Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@conorrob, sounds fantastic!

Amrut Portonova, Batch # 16, Sept 2016; Amrut Intermediate Sherry Matured Malt Whisky, Batch # 39, June 2017; Laphroaig 10 yo Cask Strength, Batch # 009, Feb 2017.

Why? Why? Why? That talk about Amrut taking a hiatus in making new batches of Intermediate Sherry and Portonova motivated me to action. Intermediate Sherry Matured is my favourite sherried malt, and I have for years wanted to own a bottle of Portonova.

As for the Laphroaig 10 CS, I didn't yet own a bottle of Batch # 009. Now I have a bottle each of Batches # 005- # 009. Collect them all, boys and girls! (price for that Laphroaig 10 CS: $ 71.29 total)

@Victor I'll be headed to Alberta (Edmonton, to be precise) in early November. I'm hoping there's a decent liquor store near my hotel so I can track down an Amrut that isn't readily available in Ontario. The Portonova is especially high on my radar.

@OdysseusUnbound, Portonova is great; Intermediate Sherry is better. Buy both if you can swallow the price tag. I had later feelings today that I might later regret that I had not bought 3 of each, when I had the opportunity.

When I bought my bottle of Intermediate Sherry today the liquor store guys asked me, "Were you at Jack Rose?" No, I had not been. They mentioned in passing that there had just been a big Amrut tasting there recently and that Intermediate Sherry was the consensus favourite from that tasting. No surprise to me.

@Victor It's Amrut week... I just took delivery of the fusion, and I'm seriously keen on those now also now...

@Victor I am down to 1 unopened bottle of Amrut IS from 3 bottles. I just gifted a near half bottle to a friend with a youtube Whisky review channel. I am not sure when I can replace this one so it may languish for a while. Nice to see you were able to stock up.

@OdysseusUnbound the Keg n Cork seems to be the Edmonton version of Kennsington Wine Market (Calgary) but they have no online inventory. The Liquor Depot/ Liquor Barn stores are the same as the LCBO price wise with 5% tax added. There are some value Scotch bottles there but not much. Hopefully you can come across a Mom n Pop close and find a bargain.

@Victor, nice lineup (and price) on the Laphroaig 10 CSs. Are you going to open them all together for a big ol' peaty SBSBSBSBS?

I've never opened competing batches myself to judge their relative merits, but I've read plenty of reviews like that, and you get conflicting opinions. I've just know I've never had a bad one, period.

I wish I knew you were seeking a 009—and that I was close enough to hook you up! Most of my stockpile is from that batch.

Just bought a few bottles of Aberlour A'bunadh batches 58, 59, 61. I absolutely love this stuff. Just opened batch 58, and it is wonderful. A little more mellow than my first bottle of batch 60. But the flavors shine through so much more.

@cwspangler I wish I could have found a bottle of the 60... for my 60th birthday

@MadSingleMalt, I probably will not open all of the Laphroaig 10 Cask Strengths together. The good news is that when I next get down to see my buddy @Nock he is likely to have those 5 batches and more available to be tasted together. He offered that when he came up to meet @paddockjudge and @Nozinan in May (and brought the goods with him), but we had so many whiskies we didn't even get to the multiple Laphroaig 10 CS tasting. I've done 3 or 4 of them at a time with @Nock in the past.

Yes, @MadSingleMalt, those Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength Batches are all good!

@Astroke @OdysseusUnbound I find if you email liquor stores for inventory and pricing they are very good about getting back to you. Do a search near your hotel and email a couple places. Liquor depot doesn’t have competitive Alberta prices.

@nooch I have found some gems at Liquor Depot, like a Caol Ila 15 YO CS for $100 and an Uigeadail for $80. That was last December. Some of the stores have very good inventory, especially Amruts.

I would say LD prices are often lower than Kensington Wine Market or CSN wine and spirits.

I love the adventure of shopping around when I go.

After saying I wasn’t going to buy any more whisky until November, I stopped in at an LCBO today. There was a 2017 release Lagavulin 12-year-old. Somehow it ended up in my hands and is now on its way to my home.

@Nozinan zyn is still the best I’ve seen in Calgary price wise.

@nooch Real Canadian Liquor Store (Loblaws/Superstore) usually has Uigeadail for < $90 tax in.

I just purchased a bottle of Laphroaig Cairdeas Quarter Cask Strength 57 ABV. I normally lean towards Ardbeg and I gave away my one bottle of Laphroaig to my nephew. I had a brief taste today and my, is this powerful, peaty and smoky! I should have added a few drops of water (I will next time.) I will evaluate this more thoroughly when I have more time.

I picked up a Compass Box No Name because Ardbeg Uigeadail is expensive in British Columbia. No Name is also expensive but, at least I'm getting 75%, 14 year old Ardbeg in the bottle.

@OdysseusUnbound been pondering grabbing that one myself....

@Victor I don't see the Laphroaig on sale at dlc----allso where did you find a bottle of Portonova?

@Nozinan that is the standard price of Uigeadail here. I'm sure you have good prices on Canadian whisky to make up for it though. I know you're a sherry fan, and I am planning to pick up some A'bunadh later this afternoon. I'll let you know what it's like, though I guess you have plenty.. I'm not sure that it's better than the Tamdhu Small Batch, but there aren't many other choices for cask strength sherried whiskies in my area. An hour plus each way for a bottle of Amrut Intermediate-that's a long ride.. I can get the A'bunadh in a six minute drive.BTW, I don't think I can taste sulfur, but recent posts have me tasting matches in sherried malts. Perhaps it's the power of suggestion--or that sulfur is a real problem, as J. Murray claims..

@nooch Yup, just combined an order with a friend for the Arran Brodrick Bay, 20 year Cask Strength, multiple casks, limited to 9000 bottles for $193 Cad, tax in at ZYN. MRSP on this was $175 US. Glendro Allardice selling there now for $152 Cad, tax in.

Not bought, but received as a gift, DYC 8 yo Blended Whisky from Spain. A friend who spends a lot of time in Spain was given this bottle 20 years ago, kept it unopened until 3 or 4 years ago when he opened with me, has consumed none of it since, and decided to give me the 95% of it remaining tonight. I liked it when I had it 4 years ago. Here's hoping I'll still llke it.

I am trying it now. Sharp barley, sharp grain. In the proper mood this will do fine.

A few bottles bought from a European online retailer to be opened in the future with my club—all stuff that's rarely, if ever, available on the shelves in the US:

•Octomore 7.2

•Port Charlotte CC:01

•Amrut Intermediate Sherry

EPIC PURCHASE ALERT

This weekend the Ontario Medical Association could very well implode in a fight between high earners and low earners, while (and I do appreciate some of the nuances but...) people who were expecting a living minimum wage in January and were screwed by our new government look on to pity us. I will receive a stipend for attending this event which will be bloodier than a MMA fight. Half goes to taxes and half I allow myself to put towards whisky-related purchases.

There was a post here that suggested Amrut was discontinuing or pausing Intermediate Sherry. I haven't bought an Amrut for myself in about 3 years or more, ever since the Amrut Peated CS went on sale in Ontario. Still, knowing it was there whenever I need it was almost comforting.

Initially I resolved to do some searching this December, when @nosebleed sent me a photo of IS and Portonova available at "reasonable" prices, actually steady for years.

I conferred with @paddockjudge and we came up with a wish list.

Then @cricklewood reported for World of Whisky that there were bottles of IS and Portonova on sale. This would be the least I'd ever paid for the IS!

Today @nosebleed was able to get there and purchased those 2 expressions, and we also saw Naarangi for sale. This was a little pricier, and a little more than at another store, but WoW has 10% off if you buy $500 and we saw some Lot 40 CS, 2018 edition.

So the total haul today (essentially freeing up my December trip from shopping):

Bottles of Amrut IS, Portonova and and Naarangi for @paddockjudge and me Lot 40 CS 2018 for each of us.

Now I have to make room in my cabinet for all these new incoming bottles.

Thanks again @cricklewood and @nosebleed!

Bought a Glenlivet Nadurra Oloroso yesterday at 20% off. Wasn't looking for Scotch but I usually look to see if there is anything on clearance when I visit an unfamiliar LCBO.

@Nozinan, congratulations to you and to @paddockjudge! That's a lot of good stuff you just bought there! Makes me think I may have to buy a Naarangi.

@Victor It's just this kind of FOMO that the Connosr echochamber amplifies. I hadn't seriously considered it until you brought it up...

@boatracer and how was it? I'm guessing it was a different batch than I tasted from a few years back. I'm ambivalent about second chances...

I went all out yesterday: I purchased a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old No.7

Why, you ask? Well, my wife and I went to a Halloween party dressed as Slash (her) and Axl (me) from Guns N’ Roses, and my wife felt a bottle of Jack was essential to the look. Heck, I even drank some. Not bad. Not great, but I feel like there’s a ton of potential there. If they aged it a bit longer and bottled it a respectable proof, I think it might be a really nice bourbon...er I mean, Tennessee Whiskey.