Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@Pudge72 That would have been just fine, but she did come home with a bottle of Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey. Having a taste now and I'd say she picked a winner! Never had anything by Bulleit before, but this one is full of vanilla and toffee with a nice spicy kick. I'll have to try this game again with a higher budget next time :)

@OlJas Man your wife gives you badass presents :p

@mscottydunc Good one for an Old Fashioned :)

@PeatyZealot, yeah, the wife's gift-giving rules. The Lag 12 and the Laphroaig Cairdeas are just about the two most attractive bottles on the current market that I could hope to see weighing down a stocking. She done good.

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I just bought a bottle of Teeling Irish Whiskey, the 46% rum-finished thing. Why? Because for Christmas I received a modest gift card to a particular shop that has a small selection of high-priced but unexpected whisky. They used to carry the current Longrow NAS "Peated" but I guess I was too late to catch their last bottle. So I had to call an audible instead. Their Springbank 12 CS was from the same batch I had last year and didn't want to repeat. Their other attractive bottles were way too expensive, even with the gift card knocking off a big chunk. Finally, I needed a modest Irish whiskey as a sparring partner for the Writers Tears that I recently opened. So the Teeling it was.

I'm not feeling incredibly optimistic about it. Which is to say, I'm trying to set myself up for a pleasant surprise.

Having been the beneficiary of an unneeded gin last week, decided to turn it in for a credit against the Wiser Red Letter (thus filling the hole created by said benefactor and I finishing the Highwood 90 20 Year Old).

@Robert99, you asked for a report on the Leviathan III. Here it is: Gross.

I had just one glass last night after opening the new bottle. I guess it's smoky. It mostly tastes dark, heavy, sour maybe, murky, earthy, and muddy. A dull wallop, far from the ZING! I usually look for in peated whisky.

I say I drank a glass but that's a lie. I drank half a glass and then dumped some other stuff into the glass to make the remnant more palatable. That failed. Like the Brimstone, I see that this whisky has a dominating nastiness that will be nearly impossible to blend away. I can still taste it today a little. Boo.

Maybe it's better on ice. (The nastyish Charbay R5 certainly is.) Maybe it'll get better as the bottle sits open. I'll wait a while before possibly writing a full review.

To anyone who's still curious about the Leviathan: Unless you really love McCarthy's peated single malt and Balcones Brimstone, stay away. Relegate your curiosity to that same demented corner of your brain that wants to taste that Loch Dhu "black whisky." Or if you're around Madison, hit me up for a taste, after which we'll cleanse our palates with copious amounts of Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength.

@OlJas Thank you for your answer and your bravery. Now I know what weir taste: Dark, sour, murky, earthy and muddy. Oh, I forgot : Gross! But the word that is the weirdest in your description is "Maybe" revealing how disoriented you were. WEIRD,

Seriously I am sorry you don't like it. I am still curious though. So if I happened to be in Madisson, you may heard from me. But the chance, I'll be in Madisson one day are very slim. The good think is you will appreciate even more your Laphroaig CS.

CHEERS!

@Robert99, whisky curiosity dies hard. I saw a number of poor reviews of the Leviathan and I still had to find out what it was like. And despite the Leviathan's nastiness, the thought "maybe that Seascape bottle is better" persists!

I think that even if I, personally—me, MYSELF—went back in time and told Younger Jas that Leviathan, Brimstone, Charbay R5, and McCarthy's were all nasty, Young Jas would still buy them. Whisky curiosity dies hard indeed.

@OlJas Damn Right! I am still curious about McCarthy's and Brimstone and would like a pour of Ourobouros as well. And I have a 10 yo N.Z. Collection Double Wood that is a wine finish with so much wine and so weird, even if there is some good flavors in it, that I am tempted to exchange. Why did I bought 2 bottles of it? Probably just for the unhealthy pleasure of bragging about a bottle nobody have even if it's a bottle nobody would want to have if the would have had a tumbler of it!

Got my hands on a Kilchoman Machir Bay cask strength (59,2%) European tour 2014 bottling:) I heard the 2014 46% MB is very good again and I liked the previous years a lot too so this seamed fun too. There was a nice blue Kilchoman t-shirt coming with it too so €70,- didn't sound too bad.

Bernheim Original, Eagle Rare 10 Year Old, Parker's Heritage Collection 7th Edition "A Promise of Hope" and Wild Turkey Diamond Anniversary - had a hankering for some quality American whiskey.

Tried some Michter's US*1 Rye and the 10 Year Old Bourbon too recently and found them to my liking.

@sengjc Nice team of players you got there.

Bought a bottle of Balblair 02, had it a few months ago at a tasting and it was very enjoyable. Only a few bottles left here so had to get one. They have the 03 available but at $20 more, Crazy market.

Amrut Portonova. Why? Simply because I have heard so much about the new Asian destilleries (Amrut, Paul John and Kavalan) and really wanted to try one of these whiskys. The reason I bought the Portonova is a review here att Connosr that MaltActivist wrote that made me very interested!

@Barnbip

Good choice. It is one of the more popular expressions. If you like peat and can get their peated CS, I highly recommend it. Actually, of the 8 expressions I've tried, I would recommend any of them. They have all been 46% or higher, so I can't speak for the entry level expression.

Picked up another bottle of the Balvenie 15 yr Single Barrel - Sherry Cask.

Why?

Well - it's $84.99, and most other stores sell it for $15 to $25 more...Not sure how long this price will last, but since I enjoy it alot - why not get 1 more bottle?

Plashed out on the Talisker 25yo (2006 Bot.) because, well, it's my all time favorite dram & I just couldn't stop thinking about it (her...).

Yes, I know it is not value for money as there are similar quality bottles for 3/4 the price, but nothing really duplicates that exquisite balance of brine, pepper, smooth smoke. And the finish....(!) is on another level entirely.

Sometimes it's better to spend the price of 3 good bottles on that ONE Scotch you just can't stop thinking about!

@Benancio

Thanks for the compliments.

I actually find it mildly odd that I suddenly developed this "craving" for the bourbon taste and this new found interest in rye.

I have tried American whiskey in the past and have polished off the odd bottle every so often: Makers, Elijah Craig, Knob Creek, Four Roses, Woodford, Wild Turkey Russell's, etc.

Usually comes around summertime.

@OlJas...I'm a big fan of McCarthy's. I have a bottle of the June 2011 batch and I really enjoy the peat in this one. I have also enjoyed a bbq sauce note that is in the bottle. My caveat to this is that I do enjoy the 'weird and wonderful' aspects of the whisky journey.

@sengjc Another nice list of players. I never get tired of Single Malts, but at times I grave bourbon and ryes. After drinking them for a while I'll grave Scotch, it's great. Summer is great for tequila, you will have ask @Victor about the best, he vastly knowledgable about all spirits.

Highland Park 18 Gordon & Macphail Caol Ila Cask Strength (2003) Longrow 7yr Gaja Barolo

Despite my initial intentions, I couldn't resist.

@KRB80, have you cracked that Longrow Gaja Barolo yet? Whatcha think?

There's a bottle on a shelf near me that I'm mildly considering. It's $118, though, which seems high. Can I ask what it runs by you? Do you think it's worth it? Thanks.

@OlJas I picked it up for $99.99 but the store that I frequent is typically lower on most prices from what I have seen. Unfortunately, I probably won't be opening it for a lil while as I currently have too many open bottles that I need to finish before opening any more. When I do, I'll be sure to share my experience!

Two recent purchases and one Christmas Gift:

1) Christmas Present from my wife - Aberfeldy 12yr (it was on my wish list);

2) Gordon & MacPhail Mortlach 15yr - one of the few Mortlach's available in Ontario, and I've been curious about Mortlach in general since Diageo decided to launch a new range (but I haven't opened it yet...and maybe not for a while); and

3) Arran 'Icons of Arran - The Rowan Tree' 1997/2010 - ordered from the UK and shipped to a friend of mine there who will be bringing it back to Canada at some point. I'm in no hurry for this one, as it's being saved from my daughter's 19th birthday (it has something to do with her name...)

Anyway, after these recent purchases, and my ever growing collection, for which I am running out of storage space, I've decided to embark on a minimum six month purchasing moratorium while I try to reduce the number of bottles I currently have open; the purchasing moratorium may be extended, depending on availability of existing stock for upcoming group tastings, etc., etc.

Talisker 175th Anniversary Seeing as it was released in 2005 I figured it would be a rarer whisky to add to my collection when I spotted it on a shelf. Also, I do not have many heavy peat style whiskys because it isn't my preferred taste. However, I've heard that the 175th is a bit toned down in the peat profile which makes it a great addition. I'm looking forward to trying it.

@sengjc If you want to try a truly great rye that can be found fairly easily, then look for a bottle of willet family estate. The 4yr can be had for around $45 and is a personal favorite of mine.

Just bought a bottle of Four Roses Small Batch. Why? Because it was $8 off at the LCBO. Yes, that's not a typo, $31.95 for a bottle. 20% off anything at the LCBO is not a very regular occurrence, so why not take advantage!

@YakLord

Seems a few of us are feeling the same about a purchase moratorium

@JayRain

I think this forum makes it difficult to control purchasing. I read about a lot of stuff I think I might like, and then there's always the pressure not to miss out on something that will likely not be available when the stocks are depleted.

I keep a database of my bottles, and I've decided to record what year I bought them (among other things), and I'm also going to keep track of total unopened bottles every January 1 to see if the growth of my collection. Which has been exponential in the first 4 years of my adventure, is starting to plateau.

Actually, it really ought not to grow at all. Year over year, it should start to shrink. Otherwise I will never get through my stash.

So maybe I need to read fewer posts here....

@JayRain, yep, the "Diving for Pearls" blogger declared a freeze too: thekrav.blogspot.com/2015/01/…

Not me! When I get my grubby little paws on whisky money, I buy whisky. Granted, I don't have a huge stash like some folks, but it has grown over the past year or so. I have about nine bottles open and about a dozen in the stash. That's a peak for me.