Which bottle did you just buy and why?

The What: Baker's 7 YO, 107 Proof

The Why: I was at Toronto airport, flying out of the country, and had a look at the duty free and saw this there. Having not seen it at the LCBO for a long time and having never tried it before I looked up some reviews. When I saw that our very own @JasonHambrey had scored it a 90 I decided to blind buy it. Especially since he gave it a value score of 90 based on $67, and the duty free wanted $45, so it seemed like it might be a bit of a steal.

@Nelom Well done! But that just means you either have to drink a lot before you come back...or you can't bring as much back from where you're going.

Safe trip!

@Nelom that is a nice buy. I'm not the only one who will attest to the goodness of that bourbon - I believe it is also is the favorite Beam Small Batch bourbon from @paddockjudge and many others.

Just got word from LCBO that I'm the proud owner of the right to buy another OWA 107. Decisions, Decisions.....

@Nozinan You will have quite the stock pile if you like it. Worst case scenario, you return it or sell it at cost to someone who missed out on the opportunity, I know a couple of people that entered the lottery and came up with goose eggs.

@Nozinan Congrats on the OWA.

As for my trip and drinking... I'll be having and sharing the Baker's in a few days after my grandmother's funeral. I went on this trip to get to see her one last time. She passed a couple of days ago, quietly in her sleep at age 89. She was one of the good ones and she'll be missed. I'll be reminiscing about her over a glass or two of Baker's, so we'll see how much is left in the bottle when I go back home. I'll be changing planes in Amsterdam, and am hoping to be able to bring back a bottle of Millstone 100 Rye. Hopefully they'll have it at the airport there.

@Nelom

So sorry to hear about your loss. I was very close with my grandarents and still miss them to this day.

I hope I'll be able to share dram with you on your return and toast her memory.

@Nelom Condolences with the loss of your grandmother. I hope you will find the Millstone 100 rye. I like it a lot.

@Nozinan I got the word I can have a Weller 12. Done and done.

@Nelom Millstone 100 Rye is great, I picked up 2 bottles when the LCBO blew them out a couple years ago. Good luck getting one at the Airport. Sorry to hear about your Grandmother.

@Nelom,

sorry to learn of your grandmother's passing. In her honour, a toast from a newly opened bottle of Baker's 107.

@Nelom To good memories! My thoughts are with you.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and well wishes. I appreciate it.

As for the topic of the thread... I was browsing a liquor store here in Sweden (they, too, have a state-run liquor monopoly like the LCBO in Ontario) and saw a bottle of Canadian whisky that I'd never heard of. It's called "Lord Calvert" and naturally I had to buy some to try. They had both 200 ml and 700 ml versions, so I grabbed a 200 ml one.

Sadly, it's not very good. Quite uninspiring and bland. I'm told this is the best-selling whisky in Sweden, which is a bit mind boggling. Then again, it is probably the "smoothest" whisky I've ever tried, in that there's not much bite or flavour, and is probably perfect for people who don't want to taste their alcohol and only get drunk. So maybe it does make sense that it's a best seller, since we all know we're in the minority of alcohol consumers.

Anyway, here's a link to its profile on Systembolaget for the curious: systembolaget.se/dryck/sprit/…

BenRiach Authenticus 25yo

And why? I decided it is one of my really top malts, and so I recently searched for news on Benriach. There is not much recent news besides the April takeover, but I noticed a webpage written in German that seems to imply that it (and a few others in the Benriach lineup) may be discontinued. So although it's expensive, I didn't want to be in a future price war to get a malt I truly love.

@Nelom, that is a curious tale that Lord Calvert is supposedly the best-selling whisky in Sweden. George Calvert founded the colony of Maryland as a refuge for Catholics. Here is Davin de K's narration of how a Baltimore whisk(e)y (i.e. the Lords/Barons Baltimore = George, Cecil, and Charles Calvert) bought out by Seagram's, has remained a staple of Canadian whisky. 50 years ago I could smell the whisk(e)y mash whenever my parents would take me up one particular way on the drive up to Baltimore to visit the dentist.

canadianwhisky.org/reviews/…

Inexpensive Canadian whisky in the US is a very scary proposition for me, so I've never tasted Lord Calvert, though I have been curious about it for years. Right now in my county Lord Calvert is discounted from its regular $ 6.99 plus 9% tax price down to $ 4.99 plus tax. Even for $ 5.44 I am reluctant to have a bottle of Lord Calvert hanging around my house taking up space. I'll bet 750 of Lord Calvert costs a bit more than that in Sweden.

@Victor I just read the review on canadianwhisky.org for the Lord Calvert and I can't help but laugh. I tried it once in the US and thought it was terrible. That being said, I think you could bottle mouthwash and as long as it was labeled Canadian Whisky it would get minimum 3 stars over there.

@mscottydunc, I have always thought exactly the same as you do of Davin de K's never having met a Canadian whisky which he didn't like.

Your experience is precisely why I've never had a taste of Lord Calvert Canadian, even at under $ 6 for a 750 ml bottle. If someone offered me a taste I would be very happy to try it, though.

@Victor I can't see finishing off my 200 ml bottle any time soon, so if we're ever at the same get together again I'll make sure to bring it so you can have a taste.

@Nelom, thank you! If and when I see you again, I will look forward to getting a taste of the Calvert. I didn't think that you'd mind sharing that one.

@vanPelt The last bottle I bought was the Benriach Septendecim to have one in back up. I only dream of the Benriach Authenticus 25 yo and would realy enjoy reading another review of it. In Quebec this one goes for a big 385$, so that is why I only dream about it.

@Nelom

For a review of an older expression of Lord Calvert Canadian, see CanadianWhisky.org:

canadianwhisky.org/reviews/…

A little history about the brand is also provided.

Oops! Did not scroll down enough to see that Victor had already posted a link the the Lord Calvert review... apologies for the duplication.

Bruichladdich The Laddie 22 year old.

This whisky was served at the Nov 2016 dinner meeting of the Fergus/Elora chapter of the Companions of the Quaich. Had my name in the hat to purchase one of the extra bottles available, but alas missed out on the draw. This was one of the best whiskies for 2016 for COTQ. Luckily, the convenor of the Kitchener/Waterloo/Cambridge COTQ chapter was able to obtain a bottle for me - picked it up tonight at the Robbie Burns dinner. At C$180, I think it so good value.

Picked up a bottle of Writer's Tears today. I've had it before and enjoyed it, plus it was on sale at the LCBO I was at, $35 down from $50. Have to grab those deals when they come up, as they are few and far between for us Ontarians.

Weller 12 YO. My friend had a ridiculous streak of luck in the Bourbon lottery, ended up winning 9 bottles across 3 accounts, and was nice enough to sell me one of the Weller 12's. He ended up getting ORVW 10, Taylor Rye, Taylor Small Batch, Taylor Single Barrel, 2 Weller 12's and 3 Weller 107's.

Based on this and other results I have read about, I feel like the LCBO had 5 separate categories that each customer could potentially win from.

Pappy BTAC E.H. Taylor Weller 12 Weller 107

They really need to have a better system in place for next year.

@mscottydunc my daughter (err...me) just got allocated another Weller 12 as well. My luck (through family) netted me 4 bottles this year and I did not put in for the Taylor's or OWA. Still an ER17, ORVW 10 and 2 Weller 12's is a great haul. My ER17 has turned into a 2013 OFBB, ECBP, 3.75 CL MMCS and the new Rebel Yell 10 Single Barrel. Gotta love that desire to have BTAC bottles.

@Nelom, I just heard on the local news here that the old Calvert Distillery near Baltimore has just been bought by Guinness to be used as a brewery.

Waited in line with a few other guys in Oakville to buy the Blanton's Gold Edition. I can happily now have a couple pours of my open for a year bottle without worrying about replacing.

@Astroke Cornwall location? Always had a fancy to that store. Would be in my LCBO top 5 (Summerhill, Bayview Village, Head Office, Oakville and Leaside (for the tasting bar not as much for the selection))

@JayRain Yes, Cornwall. The manager came out and gave everybody a chit for the Blanton's. Too bad it has come to that for Bourbon.