Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@paddockjudge

Thanks Paddock - truthfully my only experience with (Bas) Armagnac is a Delord 25 year old, which I quite enjoyed. My last few bottles from that region have been Cognac (my favorite being the Courvoisier 21 - strong citrus notes but not overly sweet) so it felt right to revisit her younger sibling.

With each barrel-gin experience (Liberator, Smooth Ambler, Bluecoat, Beefeater Burrough's Reserve), it is becoming increasingly more difficult to have traditional gin (same w vodka, only drinking barrel-aged vodka going forward - Bimber, by a wide margin, is the best vodka I have ever had).

Happy to save you a sample of the Dartigalongue if you are so inclined...jr

@MadSingleMalt Is that a USD price on Lustau? Because with conversion, that’s only about $10 less than what I paid. Not so bad...

@JayRain, a sample of the Dartigalongue would be warmly welcomed and going back your way will be a ration of Bas Armagnac Delord 33YO 1981. Cheers

Seems the LCBO may have found a stash of Glen Garioch 1995/2012 in their warehouse. 16+ year Cask strength for $120 CDN and I missed the boat years ago when it first came out. The purchase was inevitable.

I did not buy this bottle, but it was a belated birthday gift from my father-in-law. Not something I would have chosen for myself, but I that’s part of the fun of being gifted bottles, you step out of your box a little.

@MadSingleMalt YES! Not really, but you are a lucky #&:#%er.

@OdysseusUnbound, yep—those are USD prices. So you're getting a decent deal up there for once? Good to hear it!

Another two bottles have thrown me into the depths of remorse and guilt after buying them in violation of my 2018 buying ban.

Not really.

These were sweet deals I couldn't really pass up, and both for my club to open down the road:

•Lost Distillery Lossit, the 43% version. A well regarded Islay recreation featuring peated Ben Nevis for under $40? Sign me up. When I get around to making this a featured bottle for the club, I'll try to line up a few other recreations of old whisky to see whether there's really any different quality to them. Besides the other products from the Lost Distillery Company, I could get my hands on the Shackleton blend and those "Stronachie" products. (Are there others? Maybe the new stuff from Brora and Port Ellen if I wait long enough! )

•Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask. The guy in my club who's also into rum wants to host one of our monthly shindigs at his backyard tiki bar this spring, and pour some quality rums to go along with our usual whiskies. This bottle is the natural choice! And for about $65, I couldn't pass it up last night. (Quick personal side note: I just realized that this is the first Balvenie I ever bought. I've had a few glasses of their stuff here and there over the years, but I was never intrigued enough to buy a whole bottle.)

I bought a Laphroaig Triple Wood last night to celebrate the end of Frugal February and because of FOMO. I’m intrigued because I’ve seen it rated as low as 82 and as high as 91, depending on who is doing the rating.

@OdysseusUnbound, yeah, opinions one that one are pretty widely scattered, even considering that most people trying it are probably already peat fans.

And you know it's discontinued?

@MadSingleMalt : I have enjoyed several of The Lost Whisky Distillery bottlings; Stratheden, Gerston, Towiemore, Benachie/Jerico, and Lossit. Would like to try the Auchnagie althought opinions vary greatly on it. None that I have sampled/owned would likely be considered "overly complex" but all were enjoyed (some more than others).

@cherylnifer, thanks. I think all reviews I've seen of the whole range have been mostly positive.

That Gerston always sounds like a winner. But its price is supposed to be more like $60 as it arrives around here (rather than the $40 I paid for the Lossit), so that makes it less of an insta-buy.

And whatever that "Campbeltown" one is, I'd love to try!

@MadSingleMalt: I have found the two tier pricing on TLWD "classic" range disappointing. Wish they all were priced at the lower tier. Then, there is the "Vintage" series for each. Have never tried any of those, let alone encounter reviews. Guess the "classic" price range is more than high enough for blended malts,

@Astroke thanks for putting the Glen Garioch 95 on my radar, I have been meaning to try their pre-closure whisky and this sounds like very interesting bottle and the price is pretty sweet. I might need to employ the services of a known private shopper as my LCBO to buy list grows (there's that Arran 20 Single cask that seems to be going quickly)

@Mancub That's a nice gift you received, I have had a few drams of Royal Salute from my brother's bottle and it's a nice blend, it's been a while but I remember it having a more sherried body and a slight whisky smokiness, the ceramic flagon could be interesting to use for a home blending bottle.

@OdysseusUnbound the detractors of Triple Cask are usually because of the fact that it softens that "laphroaigness" . It's a little comparable to what the distillers edition does to Lagavulin or Talisker.

@cherylnifer, yeah—their whole range is kinda murky. And without age statements, it's hard to tell what really differentiates one recipe from the next. ("Trust us.")

Though, I suppose maybe age statements would undercut the gimmick? Like, if you're drinking a recreation of whisky from 150 years ago, do you really want to be reminded that it was actually distilled in the 21st Century?

Just bought these three for our club meet tonight. They will be tasting blind, I've given them no info beforehand, we will also be tasting a teenage Benriach thrown into the mix. I want to see what the impressions will be of these budget malts and if anyone will spot the "pricier" whisky as the outlier.

Besides that I've been really curious about the Deanston virgin oak, I keep hearing really good things about the more recent batches.

@MadSingleMalt I really like the Gerston for the low notes and its maltyness. For me, without the sherry, it is between the Glengoyne 10 and the Longmorn 16. So I would say I probably find more complexity in it than most people.

@paddockjudge I have a few Armagnac that could be of interest to you. From memory, I have the Delord 25 yo, a Baron Gaston Legrand 1986 or 1987, a Dartigalongue 20 or 25 yo and a Laubade (I think it' the XO). Anyway, you know how to reach me.

Came across this today at the SAQ hadn't noticed it beforehand.

It's unaged rye whisky from a micro-distillery (Sivo) in the Eastern Townships in Quebec, it's made from 2/3 unmalted rye and 1/3 malted barley. I've had plenty of white lightning but it's always been predominantly corn this should be interesting to try. And no despite the temptation to "spill" some in my work mug I have not...yet

The owner is of Hungarian descent and has been mainly making fruit eau-de-vie but in the last two years has been releasing young proto Single malt and Rye spirit (less than 3 years old) that are aged in new oak and finished ex Sauternes barrels.

@cricklewood that's an interesting line up there for your club tasting - It'll be intriguing to hear what they thought (before and after the reveal). I've only had a couple of tastes of the standard Glen Moray but it didn't agree with me at all. I too have toyed with the idea of getting a bottle of the Deanston VO but I've held of so far due to many reviewers focusing in on the sucrose, cotton candy, sugary i.e. sweet descriptors. Let us know how they are received.

@MadSingleMalt I did not know it was discontinued. FOMO avoided!

@OdysseusUnbound, they gotta make room for Select and whatever other rando NAS things they cook up, dontcha know.

I love Laphroaig, but I never had that TW myself. Can't say I ever felt much of a draw toward, though I do like those DE versions of Lagavulin and Talisker (cf. @cricklewood's allusion above). The discontinuation announcement came a few weeks ago, and the other night at my big grocer, I noticed that the TW spot on the Laphroaig shelf was barren. So it goes.

@cricklewood I'm going into the Royal Salute with no expectations. I enjoy good whisky, but I'm not a snooty whisky drinker, so I imagine I will enjoy it quite a bit. Any the flagon is pretty neat, I'll definitely be holding on to it.

I have that Arran on my list as well as the Glen Garioch 1995 that @Astroke alerted us to. I think I'll get a bottle, I did however just purchase a few bottles, 4 different stores around me all had big clearance discounts of 20-30% off (Lagavulin 16, Talisker 10, Dalmore 15, Aberfeldy 16, Glenfiddich IPA, Balvenie 12 Doublewood, Catto's 12, Glenlivet Nadurra, The Classic Laddie, Laphroaig QC, Aultmore 12, Pike Creek 21yo, CB Oak Cross, Old Forrester, Hine Rare VSOP, The Botanist Gin....there were many more but I'm blanking at the moment). Not rare bottles by any means, but discounts are few and far between some days, have to grab them when you can.

@MadSingleMalt Select wasn’t terrible (I got a bottle as a gift) BUT I have zero desire to purchase another bottle. I have to say, despite the NAS labelling, I do like Quarter Cask. But the 10 is my favourite affordable Laphroaig.

@Robert99, Perhaps at our next gathering (in Montreal or Ottawa/Gatineau) we could have a brandy flight where each of us brings a bottle..okay, who am I kidding?...each of us brings a couple of bottles.

Another bottle of Longrow 18 (2015 bottling this time) because it was on sale for $165.

Just ordered a Ledaig 10. The why? My just turned 2 year old son is called Toby and he has various nicknames including Tobes, the Tobinator, Tobester, Toblerone, and of course Tobermory. Having spent a bit of time sifting through reviews, I think the Tobermory 10 isn't really going to be my cup of tea - but the peated Ledaig sounds more like it. I'll be opening it with friends for a tasting night this Saturday. I was tempted to go with the Signatory 7 YO but thought I'd give first tasting honours to an OB from the distillery.

@Hewie - Going off past discussions and reviews I think you'll like the Ledaig.

More peaty than I expected but very balanced. Most probably in my top 5 of 10-12 year old OBs.

@Hewie Ledaig seems to get pretty good reviews. I’ll be interested to get your views on it. I’m sure I’m not the only one; the more perspectives we get, the better. Let us know what you think.

@RianC, @OdysseusUnbound, people often like Ledaig, but very balanced are not words frequently used. @RianC, if you got "very balanced", then I think that you also "got lucky".

'Funky' is a word I would used to describe Ledaig. Rubber, burnt or not, is a common descriptor. Many like that funk; others not so much. Many have mixed feelings about it. I find it the Ledaig funk to be 'interesting', but 'delicious' would be more of an acquired taste. Many who have bottles of Ledaig have acquired that taste. I have never owned a bottle of Ledaig, and so far it is fine for me to continue to not own a bottle of Ledaig. I do not dislike Ledaig, but I have never craved a taste of it either.