What Water of Life did you purchase today? Spring/Summer 2016

[beasled]

Picked up 2 Balvenie 12 Single Barrel and an Ardbeg 10. As part of an offer the Ardbeg worked out free. No complaints. 

[garbanzobean]

Received a bottle of BenRiach Heart of Speyside as a gift.

[tanstaafl2]

Cracked under the pressure and picked up a Glenfarclas 21. Reviews seemed mostly good and it is practically a bargain these days for a 21yo at around $135. Besdies I felt I had money to burn after picking up a few Talisker 18's for under $100 thanks to a huge assist from a fellow SBer!

 

Biggest downside that had held me back was the low 86 proof.

[garbanzobean]

Walked into my local store expecting to finally buy a bottle of Flaming Heart 2015.  Noticed they had Springbank 13 Green and promptly changed my mind.  I'll get that FH2015 someday . . . 

[jvd99]

2 hours ago, garbanzobean said:

Walked into my local store expecting to finally buy a bottle of Flaming Heart 2015.  Noticed they had Springbank 13 Green and promptly changed my mind.  I'll get that FH2015 someday . . . 

Both are really good.  I liked the Springbank 13 better than the Local Barley, at least off of one tasting.  I'll try a truly blind tasting in the near future.  But definitely get that FH2015, it's worth it also.

[garbanzobean]

I thought the SB12 Green was way better than the 16LB.  Not sure if the 13 will measure up, but I've only had one disappointing SB (the local barley), so I'm sure I'll like it.

[meadeweber]

1 hour ago, garbanzobean said:

I thought the SB12 Green was way better than the 16LB.  Not sure if the 13 will measure up, but I've only had one disappointing SB (the local barley), so I'm sure I'll like it.

You didn't like the Local Barley?  I've read only good reviews.  Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to try it.

[garbanzobean]

5 minutes ago, meadeweber said:

You didn't like the Local Barley?  I've read only good reviews.  Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to try it.

I tried it at Jack Rose when it came out.  I found it not as enjoyable as Springbank Green 12.  Green 12 was all about Springbank's great spirit with some well measured cask influence, blended so cask and spirit melded well.   LB was edging toward more cask engagement than I preferred, and seemed out of balance.  Mostly it was way hotter than any CS Springbank I've had.  My friend, who has a very experienced palate, tried it at the same time and didn't think it was so great either.  Schneider's down in DC has it if you really must have a bottle.

[meadeweber]

14 hours ago, garbanzobean said:

I tried it at Jack Rose when it came out.  I found it not as enjoyable as Springbank Green 12.  Green 12 was all about Springbank's great spirit with some well measured cask influence, blended so cask and spirit melded well.   LB was edging toward more cask engagement than I preferred, and seemed out of balance.  Mostly it was way hotter than any CS Springbank I've had.  My friend, who has a very experienced palate, tried it at the same time and didn't think it was so great either.  Schneider's down in DC has it if you really must have a bottle.

Thanks for the info Eric!  I am a big fan of Springbank and I've enjoyed everything I've tried from them.  I will probably pass on a bottle of LB as it is probably much more expensive than other Springbank expressions I could get instead.

[garbanzobean]

1 minute ago, meadeweber said:

Thanks for the info Eric!  I am a big fan of Springbank and I've enjoyed everything I've tried from them.  I will probably pass on a bottle of LB as it is probably much more expensive than other Springbank expressions I could get instead.

No problem.  I was pretty disappointed, to be honest.  I LOVE the ex bourbon ("naked" as Serge would say) Springbank bottlings I've tried, so I was naturally very excited for this.  I was literally expecting my next stop to be Schneider's to buy a bottle.  Not so much.  Others on this forum and elsewhere have loved it though, so I'm not sure why the typical Springbank magic didn't ensnare me that time.

[jvd99]

I'm not saying I didn't like the Local Barley - I did, but just enjoyed that Green 13 a bit better.  

[garbanzobean]

I was in the area, so I stopped by a store that had Compass Box Flaming Heart 2015 for a decent price, $120.

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎9‎/‎30‎/‎2016 at 8:57 AM, jvd99 said:

I'm not saying I didn't like the Local Barley - I did, but just enjoyed that Green 13 a bit better.  

 

I would like the LB a bit better if it were priced closer to the Green! But it isn't. I didn't dislike the LB but I sure didn't think it lived up the hype or price.

[jvd99]

54 minutes ago, tanstaafl2 said:

 

I would like the LB a bit better if it were priced closer to the Green! But it isn't. I didn't dislike the LB but I sure didn't think it lived up the hype or price.

Agreed 100%

[Kpiz]

Almost forgot that I picked up a mini (50ml) bottle of Kavalan Brandy Oak when I was at La Maison du Whisky in Paris a few weeks ago. Would have liked to have purchased a full sized bottled of one of their exclusives, but my bag was already full of calvados. I was intrigued by the Brandy Oak expression anyways, since it was the first time I've seen it. Not sure if it's available in the U.S. but I suspect not.

 

Sorry, not my best camera work...

[GaryT]

4 hours ago, Kpiz said:

Almost forgot that I picked up a mini (50ml) bottle of Kavalan Brandy Oak when I was at La Maison du Whisky in Paris a few weeks ago. Would have liked to have purchased a full sized bottled of one of their exclusives, but my bag was already full of calvados. I was intrigued by the Brandy Oak expression anyways, since it was the first time I've seen it. Not sure if it's available in the U.S. but I suspect not.

 

Sorry, not my best camera work...

 

Cool looking bottle too!  

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎10‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 1:00 AM, Kpiz said:

Almost forgot that I picked up a mini (50ml) bottle of Kavalan Brandy Oak when I was at La Maison du Whisky in Paris a few weeks ago. Would have liked to have purchased a full sized bottled of one of their exclusives, but my bag was already full of calvados. I was intrigued by the Brandy Oak expression anyways, since it was the first time I've seen it. Not sure if it's available in the U.S. but I suspect not.

 

Sorry, not my best camera work...

 

Might have had to make a hole for that one! Especially if you were able to try it in France first? Looks like cask strength as well at 54 something ABV? Although that bottle shape may not have been conducive to traveling if it was the same for a 700ml. Seems like it would be easy to potentially snap off the neck.

[Kpiz]

2 hours ago, tanstaafl2 said:

 

Might have had to make a hole for that one! Especially if you were able to try it in France first? Looks like cask strength as well at 54 something ABV? Although that bottle shape may not have been conducive to traveling if it was the same for a 700ml. Seems like it would be easy to potentially snap off the neck.

Yep, it is 54% which I'd imagine is cask strength, or at least close to it. Unfortunately I wasn't able to try it while I was over there, and I actually don't recall seeing a full-sized bottle of this (it may have been there, but with all that whiskey in one store I had a hard time focusing). What I should have done was buy one to try quickly so that I'd have known whether or not to look for a bigger bottle (or more minis).

[BigPapa]

Could not pass up a Yamazaki 12 for 78.00

[meadeweber]

Picked up a CB Flaming Heart 15th Anniversary.  The price was what was holding me back but a local put it on sale and that was all I needed to pull the trigger.

[beasled]

G&M Cask Strength Ledaig 2004 TWE exclusive. Couldn't resist.

[tanstaafl2]

On ‎9‎/‎20‎/‎2016 at 1:49 PM, tanstaafl2 said:

Cracked under the pressure and picked up a Glenfarclas 21. Reviews seemed mostly good and it is practically a bargain these days for a 21yo at around $135. Besdies I felt I had money to burn after picking up a few Talisker 18's for under $100 thanks to a huge assist from a fellow SBer!

 

Biggest downside that had held me back was the low 86 proof.

 

Picked up the new release of Glenfarclas 25 because the 21 was lonely...

 

The low proof remains a major drawback but have always liked GF and it has gotten some decent reviews. Also getting harder and harder to find a 25yo of anything for well below $200.

[beasled]

Randomly I also picked up a Glenfarclas 21 as it was on offer (£69.99) along with a Loch Fyne Living Cask batch 4.

 

 

Cheers all!

[meadeweber]

Picked up a Forty Creek Confederation Oak (Thanks Eric!).

[garbanzobean]

2 hours ago, meadeweber said:

Picked up a Forty Creek Confederation Oak (Thanks Eric!).

You're welcome.  I hope you enjoy it.  I am not big on Canadian, but that seems like a failing on my part, not that of Canadian whiskey.  Also, glad you didn't waste your precious luggage space on something you could get locally.