Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@chrisbator

if there were 2 on the shelf and the price was reasonable it would have taken superhuman self control to leave one...

Picked up a Crown Royal Cask 16 on a LCBO return. I have an unopened one but wanted another to drink. Plus I like it more than most I guess and more than the XO, Although the price difference may not justify that statement. Must be the sweet tooth I have.

Just picked up a bottle of Lagavulin 8 years from government liquor store in Vancouver. 48% abv, Cd$94 before tax, it's somewhat affordable for Lagavulin. Not many reviews out there (generally regard as baby version of 12 yr version). Only 20 bottles in stock across the whole province. Obviously I had to get one.

Bought a bottle of Knob Creek 2001 Batch 1. Hoping it will be worth the cost.

@chrisbator which batch of Elijah Craig Barrel Proof did you pick up? I am guessing 69.4% (which is Batch #11). If so then congrats! It is a good one in my opinion.

I was fortunate to pick up three more for a grand total of six bottles of ECBP #11. I am amazed at my good fortune. My "guy" called me up and said that he had extra bottles because other people had backed out on him. He wondered if I wanted them . . . yes, yes I do. The great hording is nearing the end. That now puts my unopened bottle count at over 100 for the first time. My hope is that it will last me the four years I get to pay for my daughter's college.

My one comment is that ECBP #11 is not the thickest of the batches, nor the most electrifying. However, it is very good and certainly is worthy of 92 or 93 points in my book.

@chrisbator, my mistake. Elijah Craig Barrel Proof Batch #11 is 69.7% or 139.4 Proof.

And as you can tell, I am with @ Nozinan on not leaving any ECBP on the shelf.

@Nock you're lucky to get six of one batch. I have 2 bottles (69.9% and &0.1%) with no real prospects of getting another.

It's a good thing there are lots of good CS bourbons and I've managed to find a few of them...

@Nozinan don't I know it! I realize I have been lucky in the past with collecting my hoard of Cask Strength/Barrel Proof monsters. I feel like one of those bison hunters in the late 1800's who had been around for the heyday, but was now looking at the last of those glorious animals. I can remember leaving bottle after bottle of Antique Collection and Pappy Van Winkle on the shelf ten years ago. I only wanted George T. Stagg back then.

For me Elijah Craig Barrel Proof 12yo is about the best bang for your buck out there. I paid $49.99 plus tax for each one. And I would happily buy more. Of the 11 batches I have only been disappointed by two of the releases (4 and 7) which, coincidentally, happen to be the two lowest proof releases. I have yet to open my only bottle of batch 10, but I have heard (from unreliable sources) that it isn't so good. I'll find out eventually.

@Nozinan, it looks like you have batches #6 and #8. I really like both. My personal scores are 92.4 and 92.3 respectively. Obviously, they score nearly identically and I could go either way depending on my mood (I have my own crazy scoring system and a formula to convert it to the standard 100 point scale). Still, both are very different batches. I found 6 to be much higher tones will 8 had far more bass tones. I love the finish on 6 and the nose on 8. I think you will enjoy both immensely.

@Nock, what do you think? Can Heaven Hill keep putting out 12 years aged Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, or will they run out of aged stock? I have the sneaking suspicion that they will be able to continue in the current vein for several more years at least, because they are limiting the size of each release batch. They already know that they could sell out much larger batches, but they are not changing the size of the batches. This smacks of careful planning to me, on the part of a very very large warehouser of whiskey, viz Heaven Hill.

What seems likely to change, to me, in the near future, is the price. A continuing upward drift seems likely to me, with a US domestic price of $ 80 for ECBP coming within 3 years, unless a global economic depression slows this progression down. Whatever the price, people will still be justifiably fighting to obtain the few bottles available.

I have bought a bottle of Aberlour 12 Double Cask. The Abound is one of my favorites, so wanted to get something else by Aberlour and figured the 12 was a good place to start. Dronai

Jefferson's Reserve, my boss picked this up for me in Calgary. Tying a glass now, enjoying it quite a bit.

@Victor, I am really not sure what to think about Heaven Hill these days. There was a time when I would have totally agreed with you. But they seem to be making some serious changes to their lineup.

I am not sure if you (or anyone reading) had heard, but Elijah Craig will soon be releasing a no age statement “Barrel Select” at 125 Proof (or 62.5% ABV). To me this seems to be trying to fill in for the soon to be even more scarce 12yo Barrel Proof – which just might be dropped altogether!

Yes, it will be "near" Barrel Proof for the high-octane crowd (of whom I am one). But I am sure it will lack the depth of flavor that the ECBP has consistently delivered. I certainly hope that this is a move to pacify the masses crying out for the ECBP, but who can’t seem to find it. If this is a move to drop the BP altogether I will be sad indeed.

@Nock, what you describe does sound like a big step down from the current Elijah Craig Barrel Proof with a 12 year age statement and no dilution. I am sure that you are happy that you have salted a few bottles of ECBP away. I would rather see an 8 or 9 or 10 year age statement than no age statement at all, ...and yes, I'd rather see an 8 yo Barrel Strength Elijah Craig than a 62.5% ABV NAS Elijah Craig.

Elijah Craig has been the longest aged of the standard Heaven Hill bourbon brands. No age statement for the standard Elijah Craig and the Elijah Craig Select is a jarring development. But none of this is too surprising, unfortunately.

Bruichladdich 8year laddie, Port Charlotte Cc01 and Laphroiag PX, passed through World of Whisky tried all 3 and could not resist.

The laddie 8 is an improvement on the NAS the extra years just take the rougher edges off added a little water(couple of drops) after first taste and the flavour of the malt just explodes on the palate.

The cognac finished Port Charlotte is quite tame on first nosing but on the palate it is first sweet malty and cognac comes through as gets to back of palate switches to peaty iodine salty took a drop of water really well and the finish just stays forever.

Laphroaig PX because it's Laphroiag it's 48% and sherry finished not a lot else to say.

Did I mention the finish on the PC, considering only had a taster I was still getting malt, peat and iodine 15-20 minutes later £70 a bottle but a small dram will last all night no need to have regular sips to refresh the taste it will not go away only having a meal and Coke shifted it. Will be sitting down for a proper tasting when I get home and will review the 2 Bruichladdich offerings.

@Pete1969 , you might need to rethink your assumption that the Bruichladdich 8 is significantly older than the NAS. Since they started making their vatting details available online, you can see exactly what goes into the NAS. You might be surprised: reddit.com/r/Scotch/…?

Sure, there's plenty of

(My post got cut off.)

...plenty of stuff under 8 years old, but it's not all underbaked barrels by any means. Interesting cask types too! I am impressed.

@OlJas excellent post. I knew that Bruichladdich were going to reveal exactly what was in the Laddie but I didn't realize that they had a!ready started to do so. What a fascinating and exotic mix of casks go into each bottling. After reading that I've just got to get myself a bottle of it.

@OlJas thanks for the link interesting reading why not just stick 7 year on it though, Bruichladdich produce some amazing stuff around the 5 year mark so don't believe it would have much effect on the sales.

Need to get the recipe for the 8 now so I can compare what has gone in it.

@Pete1969 , I agree. I would prefer they state the age.

Friend just brought me a Widow Jane store pick from Park Avenue Liquor and I picked up a Yellow Spot 12 year old on the way back from a trip to Galway.

Aberlour A'bunadh Batch # 53. I don't buy many bottles these days, but A'bunadh is one I know I will regularly want to drink, and I am currently down to one open bottle of Batch # 45.

Just bought a Glentauchers 2008 at 54.8% abv for the fabulous price of 24 pounds . It's a Dimensions bottling from Duncan Taylor and I have no idea why it was so cheap as it is priced at 55 pounds elsewhere! I also added a Bowmore Tempest 10 batch 6 for 42 pounds to the order. Unfortunately at the moment the Brexit effect in the UK has led to quite a large fall in the value of the pound on Foreign Exchange markets making it prohibitive to buy whisky from other European markets at this moment in time. I hope this situation can resolve itself in the very near future but I'm not holding my breath. These are grim days indeed for the UK whisky consumer!

Just picked up by a miracle Nikka taketsuru 17 for a good price. I bought it because I never see it and want to give it a go and we how it really is. I think I had a dram last year but didn't take much notice so I splashed 7500 yen on it.

My neighbor was in Philly for a week and had agreed to bring back a bottle on my list based on the online inventories at the Government Liquor stores. He came back with Macallan Select Oak 1L from Duty Free, I took it for $66 CAD but was devastated I did not get my Old Protero 18th Century Rye or Maker's Mark Cask Strength that were readily available there...sigh.

@Astroke a true tragedy...

But it could have been worse... A friend of mine and his wife returned separately from a trip and she came back through Belgium....and brought him a bottle of Lambertus.

I alerts my brother the the availability of a well-respected batch of Nadurra in Calgary (it's a favourite of his), and he replied that he was in BC and did I want him to pick anything up. I quickly checked online and found that Kelowna had one store selling Lagavulin 8 year old, an expression. Had resigned myself to missing out on.

When he arrived at the store there were six bottles, and when he left there were 4. One only for me, given the price, and another for a Connosr friend who said yes before I could even tell him the price...

But I won't be in Calgary till December so I won't be tasting it anytime soon.

Fulfilled a long term wish list goal and got a bottle of Glenmorangie 18 yr. Also, after being blown away by the Paul John range I got the Select Cask Classic Cask Strength & Peated Cask Strength.

@Nozinan how much did that bottle of Lag 8 cost you? I've heard rumours it will show up in the LCBO but with the recent explosion of scotch prices in the LCBO recently I don't know what to expect. Balvenie Single Barrel went up 40$ in the last two months (now $155)

@JasonHambrey With tax just shy of $110, a bit much for a non CS young whisky but this one has had excellent reviews...

@Nozinan I just opened mine yesterday. It's worth every dollar (even for Cd109 I paid in Vancouver). Between regular 16 and annual release of 12 years this one is closer to the 16 years maybe bit less complex. One word jump out of my mind is "SMOOOOOOTH" considering "only" 8 years old. It's priced lower than 16 years so I think I will pick up two more bottles.