Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@Nozinan I actually HAVE a bottle of OGD 114 as well as OGD bonded. I just haven’t opened them yet, been waiting to get the trifecta! Haha

This post is a few days late. But better late than never? Not sure if it applies. Oh well here it goes.

Black Friday in Virginia. It is simply the best time to buy liquor because for one glorious day they give you 20% off the price if spend over $100. Can I do that? Absolutely. So I use this one day out of the year to stock up on things for our house cocktails. Occasionally I try something new I have had my eye on, or I pick up old staples that I will buy anyway . . . so why not buy it at 20% off?

Both kids are home from college for Thanksgiving week and with all the food and other “necessities” my wife bought for them she has now spent over $1000 . . . so there is a whisky tax to pay the husband for going far over “budget”. Oh, and did I mention that she took the boy to see Hamilton tonight? A further whisky tax is required. And she left me here to work on dishes and laundry. So the tax is mounting . . . I picked up an extra special something.

I have included first the normal Virginia ABC price without tax, and then behind the “ / ” the sale price including the 6% sales tax I ended up paying.

First up the I-need-to-replenish-the-cocktail-bar list.

Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth 16.5% (1 Litre) – $36.99 / sale $31.37 – This is my favorite sweet vermouth for all occasions. Sadly, it is expensive. My last bottle is dangerously low, so time for another. My wife’s favorite cocktail, the Blood and Sand, requires me to have this around.

Cointreau 40% (1 Litre) – $49.99 / sale $42.39 – Another must have in the bar. I have been out for almost a year. I have been substituting Grand Marnier . . . and while it works it just isn’t the same.

Broker’s Gin 47% – $21.99 / sale $16.95 – We always need some gin around. This is one of my three “go-to” gins. Since it was a good sale I might as well.

Next is the out-of-my-comfort-zone exploration list

Del Maguey Chichicapa Mezcal 48% – $69.99 / sale $59.35 – It was @Victor who first introduced me to this Mezcal. He has found quite a variety of batch variation, but I have been interested to pick up a bottle for several years now. It was both instock (for once) and I could get it on sale . . . might as well.

Foursquare 2007 Single Blend Rum 59% – $94.99 / sale $80.55 – I recently tried their 2004 batch and was mightily impressed. The price is very high for my area, but with the sale it makes it close to what it would cost to buy it with shipping. So I sprung for it. We will see how it compares with my remaining small sample of 2004.

Now the bourbon and rye list

Old Forester 1920 Prohibition 115 Proof 57% – $59.99 / sale $50.87 – This is a bottle many people have raved about. I have always had a reason to pass on this bottle. Mostly, I think it is too expensive and I am not sure I like the Old Forester style. But with this sale, now is the time to try it.

Wild Turkey Rare Breed 116.5 Proof 58.4% – $49.99 / sale $39.85 – Another bottle that has many fans. I have only ever tried this from small miniatures. But, given the sale . . . might as well give it a full-bottle go.

Pikesville Straight Rye 6yo 55% - $49.99/ sale $38.15 – This bottle is a must have in my back up inventory. I just opened my last reserve bottle . . . and if you read my Rye Blind Tasting recently this came out on top. How can you go wrong for $38.15 out the door?

Next up . . . the scotch . . .

@Nock the Old Forester 1920 @Maddie owns tastes a lot like a lower rye version of Pikesville 6 yo rye. Personally I've never run into a single person who would say a bad word about 1920. Like you, I am not that sanguine about a lot of what Old Forester does, but 1920 is a high point for them.

@Nock I look forward to hearing your impressions of the rare breed. I finally bought one this year, and because of the Black Friday sale at Zyn, I bought it again.

I loved the Kaiyo CS and mistakenly bought the non-CS.I'm curious how it will be at 43% (and nearly half the price), a back up bottle of Springbank CS 57.1, and Port Charlotte 10. Was going to hold off, but old habits die hard!

All of this was purchased with the thought of the impending scotch price hike here in America. These are distillery expressions I am particularly attached to. The Port Charlotte was basically 20% off the regular price. Since it never goes on sale here in Virginia, and I have gone through three bottles this past year, it is one I might as well stock up on now:

Port Charlotte 10yo 50% 2019/03/12 – $64.99 / sale $55.12

Port Charlotte 10yo 50% 2019/03/12 – $64.99 / sale $55.12

The Laphroaig I consider a bar staple. I love that it is at 43% considering it is 40% most other places. And it was already on sale which made the savings about 25%

Laphroaig 10yo 43% – $49.99 / sale $39.85

Laphroaig 10yo 43% – $49.99 / sale $39.85

The Uigeadail . . . I have been collecting batches of this expression for years. The most recent batch I have is from October of 2017 . . . so I missed out on all the 2018 batches. Might as well pick up some while the price is right. Given the already going sale this is essentially 30% of the standard price here in Virginia. This almost deserves to go under the thread “Steal of a Deal”

Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2% 27/02/2019 – $79.99 / sale $59.35

Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2% 11/04/2019 – $79.99 / sale $59.35

Ardbeg Uigeadail 54.2% 11/04/2019 – $79.99 / sale $59.35

Finally, I haven’t had a bottle of the Talisker 18yo since around 2006 or 2007. It was a really great whisky . . . that quickly shot up in price here in the states. It has been around $150 for a number of years now. Given the 20% sale . . . and the fact that I was stuck with doing all the kids dishes and laundry while the wife was at Hamilton . . . this was my consolation price (not prize).

Talisker 18yo 45.8% L8193CM005; 00002008 – $149.99 / sale $127.20

Ok, my whisky buying should be complete for the season. There are a few bottles I would make an exception for. But over the past 2 months I have allowed the collection to expand to far more than ever before. I think I am finally entering the ranks of some of you big hoarders out there.

I just picked up Aberlour A’bunadh Batch 63. I have been trying to keep up with the latest releases and the 63 was discounted by $10 as well.

@Nock, I want that pic in sepia and framed.

@DaveM I picked up a 65 a few months ago. I long ago stopped trying to get every batch. I'm keeping the 65 for when I turn 65, in 14.5 years.

I opened the 50 this year, and I still have some 49. Those should last me until I turn 53 (I have a 53 and 54). After that it's earlier batches until I hit 65. I will not run out.

@Nozinan The Pennsylvania liquor system is behind the times here. Batch 63 just showed up in the last couple of months.

A Yoichi NAS Single Malt because it is one of the few well priced whiskies at the government run liquor control board - "THE LCBO". Reviews I've read seem fairly positive and feed back points to an unadulterated Japanese spirit. The era of Japanese Age stated whiskies at a reasonable price are over for now.

@fiddich1980 Decent ABV for a Japanese whisky. Is it good? I could consider something like that to bolster a very weak Japanese representation in my cabinet.

@Nozinan We can make @paddockjudge ments for ourselves in 48 hours. I hope the Miyagikyo and the Yoichi are worth the @Cricklewood.

Not that I need another bottle of this but I bought an Ardbeg Uigeadail that was on sale. What the hell, it’s nearly Christmas!

I received an Amazon voucher and, surprise surprise, instantly browsed the whisky aisles to find James E. Pepper 1776 Straight Rye Whiskey Barrel Proof for £31! so it cost me £1! First off, reviews suggest this is a true to form full on rye, which I'm after, and that price is over £20 less than anywhere else. Has anyone had any experience of this version?

I recommend all UK based folk to scour Amazon, they're are some awesome deals about ...

@RianC I am a fan of the standard 50% ABV James E Pepper 1776 rye. I haven't been lucky enough yet to try it at barrel strength. Excellent choice on your part. That's an MGPI in Indiana product.

@Victor - yes I saw that it was from that stable. Remind me, what other ryes come out of MGPI or would there be too many to list?

Couldn't believe the price! Rrp is about £55 ... I wasn't after a rye per se, although it had been on my wanted list, but could not refuse at that price. I'm half expecting the 46% version to arrive instead lol.

Always nice to admire the new arrivals. A Zyn order arrived. Not all of these are for me. I’m looking forward to opening a couple of those that are in early 2020.

Interesting, the Caol Ila 15 is a different batch from the one I traded up for at the LCBO. So now I have three different batches of 15 CS unpeated. And I thought there were only 2.

@Nozinan The three bottles on the right look particularly good.

@OdysseusUnbound I look forward to opening those first!

@Nozinan Quality control? Finder's fee? Angel's share?

@Nozinan Funny enough I same guy just dropped these off.

I had some gift cards burning a hole in my pocket so I got:

• Lagavulin 11 Year Old Nick Offerman Edition: I’m the first to deride celebrity endorsements, but I love Lagavulin and I love Nick Offerman so I had to get one of these.
• Glen Scotia 15 Year Old: I’ve been wanting to try this one for awhile and at $86 CAD, it’s a steal of a deal.
• Maker’s Mark 46: I like the standard Maker’s well enough and this one looks pretty interesting too.

@DaveM You always need another bottle of that.

@Nozinan I've got the GF 21 coming. I'll be interested to see your review when you have a chance to open it.

@fiddich1980 I've had the 17 Doublewood. It's a beauty. Let us know what you think. I was tempted on the Arran 21, but restraint reared its ugly head.

@RianC , here is a site that lists all Bourbon/Rye's from MGP. Not sure how up to date it is. The site is a bit busy but harmless.

great-taste.net/tidbits-kudos/…

@OdysseusUnbound The Maker's 46 is a staple in my bar and night and day different from regular MM. If the LCBO ever rolls out the Maker's Private Barrel Select sitting on their website then you may want that as well as it is a flavored stave's bomb at cask strength.

@fiddich1980 Nice background to your photo. Nice haul.

I had piggybacked a Corry with another Connosr's order. It comes in at (incl. tax and shipping) just over half the KGBO price.

I will not be reviewing the 21 YO. I've tasted it at @fiddich1980's tasting about a year ago, but did not buy one. The one you see in my photo belongs to another Connosr, who will hopefully pick it up before temptation gets the better of me...

@BlueNote So true!