Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@RikS - Won't be for a while I'm afraid and I've taken a wee gamble on that one; that being said, I'm expecting great things! I'm still a bit surprised how relatively cheaply I got it for. Still a few bottles out there I'm sure but don't bother with Amazon it's £100+ already!

@RianC, new Ardbeg packaging, eh?

Is the bottle inside different?

@MadSingleMalt - A little bit, yes. You'd miss it if you weren't being observant (or geeky take your pick )as it's very subtle. Just the lettering and blurb have changed slightly. I saw the Ten had done the same as it was in the supermarket recently.

@RianC Shame on you Sir.... :)

3 new bottles, one bought, one swapped for, and one received as a gift.

I bought a bottle of Connemara Cask Strength. Why? 1) I loved our first bottle of it, 2) our first bottle is about empty, and 3) I spotted some on our liquor store shopping rounds, which is big news because it is pretty rare in this area.

@paddockjudge swapped me a bottle of Jameson 12 yo Special Reserve for a bottle of Macallan 12 Sherry Oak. Why? 1) I am a huge fan of the extremely easy-drinking Jameson 12, and 2) Jameson 12 yo is now discontinued and as a result is starting to become quite hard to find. @paddockjudge, for his part was getting a bottle which is not sold in Ontario, and which is the favourite whisky of his son, who is of legal drinking age.

I was gifted a bottle of Wiser's Dissertation. Did I want it? Oh, yes, very much so. Thank you, Dr. Nozinan.

@Victor I’m a huge Dissertation fan, and I found with my last bottle that it gets even better with 4-5 months of air exposure. I have 2 in the vault and am hoping to pick up another 2 or 4 of them before they are gone.

I just bought a Wild Turkey Rare Breed because there’s a serious lack of bourbon in my cabinet and I really love this one. Also, @Victor seems to think this one is due for a price increase, so I’d like to get one (or three) ahead of that eventuality.

@Victor you are in for a treat, Dissertation is great right from the bat if a little rich but as mentioned with a bit of rest it rounds out really nicely. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it.

@OdysseusUnbound on your recommendation I picked up WT101 and totally fell in love with the profile, dry oaky and really chewy. I thought it would be just for cocktails and I've been drinking it mostly straight or on ice (heresy! I know but so good when you're just kicking back).

I wanted to try and get a barrel proof Russel's reserve from US but my friend who doubles as my mule has been rather flaky of late, so I've turned my attention on Rare Breed and I'm wondering if I should take the plunge?

@cricklewood Absolutely. I’ve reviewed it here on Connosr and on my blog. I’ve discussed it with @Victor who believes prices on the RB will rise soon. It also gets more complex with a few months of air exposure. For $61 CAD or so, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better barrel-proof bourbon.

I came away with 5 new bottles this week.

On arrival to Maryland we stopped at a store Called the Liquor Locker. Quite a nice selection. OGD114 was available for a little more Thani have paid in the past but I picked up 2, 1 to give as a gift back home, and a 50cc bottle of Paddy's Irish Whisky. Why? I want to shore up my in-home supply of a bourbon I like and it happens to be a favourite of a friend. The Paddy's will be explained when I do my review...

I also picked up 2 Macallan 12 Sherry wood and a ECBP "Hazmat" 70.1%, generously sourced in advance by @Victor. I've regretted not buying Macallan 12 when it was available since I tried it in Boston. And the hazmat was a no brainer....

I also found a few Whistlepig 10 YO 100 proof rye miniatures. I picked up a couple because the price was less than the aggregate cost of a bottle and it would be nice to try and review.

As we approach the border, I anticipate my first time paying duty on alcohol...

That post was delayed. We just crossed the border. Here is how it went:

@paddockjudge told me to put away my notes and barely let me say a word. I wasable to declare my home town.

The conversation between the officer and my driver quickly turned to home-towns, hockey, hockey moms and fighting. I literally could not get a word in edgewise.

After what seemed like an eternity he asked us (well, him) if we were bringing anything back. Included in @paddockjudge's list was "some whisky". The officer said, what's that, like 2 bottles? answer: "a little more than that and some of those little miniature thingies. But that's just me".

He never asked me a thing, and just waved us through...

@Nozinan nice haul, it makes sense to stock up on sure values, especially when they're unavailable in Canada.

Good luck with border services, if it's any consolation you'll be taking one for the team. I know a lot of us are wondering what the real damage is for a spree.

@Nozinan, triple bravo on that crossing of the Canadian Border with booze! Learn from Maestro Paddockjudge on how it is done!

Another EPIC Whisky League adventure with @Victor and @Nozinan.

It was indeed a pleasure to meet @nock and enjoy his company. While spending two evenings at the tasting table with him, we discovered how very different our palates and preferences are. We were consistently able to predict the reaction of the other while tasting together.... fantastic fun! Thank you @Nock for treating us to many of your savoury selections! I am looking forward to our next encounter.

@Dramlette ensured that we remained safe while moving about in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and @MAD shared her table and cabinet with us; we were never hungry nor thirsty, occasionally a wee bit oversaturated.

@Victor and @Dramlette treated us to an amazing range of exceptional whiskies. Thank you!

This is what I brought back, some of these are multiples:

Private Selection Maker's 46 Barrel Proof 55.7 % abv for Liquor Locker.

Two different Single Barrel Whistle Pig 10 YO Straight Rye Barrel Proof 57.5% and 58.1%

Masterson's 10 YO Straight Rye (batch 15, honestly, I think it is great, only $57)

John J Bowman Single Barrel Bourbon

Ezra Brooks Bourbon 90 proof (10 bucks... $10!!!)

Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 70.1% (hazmat version)

Macallan 12 YO Sherry Cask

Talisker 18 YO

Laphroaig Lore

@Nozinan @RianC @casualtorture @Robert99 @Victor @nooch @paddockjudge @bluenote

Well everyone, as many of you know I had posted several messages about my Glenlivet 16yo Nadurra purchases that my friend picked up for me from Seattle. Now, I can finally post a photo. I just went to West Yellowstone to visit my friend, and yes, to pick up the whisky. It was a good trip, and not just because of the whisky.

Yum yum! All that you see are from the Batch 0814D

And if some of you watch the Scotch Test Dummies, on Youtube, the answer to your question is, "Yes, those are their coins, aka 'Whisky Hats,' with my whisky.

@paddockjudge @Nozinan @Nock @Victor

Very nice - I look forward to the Epic Tasting post that should soon be forthcoming...jr

@ajjarrett You, sir, are my new hero. Well done.

@ajjarrett wow!!!

@ajjarrett is that the wall we hear Trump talking about all the time?

@ajjarrett, that's a pretty picture. I left a bottle of 0814D on the shelf on the recent trip to the D.C. area... logistical reasons...I already had 18 bottles on board.

@paddockjudge I'd love to hear/read a review of Talisker 18 and I'd really love to hear/read a review of Laphroaig Lore (shocker, I know).

Lagavulin 12 2017, Glen Scotia 16, 2 x Makers Mark CS and Aberlour A’bunadh batch 62. The first 4 were my Duty treats this year. The Lag 12 because it’s Lagavulin and a steal at duty free, the Makers because it’s half the price of UK shops and the GS16 because it was the only Campbeltown they had and just discovered the joys of Springbank this year.

The A’bunadh was bought after I saw a price hike online retailer had it at £80 so topped up back to 6 in the bunker before local stores do the same.

@paddockjudge It wasn't 0814D, if I recall. It was another. I don't think I could have left it on the shelf. If it was, why didn't you knock some sense into me?

@Pete1969 Don't know what got into the whisky exchange... A'bunadh is ~£50 everywhere, same batch 61 and hasn't changed forever. Plus, it's held by almost all the major supermarket chains. Maybe there's a new load incoming, cause I see that many have had the 12 for sale for a long time too, currently down at £28 in most places...

@Nozinan, it was 06/14 ..... and too late for intervention ....

@OdysseusUnbound, I have a weee bit of Tali 18 to finish before opening this one. The froyg Lore might see a score first. There is a back story to the Laphroaig Lore.... later, I'm unpacking... got home from Hwy 7 in 3.5 hrs.

@BlueNote

That is a nice compliment. Actually, my hero is my friend who was generous to pick these up and keep them until I could find the time to retrieve them.

@cricklewood

Well, let me put it this way, if this is the type of wall Trump has in mind, I would be for it 100%.

@paddockjudge

You might have left a nice bottle of SMW behind, but it doesn't sound as if you walked away empty handed with 18 bottles of other stuff. Let's hope that it is still there if/when you go back to D.C.

@nooch

"Wow!" was exactly what I said when my friend showed them to me.

Looks like a Nadurra diaramma.

@BlueNote I was never good at making diarammas, until now.