Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@Wierdo - I’ve only opened the OP Glengoyne 10 thus far and I’m not a fan of that bottling. It’s not yet shaken off its New Make aroma and the wood has yet to do it any favors

I few days ago now I picked up an Eagle Rare 10. Why? It was £27 on Amazon (with delivery inc) so almost £10 less than standard. I've had it before, its a solid bourbon (that I believe is pretty much single barrel?) and to get a quality 10 year old bourbon at that price feels like stealing!

@RianC, yes, ER10 was Single Barrel. According to Buffalo Trace CEO Marc Brown, the single barrel designation was dropped because the new bottling line could not accommodate one barrel at a time. Apparently, Barrels could be dumped singularly, but the fill lines would contain fluid from the previous barrel, as a result of this technicality the single barrel designation was dropped.

@paddockjudge - that's what I'd heard - so single barrel for all intents and purposes then I guess? Regardless, if this bottle tastes as good as the last I wouldn't care if it was SB or a blend of 1000s!

I was gifted a bottle of Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength (Batch 10) by a friend who knows me well. Looks like Christmas came early (or late).

@OdysseusUnbound which batch? 009 was fabulous.

@casualtorture Batch 010, 58% abv.

whiskyadvocate.com/top20/2018/…

EVERY batch of Laphraoig 10 CS has been very worthwhile.

I just picked up a bottle of Port Charlotte Islay Barley Heavily Peated (2008), because...it was a good price and I wanted to try it.

I picked up a replacement bottle of Wendel Clark 11 YO Rye. An incredibly intense and flavourful whisky, a snippet of dark sugar and honey on the entry and then it's all Rye with a wisp of oak. A great whisky! $45CDN. Blind fold me and make me try this again! it is only 41.6%, but punches above its weight class.

@OdysseusUnbound I also just picked up a bottle of Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2008. It is my second bottle. I had to buy it in South Carolina. Only a 413 mile drive one way. But it was worth it. I'll post some pictures of my haul later.

Over the Easter weekend my wife and I traveled to South Carolina (416 miles one way) to help go through her late aunt’s home before it is sold. In addition to dressers, chairs, beds, and the like . . . I also found a few stashes of old alcohol. There were some interesting curiosities.

I believe that the Beefeaters Gin is from the 1970’s. The box it was in contained other items from that period. The aunt moved from Ohio to South Carolina in 1980. And there were clearly boxes she never unpacked from that move. This box appears to have been one of those (and it was in a room that humans hadn’t been in for over 25 years at least).

The Hennessy looks old as well. No ABV listed; only the proof. Anyone have a guess for that time period?

The Jim Beam was found at the back of a shelf. It has the age statement of 4 years on the side and is a 1L bottle. It is clearly from after 2004 because it indicates Bookers passing.

The Johnnie Walker Red Label . . . is not a horrible example. The bottle was at above the half way mark when we started going through the house on Saturday. You can see where it is now. I did the damage myself over three days.

There is also a 200mL bottle of Pinch 15yo blended scotch. But I can’t seem to find it at the moment. It must have been packed in a different box. It should turn up before too long. That is the bottle I was most excited about. It is unopened and looks older. Probably 90’s but potentially 80’s. I’ll post a picture when I find it.

@Nock, that picture looks like a Sunday morning table setting during my early adult years. lol

The Anisette brings back memories of countless pots of coffee supplemented by endless bottles of Anisette. There were a few nights that lasted into early mornings at local clubs where my friends and I sat and shared a cup or "two" with some of our rivals. It wasn't always a pretty scene. Sometimes we would have the bartender pour 28% abv Anisette for us and 40 % abv Sambuca for our unsuspecting "guests". These would be served with small portions of strong coffee and mixed in a ratio of 1:1, we were way ahead of the Red Bull craze. After hours of toasts, and an almost infinite supply of alcohol infused coffee, our rivals would be about 50% drunker than we were and occasionally too drunk to hail a cab. Nothing like rivalry to spur competition.

A quick update

The Beefeater gin is clearly from between 1977 and 1982 because of the Tax strip mentioning ATF and not the IRS. One mystery solved.

Oh, and I just tasted it next to my open bottle of Beefeater in my bar (open for less than a year) . . . no comparison. This old 70’s bottle has WAY more flavor, it is way thicker, way more botanicals, and it has been at 3/4 full for probably over three decades. This is my new benchmark experiment. Clearly, a bottle of liquor will stay just fine provided it is over half way full for decades. And it will go on to blow the modern stuff out of the water. Mark it. That’s science in your mouth.

The bottle of Hennessey is clearly from the 1980’s. There is no Surgeon General warning which came into effect in 1989. There is a UPC code which was standard by 1985. So this bottle is clearly from between 1985 and 1989 and unopened.

@Nock, great post!...science in your mouth, love it!

@paddockjudge That is a great story!

It sounds like my wife's aunt used it for making some kind of cookies or maybe it was an Italian pastry? Not totally sure. Clearly, she didn't hit the bottle all that hard.

Amrut Peated Cask Strength. Why? Because so far my "Amrut experience" has been very positive (thank you people for the recommendation on here, you know who you are!), and because I tried it once a long time ago in the beginning of my whisky journey and really felt like revisiting it again now. Tasting notes should be forthcoming...

@Nock, that Port Charlotte Islay Barley 2008 is one of my favorite Port Charlottes, and I've tried a decent number of OBs over the years.

I was at a Binny's on Friday and saw that there's now a 2011 version out too! Silver livery, new squatty "grenade"-style bottle shape. It was on the shelf for $80

I just bought a bottle of Talisker 10 despite a general ban on whisky buying. Why? It was only $38.

@MadSingleMalt - I've found the 10's quality can vary quite a bit but it's often sold for around £30 (so similar to what you paid I guess?) - if you get a good one that's a great price right there!

@Nock - I love old hauls like that. Obviously, not always found in the most pleasant of circumstances but when my Nan passed a few years ago I was the beneficiary of a litre bottle of Teacher's from the late 70s/early 80's. Bloody good it was too! (value was about £180 on MoM!)

@RianC, Talisker 10 has weirdly shot up to the $75 neighborhood in the States in the last couple of years, so finding a place that dropped it back down to $38 was a very welcome find!

@MadSingleMalt I posted it somewhere else, but as of a few months ago, Diageo has dropped it's prices across the board (mostly) in select stores/states (so far). Hopefully, it will make it's way everywhere. The first bottle of Talisker 10 I bought at the new price a few months back was a stinker but got a lil better as the fill-line dropped. This second one I bought, after having sworn it off (that price!), is a real winner though right off the bat!

Pretty happy to have just bought a bottle of the latest Longrow Red release, 11 yo Pinot Noir cask matured (8 years in bourbon casks then 3 years in refill Pinot Noir Barriques from NEW ZEALAND !!!). I haven't had the pleasure of any Longrow let alone a "Red" but I read a couple of reviews and was sold on it. I had the page loaded and refreshed it regularly as the 4:30 pm release time rolled around.

Pulled the trigger on a couple of bottles I've had in the cross hairs and finally bagged 'em. Talisker 57 North and Pendleton's 20 YO Rye.

@paddockjudge 57 N, another I would like to have an extra of since I hear it will soon be gone. I do have an unopened bottle, but once the one I bought in 2015 and opened in 2017 is gone, when will be the right time? FORO...

@Nozinan, I'll let you know if I chase after another T57N

Despite doing my best to resist the siren song, I gave in, went to my local LCBO and bought two more bottles of Weller Antique 107. With the two on the way from an online order, that will bring my bunker total to 6 bottles of OWA. That should tide me over for awhile. I couldn’t get the fact that it’s going up $15/bottle out of my mind...

I have one open and one in the bunker. I suspect you will use up 5 of your before I finish my open one.

6 is a good amount for FORO. I used to have about 6 Amrut peated CS. I have finished a couple and recently gifted one. Luckily I found an original batch and there are still some in Calgary.

@Nozinan I’m haunted by the wise words of @Victor who told me to “get it while you can”. I dragged my heels on the last batch of Redbreast 12 CS and didn’t get a single bottle of what is, in my very limited experience, the best Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey on the market.