Which bottle did you just buy and why?

WELL as a Taurus I have lots of patience. So I bought a bottle of Bulleit 95 Rye. It is a promise because I have a whiskey which will reach 90 points over a year. Now it has a little less points. I remember Mick Jagger singing: "Time is on my side. Yes, it is !"

Since I can’t afford any of the Diageo Special Releases on a striking teacher’s budget, my first whiskey purchase of 2020 was......a standard bottle of Maker’s Mark. I plan on doing a back to back with Maker’s and Maker’s 46. And hopefully my parents bring back a bottle of Maker’s Cask Strength from Florida....

@OdysseusUnbound I can commiserate, while I'm not on strike I've decided to shape up my budget this year, I decide to not buy any of the Diageo releases and just let the FOMO wash over me, it will pass eventually. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

I tried the Maker's comparison last winter it was a trio provided by @paddockjudge standard maker's, 46 & a store pick with the staves. It was a fun experience I remember being surprised by how much I enjoyed the nose on the standard Maker's...maybe I have a thing for olfactory profile of wheaters?

@OdysseusUnbound In solidarity with you I will be sure to save some for your benefit...

@OdysseusUnbound I hear the LCBO will be stocking Old Forester 1920 soon, sub $80 Canadian is the rumor. Maybe have your parents look into a Maker's Private Select in what ever liquor store they try or an RC6. They should only be $10 more than the MM CS but a better buy IMO. Depends on whether you favor M46 or MM standard I guess.

@OdysseusUnbound I'm in agreement with @Nozinan. I'll contribute a decent sample of last years Talisker 8 to compare with @Nozinan's Talsiker 15.

@fiddich1980 @Nozinan You gentlemen are far too generous.

@fiddich1980, @OdysseusUnbound, @Nozinan, I'll throw in with a splash of Talisker 57 Degrees North...Trifecta completed!

Even though the KGBO (among others) has put a stop to shipping out of Alberta I was able to get these as someone arranged to have a couple boxes shipped and mine were able to hop a ride. The Amrut is the Jaggery Rum mature, 60% and both are Kennsington Wine Market exclusives. Since they both came to me for $290 in my hands due to a sale and additional 10% off for bulk purchase I guess.

@Astroke Wow...I've been eying that Amrut, hoping it would go on sale and come close to being near my price range... 60%! That could kill coronavirus an a few others!

@Nozinan My friend was able to get the Amrut for $142.50 plus 5%, so $150. That was a sale price as it retails for $190 plus 5%, which is fairly steep. I think had it been ZYN, the low price would be the every day price. I had passed on too many Amrut releases over the past 2 years from ZYN. I had to take advantage of the discount. Alberta had spoiled me with the all the selection.

@Astroke I missed that. At that price I would have been very tempted....

@Nozinan Well if it does not end up in your hands, there will be a healthy sample for you.

@Astroke Healthy because at 60% there will be no CoVID19?

@Nozinan Right on the border, so we are good to go.

A gift of Tamnavulin Double Cask and a Yellow Spot for my 40th arrived today. The former being a gift from work which was most unexpected! Add those to Poit Dhubh 21, Glenfarclas 25, Flaming Heart 2nd Ed and a Cardhu SR and i'll confess to being exceedingly happy with that haul!

@RianC - Happy 40th! I will raise a dram in your honor later today (it’s currently 7:30am). Hope you have a wonderful birthday. Sounds like it is off to a great start!

@bwmccoy - Cheers, mate. Hope you enjoy it!

@Victor. I had about given up on this until I found it at the duty free in Mexico City airport. $100US. I had to do it.

Picked up a couple bottles of Ardbeg Blaaack. One for me and one for my brother-in-law. I almost didn't get it because the price was quite a bit higher than last years release. Yay! Tariffs!

@BlueNote, excellent work! You got a bargain price, too. $ 100 is about the lowest price on earth for that, about 33% below average world asking price. If I saw Reserva de La Familia for $ 100 right now I'd be very tempted to pick up a couple more bottles of it. I have one remaining, unopened. I hope that you like it.

@TracerBullet, How much did you pay for it if I may ask. Did you buy this locally in Maryland?

@DevD $160. I had to really think about it. According to a UK website, it costs about 94 pounds. That translates to about $122.38 in US dollars. Add the addition $30.60 from the 25% tariffs and it gets you to 152.98. And I picked this up in Maryland. I heard the store got 12 bottles. I got 2 and a friend got 1. No idea if they have any left. At that price, I am guessing they do.

@TracerBullet I would love to hear your impression of the Ardbeg Blaaack as soon as you open a bottle. The price increase is real and giving me pause. Right now I am trying to decide if it is worth it to track down a few bottles. I was totally disappointed with the last years Drum. And I wasn't much more impressed by the Grooves the year before.

@Nock Will do. I really had to think twice about picking this bottle up. If prices stay this high, I guess I will be drinking more whiskey from the US and Canada (and any other region not affected by the tariffs).

I've limited myself to one bottle this month. As my purchases were creeping up and in a strange reverse symmetry my bank balance seemed to decrease in direct correlation with the increase in purchases!

Anyway I brought a Bruichladdich bere barley 2010. I've been curious about bere barley for a while so wanted to try one.

@Wierdo Funny, I've purchased only one bottle this year, with essentially a gift card, and I've not noticed any improvement in my bank account.

@Nozinan as stopping buying whisky makes no difference in your finances the only solution is to start buying whisky again!

@Wierdo True, but I have to accept that any bottle I buy is one more bottle in my collection that I will never drink. It may not be that bottle but it could displace another one. That's the problem when you don't have enough of any one expression to last a lifetime but in total enough to last 3 lifetimes.

So much for continuity and consistency. The new label is pretty but, the break with tradition is off putting. Lets hope the juice is as good as 2017, give the price increase.