Which bottle did you just buy and why?

Good day yesterday. Picked up my bottle of Old Rip and got a surprise when my next Bruichladdich Valinch bottle was delivered by FedEx.

@TracerBullet nice delivery!

@TracerBullet Whoa! I see now that it had slipped by me for more than a year that Maryland had, in early 2020, in response to the Covid matter, changed its laws to, for the first time since Prohibition, allow citizens to legally receive shipments of liquor. How about that? Thank you for indirectly bringing that to my attention. I guess that I had not been paying attention because I haven't been in acquisition mode. (Except for those bottles waiting for me in Canada, boys!!!)

@Victor It’s still hit or miss as far as who will ship to Maryland. In fact, when last years Fèis Ìle went virtual, most distilleries were selling their festival bottles online. I think only 2 distilleries would ship to the US. Bruichladdich was one and that’s how I got my Port Charlotte 16. I wanted to get others, but no go. Kilchoman will ship to us and I believe Bunnahabhain will too.

@Wierdo - I paid just under £30 each (hammer price) for them - one is without a box, not that I care. That was unusually cheap though, I'd say they tend to go for around £40 - £50, maybe more.

I wasn't planning on getting them but at that price it was worth a pop and was well chuffed no one else came in.

@BlueNote Currently $99.85. Last time I bought a bottle, back in 2013/2014, it was $79...

@Nozinan, I like John Walker and Sons 200th Anniversary Celebratory Blend. I don’t like it nearly as much as JW Black Label. I can understand why you wouldn’t buy a bottle of JW 200 Anniv at any price, it’s not something you would enjoy. I, on the other hand, would buy a bottle or two if I perceived it to be an attractively low price. I’ve read somewhere before where “price does not change the taste”.

@YakLord life in general is getting more expensive. Gas at the pump here just hit $1.50/litre.

Corry... because I was curious!

And this is what I thought: connosr.com/ardbeg-corryvreckan-whisky-rev…

@paddockjudge I have seen some LCBO clearance on the JW CB on facebook sites ranging from the $70's to the $80's. Waiting for one of these clearance's to get closer to home.

@Astroke, absolutely nothing goes on sale at LCBO stores in my area.... I did once see (circa 2014) Masterson’s 10 YO Rye batch 003 discounted to $75, I bought all three bottles.... not even Collingwood goes on sale here.

These three at auction. Paid a wee bit more than I wanted but this will likely (haa!) be my last dabble until at least Autumn, hopefully winter, so long as my self-control is up to it

Looking forward to trying the Dunhill - reviews are scant but all very good and I love the obvious attempt at being classy, 80's style. The packaging is so '80's golf club chic' and it's ace ha! I can just imagine the 'Champion Golfer of 1983' getting one of these in their little winners hamper and grinning down at it as they speed off in their red Ferrari ... well that's what I'll pretend when I open it

Label states it has some 20+ year whisky in the mix. Be interesting to see which direction it takes ...

The JW is mid 90's and bought so I can compare against older/younger bottles and just to have more decent (hopefully) Black Label in the stash.

Today I bought a standard bottle of plain ol' Buffalo Trace? Why? Well apparently in some U.S. states it's becoming hard to find and the taters are tate-ing over BT. I've owned many bottles of BT, but I don't think I've ever done a proper review of it, so I suppose I'll get around to it soon-ish. In my limited experience, Buffalo Trace has been a wildly variable bourbon. A bottle I owned about 16-18 months ago earned a spot in my blog entry on "the worst whiskies I've ever had". That particular bottle had some cloying, sickly sweetness upfront and a weird, sour, metallic finish that really didn't sit right with me.

That said, I've had some perfectly fine bottles of BT, some above average bottles, and some slightly disappointing bottles. I'm interested to see where this particular bottle sits. Of course, as with all things whiskey-related this will be a moving target. Oh well. If I rely solely on memory, I'd say my aggregate score of BT is probably around the 82-84 point range, but we'll see where this one ends up.

@OdysseusUnbound The Taters in Southern Ontario are posting pictures of Weller SR, OWA, EHT SB, ER 10 and Blanton's like they are PVW.BTAC. I give up on trying to figure out why.

@Astroke What's a Tater?

@BlueNote In the Whisky community, people that have the idea that they must have a Whisky (In this case Bourbon) because of perceived rarity and quality. Buffalo Trace/Weller core range seem to be at the forefront of the search, FOMO drives this. Today I saw a post with the poster asking which of his new bottles should he open first, ER10 or Blantons. He wanted people to vote on it :)

@BlueNote a tater is someone whose bourbon purchases are dictated by hype. They’re often buying with the sole purpose of re-selling for profit. Also, taters often pay secondary mark up prices for bottles that have recently become scarce (like the age stated EC 12) whereas they previously passed it by when it was on the shelves. Taters flip bottles only to buy them back within a month. Taters will ask “what do you think of this one (e.g. Blanton’s, Buffalo Trace)?” and respond to any comment that isn’t a glowing endorsement with “you’re just poor and jealous”.

@BlueNote Alternately:

“Sméagol won't grub for roots and carrotses and - taters. What's taters, precious, eh, what's taters?' 'Po-ta-toes,' said Sam. 'The Gaffer's delight, and rare good ballast for an empty belly. But you won't find any, so you needn't look. But be good Sméagol and fetch me some herbs, and I'll think better of you. What's more, if you turn over a new leaf, and keep it turned, I'll cook you some taters one of these days. I will: fried fish and chips served by S. Gamgee. You couldn't say no to that.' 'Yes, yes we could. Spoiling nice fish, scorching it. Give me fish now, and keep nassty chips!' 'Oh, you're hopeless,' said Sam. 'Go to sleep!”

This is such a strange recent world with whisk(e)y becoming so prized that some people get consumed by pretentiousness, conceit, emotional insanity, and greed. 12 years ago US whiskey was very inexpensive domestically, Scotch was moderately priced in the US, and I couldn't easily find a human being other than my wife and sister who gave a damn about any of it. The joys of my partaking in solitary treasures available on the cheap have given way to a wide acceptance of my interest in whisky by masses of people,...and a much reduced value for money. Which was better, the outstanding opportunities in isolation, or the widespread sharing of appreciation for the joys of whisky? I liked the earlier era better, because then, if I tried hard, I could still find individuals who understood and appreciated the beauties of the drink. As for the masses then who were indifferent or hostile to whisk(e)y, I knew that whisk(e)y was a fabulous experience, even though those around me did not.

This 'tater' nickname? Is there supposed to be some actual analogous connection to potatoes?

As for coining new words, here's an idea sure to create cognitive dissonance in many: avoid the whisky/whiskey spelling issue by just spelling them all "whiski". Yes I knew that all of you who romanticize the past, aka tradition, would love that. Change is taking place all of the time, whether we like it or not.

@OdysseusUnbound @Astroke Thanks for the clarification. It's not a term I've heard in any other context than "I'll have taters and gravy with my pork chop please." I like your alternate explanation @OdysseusUnbound. It makes far more sense.

@Victor Too many people on this beleaguered planet and a whole lot of them want to do what you and I want to do.

@Victor - Whiski?!? Do they make that in Russia?

@RianC you're right that Dunhill bottle has all the hallmarks of 80's deluxe chic, unusual dumpy bottle check, wax crest check, useless tassel check, gold color appearing either on label, lettering or crest check. The funny thing is those are still common tropes nowadays, just add a really chunky wood box/chest.

@cricklewood - The bottle shape is quite cool. Picture doesn't quite show it but the neck is off-set where it meets the upper body. I'm wondering if they modelled it after a particular still but can't find any info. on it? And there's more Gold than a Spandau Ballet song

Oh and the tassle informs me that I can register the bottle and have my name etched in the Dunhill Masters book at the Dunhill HQ somewhere in that there London!

sighs ... Waaay classier than owning a square foot of peat bog on Islay

@RianC the cool factor is only surpassed if doing all that while smoking a pack of Dunhills. As a youth those were the cigarettes to buy when we wanted to appear more sophisticated.

@cricklewood - ha! Yeah Dunhill's or JPS were a classy smoke. Usually smoked abroad where they were cheaper

@Victor I assumed it came from the Billy-Bob Thornton character in Sling Blade: “Gimme some of them french fried perTaters.

@RianC - love the Spandau Ballet reference! :-)

Just got a Glencadam 15 which oddly enough never had a bottle of before. Why? A little more expensive from my local bottle shop than on line but I should buy more from them to support his enterprise. Unfortunately he doesn’t have a great selection but this one caught my attention as has good reviews all round and have a hankering for bourbon cask whiskies at the moment.

Also, got a “ heads up” beep from whiskysponges Decadent Drinks site so managed to snag an Edradour 10 Equinox and Solstice Spring 2021. Bit more than I would expect for a 10 at £90 however I managed to get a bottle of his Clynelish 11 a year or two ago for a similar price and it’s not a bad dram.

Sign of the ludicrous whisky times we live in, that this bottle went for £460 in a whisky auction last month. I can only assume that a few got into a bidding battle as it’s a nice dram but no way worth that or much better than a couple of other Clynelish independent bottlings I have on the go at the moment. I open everything I get as I can’t afford two bottles at each purchase, and if the price goes up that much I would be tempted to not open it. It’s a bottle of drink and when the cork is broached that’s all it becomes again with no value at all. Just my little rule of thumb. Cheers..

@Timp - nice one! And I like your philosophy. I wish I could stick to mine

I've also noticed some of those whiskysponge bottlings going for well above retail. Sign of the times, as you say, but still makes my head wobble every time.