Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@PeatyZealot Indeed it did! My bottle has a 47% ABV. But that is not the most important difference since it has more flavors, more conplexity and more fineness. I wrote a review of it and my conclusion is that the Single Barrel and the Old No 7 are not in the same ball park.

@Victor Good catch! How would you compare Parker's Heritage to William Larue Weller?

@Robert99, I haven't tasted the Parker's Heritage 8th Edition Wheat Whiskey yet, but I'll be happy to get back to you after I do. I've been avoiding opening new bottles recently, but I doubt I can wait long before tasting this unique new find.

And @paddockjudge, we now have WhistlePig The Boss Hog 13 yo sitting for sale on our county liquor store shelves. It is outrageously expensive, though, costing $ 212 including the tax, just $ 11 short of what it took me to buy a bottle of Balvenie Tun 1409. About two weeks ago a liquor store in Baltimore decided that their allocation of Van Winkle bourbon was so low that they would not sell any of it but just serve it for free to their customers, until their bottles ran out. We thought about going, but decided that there would probably be crowds. Turns out only 20 people showed up...and they served Boss Hog along with the Pappy. I might have made the trip for some more Boss Hog. You don't see that just everywhere.

@mscottydunc Thanks for your interest in Octomore, The question you asked me about how good it was really wouldn't be fair to you. One has to love Peated whisky with a passion that burns down to the soul of the person who is enjoying it. That said I would also be selfish in my approach to your question because Octomore is always released at or around 1200 to 1600 bottles per year so naturally there is always built in shortages on the supply side. Couple that with a state liquor commission that takes way to long to approve new spirits it has taken me a while to get a good stock up of my favorite peated single malt. So you can begin to see my dilemma trumpet to all the world how good it is or as I do with one of my favorite highland single malts OP12 try to keep it a secret so there is more for me. Hope this was helpful if not long winded. (:

Yesterday I bought the highland park cask strength edition. A highland park that is exclusive to Sweden. Since I live in Sweden and like the distillery I figured I almost had to buy it. Having tasted it beforehand I knew that it was a solid buy. It is s NAS whisky bottled at a sturdy 56%.

Not too complex but well worth the time. Nice flavor and nose. I'll probably post a review sometime in December.

@Victor, it is no wonder Boss Hog is not sold in Ontario; it would likely be north of $300.

Wanted to go a different direction, do some new reviews, and not spend much money on it, so I bought:

1) Cutty Sark Prohibition, 50% abv; I tasted it once and liked it, so I wanted more. I would like blended Scotch and Irish whisk(e)y more in general if it were sold at 50% abv and above

2) White Horse blended Scotch, 40% abv, intrigued by @talexander's review of the 43% version, Murray's 90.5 pt rating, and the fact that it cost less than $ 20

3) Windsor Canadian Whisky, $ 8 bottom shelfer, which interested me because it is made at my favourite Canadian distillery, and @JasonHambrey liked it 80 pts worth

@paddockjudge - rev up the General Lee for a jump through the air

@JayRain, The Boss Hog will get General Lee flying.

Just bought two: The Laphroaig Cairdeas 2014 and Glenmorangie Companta. I got them to share with my friends tomorrow. More than that, I like the Glenmorangie yearly private releases and last year's Cairdeas was pretty great, so that's why I chose those two in particular.

Kilchoman Machir Bay Summer 2014 release. I bought it because I love supporting the little guys. I am developing a passion for supporting the independents in the limited way I can (financially speaking). I love Springbank, Bruichladdich (even though that is no longer independent), and I thought it was about time to get a bottle of Kilchoman.

@HeartlessNinny Gotta get that Cairdeas one day, thnx for reminding me

Thomas Handy Rye...why? Because of 8 of us who created accounts on my behalf and ordered whatever we could, it was the ONLY BTAC bottle I (rather, a non-drinking friend) won in the LCBO lottery....

Oh, for a Stagg....

@Nozinan Smart to create multiple accounts - should have thought of that.

Luckily I batted 1 for 1 and got a bottle of the 18 Year Old Sazerac Rye.

Welcome to exchange some of each to try the difference at some point

@JayRain

Not multiple accounts...LCBO frowns on that. Just created accounts for friends and relatives, all legit. They allowed me to manage their accounts (and pay for what I bought). LCBO even allows 3rd party pickup so my friend in London doesn't have to worry about it.

I'm still hoping someone who got a bourbon but wanted a rye contacts me to arrange a trade. If not, I am happy to include you in opening the bottle I do get..an invitation I'll be happy to extend to other buddies on Connosr.

Today I bought a bottle of Springbank 10 100 Proof, which I was totally stoked to find collecting dust in a little shop in Cambridge, outside Madison, Wisconsin. I really like Springbank but especially when it's got a salty edge to it. I bought a bottle of the 100P back in 2011 and I think it's been the saltiest Springbank bottle I've owned. Since then, I've had a few other Springbanks that I've found, let's say, "good but not what I was looking for." The 100P all but disappeared from store shelves and I was totally surprised to find one in some random crafty "liquor and candy" store.

I almost never make impulse buys, but I did today!

And that shop had a few other dusties that my local buddies here might be interested in. The recent thread about the Madison single malt club seems to have dropped, but I'll add a note to the "steal of a deal" thread instead.

Using the sagely words of Paddock to ease my (admittedly small) guilt, I parlayed a Chambord and Absolut Elyx into $90 of LCBO credit and got the Ardbeg Uigeadail for $84.

Quite pleased and will be an ongoing practice when the situation calls for.

@OCeallaigh I was quite enamored w the Kilchoman Machir Bay and is probably my favorite under $75 scotch

@Nozinan

Will have to call the LCBO tomorrow - site was down for a couple of days so could not pay and my timeline expired (a note was sent and replied to).

Asked the whiskey specialist and he said to call and complain vigorously but likely out of luck

I will list my four most recent purchases, cause it was so close together.

• AnCnoc Rutter: as soon as I read about this expression I wanted to own it. I'm curious about these "mainland" peated expressions. After my mental decision to buy it, Jim Murray gave it his blessing and I thought I'd never find it. Alas I did...

• Sullivan's Cove American Oak Bourbon Cask: I've sampled it and tried it, and enjoyed it a lot. I discovered from a rep at the previous Whisky Show that they're all gone at the distillery and anything left on retail is it for the batch. I was lucky enough to find it at a regular retailer for the standard price.

I recently travelled abroad, so stocked up at the airport. I intended to buy Old Pulteney 17 & Dalmore 15 on departure, but time was not on my side (no fault of mine). So I purchased on arrival and got: - Bowmore Mariner 15: I love an Islay, and this is sadly deleted. May as well try it before it goes. - Octomore 6.2: It's an Octomore - nuff said

I picked up a Penderyn Peated yesterday. Reviews aren't exactly encouraging, but I felt like a "world whisky" for some reason.

Just bought Glen Moray 16 yo, as a self-gift for celebrating a recent professional success. The overall comments are quite good here and I was curious about this fairly cheap Speyside bottle. I will taste it this week.

Quite a few bottles of Port Charlotte PC11.

These appear to be increasing in value.

Ordered a bottle of Big Peat Christmas 2014 yesterday. I've wanted to try the normal bottling for a long time, but I never say no to cask strength bottles. I've also developed somewhat of a preference for Islay this year, so I figured ending it with Big Peat would be a nice touch.

Col. E H Taylor single barrel bourbon. Why? I have heard from a reliable source that it's good, that it can sometimes be hard to come by, and that the price at the LCBO was reasonable.

@Fiberfar

I have one of each. Not sure if they are from the same year. I hope to get around to trying them someday.

@Fiberfar, I think those Christmas Big Peats are fun. I popped mine from previous-year storage over the Thanksgiving weekend and I rather enjoy the implied pressure to work through it by Christmas. You know how tacky lingering Christmas decorations feel once January comes around? I expect that's what Big Peat will feel like too if I don't treat him right. Down he goes!

Can I ask you where you ordered your 2014 bottle? And if you've already received it (or once you do), would you mind telling us whether the bottle you received was in fact the 2014 release?

The previous-year bottle I alluded to above was SUPPOSED to be the 2013 release That is, I WANTED the 2013 release based on the Whisky Advocate award and the seller (Binny's) LISTED it as the 2013 release on their website, but they actually sent me the 2011 release. I didn't realize it until I popped mine a couple weeks ago, found it a bit disappointing, and started poking around online. The different label designs help immensely. It's a small complaint so I did nothing more than email Binny's and suggest they update their online listing, but I'm curious whether other sellers mess that up too.

Anyway, ho ho ho!

@Nozinan - you are welcome to half of my bottle (unopened) if you want to apply the $80 to a different bottle.

@OlJas Too bad about them delivering the wrong Christmas Pete, as there seem to be minor differences between the batches (alcohol content, mainly?).

I ordered my bottle from vinmonopolet, the Norwegian government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer. They're the only ones allowed to sell items with alcoholic content over 4,7%. I could order from abroad, but I would have to pay VAT, customs duty and excise tax on the bottle, making it twice as expensive as it already is here.

I haven't received the bottle yet, but I'll let you know once I do. I can't help but to think Big Peat is the only "Christmas decoration" I'll allow to linger beyond January!

Picked up another bottle of the hard to find Benriach 12 yr.

As a lover of 'Vanilla Monsters' - this expression by Benriach is top notch!