Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@Nozinank, the standard EC 12 age statement is already gone here where I live. It makes me also very seriously doubt whether there will be any more releases of Elijah Craig 12 Barrel Proof.

I don't think that there is any immediate threat to Wiser's Legacy.

Europe and Asia and buying all the aged Bourbon and Scotch they can get their dollars on, from Prague to Hong Kong. Japanese distilleries are running down. if you have the means buy extra of what you love or even for a drinking buddy just in case. The last 2 or 4 or 6 or 11 bottles on the shelf may very well be all that is left. I use Wikipedia looking up the namesof distilleries to get inside info as well as this site and others. May 2016, still no Elmer T Lee in Virginia since early last year.

@ABV Oh, I don't doubt that it's true. I was only calling it a rumour because Nozinan said "there's talk" that the EC 12 was going. I took that to mean it hadn't been confirmed. Sorry if I caused any confusion. Although it is also true though that the 12 YO is still reasonably well stocked around here. This is the bottle I picked up just the other day.

imgur.com/DFboprn

They had another dozen or so on the shelf, and according to the LCBO website there's lots more in other locations. I'm sure that they'll soon be replaced by the NAS though, so I'll be having some of this tonight in order to decide if I should pick up a few more while I still can.

@Victor Oh, no worries there. The Legacy is now next in line, so I'll probably open it up tomorrow evening.

@ABV We had a few Elmer T.s on the shelf in the Chicago area a couple of months back. I had never had it so I bought a bottle. Very nice. I had been looking for it for about a year with no luck.

@Bilbo161 , whisky life was so much easier and cheaper before whisky became so popular. I just checked Van Winkle 10 yo on wine-searcher.com, and see that that is now a $ 500 secondary market whiskey. Six years ago I was buying it for $ 30.

Yes Victor a sad state of affairs. I was lucky enough to find an EC 12 on the shelf behind the new NAS at a grocery store in the area back in January. Not opened yet. Have been looking for the CS version too based on some posts I saw from you last year. No luck as yet. Cheers! @Victor

@Nelom

The reason I was guarded in my wording is that a couple of years ago there was "talk" that Springbank was discontinuing the 12 YO cask strength. When I wrote to the distillery they reassured me that it remained a priority for production and is still around (though more expensive and harder to find in Canada), and I did not want to present as fact something that was rumour.

I have a single bottle of the stuff and that should be enough for me. What I may want to get one of is the Knob Creek 9 that I think I liked more.

@Nozinan I understand fully. I didn't mean to sound like I was blaming you or anything. :) In a day or two I'll be heading out for a bottle of the Knob Creek 9 YO myself.

@Nozinan I will be picking up a KC SB in the near future to bunker. Never tried the KC 9 as the SB is only $10 more and really good. Will grab an EC12 to bunker and I already bunker a couple ER10's. Costing me a bloody fortune to stave off NAS Whiskey.

Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve, 60% ABV, x 2 bottles. @Astroke, all of this talk...all of this talk. 60% ABV bourbon 9 years old is quite rare at the prices we pay here. The sale ends tonight, so out I went. Your LCBO prices are only about 20 % higher than the fabulous local sale prices I just paid, after currency conversion.

@Victor Yes, seems to be a no brainer on the KC SB in Ontario, especially after the recent price hikes for the Baker's and Booker's.

Well before I go out and by up all the AS Bourbon's I asked my sister to pick up an Arran 18 1st release. My trip to Nova Scotia cannot come fast enough.

@paddockjudge I can report that the L15009 of Wiser's Legacy definitely has a liquorice, anise-type flavour, so it sounds like it's similar to your L16008. I find it very delicious.

@Victor Taking your example I picked up a couple of not so easily found in Toronto KCSB 9YO. I tried a half dram last night and it convinced me I might miss it in years to come.

I assume there is a difference between the Knob Creek 9 YO Single Barrel Reserve and the 9 YO Small Batch?

@Nozinan, it will be awhile before this age statement whisky scarcity thing will subside. So far, out of the several hundred bottles of whisk(e)y which I have purchased in the last 10 years there are just a very few which I am unhappy to have purchased. And pretty much all of my instincts about soon to disappear products have been borne out, one after the other. I doubt that you will regret your purchases either.

@Spitfire, 'Small Batch' is a vatting of barrels, whereas Single Barrel Reserve is...whiskey from a single barrel only. Also the standard Knob Creek ("small batch") is bottled and sold at 50% ABV, whereas the Single Barrel Reserve is bottled and sold at 60% ABV. 60% ABV is not Barrel Proof, per se, but it is reasonably close for most 9 year old bourbons. Booker's is younger than KCSBR at 6 to 8 years, and is typically bottled at 62-66 % ABV..

I would not be surprised to see a No Age Statement Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve emerge after the current stocks of KCSBR with the 9 year age statements disappears. That will still likely be a very nice bourbon, and probably more like the age of Booker's.

@Victor Thanks, Victor. I assume the SB is worh the extra $$$.

@Spitfire, I much prefer the Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve to the standard Knob Creek. And yes, I would certainly pay more to buy it. I don't know what prices you are looking at for KCSBR. Where I live, at this particular point in time, I would list Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve as one of the very best whisky values for money. It is a first rate product. Whether I prefer KCSBR or Booker's (which costs 50% more than KCSBR where I live) depends entirely upon which specific barrels (and bottles) you are comparing. In other words the better barrels of KCSBR are frequently better than the lesser barrels of Booker's in my book, despite the fact that (here) Booker's costs half again as much money. You of course have your own local equations to make on the price side of the equation.

I think the KCSB is a great buy at $25 to $30. I recently purchased both a distillery bottling and a local retailers cask selection. Can't imagine this 9 year old bourbon will either be around, or around at this price, for too much longer the way things are going these days.

@Victor, @Spitfire, while KCSB may soon have an age closer to Booker's (6 to 8 years) we may likely see Booker's closer to 6 years than 8 years.

@broadwayblue, yep that's why I picked up a couple more. But remember, the Canadians and Europeans are not paying those prices.

@paddockjudge, yes, I expect that that is true too.

@Victor, in fairness, I think I paid $30 or $35, not $25 to $30. And now that I'm learning it's going away, I may pick up another bottle as well.

@broadwayblue, sounds right.

@broadwayblue, welcome back! I suspect the official mourning period for Rangers fans is over.

My youngest brother and I did a flight of Crown Royal in honour of dear old Dad. NYR was his team and he always had an abundance of CR on the shelf, low hanging fruit for his three thirsty boys and their friends.

Our flight consisted of CR Reserve, CR Northern Harvest Rye, CR Monarch, CR Hand Selected Barrel. All great whiskies...and also Standard CR Deluxe. I purchased another CR Reserve as this recent batch was impressive.

Cheers!

@paddockjudge, yes, mourning is over. This year was easier to put behind me than the last couple...much less painful to exit early. I've heard good things about the CR Reserve. My brother in law is a CR fan...I might have to bring a bottle with me next time I head south to visit.

Found a bottle of Laphroaig 18 for $30 off sale. Got to get this before it's gone. I am also looking to stock on Campbeltown and picked up Hazelburn Rundlets & Kilderkins 10 Year Old Cask Strength.

Knob Creek 9yr Single Barrel: is this one losing the age statement as well? or only the 9 yr 100 proof?

@Frost, long discussion preceding...upshot? Some are already reporting standard Knob Creek Small Batch as having lost its 9 year age statement and become No Age Statement. The Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve hasn't lost its 9 year age statement yet, but we all expect that it will as soon as current stocks are sold.