Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@BlueNote Virtually. If there was a small bit of good out of this pandemic it has been the increased ability to get the festival bottlings shipped. The only festival bottlings I've gotten before was when I was actually on Islay. Would still rather be there but glad to have the whisky too.

@TracerBullet 'AMEN' to the advent of legal shipment of liquor to Maryland!

Just bought two bottles of Ardbeg Wee Beastie! Why? 'Cause when you live in Ontario, and you see it on the shelf, you don't hesitate!

@dloewen No truer words spoken. I picked up 2 bottles from Nova Scotia last year, I think, thanks to the help of @astroke. Still working through the first. It holds up well on its own, but when compared to some of the others in the stable it is a little 2 dimensional. When my mood is for that particular expression, it usually performs very well.

@TracerBullet @Victor Congratulations. I wish they would ship to Canada.

@dloewen He who hesitates is lost...or thirsty.

Just had a bottle of Springbank 10 delivered. It's the exact same batch as the one I have open (bottled in March 2021) which is good as it is an excellent batch. I think my plan with this whisky is to buy at least two per year, one to drink and one to hoard!

@BlueNote as you well know, it's not 'them' who choose not to ship liquor to Canada. It's Canada and its provinces which are restricting its citizens.

The great irony of Maryland never having allowed legal shipment of spirits to individuals until 2020 is that Maryland historically has been a great champion of alcoholic beverage rights. Maryland was the only state not to enforce the Prohibition, and, until recently, Maryland had the lowest taxes on spirits in the USA.

@Victor Yes, you’re absolutely right. It’s some sort of misguided protectionism put in place by those we have elected to REPRESENT US! We’re not even allowed to ship alcohol across provincial borders. That means, technically, we in the west don’t have access to wines from the Niagara region, and Ontarians can’t have wine from our Okanagan wineries. Stupid, or what?

@BlueNote I suppose that you are even being "protected" from the other provinces of Canada!

@RianC good plan. Glad you think this batch is a good one as had the same delivered this morning as well. Looking forward to having a dram of it tomorrow evening.

Look what FineDrams just dropped off. WOOHOO!

@casualtorture fantastic haul!

@casualtorture Nothing not to like there. I bet that Signatory Deanston will be a goodie.

@BlueNote yeah that seems to be the consensus. I sent this pic to a couple whisky friends and they all want to try the Deanston.

@casualtorture I'm pretty sure I've eyed that Deanston up a few times on the Green Welly Stop website. Never quite pulled the trigger. But the crazy high abv% was enticing. You'll have to let us know what it's like whenever you open it.

@Wierdo

It's lovely. I brought a couple of those Deanston casks. 147 is a good one, very rich and caramelly.... with a bit of that Deanston minerally structure behind it. Be careful though, not all casks are equal.

There is one particular Signatory Deanston cask (I'll get the cask number later), that is the most sulphured whisky I have ever experienced. The whole room literally smells like brimstone once a bottle has been opened. It's crazy. Funnily enough there are some people obsessed with it, because it's so extreme. I sent a couple of the bottles I had, to some guy in Holland who said it was like drinking a 1972 Ardbeg for him. He was welcome to it!

@Misty That's interesting. It's unlike Signatory to pick a bum cask. For me, the lowly Deanston 12 is the equal, or better, of whiskies well beyond its price point. I've had the 18 and much prefer the 12. An outstanding bang for the buck, IMHO.

@BlueNote

I've heard good things about the 12 alright, I must add it to the bucket list. The sulphur bottling is cask number 72. Watch out for that one! I still have three quarters of a bottle left if you want it. :-)

I waited over a year to see if the sulphur would diminish some, but not really I'm afraid.

@BlueNote if you prefer the Deanston 12 yo to the 18 yo, why would you call it "lowly"? A 12 yo that tastes better than an 18 yo from the same distillery sounds to me like a superstar.

@Misty Could you salvage it by doing a little amateur blending, say with something from a bourbon cask, or unsulphured sherry cask? Might be worth a try.

@Victor Good point. That was a poor choice of words.

BTW, I just noticed your PM. I have a bad habit of not checking regularly. Thank you, I'll get back to you ASAP.

My friend who owns a restaurant in the area, turned it into a bottle shop during the pandemic in order to keep the doors open and his staff employed. He is in the process of turning it back into a restaurant now that our state is finally opening up, so he is having a “garage sale” to clear out the bottle shop. 20% off everything and all taxes are included in the price. My wife and I purchased the following;

Laphroaig 10 Yr Cask Strength Batch #012 - Why? Because I haven’t owned a Laphroaig Cask Strength in a very long time and I’m not really sure why.

Bladnoch 15 Yr Adela (Sherry cask) - Why? Because I had a dram of this at his restaurant on my birthday last year (2020) and it was lovely!

A 2oz sample of E.H. Taylor - Barrel Proof. Why? Because I’ve never tried it. It’s a 2oz sample because it is meant to be part of a DIY cocktail kit, but I plan to drink it neat.

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin - Why? Because my wife wanted it. Enough said!

@Misty, @BlueNote, I have been burned by the brimstone in a Signatory bottling of Highland Park 19 YO 2011 release. That is enough to make me shy away from Signatory. Reports of sulfur in other bottles of Signatory keeps me away. I will taste from bottles of Signatory, but I very strongly doubt if I will ever again purchase a Signatory.

@paddockjudge once burnt, twice shy. It's very hard to regain trust in a label, a brand, or a bottler after getting a bad bottle. This sort of thing has happened to me with my first experiences with a number of very well-liked products over the years, with the result that I have almost no confidence in any brands, and believe in the quality of each bottle when I taste it for myself.

@Victor, Amen from the choir! I take very few fliers these days. When I find something "great" I buy a case. There are very few palates tuned in unison with mine. There are a couple and I trust them explicitly, greater than 90% success. One in particular is approaching 95% when it comes to single malt.

You are absolutely correct, making my own determination is certainly the best way to vet a whisky.

@paddockjudge I hear you on the Signatory. They are far too expensive to take a chance on. It's not a brand that is easy to try before you buy, so I'm with you, unless it is recommended by a very trustworthy source or I can get a taste, I will pass.

Picked up my most recent purchases tonight;

Laphroaig 10 Yr Cask Strength Batch #012 (Feb. 2020 bottling)

Bladnoch 15 Yr Adela (Sherry cask)

A 2oz sample of E.H. Taylor - Barrel Proof

The Botanist Islay Dry Gin

@BlueNote interesting. Because with Deanston I jumped straight to the 18. Which was a very decent dram and good value for an 18 year old. But it felt a bit 'safe' for want of a better word.

@RianC gave me a sample of his Deanston 12 and it was better than my recollection of the 18. In fact I'll probably be grabbing a couple of bottles fairly soon to stock up a bit. With Henieken looking to buy the Distell group that owns Deanston, Tobermory and Bunnahabhain the quality of these excellent malts may well nosedive in the next few years. Either that or the prices start creeping up.

@BlueNote the price is what has put me off buying a Deanston so far. Single cask indys are always a bit of a gamble unless you've already tried it. And the Signatory cask strength bottles are pretty pricey. The Deanston clocking in at £80+ for a 12 year old so that has put me off. Because a comparable release from Cadenheads would probably be around the £60 mark.