Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@Nozinan Glad to see they made it to you safe and sound.

Glenlivet 16yo Nadurra 0613X I found. This one is to replace my 0814D that I now can finish knowing I have another one waiting.

I'm wondering if I made a huge mistake; my wife texted me from Costco with a picture of a whisky display asking if I was interested in her purchasing it. The whisky in question was Kaiyo Whisky Mizunara Oak. I love Japanese oak and my wife doesn't wait long for an answer so I said yes. Then I looked on Connosr and found this not so great review; connosr.com/kaiyo-mizunara-oak-whisky-whis…

I did find some other reviews on-line that were more promising, but they were from sources that I don't know if I can trust or not. Fortunately, Costco has a very liberal return policy. My dilemma is whether to roll the dice and keep it or do I return it? It wasn't a huge investment; $70 w/o tax ($87 w/tax), but that's a high enough price that I can get a quality whisky that I know is good.

Has anyone tried this particular expression? If so, do you agree with the connosr review? Would you keep it or return it? Looking for any input or advice that you may have. Thanks in advance!

@bwmccoy Can't help you with that one but I am right there with you, I love Japanese oak too. Have you tried any of the Glendalough Irish Whiskies finished in Japanese oak?

@bwmccoy That's a lot of tax. If my questionable math is correct, that's around 24%. I thought we had it bad at 15% up here.

@BlueNote - that doesn’t include the 10% sales tax added on at the register. Your math is very close. All said and done about 33% tax on liquor.

That’s one of the reasons I buy most of my whisky from SMWS. I only pay 8% New York sales tax. Even with shipping on top of that, it is usually a better deal.

@bwmccoy The same reason I buy most of mine from Alberta these days. So far only the 5% federal sales tax.

Speaking of buying, I just received a Cadenhead Small Batch Aultmore 12 year old, 57.4% and delicious. Also went for the Bunna Toiteach a Dha, also a very pleasant surprise. Bought that one based on some positive comments on connosr.

@TracerBullet - I have not tried any Glendalough. Irish whisky is one area that I need to expand my knowledge in. My wife needs to understand that I am buying for research purposes, not just to drink. :-)

My first exposure to Japanese oak was at a whisky tasting many years ago. I don’t remember which Japanese distillery it was, but their malt is a combination of American, European and Japanese oak. They had samples of three that you could taste individually. I was blown away by how different they each were and immediately fell in love with Japanese oak.

@bwmccoy My wife is the one that exposed me to Irish Whisky. The mizunara finish was what hooked me. I have a few Japanese Whiskies now that use mizunara oak as well. When I went to Islay and toured Bowmore Distillery they had, I believe it was 3, mizunara casks filled with scotch. We were not offered a tasting of those unfortunately, but I was eyeing them!

@TracerBullet - Bowmore and Japanese oak sounds like a winning combination to me!

In addition to my recent suspect Japanese whisky purchase, I also ordered and received today an Ardbeg An Oa. Why? Because I’m a sucker for packaging that includes a smoker for my gas grill. I also like the metal tube that the bottle came in. My plan was to add it to my display shelf in my whisky room. Unfortunately the tube got bent pretty bad during shipping, so that’s not going to happen. Hopefully, the smoker works well and the whisky is better than I am expecting it to be based on reviews I’ve read. Oh well, I’ve never tried this expression so if I don’t like it, I won’t buy a replacement. It’s worth a “shot” (see what I did there...).

@bwmccoy The An Oa doesn't get a lot of love, but the one time I had it I thought it was quite drinkable. Just don't do a head to head with Corryvrekan or Uigeadail. I'd get another one if it came with that BBQ smoker.

@bwmccoy I enjoy An Oa. It isn't my favorite Ardbeg expression but it is a decent dram IMO. Brendan McCarron created that one and I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of years ago. I got a signed bottle of An Oa as well. I love the packaging on the smoker edition! I will need to see if it's made it to my area yet.

I just picked up a bottle of Jack Daniel’s Old No.7. Why? We’re headed up North to close the “cottage” for the winter. We’re planning to have a campfire or two which calls for an easy session whisky. My parents are in the same park as us and my mother really enjoys JD. Well, she prefers Gentleman Jack but I don’t really care for it as much as the original.

Was able to get a bottle of this for $140 all in versus the LCBO price of $215. Not sure how long I can wait before I open this one.

Armorik Sherry Cask and Penderyn Myth, for a future tasting...the theme involves dragons, so I'll likely also be bringing out the GoT House Targaryen as well...

Picked up the latest distillery exclusive from Sagamore. A Sauvignon Blanc cask finish rye.

Because they couldn't do the Campbeltown festival this year they did an online festival instead. With various tasting packs to those who paid. Today the tasting packs and bottles went on sale to society members. By the time I got the email they were available, the tasting packs had already sold out.

Our house is currently on the market and I'm trying to save up funds for all the associated costs when we do finally move (Estate agents and solicitor's fees etc) so I have to be really sensible with my whisky purchases at the moment. So I brought just the one bottle a 10 year old cask strength Longrow from a mixture of red wine casks. I've never tried one of the Longrow Reds. They sell out too quick. So this is a good alternative.

I'm proud of myself for being disciplined because I was so tempted to buy one of the Kilkerran or Hazelburns they were selling as well.

Finally continued respect to Springbank for resisting the urge to rinse their fans. The Longrow cost me £60. Can you imagine how much someone like Ardbeg would sell a 10 year old cask strength red wine cask matured bottle for?

@Wierdo Yeah, the mind boggles. With Ardbeg you've gotta pay for the story. Mind you, Springbank has never really been the best bang for the buck on the shelves, at least not on this side of the pond. The Springbank fan boys are almost as goofy as the Ardbeg fan boys over here.

Just bought a couple of bottles of Arran 10. The price was right and Ralfy was practically wetting himself over the stuff.

@BlueNote I'm on a couple of Springbank fan pages on Facebook. I don't really post on there but it's a good way of keeping up with the latest releases. For instance I only found out about the Open Day bottlings yesterday because it was posted on the group. The email went direct to my Spam box!

But you are right about Springbank fans. They are quite goofy, (Bruichladdich fans are similar also). They seem to buy no whisky except Springbank. I just don't get that? If you are that into whisky that you've discovered Springbank why would you then not bother with all the other distilleries out there? Makes no sense to me.

That's a shame about Springbank being expensive the other side of the Atlantic. Over here whilst it's not the cheapest overall. It's pretty fairly priced. To the point that whenever they do a special release they are snapped up by flippers and resold at twice the price the following week on auction. Because they are so fairly priced and have such an ardent fan base. They could sell for much more if they chose to.

I wonder why their whisky is so expensive abroad? I get the impression that Springbank isn't that big a distillery that they've really devoted themselves to overseas markets. They focus quite a bit on Europe. But further afield from what I can tell? Less so. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Well, I will let the photo speak for itself.

Why did I buy them?

1. I enjoy this whisky very much.

2. I want to be prepared to be able to celebrate or to console myself after November.

3. They were actually available.

4. They were affordable. (This will be mentioned a little later on the 'secret' thread)

"Stall? What do you mean by stall?"

@ajjarrett Whisky porn... perhaps you need an intervention. Can you hold out until after the Pandemic? I think we all have earned a Connosr convention.

@Nozinan

Intervention? Whisky Porn? No No, I don't have a problem.

Sorry sir, denial is a sign that you have a problem.

I am not in denial.

Sir, you are denying that you are in denial. Therefore, you are in denial.

I am not denying I am in denial. You said I am in denial, and don't you deny it.

Picked up this bottle of Glenmorangie, A Tale of Cake. I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to Dr. Bill’s limited editions. I love how he plays with the different aspects of the whisky process and how that affects the flavor of the end product. Plus I found it for $89 so figured it was worth the gamble.

@TracerBullet Mmmmmmm...cake.

@TracerBullet

Next thing you know Glenmorangie will have a deal with Matt Groening and a Homer Glenmorangie called, "Donuts".

"Uuuuuuuuuuuh, donuts."

@ajjarrett or if the whisky has a nutty flavour like marzipan and you don’t like it you can say “DOH! Nuts.”

@ajjarrett or..."uuuuhhhhh, (distilled) BEER!"

@Victor

"Excellent."

PS. Just to keep up with the topic of the thread, and not simply having a Simpsons moment. I ordered two bottles of a SSMW and once they arrive I will post a photo. So, if you reading this post beyond my Mr Burns' 'Excellent' then you will just have to wait.