Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@Misty I don't know. I suspect it may differ between legislations. I do recall that they honoured (or had to, or didn't realise...) some crazy pricing on camera gear a while back -

petapixel.com/2019/07/…

Yea, one of my colleagues at work had a week in a fancy German hotel for the princely sum of 1.23€ a night. They explained it was a web pricing error and should have been 123.00€ a night but they still honoured it with a smile in the end.

@Misty Major "steal of a deal" there I'd say. Hope you are recovering from that pesky virus and feeling better.

Thanks yes I am much improved. It literally brought me to my knees, I was scared to be honest.

I celebrated last night by opening a Deanston 2002 organic oloroso finish. By goodness it was fabulous. Wish I could find more at a reasonable price. Very expensive on TWE.

I just bought a bottle of plain ol’ Jim Beam White Label. Why? Well this social distancing has me thinking of taking my blog in a few different directions. One of them, not original I’m sure, is to compare the two American giants (Jack and Jim) in a variety of contexts. Lord knows I’ve had a lot of Jim Beam White in my time, but I’m determined to give it (and Jack) a thorough examination.

@OdysseusUnbound You just bought of Jim Beam, but the real reason is that you wanted to checkout why the LCBO is considered an essential service...

Springbank 12 CS (I paid 50$. Long story.)

Ardbeg An Oa (My wife loves it, and after buying it before, I noticed that Serge and Angus each wrote a positive review of it, so maybe my taste buds don't lie. It's not nearly as sweet as the PX might suggest.)

Roku Gin (which has interesting Japanese botanicals)

All the best to everyone. The local liquor store is one of the few places where life goes on as normal. No lines. No empty shelves.

With restaurants and bars closed down, there has been a trend recently where they are selling off some or all of their wine and spirits stock as a way to have some income / cash flow. The local restaurant where the Society holds their member tastings announced over the weekend that starting today that they would be doing the same thing. The owner of The Barrel Thief is a great guy and he is very good to his staff, so I wanted to help him out and buy something if I could to support him and his staff during this time.

I purchased an Octomore 9.1 because when I was at The Barrel Thief for my birthday a couple of months ago, I had an Octomore flight which included 9.1. It was my 2nd favorite of the 4 in the flight (unfortunately, the one I enjoyed the most was not part of today's sale). Details on 9.1; Malted to 156PPM. Distilled from 100% Scottish grown Concerto barley, harvested in 2011 and distilled in 2012. Matured entirely on Islay for five years in ex-American whiskey casks (5yrs), full term in Jim Beam (51%), Jack Daniels (26%), Clermont (15%), Old Grand-Dad (8%). 59.1% ABV.

I also picked up a lightly peated Society Allt-a-Bhainne (SMWS 108.14) 7 year (Nov. 2011) called "An enjoyable curiosity" from a 2nd-fill ex-bourbon barrel (66.2% ABV). I also tried this one at The Barrel Thief back in October 2019. It was the first time that I've had anything from this distillery. I really enjoyed it!.

I'm happy to get both of the bottles that I wanted (since there were only one of each available), but more importantly, I'm happy that I can help out a friend's business during this unprecedented time.

@bwmccoy Well done. I would gladly do the same if the opportunity arose. Unprecedented time indeed. The end is definitely not nigh.

Talisker 57 North ... £60 from MOM on a one day deal .. grab 'em while ya can

@conorrob That's a great one! Enjoy.

St. George Baller, Uigeadail, Port Charliotte 10. The St. George was highly recommended, and it seems like something my wife would like: "We start with 100% American barley (predominately two-row pale malted barley, the remainder is lightly roasted).

After distillation in our eau de vie pot stills, the whiskey is aged in used bourbon casks and French oak wine casks, as well as filtered through maple charcoal.

We then finish the whiskey in casks that had held house-made umeshu (a Japanese style of plum liqueur we made entirely from California-grown umeshu fruit)." 47%abv

Some good news 're finances moving forwards prompted a wee splurge. To be exact, a Glendronach 15 Revival. I also got a Lone Wolf gin (by Brew Dog, it turned out) for her.

I have a 15 already but think it's probably the best value sherry bomb of such an age going and I'd buy more if I could. Tried the gin earlier - it's no Roku but it was OK and will be a step up from Gordon's for mixing. We're not there yet but if the gin keeps disappearing at such a rate I may have some questions before buying a replacement

@RianC Old school revival or new school? I've been meaning to try the new one but can't seem to find it locally. I am curious how it's changed, I will likely have to temper my expectations.

Glad to hear things are going well, might want to check the bottle of gin to see if it's got a hole

My friend that owns the restaurant who is selling off his business’ spirits and wine collection still had a few items available before buyers pick up their purchases tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon, so I added a Glenfarclas 17 year old to my order. Actually, my wife is the one who wanted me to get it. It is one of her favorites. When the wife tells you to buy whisky, you buy whisky!

@cricklewood - new Revival. Don't think I've ever tried the older version but really liked this new one. I'm not generally the biggest PX fan but think they pull off the mix nicely.

@RianC Glad to hear you have good news on your finances! I'd agree about the revival. Having tried one or two other Sherry cask whiskies. I think it's about the best around and I keep meaning to grab another bottle at some point.

I just purchased a Berry Bros & Rudd 'Orkney' (Highland Park).

One of the upsides to Ralfys YouTube videos is they can make you aware of good whiskies you didn't know about. One of the downsides is it can make other people aware of good whiskies you did know about.

As is the case in this instance. I was aware that independent bottlings of Highland Park (bottled as Orkney) are better than anything put out officially by the distillery. I was also aware that BBR had sone good casks of HP. I've had my eye on the 17yo on the Berry Bros site for a few months. By the time I was aware Ralfy had reviewed it and recommended it I quickly headed over to the BBR site to find out it had sold out.

Luckily I managed to pick up a bottle of their 18 year old HP from the Green Welly Stop. I just hope it doesn't mean future BBR casks of HP they release won't now sell out quickly.

It feels like when you like that band no-one knows about and then they suddenly become popular

@Wierdo - cheers, mate. Yeah, ralfy is a double edged sword on the price front but hopefully the one from the Green Welly is just as good, if not better. Folk have short memories and the ralfy hysteria usually subsides after a few weeks.

Funny thing, I dont drink much sherried whisky but currently have a Springbank 15 and a Glenfarclas 25 open. Two I was really looking forward to but neither are really doing it for me. I feel it's indulgent to open another but that Glendronach is going to be whispering my name at night ...

@RianC I'm tempted by the Springbank 15 because it's on sale, but I have only tried the 12CS and the 10. I do also like the Hazelburn and Kilkerran I have tried. It looks a bit darker than the 12 CS (the most recent one), so I am guessing that there is more sherry in the mix. Is it much sweeter than the 12 and 10?

@Jonathan - I'm yet to try my bottle of the 12 but I'd say the 15 is much darker and more sherried than the 10 for sure. I think the sherry to bourbon mix in the 12 varies as well. The 10 was lighter, zippier and had more of a lemon cheesecake thing going on.

@Jonathan, I agree with @RianC. The 15 is very unlike the 10.

It's more similar to the 12 CS - how do you like that? Would you like a funkier, maybe sweeter, more complex, less powerful version?

For my money, the only standard Springbanks I need in my life are the 10 and the 12 CS. They're tasty & awesome. The 15 is more "interesting."

@MadSingleMalt Agreed, 100%.

My latest shipment arrived from Kensington Wine Market, including SMWS 53.284 Smoky, Malty Minerality (10yo Caol Ila). It is their 2019 Islay Festival bottling. I paid $CAN208 for it. It sold at Scotch Whisky Auctions in Feb for 320 GBP ($CAN553 with today's exchange).

Working daily at the hospital with my pt's and heading home I find my favorites are being hit more frequently. I bought a bottle of Aberlour 16 and Knob Creek small batch a couple of Sat ago at the MLCC. Next on the list this week will be a Talisker 10 and another Bourbon for home delivery.

Stay safe everyone.

@Lars, Talisker 10, mmmm, drinks way above its age. Great pick!

Stay strong

As some of you know, I have been making Manhattans more frequently than usual, so obviously, I am going through more of my Manhattan whisky as a result. After finishing off my Old Grandad 114 and a Copperworks single cask French oak barrel, I have resorted to using my single cask Westland whiskies. I killed off one bottle yesterday and my other open bottle has only about 1/3 left. I was also running out of sweet and dry vermouth. Since I had to go to the liquor store anyway for the vermouth, I also purchased a bottle of rye and a bottle of bourbon for future Manhattan making.

For bourbon, I decided on Maker's Mark Cask Strength. 54.8% ABV. Batch 19-02. Why? While it was a little more than I wanted to spend, I've never had their Cask Strength bottling and I've been spoiled with making Manhattan's with my cask strength whisky of late. In addition to using it for Manhattan's, I am anxious to try it neat as well.

For rye, I went with something that I have no idea how good it is. Rittenhouse straight rye whisky Bottled In Bond 50% ABV. Why? Because it was 50%. Not quite cask strength, but close. Also anxious to try this one neat as well. If anyone on here has any feedback on this one (good, bad or indifferent), I would appreciate your thoughts on this rye.

@bwmccoy I usually use rye for Manhattans, and that Rittenhouse BIB is excellent for them. I also mix it with bourbon to make Old Fashioneds.

@talexander - Thank you for your thoughts on Rittenhouse. I generally make a “perfect” Manhattan; equal parts of both rye and bourbon (1.5 oz total) as well as equal parts of both sweet and dry vermouth (3/4 oz total). However, I recently started making a “stateside” Manhattan which calls for American single malt whiskey (2 oz) and sweet vermouth (1 oz).

@bwmccoy how good is Rittenhouse BIB Rye for cocktails? There are many who credit the revival of rye whiskey in America to bartenders infatuated with two standard ryes: Rittenhouse BIB Rye and Wild Turkey 101 Rye. That's how solid Rittenhouse is. I like it but have always found it a little rough around the edges as a sipper. NOW, back in the olden days, 10 years ago, and, with any luck in the future again, Heaven Hill will bring back Rittenhouse 21, 23, and 25 year old Single Barrel Ryes. They are generally wonderful and can be downright sublime, but unfortunately, nowadays, they average $ 2,800 per bottle on the secondary market. They were never common, but, 10 years ago, you could walk into a liquor store and pick one up for under $ 200. The one bottle of Rittenhouse 21 yo Rye which I own is my rarest and most valuable bottle. .