What did you NOT buy and why?

I did not buy any of the recent Springbank and Kilkerran releases. Not because I didn't want any but because they sold out online in a measurement of time to short to be registered by conventional time keeping devices.

Alternatively, if you want to buy a bottle in a shop bring a camping chair and get there the night before and be wary of the people working in gangs where one person holds a place in the queue for 5 people. I've got better things to do with my time that queue overnight to buy a bottle of Scotch and I'm not an aggressive person but I'd probably end up punching someone in the queue with that sort of behaviour going on.

The latest Springbanks can now be seen on auction sites for 8 -10 times RRP.

I think bottle flippers are the scum of the earth. But tbh if I did manage to get a bottle of Local Barley for the retail price of £100 it goes at auction for £1,000. It would be tempting I'd have to admit.

Springbank has gone absolutely crazy in a very short space of time. Glad I saw it coming and stocked up a bit, although I didn't anticipate exactly how nuts it was going to get.

Time to walk away from Springbank. I'll content myself with buying the odd bottle of the 10 or 15 if I get lucky in the year. But trying to get hold of a special release just makes me angry!

@Wierdo, It is indeed frustrating to be frozen out by bottle flippers.

I couldn't agree with you more, you summed it up succinctly, "I think bottle flippers are the scum of the earth".

@Wierdo,@paddockjudge, gentlemen, when whiskis become so popular that they become collectibles then the whiski drinker takes stiff competition from the arbitrageurs.

I liked the hobby a lot better when top flight bottles were available and affordable, and tout le monde thought I was insane for liking whiski.

You can't have it both ways. If you are part of the crowd then the prices are bid up. If you are an outlier to the crowd then you can find beautiful gems on the cheap that no one else in your Welt appreciates.

@Victor, @Wierdo, I buy very few single malt distillery releases these days. Many bottle flippers do not chase independent releases. I've been able to harvest numerous independent CS single malts in the 20 year to 30 year range at a huge discount to distillery releases. Is the whisky the same?...I don't care because plenty of these indie acquisitions are truly magnificent products, many of them being single cask and a few of them teaspooned. This is a practical workaround, it simply took me a while to figure it out. Finding a trusted importer was the key.

@paddockjudge I agree; the independents are where the best value lives these days. I was just having a look through my current inventory and I was surprised to find that a significant percentage consisted of Cadenhead’s, Cooper’s Choice, S.M.O.S. Carn Mor, AD Rattray, Valinch & Mallett and Signatory bottlings. All at least 46% most at cask strength and all very good.

@BlueNote, Yes sir! Many longer-aged distillery releases are becoming unaffordable. The price of Independent releases is not far behind; however, they often represent much better value.

While I'm a member of the workforce, I will continue to harvest the finest spirits which comfortably fall inline with my budget allocation. The day will come when I am on a fixed income (that's a misnomer, many retirees are broke) and practicing a more frugal existence....but, until then, I'm bunkering a few good indies and the occasional distillery release.

The price of indy releases in the UK has gone up in recent years. Driven by the greater interest in whisky and in higher strength naturally presented products. As @Victor points out. Driven by the likes of us!

Independent bottles no longer represent an affordable alternative to official bottles.

In most cases indy bottles are more expensive than official bottles.

For instance Caol Ila which appears a lot in indys. Will set you back around £80-100 for a 10-12 bottle. The official 12 year old release is £40. Granted it is 43%, chill filtered etc. And the indys will most likely be cask strength and NCF.

Same for most distilleries now. When they appear as an indy they are significantly more expensive than the official releases.

That's the case in the UK so I imagine it will be the case further afield in time.

@Wierdo, I believe the HUGE demand from the Asian market is depleting the affordable stocks of non-distillery holdings. Prices are rising. Availability in N.America, in particular Canada, is tightening. Indy bottlers are increasingly choosing younger barrels (not necessarily immature product) and aiming to maintain attractive price points while keeping healthy liquidity ratios...older whisky tends to tie-up a lot of capital.

@paddockjudge Very wise. You can't go wrong buying whisky futures.

@paddockjudge They apparently have much deeper pockets than we do, not to mention a seeming need to be seen to be wealthy.

I'm considering buying a bottle of Old Perth Cask Strength Blended Malt but am hesitating on pulling the trigger. It only costs £40 and I have a £25 gift voucher so it won't cost a lot and I just had a wee taste of a sample of the 46% bottling (thanks, @wierdo) and, in spite of my palate being off, could tell it was very decent stuff.

I mean, paying under £20 for a decent CS sherry bomb type whisky seems a no brainer, right? I just know as soon as I do, something will come along that I really, really want and I'll kick myself for being so greedy .

@RianC go for it! Just trying my sample also generously supplied by @Wierdo and it’s lovely isn’t it. Will be getting a bottle myself.

@Timp - of the cask strength? I think I'll probably get one ordered tomorrow but have been tempted by a bottle of As We Get It, Highland (Ian Macleod) @64.5%. Serge seems to rave about these and I've been tempted a few times. Has anyone ever tried one?

I'd probably prefer a Highland dram from an older sherry cask than the Old Perth but can't find any reviews on this batch. Also noticed they've jumped in price by a tenner ... Quelle surprise!

@RianC Sorry forgot that our samples are different versions to the cask strength. Those as we get it bottles do look good as well. Always the dilemma!! Be interested to know which one you get.

Campbeltown Loch blend. I wanted to get a bottle of the recently released batch but they sold out rapid time - no surprise, I suppose. Anyway, I just noticed there are 50 bottles of the stuff on the Scotch Whisky Auction's latest! I mean, that's some serious flippage

And, yes, there would be more than a wee touch of schadenfreude if some end up selling for less than the rrp, although I doubt it. Crazy times ...

@RianC - for anyone interested (@wierdo), I held back at the auction but did see that most of the 50 bottles of Campbeltown Loch went for £40, so pretty much rrp.

Now, I don't usually take pleasure in others' misfortunes but, given they were likely bought for the sole purpose of flipping, it did make me smile to see that plan backfire - and badly! With commission, that's a loss on every bottle. Incidentally, I saw one bottle on another site with bids already past £50.

Flipping lesson no.1 then ... Don't sell all your eggs from one basket

@RianC did you see that when Cadenheads reopened their London store there was a massive queue outside because they had a few Springbank Local Barleys and a few Springbank 25s. Some morons tried to jump the queue and there was a fight and the police had to be called.

thesun.co.uk/news/18190480/…

@Wierdo - What a clown! That said though, those queuing up to, let's face it, flip them for cash (not support any humanitarian crisis - unless their holiday fund counts?!) kind of bring this on themselves.

Wherever an easy meal's to be found, the sharks will soon be circling ...

We had a similar thing in Bristol recently when Banksy T shirts supporting the Colston statue topplers went on sale. Personally, I'd have lobbed them all in the docks

I’ve really wanted to try Daftmill and I was surprised to find it in a local shop. I was equally surprised by the price. I know it is limited and sought after but I am trying to limit my purchases to an acceptable price level. This ain’t it! Now if I had the chance to try it and see if I thought it was worth that price, than maybe.

@TracerBullet having brought one of the small bottles of the latest Daftmill release. I'd say it was very nice whisky but probably not worth the retail price in the UK of £100 a bottle and defintely not worth the flippers price of 3 or 4 times that.

@Wierdo Thanks for that! FOMO under control again!

Another one from Ardbeg that I will not get. I'm sure a few of you have gotten this email (BTW, the price is over 3K currently):

Ardbeg Fon Fhòid A GROUNDBREAKING ENDEAVOUR

Dear Committee Member

Years ago, under the cover of darkness and aided by the then Distillery Manager, we buried two already matured ex-Bourbon barrels of Ardbeg beneath the peat bogs of Islay.

But why? Our naturally inquisitive nature got the better of us. We wanted to discover the effects an oxygen-deprived, water-laden, boggy place would have on our beloved Ardbeg. This is more than likely the first ever recorded subterranean maturation experiment.

THE DRAM

The result of our dig is 456 bottles of astonishingly rare, one-of-a-kind NFT whisky bottles. ABOUT THE ARDBEG X BLOCKBAR PARTNERSHIP

Ardbeg Fon Fhòid's limited release of 456 virtual bottles are available exclusively on BlockBar.com, anywhere in the world from 19th April 2022. BlockBar has sold thousands of NFTs - digital assets - from a wide variety of other distillers.

BE SURE TO GET YOUR HANDS ON IT

Those lucky enough to lay their virtual hands on the whisky will receive a digital version of their purchase, which can then be traded and redeemed to receive their actual bottle. So they can, ahem, 'dig' Ardbeg Fon Fhòid whenever they like, in all its smoky glory.

Sláinte

The Ardbeg Team

Two different sources alerted me to the fact that Laphroaig 10 YO CS batch 14 is now (sorry, was then) available for purchase online.

As @fiddich1980 predicted when I hemmed and hawed as to whether I should get a bottle, wait two hours and the decision will be made for you. So prescient.

I did visit the site. I could have got a bottle. But I now have an open bottle, and 2 sealed bottles, and I know the opportunity to get another WILL occur before I have finished the last dram of what I have.

I consider this a victory over bother FOMO (new batch) and FORO.

@Nozinan Cold turkey on FOMO and FORO. You inspire me to try harder.

@BlueNote I’m sure COVID has contributed to it... and I’m sure it will be temporary…

What did I NOT buy and why?

Anything at the KWM August sale because I'm directing my spend towards Items which are of interest to me, not merely SALE FODDER....besides, I would have already bought it if I wanted it.

@paddockjudge I didn’t even know there WAS a sale.

I thank you for keeping it from me.

Sales at Alberta online retailers have grown my collection to an unmanageable size.

@Nozinan, I consider you a true friend, I hope you would do the same for me. I'm doing my best to look out for your general well being.

I did NOT buy any BTAC/Pappy. I got my annual “GFY” email from the LCBO and my oh-fer streak remains unbroken.

@OdysseusUnbound Same...