 100% Rye bottled at cask strength is somewhat of a bargain at $250 Cad IMO. I won't bother because I simply am not skilled enough on a computer to get one. Not sure why this does not qualify as a buy at $250 because it was distilled and aged in Canada.

@Astroke I don't know much about Lock Stock & Barrel but I know I wouldn't pay $1 for any bottle of pig - one of the scummiest brands in the whiski industry.

I'm a "frugal" accountant (most of the current whiski crowd probably call me a crusty old fart), LOL. The Lot 40 18yo isn't a buy at $250, not because it was distilled and aged in Canada, but because, after tasting hundreds of whiskies, I don't see value in ANY bottle with a 3 digit price price where the first digit isn't a 1.

@65glenfarclas To each his own, but that was not the point.

The buzz on social media is that the “timed” Lot 40 18 Year pre-release sale was an absolute dumpster fire. Looks like I saved myself $250 + shipping and a lot of aggravation.

Whisky

I’m in Calgary visiting the in-laws for the first time since 2018.

One of the things I used to enjoy was visiting liquor stores big and small, looking for dusties and good deals and hard to find bottles.

This year, with the next wave of COVID and next to no restrictions in Calgary, the likelihood I would see the inside of a liquor store is very small. And of course, without my usual partner in crime, @nosebleed, it would not be nearly as much fun.

There is plenty of fine whisky here in the house should I decide to have some. And certainly there is enough waiting for me at home…

@Nozinan, the excellent recon and intel, provided by you and @nosebleed, in late Decembers of past, brightened this time of the year for me. The whisky porn, shot with blackberrys and iPhones, was always a Boxing Day highlight.

@Nozinan Admirable restraint.

@OdysseusUnbound They were charging $70 for shipping.

Was in Bath yesterday and spotted a very decent looking spirits and wine shop that seemed very reasonable price wise e.g. farclas 15 was £55. They also seemed to have a decent selection of whiskies. Didn't buy anything, and would probably still go for online, but it's nice to know such a shop is within easy reach.

@RianC Bath is a nice place for a day out. Was it the Independant Spirit of Bath shop? They always seem to have a decent selection of stuff. Nice to have an alternative to the extortionate tourist rates The Whisky Shop charges!

My wife went to see a friend this weekend near Swindon and I was very tempted to visit Arkwrights spirits and home brew shop in Highworth. They claim to have over a thousand whiskies available! Judging from their on line shop they have a lovely selection of stuff. I ducked out as I could see my lack of will power would prove expensive but it must only be an hour or so from you. Have you visited them?

@RianC I just ordered a Farclas 15 along with a few others as I could not ignore the $66 Cad (38 pounds) sale price. Of course add in another $10 Cad shipping per bottle.

@Astroke I think I missed something here. Where did you order this from? Is someone shipping from UK to Canada now?

@Timp - No I don't think it was that one. A little one on Green street, I think - we'd been swimming with the kids so things were a bit hectic and I was poking my head through the window! But yes, Bath is lovely. We should visit more with it being so close ...

Never been to the one in Swindon either but it looks very decent. I was put off by boutique style shops a while back when one here in Bristol was charging a good 15-20% more than online shops (they're not around anymore ...). I'd love to be able to support them but that's just too big of a hike - a seeker of cheap deals is I

@RianC ahh will check it out next time I am there.

Agree with you about the boutique style shops. Telling that the one in Bristol you mention is no longer there!

@BlueNote Alberta, was a flyer sale at Sierra

@Astroke Good one. I haven’t dealt with them. How do they ship? Canada Post?

I did not buy anything from the BTAC lotto because, well, as usual, I won absolutely nothing.

@BlueNote Sorry I did not get back to this comment. Yes, they ship CP

@Astroke No worries. I’ll check out their listings. Thanks

@OdysseusUnbound I did not buy anything from the BTAC lotto because, well, as has been the case for the last few years, I just don't care for $100++ bottles of Bourbon, so I didn't bother to submit an entry.

@65glenfarclas But Stagg Jr was a great buy at under $90! Such a steal of a deal that I bought......zero :(

@Nozinan Not such a "steal" considering I bought the two REAL Staggs currently in my cellar for ~100 bucks each in the "before times" ;-)

@65glenfarclas I have not had any stagg , sr or jr, in some time. But you piqued my interest. I have 3 jrs open. I may have to revisit some time this weekend.

I did not buy a VW Lot B as my daughter won the bottle and I paid for it with my card so the order was cancelled and reallocated to someone else. Oh well was going to trade it for something good anyway.