Which bottle did you just buy and why?

I haven’t seen the Finlaggan Cask Strength for a while, so I ordered one up.

@OdysseusUnbound

FOMO at its most painful. I liked the Redbreast when I first tasted it a few years ago and bought up a few bottles. I have since tasted a number of batches and all are good but none better than that 2015 batch. So i’m Well-positioned until the next time it’s available. I’m happy to share until then.

A couple of these suckers 'cuz I've been meaning to grab 'em for a while now...

@KRB80 Benromach released a lot of single bourbon casks to market in 2017-2018. I bought one at the SAQ November 2017 and it's really interesting, very fruity, mineral and a lot peatier than I thought it would be.

My parents’ friends just got back from Florida earlier this week and brought my bourbon back with them.....and my parents are visiting this weekend so my mom brought my bottle of Russell’s Reserve 10 Year. I was surprised to see that it’s bottled at 90 Proof. For some reason, I thought this was a Barrel Proof offering, but no matter. I’m happy to try something I can’t get in Soviet Ontario.

@cricklewood Yeah, I am just finishing up my first dram right now. A bit austere at first but, with time, it opens up a bit and starts to show it's colors. You're spot on, really. It REALLY reminds me of a bourbon cask Springbank; tons of that springer minerality as well. If I tasted this blind that would have been my guess as to what it is. Definitely an interesting one for sure. I'm looking forward to how it develops in the bottle over time.

Ok... No more buying for a while now, but I just got

1. Stalla dhu "islay". Independent bottler. Not sure what's inside but I recall elements of caol ila. They aren't allowed to say what's inside... But I have been told that it's 15yrs minimum by someone I know at the IB. Tasting notes will follow.

2. Amrut peated cask strength. Good price i found so got two if it turns out as good as I hope...

3. Amrut intermediate sherry. I have one unopened in stock but again found a great bargain so got another one for 'storage' as I think I'll always like to have one of these handy!

@KRB80 austere is the right word, it operates in a narrow band of flavour but does it well along with that great mineral, almost linseed oil thing going for it.

I believe these are barrels that would normally would have been vatted with sherry casks and re-racked for one year to make into the Ben10

No one was home when the courier called last week and then it was the weekend so it's taken a few days to get my hands on this.

@KRB80 Woo, 60.6%, that's a hefty little sucker. Right in @Victor's wheelhouse.

@OdysseusUnbound Now perhaps you'll show a little more respect for your mum and dad.

We were just down in Oregon visiting the in-laws. Picked up a Talisker Distiller's Edition and an Ardbeg Ten just because I like to have them both around and the prices were too good to pass up.

Found a 1996 Arran Single Bourbon Cask 16yo about an hour from my house. So of course I went to go get it. This will sit beside the 1999 Single bourbon cask 16yo. Wonder how they'll compare. Yay more Arran!

I was in Jamaica last week so I picked up the best of what I could from the duty free. Good Jamaican rums are just awesome - briny, spicy, smoky, and intense - good independent bottlings of them are some of my favourite spirits. I tried what I could at the tasting bar, and came up with a few bargains: Wray & Nephew, 63% white rum - $9/L; Hampden Rum-Fire 63% unaged, $12/L; Hampden Gold $14/L, Worthy Park Rum-Bar 63% white rum $11/L, Monymusk overproof white rum 44/200 ml (not great), and Rum-Bar gold, a Jamaican pot-still rum aged for 4 years in once-used bourbon casks which I'd say is worth about $40 taste-wise compared to a Canadian or American whisky, or $60 compared to a Scotch, so $13 is a good price to pay for that!

The rums, largely, were bought for interest - they are extremely complex and taste nothing like the standard, sweet rums we get in Canada (Appleton, El Dorado, etc.). They are intense, complex, briny, earthy, smoky, rich, high-proof, and unsweetened. Often in Jamaica they add stillage (what is left over in the pot-still after distillation) to the fermentation to increase acidity and thus the production of esters at the beginning of fermentation - this stillage is often left out in the open for interaction of funghi and bacteria ("muck") - and is a bit gross, but very complex once distillation cleans it up. Probably the best $50 I've spent on spirits. I actually wish I had doubled or tripled my purchase, after reviewing them all.

@JasonHambrey those are some crazy low prices for what sound like delicious rums

@casualtorture - Well, seen as you've just made me drool I'll mention I opened my Arran 10 James MacTaggart Ed. last week In all seriousness I hope you can snag one (I know you've been searching) as it's easily the best Arran I've had so far. That bottle of yours looks mighty fine too though and I would bet, being bourbon cask matured, there are definite similarities.

@RianC I am very jealous of your 10th anniversary edition. I can't find that anywhere stateside. Getting someone to order it has not gone well either.

@casualtorture - They have it on Amazon UK (that's all I can find) but not sure if they will ship out to you?

A selection of samples arrived for me today - part of a deal for a bottle I 'swapped'. Looking forward to trying a few different things in here that I haven't had before

@Hewie - Some very nice tid-bits there!

@RianC Yeah. He only labelled them very basically so I was digging up a bit more info - pretty happy to try some of these (i.e. beyond my normal budget).

@Hewie, cool little bottles too!

What are the Ardbeg and the Kilkerran?

@MadSingleMalt ( @Hewie ) - Yeah I wondered that too and about the Longmorn - don't see much of that about. Very jealous of the Stagg as well, still not tried that.

Do let us know how you find them.

@MadSingleMalt @RianC He asked what I like so I said I prefer something punchy - nothing too delicate. He was generous and sent a great selection but the only labelled with their name. They are Ardbeg Grooves, Longmorn 2002 15Y (I believe a Signatory Bottling at 57.2%), Stagg Junior, Octomore 7.2, Glenfiddich Project XX, Starward Red Wine Cask, and Kilkerran 'Grey' - one of the WIP - I'll have to investigate which one it was.

@Hewie, the gray Kilkerrran WIP was #2, the 6-year-old. And in my book, that's good! The younger the better with those Kilkerrans.

Aside from the little decoder ring thing (actually a small card) that came with the initial release of the Kilkerran 12, the best source of info on the WIP color scheme is the Diving for Pearls blog: divingforpearlsblog.com/2016/01/…

They had a sign up for this at $39. Not sure if that's a mistake or if they aren't increasing the price with the age bump.

@casualtorture I am trying to avoid buying much but at that price (and my memory of QR from years ago), I would buy 2.

It is $97 Canadian in Ontario for the 12 YO. I have wanted one for a while but if my MP friend comes over and I open my Amrut Portonova, it will be redundant.

@Hewie Let us know if you can find out the Stagg Jr. ABV. If you know that I can tell you which batch it is from (I keep track).

Also is the Ardbeg Grooves the 46% (standard release) or the 51.6% (committee release)?

@casualtorture That is a great deal on the 14yo version. I have yet to see it in my area locally. I might just pick one up . . . even though it won't be as good of a deal. I haven't had a bottle in ages.

@Nock I'll try and find out about the Stagg. I'm assuming the Grooves is the standard release but I'm planning on asking for a few more details on some of these. I'll let you know when I find out. Thanks