Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@Nozinan it will definitely be much more expensive under the new regime than what Raymond was charging. At the moment they have quite a lot of old stock aged between 6 and 27 years and they are just working out what to release and what price point to pitch it at. When it finally comes out I don't think it will be good news for Connors members!

@maltmate302

Agreed. I have a few bottles stashed away that should last me a while. I've opened 3 bottles since 2011 and have enough left in 2 of them to last the rest of the year. I hope most of my bunkered bottles are the quality of the 10 and 11 YOs I opened and not the 12 YO I opened.

@maltmate302 , where did you find the Lagavulin 8?

@maltmate302 , thanks for posting that Bladnoch info. Interesting stuff, if not really encouraging. This is the most worrisome bit: "packaging and branding background."

I suppose that big capacity increase is due to an updated or eliminated contract with Diageo, rather than an actual change to the facility—right?

@OlJas no actually he's an Australian yoghurt mogul who sold his business for 80 million Australian dollars.The capacity increase is real,Raymond Armstrong was only allowed to make 100,000 litres of whisky a year due to the contract he agreed upon at the time. I think the real capacity of Bladnoch was 250,00 litres. The new Australian guy took out a 3 million pound loan in order to increase production. The Lagavulin 8 is now widely available in the UK in most online retailers and probably very soon in the rest of the world.It's the same price as the 16 but 48% sounds tasty to me and Serve gave it an 89.It's got to be worth trying!

@OiIJas sorry I meant 250,000 litres and Serge not Serve.My tablet keeps trying to think for me in matters of spelling!

@maltmate302 , all of that about the Lagavulin 8 yo sounds good, except for the price. 8 yo same price as the 16 yo? Nasty.

@Victor I know it's disgraceful the prices being charged at the moment but surely you're not surprised it's the way of the whisky world these days. It's actually costs a little bit more than the 16 but idiots like me will pay it to give it a go. For me Lagavulin is one of the best distilleries in existence and because they release so few expressions I feel, on this occasion, it's possibly worth paying a little extra!

@maltmate302 , ah, so the new Bladnoch fella both got out of the Diageo contract AND expanded physical capacity. Neato.

The Lagavulin 8 price doesn't bother (and certainly doesn't surprise) me. As I always say, prices are based on the market, not on production costs—and aging is of course a production cost. If the market is willing to pay X for a higher-octane but younger Lagavulin (and don't forget, "limited edition"!), then the price will be X.

As I say, that's fine with me. I pay for the experience, not the age. I believe in age statements, but not age-based pricing.

@maltmate302 , don't think your sly irony in misspelling my screen name in a post apologizing for spelling hijinks went unnoticed or unappreciated! :)

• Oily Jas

@Victor

It may be overpriced, but it is a higher ABV

I've ordered a couple of bottles of a whisky called Peat by the speciality drinks company.This is a company owned by the Whisky Exchange who often release their own expressions. Peat was only released a couple of weeks ago at an ABV of 59.3 in 50cc bottles . It's had some very good reviews since its introduction and is fairly well priced at about 35 pounds.In fact Serge has given it an 89 on whiskyfun . I also added a 9 year old Ledaig , also from TWE to the order.

@maltmate302 a few years ago there was a Bruichladdich expression called Peat. It was excellent.

@Nozinan this particular 'Peat' is an Islay blended malt supposedly Caol Ila forward. It hasn't been out for very long but I've had my eye on it since its introduction. It's a decent price and,due to the initial reviews, seems well worth getting. Sherried young Ledaig's are extremely well regarded at the moment and I'm really looking forward to trying it. There's always something on the market these days to part us from our money and I really need to discipline myself but I just can't seem to do it!I probably would have bought your Bruichladdich Peat as well if I'd seen it available!

@maltmate302 The Bruichladdich peat was available, I believe, in 2011. I have 1-2 drams decanted from my bottle and a spare put away for some future day when someone who will appreciate it will enjoy it with or without me.

Self-discipline is important. There will always be more that you want than what you need. I AM NOT SOMEONE TO FOLLOW FOR THAT.

@Nozinan I completely agree that you shouldn't overspend. We've all observed the pricing trends on whisky these days and I'm trying to build up a decent collection whilst it's still affordable. I couldn't imagine myself buying these whiskies at a 30% to 40% higher price point. The most I've ever spent on a single bottle of whisky is 125 pounds and that was for some BTAC expressions which I can always sell at a profit.Normally I try not to spend over 50 pounds on a bottle.

I was boycotting the new ardbeg "dark cove" because of all the marketing BS they were pushing Before it's release. However, after reading @Victor 's review i changed my mind, I loved the earlier Uigeadail I had and finished andso i figured that if the dark cove was comparable in quality it was well worth a go.

I tried to book one of the 1340 bottles alotted to sweden via the monopoly "systembolaget"s website at launch 10:00 A.M the 31/4. The site behaved strange and crashed, Before doing so it said "0 in stock" and "booking full". Finding this strange I called customer service to find out that the 1340 bottles had all gone in less than a second. And here I was thinking that I was early on the release logging on at 10:05.

Mightily pissed I ordered a Ballchin 10 instead. Did any of you besides @Victor get your hands on some new ardbeg?

@Alexsweden I saw it listed at Kensington Wine market and pre-ordered but then was told they were getting in the 46% version (at a price@Victor paid for the 55%) so I cancelled.

I would like to get this new Ardbeg Dark Cove, but it' nowhere to be found aroud me and I am sure the price will be over the top if it comes. So for the moment, I went for Benriach Septendecim a 17 yo peated Speyside. It is nice to see a Benriach with a finish that doesn't steel the show.

Was in the mood for a slightly sweet & salty single malt so I picked up a few 12 yr Old Pulteney.

Purchased two 12 year old single-malt scotches. Deveron and Royal Brackla by Dewar's. Anyone tried either of these before?

@ABV, I know that ralfy has reviewed the royal brackla. Not sure about the other one

@ABV In terms of the Deveron - For 12 and 18 YO they are not too expensive at the LCBO. But I suspect it is related to the low ABV of 40%.

Let me know what you think of them because I wouldn't normally buy bottle of those 2 as they don't fit my preferred profile.

Thank you, I will let you know for sure.

An independent bottling of single grain whisky that's way older than I am from the now closed and demolished Caledonian distillery.

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Was impressed with Diageo's 40YO Cally in a recent Diageo tasting.

Bought a bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask , have a soft spot for Islay Scotches , don t know why , saw Laphroaig Live on YouTube & got it from there I guess .

@altimanmalt you can't go wrong with Laphroaig QC, just bought myself another 2 bottles at 25 pounds each.I can't resist it at that price.Trouble is I now have 8 bottles of the stuff!

@maltmate302 , It s my 1st scotch , I ve a long way to go !

Might plan to open it one day & buy another one as for a collection of some bottles in the future .

@altimanmalt Wow your first scotch! You've certainly got yourself a real monster in Laphroaig QC. Whisky doesn't get a lot more peated than this. For many people peated whiskies are an acquired taste but I fell in love with them straight away.If you don't immediately enjoy it don't get too discouraged .There are many different styles of whisky and I'm sure you'll get to enjoy many of them on your whisky journey!

@maltmate302 , lol, yep , guess it s a good choice , aftter seying some ralfy vids also , decided to give it a try . Later on , I plan to get a Laphroaig 10yo , was debating between these 2 & finally got the QC , guerss it was a better choice for a fisrt scotch .

Might have gone a bit hard ! lol