Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@cherylnifer: Can't say really.. I had a small measure at a Japanese Restaurant; wrong glass, tap water, miniscule pour and I'd had a spectacular old Sake. I wasn't all that fussed! I tried #49 yesterday and it is lovely, contains older material and is, (I think) the best A'bunadh for a very long time.

@Nozinan; This is not one to keep, #49 is for drinking now. It is a return to the delicious early A'bunadh's and really is an education in its' self! It is opening splendidly, at the moment - Why wait?

Cheers!

@A'bunadhman > have to smile as I am just reading your response to my question. I just return from an afternoon of wandering the northern part of the State of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and found a smaller liquor retailer. I bought two bottles each of Aberlour A'bunadh #49 and Elmer T Lee bourbon. The Elmer T supply dried up for a couple of months. But more seems to have become available. A very productive and enjoyable afternoon.

@Nozinan > many thanks for your input. It is most welcomed. I spend considerable time seeking batch 45 but within it's success. With each failed stop, I would buy the batch 44 in defeat. Eventually I found a small treasure trove of #45 to buy. By that time I had 7-8 bottles of #44 cellared. A win-win solution after all.

@OCeallaigh Go do the Westland Distillery tour, pay the $10 for the tasting and save $10 on any bottle you purchase. It's a great facility and nice folks. You can find Westland in most local stores. I've tried the entire Westland line. My favorite being the single-cask bottlings.

@A'bunadhman

Why wait? I could drink only A'Bunadh and be happy. By drinking only batch numbers equal to my age and under, I live in anticipation of getting older, rather than in dread or despair.

I appreciate thew49 is a well-respected batch, and in 3 years I'll be drinking a bit of history. In the meantime, it opens my schedule to the many other spirits out there.

@cherylnifer I wonder if your collection of A'Bunadh rivals mine... or in fact exceeds it. I don't have more than 2 of any batch (currently 33,37,42,47, 49) but I have them spread over 12 different batches, and I've got saved archives of 2 more. Two esteemed Connosrs have also gifted me samples of other batches and I look forward to trying them at a time when my palate is at its best...hopefully in the next few months.

I've tried 8 different batches ( 7 of my own bottles), I thought I tried batch 28 once but it turned out to be a fake.

If I can land a batch 50, I'll crack it for my half century/

Had a friend bring a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail back with her from Edinburgh. The luxury of having friends working on their PhD abroad, I suppose! Saved me £20+ compared to Norwegian prices as well. I don't really need a reason for buying Uigeadail other than it being a cracking whisky.

@Nozinan > the only way my holdings of A'bunadh rivals you'd might be in number of unopened bottles held. Your batch holdings are broader than me. Earliest batch that I had was #41 but I consumed that in its entirety. And I know there are other members with far more bottles and batches in reserve than I. Misty, alone, has a case of batch #45 it away. But I am very much enjoying each whisky experience and the opportunity to save today for a dreary day tomorrow.

@newreverie

Thanks for the tip. I look forward to the day I can open the bottle to celebrate a momentous occasion. :D

A couple of bottles of the 1988 Clynelish 23 Year Old Cask 4546 Duncan Taylor Dimensions.

Time to branch out into the other distilleries that I haven't had much of, at the moment it is this, Mortlach and Bunnahabhain.

@sengjc - I picked up one of those from Nicks just now. $160 is a steal.

Adding to the discussion, I just picked up a Wemyss Velvet Fig out of intrigue at the high praise it's received recently.

@Chookster

That's where I got mine too.

@Chookster

Let me know your thoughts on that one, please. Interested to see what the Velvet Fig is like.

Longrow 10yo, 1: because I love Longrow 2:my Longrow 100 proof is almost gone and 3: the bottle was only €36,- at a wholesale store in Breda so I couldnt leave without it.

@PeatyZealot I like the way you think! Reason things out, logical.

@PeatyZealot , is the Longrow 10/100 awesome? I always guessed it would be and I passed on that guess to anyone who would listen in the recent "suggest something from Binny's" thread. But for me it's just a guess.

@OlJas Don't know about the 10yo yet, but the 100 proof is very nice, I should have a review of it on my profile and the CV. I'd definately recommend it if you like dirty, farmy challenging stuff, but if your favorites are Glenlivet 12 and/or Chivas you might be in for a surprise haha

@PeatyZealot — Oh, I gues I assumed your Longrow 100 Proof was 10 years old. The 10 YO is the only version I've ever seen. Is it a NAS, then?

I just bought a second bottle of Willett 7 year rye, but getting it was quite the adventure. I wanted to buy it because I found it to be a stunning whiskey. My usual source had one bottle left, but I had promised to buy that for Victor. I called a second store and asked the manager to hold one of the two remaining bottles in stock for an hour or so, but he didn't think that holding it was necessary. He was sure that two bottles of Willett rye weren't going to sell in an hour. I got there and ,predictably, the rye was not there, but the manager knew a store around the corner that did have it. I drove there (very quickly) at 7:17 and then saw that closed 7pm. I knocked on the door just to see--and there was the owner, waiting for me with the bottle. It was 15$ more than the previous price, but at this point, "no" was not an option!

@Jonathan, yikes! Next time I believe that I would not let the liquor store guy tell me not to worry about reserving it for me. Thanks for getting the job done for me!

@sengjc sounds best avoided !

@Frost

Oops too late. Got me a bottle of the Velvet Fig earlier today. Wish I had logged-in earlier. :

Anyway, here's hoping that 2015 Blended Malt of the Year has got to stand for something.

Other recent pickups: A bottle of Benriach 2004 10th Anniversary - more for a keepsake rather than for drinking. A few bottles of the Suntory Yamazaki 12 Year Old - these are surprisingly becoming quite hard to find and rising in price where I am at.

@sengjc the whisky is lovely...I mean to keep clear of Australian over inflated ABV taxes

A few weeks ago my family, and I had a nice dinner at a local restaurant, and the Macallan 12 yr went well with my in-bone ribeye steak.

Had the urge to pick up a bottle so this morning on my way home I did just that (enjoying a hearty dram right now).

I noticed there was 1 last bottle of the Balvenie 15 yr Single Barrel Sherry left ($85), and knowing the manager - I'm certain he'll realize how cheap it is, and will increase the price.

So - 1 Macallan - 1 Balvenie.

@OlJas No, you're right, the 100 proof is also 10 years old, but a lot stronger obviously. I tasted them side by side now, and I came to the assumption that the 100 proof is bourbon matured only, while the regular ten also has some sherry cask in the mix. Tastewise a lot of similarities tho

Busy night on call (meaning a little more income than anticipated - eventually once I get paid) took me by a recently opened LCBO store I'd never been to. popped to see the selection. not great. Little in the way of Canadian, US or Scotch to tempt me. I had gone in planning to treat myself for all the work I had done.

The only thing that stood out was Writer's Tears. I know it's just 40% but very flavourful and a friend and I enjoyed a healthy amount of a bottle I had bought for him last year. I left empty handed, but maybe if I buy him another bottle he'll open it for (I mean with) me....

@Frost

Sigh...unfortunately all we get in Australia is taxed. I am ok for that but would like to see more for the amount of the taxes that is paid.

Anyway, back on topic.

A couple of bottles of the 1990 Mortlach Cask 6075 and a bottle of the 1988 Blair Athol Cask 6841 by Signatory to explore more of the "other" distilleries. Also a couple of bottles of the Benriach Albariza (love a peaty Speysider) and a couple of 100ml taster bottles of cask strength Dobson's a newish Australian distillery.

@sengjc, that's a hell of a collection you are building up there! Well, done, man! And in Australia...

@Victor

Hehe... yes the wife has started to get in the ear a little.

But I couldn't resist picking up a couple of bottles of Ardbeg Perpetuum. I am quite impressed by this bottling - smoky vanilla ice-cream.