Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@OdysseusUnbound - That's a shame, Pussers Gunpowder is a quality rum and the best of the navy style ones I've encountered so far. Loads of dark, dried fruit, treacle toffee and surprisingly easy to.sip.given the strength.

I haven't had the standard version (it's 40% in the UK!), sorry, but from what I gather its pretty much a less alcoholic version of the GP and better than many in its class.

@RianC What's the best quality/price rum here in the UK you'd say? I'm not a fan, but my wife is so she's worked her way through my Zacapa, Balvenie 14 rum cask and Don "something" (I don't recall) so I thought I'd get a new one.... but out of my expert zone!

@RikS - Was it Don Papa? I've had that, very sweet but nice with Coke.

I'd say Pussers Gunpowder or Smith and Cross but they are both high proof. At 43%: Rum Sixty Six 12 from Foursquare is proving to be very good and, while I've not tried them yet, Appleton Estate 12 and Mount Gay XO and Black Barrel are supposed to be decent and are 'on my list'.

I heard about this one a couple of months ago after a Springbank / Kilkerran / Cadenhead tasting associated with Dramfest whisky festival here in NZ. This was selected and bottled exclusively for Whisky Galore (NZ) and comes from a refill ex-sherry quarter cask. These sold out very quickly so I'm excited to have bought one myself

@Hewie Well scored, mate. 13 years in a quarter cask; gotta be good. Let us know.

Today is Outturn release day for this month’s bottles from the Society. I purchased the following;

A peated whisky from Speyside. 7 year (November 2011) Allt-a-Bhainne SMWS 108.19 “Forget convention!” from a second-fill ex-bourbon barrel. ABV: 64.6%. Why? Because it’s peated and I recently purchased another bottle from this distillery which I am quickly falling in love with. I like the ABV as well.

Also bought a peated whisky from England. Also a 7 year (February 2012) English Whisky Company / St. George's Distillery, SMWS 137.7 “How to kill your dragon” also from a second-fill ex-bourbon barrel. ABV: 65.5%. Why? Because it’s peated and it’s from a distillery that’s new to me. Anxious to try a peated whisky from England. I also like this ABV even more than the other bottle.

This arrived yesterday, tax return gift to myself and a decent deal at $400 Cad.

@Astroke 21 is as high as I ever got with Glengoyne and that was a miniature and it was damn good. This one should be even better. A bit above my pension grade, but let us know what you think if you open it.

Cheers

@BlueNote when... it should be "when you open it"

@Nozinan indeed, mea culpa.

@Nozinan yup, not a chance it would not be opened in the near future

Well, I just bought a bottle that I did not think I would get an opportunity to get and then this email showed up in my inbox today. So, I have purchased the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte 16 Feis Ile 2020: Digital Exclusive.

This is the information they have released on this bottle: This heavily peated Port Charlotte is the oldest we have released to date. Distilled in 2003, our Scottish Barley new-make was filled into three different parcels of casks. Parcel One // Refill hogsheads, recasked into first fill bourbon barrels in 2012 Parcel Two // First fill bourbon barrels, recasked into ex-Sauternes casks in 2013 Parcel Three // A complex assemblage of ex-sherry, ex-bourbon and virgin oak casks This mouthwatering maturation profile is bottled at 55.8% abv and is limited to 3,000 bottles.

@TracerBullet Bingo!! That's gonna be a treat. We'll expect a full report.

@BlueNote @TracerBullet i though these were the kinds one bought to keep for the future....? Are you going to indulge and open it?

@RikS Well, it doesn't do me too much good if I don't try it. I may try to pick a special occasion though.

@RikS I used to buy to open in the future on special occasions.

I now realize I don't think I'll have enough special occasions in the future.

So now, I buy to open in the near future, the only limiting factor is whether I have a place to put the open (and sealed) bottles.

@Nozinan i suppose opening a truly rare and desired bottle is an occasion in itself. So if you accept that, and don't mind a bit of tautology, then I guess...that opening a bottle on special occasions, the definition of which henceforth shall include the opening of a special bottle, means that you can always open a bottle - and feeling special about it!

@RikS I like your way of thinking....I think.

@RikS I don't think I could go that far... simply because of my drinking limitations. But I am more and more tempted to open special bottles when I can do so with friends, otherwise they will never get opened. And the open bottles are so overwhelming I'm good to wait until the next get together to open the next bottle(s).

@Nozinan I would only open a bottle like this with friends as I would enjoy it so much more. If I dram by myself, it will be with what I have already opened.

@Astroke

In a word, 'impressive.' I might have to save up a bit before I even think of getting a bottle of the 25yo Glengoyne. I am sure it is exquisite. I look forward to hearing about what you think when you open it up and have your first few drams.

Already mentioned in other threads but....

Greetings to you all,

Being at home, a lot more, watching youtube videos, and chatting with friends (no not on Zoom, that is too scary), I decided to buy two more bottles of 21yo Glengoyne, plus two bottles of something new. What is it? Well, the 14yo Hazelburn Oloroso Sherry Single Cask.

Why? Helping the economy. : P

Actually, I should say, this is one of my rare times where I didn't try before I buy. However, I think the risk of buying a sherry single cask matured whisky was worth it. haha.

Looks fantastic @ajjarrett!

@CanadianNinja

I am 'hoping' that it tastes as good as it looks.

@ajjarrett I have a couple youtube reviewer friends and they both loved the Hazelburn 14. Only in the US I guess you can walk into a store and grab those 2 Hazelburn's off the shelf, a year after they were released. I suspect they were gone in minutes in the UK and the one province in Canada that would have had it.

@Astroke

That’s such a funny coincidence. I was so fed up up after my COVID experience and the time it’s taking to restore myself to full health that I decided to raid the whisky library. I have about 300 bottles now, including some rare and expensive ones that I have banned myself from opening. Now I know this sounds cocky, but I was just lucky to inherit some whiskys and bourbons from my grandad and that kicked off a bad habit a number of years ago.

Well I was browsing and fancying something sherried. Looked at some early Abunadh batches 08, 11, 14 etc. Too strong. Mmmm. Then at the back I found a pair of glengoyne 25 from the first release. Happy days (46%), I had forgotten about them.

I opened the glengoyne 25 and the most fantastic nose greeted me. Deep rich sherry, sweet fruits, leather and old scotch whisky from a bygone era. So happy. Could nose it for hours. Deep and complex. I did not obey ralfy, and immediately took my first sip. Very disappointed. Dry, leather, ink and newspaper and some complex sherry (not sweet and not fruity). Wow unexpected and not impressed. That’s how it stayed for the first quarter of a bottle. I left it then for a few weeks. I would score it 84/100.

Next time I tasted it I was transfixed. That deeply complex fruity old school nose had been transferred to the palate. There was still leather and ink but beautiful interwoven through a deep fresh and dried fruit structure. Just marvellous. You could easily drink 3 or 4 drams without realising it. I would score it 91. Hope that helps when you come to opening the bottle!

@Astroke

Yes, I have seen a few youtube reviews of this. I know, Mark, aka Whisky Whistle had one, and he spoke highly. I also think Ben (Horst's son, as if you all didn't know) from whisky.com reviewed it as well.

I am not sure when I will open it, but I am sure I will write something up and post it, when I do.

Oh yes, it isn't available in my State. I ordered these from a store located in Washington DC, and that is not Fake News; however, I did smell a little lysol on the box.

@ajjarrett I will be very interested to hear what you think of the Hazelburn 14 Oloroso. I found it a bit of a head scratcher to be honest. There are so many glowing reviews of it yet I found it a bit underwhelming. My bottle has been open for 9 months now and I feel like I'm just starting to 'get it'. It is not the big, lush, fruit-driven, sherry monster I was expecting. It is dark, dry and quite tannic - like polished wood. Once I've gotten past my expectation of what I thought it would taste like I've been enjoying it more but my experiences seem a little atypical. Please do let me know your thoughts when you open one.

@Hewie I had a bottle about 18 months ago. That one and the core 15 year old are the only two Springbank products I didn’t particularly care for. You’re not alone. Reviews I saw back then were mixed.