Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@fiddich1980, Corralejo Reposado is a first rate tequila at a very decent price (in the US), and better than their blanco and anejo offerings. Good choice! .

@MadSingleMalt Don’t blame you. I’d be all over a few of those at that price.

I didn’t actually buy it, but I just got a complimentary bottle of Canadian Rye Whisky from Signal Hill. Their marketing person contacted me through my blog and I assumed I’d get a sample, like I did with Dead Rabbit. Imagine my surprise when I got a Fed-Ex box with a lovely packaged bottle and a personalized note inside.

I don't have a lot of bottles on hand at any given time and currently Campbeltown is over represented in my cupboard (not a bad thing). Having just finished off my Port Charlotte HP I wanted something with a decent amount of peat. I'm absolutely loving my bottle of Ledaig 10 and I planned to buy a replacement so that I don't have to feel like I need to eek out the last of it. However, Ardbeg 10 was on special so it was a no brainer - bottle of Ardbeg 10 is never a bad decision.

I just picked up two bottles of Old Weller Antique 107. I was inspired by a conversation @Victor and I had recently where he reminded me to “get what you can while you can, because it won’t always be available....at least not at that price.” Now he was talking about another whisky, but for $36/bottle, I haven’t found a better value in bourbon in Ontario.

First outing of the annual December pilgrimage in Calgary.

First stop was a mom and pop store that has in the past had some exceptional dusties such as Nadurra 08/14 and springbank Claret wood. This year we found a line bottle of Wiser’s Legacy. We had to give it a home where it could be with some of its siblings.

Next up a coop where we found Canadian Rockies 21 YO. At $59.99 plus tax, about half price compared to Ontario, @paddockjudge claimed 2 of them. And @nosebleed bought one to open to celebrate our find.

Liquor depot was a disappointment but I picked up a flight of minis to review later this week with my BIL.

And so it begins. ...

@Nozinan, message in a bottle, "have you seen my brother?"

@Nozinan Springbank Claret Wood eh??!! Interesting.

@OdysseusUnbound that was a few years ago. I don’t know if it’s my perspective or magic, but it seems things appear in this tiny store and we find something new almost every year.

You can see my review of the claret wood. I’ve opened and finished 2 bottles. I was lucky enough to find a few stragglers after the first bottle I got in 2011 at the KGBO.

No bottles currently open, but when I open one in the future you will experience an excellent example of double maturation.

I just order those yesterday: Octomore 9.3 and Wild Turkey Rare Breed. The 9.3 is probably not the best Octomore this year, the 9.2 seems better and everybody is waiting for the 9.4, but I am a fan of the .3 line. As for the W.T., I never had the Rare Breed, I need to say no more.

@nozinan it's a nice way to start the hunting season, I saw many old and new versions of Legacy on my last trip.

If it's any help, The liquor Depot Mont-Royal has one of the better whisky selections and they offer 10% off if you buy at least three full size bottles of spirits regardless of price. They had some good IB bottles, some G&M (Mortlach, Benrines, Glenrothes) Loads of AD Rattray stuff. Loads of single casks, there was still some intereresting Benriach single casks (the pickings are becoming slim). Old Label Legacy at 59$ too.

CSN wine & spirits: Also had a few interesting bottles, they had some Hazelburn Rundlets and Longrow Cabarnet franc and an independent bottling of Springbank by AD Ratttray.My bags were already bursting by then so I passed on all of em,you could give em a call to see if those are still there.

happy hunting

@Robert99, nice purchases, would you be surprised if I told you I bought the exact same two bottles?

I might have bought a couple of other things too...

@cricklewood They just gaves me their shipping fees and I replied by asking them if adding a few bottles would change that charge. I may end with a few more. Life is tough.

@paddockjudge Agreed on the Little Book 2, may seek out another bottle to bunker. Maybe it will hit the LCBO at a 50% above Alberta prices. Certainly I would buy another LB2 before this:

lcbo.com/lcbo/product/…

I mentioned before that friends and family were very generous for my 40th. I was awaiting a bottle or two that were purchased in Calgary, but I feel blessed that they are as generous as they are. We cracked the Cardhu the night of - can’t wait to try the rest.

@Astroke ah Forty Creek they always seem like one lap behind, I will definitely be interested in trying that new release but I wouldn't pay that kind of coin for it. Thanks for another thumbs up on the Little book, I must seek it out now.

@nooch Woot Woot! What a great surprise for your 40th, a great selection of bottles to drink with family and friends!

@cricklewood Forty Creek was actually at the cusp of the Canadian Whisky transformation into top shelf stuff starting with Confederation Oak. The problem was similar to Blackberry. They created something new in the field but didn’t continue to develop it. Then Campari became involved, Hall was out, and it became ordinary again. The only difference is that people will still buy the mediocre stuff because they mix it. No one buys blackberries anymore.

Livermore did what Hall would not. First he created some exceptional releases. Then he raised he ABV because he saw that’s where consumers were going. Lot 40 CS was a game changer.

@Nozinan I would say that Lot 40 Cask Strength can only be considered a game changer if it is actually available to be purchased. Cask Strength Canadian Whisky on the liquor store shelves 365 days a year would be a changed game. Hopefully that day will one day come.

@Nozinan odd there was no pre-release marketing or anything on the website regarding this release. Either way I would not touch it at this price, not at 43% ABV. Also if this is truly a "Rye" only, (and not the Highwood Ninety version of Rye) FC has no precedence of a rye only release. Maybe JH or Davin knows what this is.

@paddockjudge No wonder I could not find more than 1 Legacy to bunker.

@Nozinan good analogy with Blackberry, while I don't have much experience with the special editions of FC, I know that they shook things up quite a bit and I enjoyed the initial releases of Copper pot and Confederation oak some years back.

I am not sure Campari knows just how versatile of a category they have with Canadian whisky and Forty Creek.

They have done good work with Wild Turkey but I suspect it is because they have let the Russel's get on with doing what they've always been doing. Perhaps what FC needs is a good leading figure.

@Victor your point is one I had not considered, just getting regular editions of Canadian whisky at 46% abv year round is already challenging, other than Legacy (if it does come back) every new release sticks to weird abv (41,42%) I suspect cost to be one factor (most of these new releases stick to the 35-40$ bracket, bumping the abv would increase taxes and price sold.

I think the "smooth" whisky tag is another one, increasing the alcohol on some of these young 100% corn whiskys would either show some of their faults or perhaps throw off those expecting a smooth delivery. Yet bold ass bourbons are flying off the shelves so I think this is a case of misunderstanding what people want or a ready to experience.

Just brought this IB from Berry Bros & Rudd. It's from an unnamed Orkney distillery that apparently isn't Scale.

Reason for purchase is I've always like Highland Park and am dismayed at the rubbish being released by the distillery lately. An IB 15 year old Sherry cask Highland Park natural colour and NCF and at cask strength could be a storming whisky.

Gonna crack it open tonight so I'll let you all know.

"Scale" ??? never heard of them, must be some Game of Thrones thing or maybe the Herring barrel finish.

@fiddich1980 scale?

F******g predictive text

@nooch, great gifts!...good choice cracking the Cardhu.

@Astroke, I was a loyal follower of Forty Creek. I don't have room on my shelves for any more of their mistakes.

@Victor, I see your point about game changers reletive to availability...I would consider BTAC to be a game changer, it just took a little time to become unavailable.

@Nozinan, Livermore (Hiram Walker) has a million plus barrels to pull from and some well established processes that have been proven for decades. Forty Creek has very little inventory....

Picked up 2 more Canadian Rockies 21 at the same price. One for me and one for another Connosr who may choose to identify himself.

Went to another store and they had a fantastic selection. I found a dusty highwood 90/20 with a burgindy label. Also found a couple of others for another connosr. But they stayed on the shelves (the highwood tucked behind a white label) in the hopes that there will be a Boxing Day sale.

Did pick up a mini of Deanston 12 to review, and got carded...