Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@nooch I did. I stand corrected, and gobbed smacked!

@ajjarrett, I understand your point about not being on anything. With the exception of Connosr, I'm not on anything except on whisky and on time.

@paddockjudge So, have you purchased anything 'interesting' recently, whisk(e)y wise that is? And if you already posted something, sorry I must have missed/forgot it.

And a quick message for those who might be from China: 春节快乐

Happy Spring Festival!

@nooch, Could you tell from which shop in Calgary you purchased the Redbreast 21

@DevD Zyn

@ajjarrett, Happy Spring Festival!

Your selection of Nikka T 17 YO Pure Malt is a great pick! I had emptied a few and tucked a few away. I had spun a few trades and parted with two bottles in 2017. I love this whisky, but so do others! What goes around, comes around. it's nice to share. In the end I wound up with Laphroaig 10 YO CS, Laphroaig 18 YO, and Macallan CS.

I have been patiently waiting for an opportunity to present itself in 2018. The provincial liquor monopoly LCBO does not imho make it easy to purchase offerings beyond the standard entry level expressions. Single malts are too expensive and selection sucks! Bourbon distribution is unpredictable. Ultra-premium domestic offerings have been flogged through a pop-up store...with more than 650 retail locations serving 13 million people, who the f _ _ k needs a pop-up store? Areas more than a subway ride from the pop-up store wait for distribution to trickle in...more distant patrons dream of mercy flights filled with ultra-premium brands...remote areas, well, all of the whisky drinkers in remote areas have either gone on the wagon or deserted these regions.

Okay, enough whining. I did make a purchase last month of a Canadian Cask Strength Rye. I check the daily inventory levels of my favourite drams for anomalies. I work underground, a mile underground. Cell phone, texting, and social media do not get to me during the work day; however, email does. On this particular day I rec'd four email messages (from connosr members) and three phone calls, including one from a recently retired LCBO employee alerting me to the arrival of the already sold out Lot No 40 Cask Strength First Edition 12 YO Rye. I was on this, but decided to ensure I got some of the misdirected cache of twenty-four bottles followed by twelve more on the next delivery, It was like Black Friday at the LCBO. Requests were coming from across Ontario to four random stores that "mistakenly" rec'd a few cases each. The store in my region is a five minute drive from my home, but I was thirty-five kilometers away and a mile u/g. The bottles were being sold on a first-come first-served basis. I summoned my local search and rescue squad. They quickly secured two bottles for me, and one each for my son, s-in-law, and a couple of nephews....and then they were gone.

I had previously harvested a couple of bottles from Edmonton (Thanks Alberta Tim) and Calgary AB (thanks @Nozinan). The local bottles fell into my lap. Serendipity.

A friend is skiing out west and offered to pick up something in Calgary for me. I'm currently undecided. I'll discuss with @talexander and @Nozinan, both of whom are part of our informal whisky harvesting network.

@paddockjudge Sounds like you got several quality whiskies with your 17yo Taketsuru. As for emptying a few, stashing a few, and trading a couple, how many do you have left?

@paddockjudge I’ve been keeping an eye on inventory pretty regularly hoping to add another Lot 40CS. 4 bottles popped up in Sudbury and another two in Ottawa. Right away I called my local store in an attempt to do an inter-store transfer but both were to no avail. Back when I bought my bottle of Lot 40CS there were several on the shelf but wasn’t in a place to go crazy and grab extras, I wish I had just picked up another though. I found someone that had “extra” bottles for sale/trade just last night but they wanted over double the asking price..no thank you. I’ll wait for more to hit shelves or try to get lucky on a return, but refuse to play that secondary market game. I did manage to get the last bottle of Wiser’s 35yo in the system this week. I’ll continue my search for a backup Lot 40 though.

The new batch (I'm assuming?) of Springbank 12 CS just arrived at MoM. Well, I had to, didn't I?

Needed to top the order up to get free delivery so opted for the Blair Athol 12 F&F over the Dailuaine 16 after much umming and aaaing! The former seemingly having more of the leather/tobacco funk that I like and with a touch of peat, apparently. Seems right up my alley.

Someone, please hide my bank card . . .for about 6 months!

@Mancub if it’s in stock they have no right to refuse a transfer according to lcbo.

@RianC

Someone, please hide my bank card . . .for about 6 months!

This is why I'm doing Frugal February...and I'm having a hard time with it. I've been good so far, but it's tough.

@OdysseusUnbound

I've found it pretty easy up till now. Losing the BTAC lottery was no surprise, and no urge to buy anything even when browsing a couple of stores looking for an A'Bunadh 60.

Today I'll be looking for bitters and vermouth to make cocktails.

@OdysseusUnbound - Aye! I made no such promises but did set a rough yearly limit which I've gone through already . . . In fairness to myself, I did plan on buying the SB 12 CS when the new batch came out and just jumped right on it. I imagine they will go very quickly.

I tend to buy online so get cheaper(ish) bottles and free delivery over £99 - I just went over with those two so a pretty good deal really.

My problem is that I tend to browse MoM for 'fun' . . . STEP AWAY must be my new mantra! Only two weeks for you to hang on!

@Mancub, the patience game pays off eventually. I bought my first bottle of Lot 40 CS Calgary in November and upon seeing the frenzy of its Ontario release figured I wouldn't end up with a back-up. Since then little by little I've managed to pick off a few. There's also the Connosr connection

There's a special place in hell for the flippers, it's only got Lambertus and Loch Du at the bar.

@Nozinan The only glitch can be stumbling onto a clearance sale. I found a bunch of items at 20% off in Hamilton recently, but the only one that I would have picked up was the Pikesville 110, luckily I had found 2 on clearance months ago.

@ajjarrett I'm a dog so I'll be wearing red all year! Happy New year!

@casualtorture Then you definitely need to treat yourself to a few new bottles! 干杯！

Nothing too exotic: Ardbeg 10, Corryvreckan, and Uigeadail, and Port Charlotte Islay Barley (a real winner). Plus A'bunadh batch 67 (again) , Black Bush and Knob Creek Small Batch. Also some Lot 40, regular strength. We're moving, so my collection needs to be compact, hence the CS choices. I do feel as if my cabinet is missing a 'farclas 105, which I really enjoyed when I last had it. No chance at getting a Glenfarclas 15 around here, although the 12 is great in its own way, especially after it has some air. (That will probably be my next purchase, along with Machir Bay....) I've never had the 'farclas 10, but don't want to buy a bottle without trying.

@Jonathan some good solid choices there. We're they all purchased St the same time? Bulk discount ha ha?

@Jonathan A'Bunadh batch 67 is out already? LCBO has batch 58.

@Hewie don't laugh about a bulk discount. When my B-I-L found Wiser's 35 and Lot 40 CS in Calgary, before it was available here in Ontario, he got 10% off the entire purchase because he spent more than a certain amount at one time.

@Hewie All within a week, from different places. I used "savings" from car repairs to justify the expenditure. I will have to make this haul last :)

@Nozinan I was mistaken. On the tube it looks closer to 67, but on the bottle it's clearly 61.I'm looking forward to opening it.

@Hewie We're also blowing so much money on the move that a few good bottles seem like a drop in the bucket.. My wife has relegated a good portion of my book and cd collection to the "hauler," so I wanted to keep something dear around. Ah, the ways in which I justify my whisky purchases...

I needed to pick up some wine at a particular branch of SAQ and took advantage of the occasion to exchange a bottle of kilchoman Machir Bay I received as a gift. I already have an unopened one in the wings.

I almost chose the 2017 Lagavulin 12 but instead chose the 2017 Loch Gorm since I wanted some sherry peat action and heard this edition is top notch.

I'm still debating this choice... Sigh FOMO

@cricklewood nice trade up. I find your ability to exchange quite intriguing. There is no way you could do that here.

Macallan 12 (43%---it does what it does so well. I'd like to taste it next to the Glenfarclas 12.Similar noses. I tried the Glendronach and enjoyed the spice as much as the sherry, so that's another contender. Can't have it all!

also Great Kings Street---we're showing our place and the price was right.

@Hewie I guess it's one of the few perks of government controlled liquor stores.

If you don't have a receipt but the product is still in the system inventory and in proper condition they will give you the value in exchange in the spot. So no deferring it till later.

I try not to abuse the system but it's nice to know you can do it.

@Jonathan. Is that the Compass box blend? I've never tried that series but am always intrigued for the price.

Binnys (or is it Ace) has a couple of special editions of these great kings street blends, where they are finished in spice tree casks.

@cricklewood I would be thrilled to have special editions of Compass Box available. I like the Artist's blend, but with a touch of smoke here and and a touch of sherry there, it's not the more flavorsome version of the original that it is supposed to be. (Those touches are fairly light...and the bottle is also not regularly available around here.) In any case, I would really recommend all of the Compass Box blends and blended malts that I have tried. With Great King's Street , I think that the grain portion is quite high quality. I've otherwise never really noticed that in a blend. At 30$, it's at least as good (to my palate) as JWB (same price). I have difficulty isolating the particular components in the latter, which I guess is the point of a blend.

I'm paying about 30$ for the