What water of life did you purchase? - 2023

[evasive]

Well, I’ll start the 2023 thread. I managed to score this:

 

From here. I’ll admit we went in solely because of how amusingly small the store was, not expecting anything but typical package store bottles. The joke was on us. They had some Instagram bait on the shelf, too. 

[MM818]

Gifts for my people! 

[n811]

Compass Box Orchard House. Had my eye on it for quite a while and finally caved. Opening later tonight. 

[jvd99]

On 2/4/2023 at 4:47 PM, evasive said:

Well, I’ll start the 2023 thread. I managed to score this:

 

From here. I’ll admit we went in solely because of how amusingly small the store was, not expecting anything but typical package store bottles. The joke was on us. They had some Instagram bait on the shelf, too. 

How much was that? I've been on a few scotch hunts lately after not really perusing liquor stores for the past 3 years (thank you bunker). The prices of Springbank, Longrow & Hazelbrun are through the roof! Like unbelievable, Springbank is now going for about 100 for 10, 200 for 15 and 400 for 18. I was most surprised about the massive increase for the 10 and 15 year because it's way out of line for other aged stated scotches in that range. I looked online at the Euro shops and OB single barrel springbanks, between 16 - 19 years, were between 1200 and 2500. I used to pick these up at bunny for under around 200 - 300 pre-covid. Crazy. 

 

Rant over....now onto my my 16 year old Laphroaig which I'd never seen before in the wild. It's an infrequent limited edition they release sporadically every few years. It's 48% vs 43% for the regular 10 year which also adds value and taste. The last release was 2021, and this store near my brother's house had four of them. Now I have four of them.  ($89 a pop).  It's hard to get any Laphroaig over 10 years as they just don't have that age range in the regular line up, unless you make the jump to the 25 which is $600. So this was an epic find in my book.

 

 

 

 

[evasive]

I can’t remember for certain but it was in the ~$100 realm. Yes, Springbank has gotten spendy. My wife looked (unsuccessfully) for a 12 for me for Christmas, and the stated retail is surprisingly high. 
 

I used to like Springbank as a more affordable, under the radar malt. It still seems harder to find, but the pricing has changed. 

[PaulO]

I picked up a new one for me - Famous Grouse Smoky Black.  I'm enjoying it.  

[Kepler]

I guess we don't have a category for Irish whiskey so posting here. 

I just picked up a cask strength store pick version of Teeling Pot Still that I had ordered.  Looking forward to comparing it to my other Irish bottles.

[Skinsfan1311]

On 2/8/2023 at 7:12 PM, jvd99 said:

How much was that? I've been on a few scotch hunts lately after not really perusing liquor stores for the past 3 years (thank you bunker). The prices of Springbank, Longrow & Hazelbrun are through the roof! Like unbelievable, Springbank is now going for about 100 for 10, 200 for 15 and 400 for 18. I was most surprised about the massive increase for the 10 and 15 year because it's way out of line for other aged stated scotches in that range. I looked online at the Euro shops and OB single barrel springbanks, between 16 - 19 years, were between 1200 and 2500. I used to pick these up at bunny for under around 200 - 300 pre-covid. Crazy. 

 

Rant over....now onto my my 16 year old Laphroaig which I'd never seen before in the wild. It's an infrequent limited edition they release sporadically every few years. It's 48% vs 43% for the regular 10 year which also adds value and taste. The last release was 2021, and this store near my brother's house had four of them. Now I have four of them.  ($89 a pop).  It's hard to get any Laphroaig over 10 years as they just don't have that age range in the regular line up, unless you make the jump to the 25 which is $600. So this was an epic find in my book.

 

 

 

 

That is a  rare find, indeed.

 

[jvd99]

Picked this up today - just came in to Binny's yesterday. Single barrel cask strength 8 year Laphroaig PX cask. Wonder if it's just a barrel they pulled from the stocks going into the 10 year 48% sherry cask regular bottling? I hope its something more special than that - but Ill never know

 

Some unusual things are:

 

I've never seen an OB single barrel store pick from such a top tier scotch distillery - store picks are usually from independent bottlers;

 

Its a 700ml bottle sold in the USA which I dint notice until I got home; and

 

It came in a super fancy box which I immediately threw out because it was huge and takes up too much space - thus no picture of said box. (I throw out 95% of bottle boxes for the same reason)

 

This one will go in the bunker as I've got too much Laphroaig open at the moment.

 

 

[jvd99]

Binny's website says that this is the first time Laphroaig has done a private bottling for them:

 

We are thrilled and honored this week to announce the arrival of our latest single cask of Laphroaig, our first to be bottled by the distillery itself

[Harry in WashDC]

On an other thread recently, a couple of us mentioned some releases from Briuichladdich (the Octomore, etc.)  I also mentioned some TV show about distilling that featured the Bruich distillery.  SO!  I saw this nice baby blue metal tube containing -

 

Bruichladdich, The Classic Laddie, Islay Single Malt (100% Scottish barley), 100 proof, non-chill filtered, and no added color, caramel, etc.  Each Classic Laddie release is slightly different from the others, “they” say on “their” website.  Their website allows you to enter a code on the bottom of the label and see what your bottle’s contents are.  Mine came from a dump of 83 aging casks, the youngest being barreled in 2015, making the youngest scotch in this release at least 6-7 years old.  By Scottish law, ONLY the age of the youngest contributor is disclosable even though the percentage of each cask in the blend is disclosable (and Bruich does so).

 

For example, of those 83 casks, 43 were filled in 2015 making the age of the other 40 greater than 6-7 years.  Of those 40, 13 were aged for X years in 1^st fill bourbon casks and 13 were aged for Y years in 1^st fill bourbon casks.  The rest were in various 2^nd fill bourbons or Spanish sherry, or French spirits casks.

John Glaser at Compass Box should be proud that at least one major Scottish distiller is following his lead and pressing hard on “full disclosure.” 

Now, TASTING NOTES:

COLOR – Light amber.  Close to the color of most 4R releases (which were close at hand for comparison).

NOSE – My nose is attuned to bourbon.  Hence, this was an experience out of my head.  I could smell stewed fruits and berries (like warm pie filling, not plums, prunes, or rhubarb), but the fragrance was slight.  I pretended I could smell the salt sea.  There was something like a salty sense.  Second sniff revealed light citrus.  NONE of these was overwhelming; this was really delicate on the nose.

PALATE/TASTE – The barley and barley malt (think breakfast cereal) dominate, but they are balanced with a sweetness not unlike milk and sugar balance hot cereal.  Because we in the US of A don’t eat lots of barley, the taste is not familiar – pleasant but unfamiliar.  Perhaps those of us who drink Irish single malts would be more comfortable with it now that I think about it.  In other words, I kept waiting for the mint bomb, the caramel whack, the oaky stunning, the Cherrios crunch, the chewy oatmeal warmth  – they never showed up.  Instead, I had a nice time figuring out what I tasted.  SEE, my Irish single malt comment above.  Second sip allowed me to find the vanilla and fruit again.

FINISH – Nothing cloying, overwhelming, or even memorable.  It was just blissfully pleasant to sit there and think about what I’d consumed – two measured ounces of something I’d never had before – over about eight minutes (including time I took to make notes).

OTHER – How much do I like it?  My first bottle is down about 4 ounces.  I am ALREADY looking for a few for the bunker.  Even at about $65.  And, I’m not a real scotch fan.

 

I'm not a shill for the distillery.  I was just intrigued by the TV show and what they said on it about how they make their products.  Tasting this Classic Laddie did NOT disappoint.

 

[BigRich]

On 2/18/2023 at 4:40 PM, jvd99 said:

Picked this up today - just came in to Binny's yesterday. Single barrel cask strength 8 year Laphroaig PX cask. Wonder if it's just a barrel they pulled from the stocks going into the 10 year 48% sherry cask regular bottling? I hope its something more special than that - but Ill never know

 

Some unusual things are:

 

I've never seen an OB single barrel store pick from such a top tier scotch distillery - store picks are usually from independent bottlers;

 

Its a 700ml bottle sold in the USA which I dint notice until I got home; and

 

It came in a super fancy box which I immediately threw out because it was huge and takes up too much space - thus no picture of said box. (I throw out 95% of bottle boxes for the same reason)

 

This one will go in the bunker as I've got too much Laphroaig open at the moment.

 

 

Apparently it is a new thing to hit the states with the change in bottle size regulation. Tower Package down here in Atlanta got one too. 9 years old.  I'm curious but the price tag $250 here so I'm not that curious. 

[Skinsfan1311]

2 minutes ago, BigRich said:

Apparently it is a new thing to hit the states with the change in bottle size regulation. Tower Package down here in Atlanta got one too. 9 years old.  I'm curious but the price tag $250 here so I'm not that curious. 

Yeah.....JD picked didn't waste any time with those smaller bottles either.   

$250.00 is an easy pass.  That's borderline 19 year old Ardbeg territory.

 

 

[jvd99]

4 hours ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

Yeah.....JD picked didn't waste any time with those smaller bottles either.   

$250.00 is an easy pass.  That's borderline 19 year old Ardbeg territory.

 

 

 

4 hours ago, BigRich said:

Apparently it is a new thing to hit the states with the change in bottle size regulation. Tower Package down here in Atlanta got one too. 9 years old.  I'm curious but the price tag $250 here so I'm not that curious. 

 

Binnys had list price at $249 but they were on sale for like $189, still pricy, but Laphroaig OB single barrels aren’t common, but maybe they’re doing a single barrel program now. Anyways, not knowing that at the time, I impulsed purchased and figured it was a good addition to the bunker even if it was still very pricy for an 8 year old. This one is more in the collectible/novelty category for me. I don’t think I’d buy another…the regular Islay bottlings are in my wheelhouse. I actually like younger, ex-bourbon only, young Islay. Examples would be Ardbeg 10 and 5 year Wee Beastie, Laphroaig 10, 2022 Carderas, 16 year old, Lag 8 or 16 (even though 16 has a tiny amount of sherry cadks)….all under $100
 

 

[Skinsfan1311]

16 hours ago, jvd99 said:

 

 

Binnys had list price at $249 but they were on sale for like $189, still pricy, but Laphroaig OB single barrels aren’t common, but maybe they’re doing a single barrel program now. Anyways, not knowing that at the time, I impulsed purchased and figured it was a good addition to the bunker even if it was still very pricy for an 8 year old. This one is more in the collectible/novelty category for me. I don’t think I’d buy another…the regular Islay bottlings are in my wheelhouse. I actually like younger, ex-bourbon only, young Islay. Examples would be Ardbeg 10 and 5 year Wee Beastie, Laphroaig 10, 2022 Carderas, 16 year old, Lag 8 or 16 (even though 16 has a tiny amount of sherry cadks)….all under $100
 

 

Nothing wrong with that!

We must have the same wheelhouse.  I'm an unabashed Islay whiskey whore and, with the exception of the Wee Beastie & Carderas, you've listed bottles  that I always have on-hand.    My "deserted island" whiskey is the Lag 16 year

[jvd99]

50 minutes ago, Skinsfan1311 said:

Nothing wrong with that!

We must have the same wheelhouse.  I'm an unabashed Islay whiskey whore and, with the exception of the Wee Beastie & Carderas, you've listed bottles  that I always have on-hand.    My "deserted island" whiskey is the Lag 16 year

You should try the Wee Beastie, it's pretty good, at $54.  Also the 2022 Cairderas is excellent and at cask strength for $99 - better than the 10 or 10 cask strength IMO.

 

Young Islay is the best deal in single malts because if you like the medicinal peat to kick you in the face, then going young is where it's at and the price of entry is usually between $49 - $99.  Comparable or cheaper than age stated bourbons in the same range.  I'd never buy a 5, 8 or even 10 year single malt from most non-Islay distilleries (Springbank 10 being the exception).   Most of my favorites from non-Islay distilleries have been in the 18 - 30+ year range.

[Skinsfan1311]

13 minutes ago, jvd99 said:

You should try the Wee Beastie, it's pretty good, at $54.  Also the 2022 Cairderas is excellent and at cask strength for $99 - better than the 10 or 10 cask strength IMO.

 

Young Islay is the best deal in single malts because if you like the medicinal peat to kick you in the face, then going young is where it's at and the price of entry is usually between $49 - $99.  Comparable or cheaper than age stated bourbons in the same range.  I'd never buy a 5, 8 or even 10 year single malt from most non-Islay distilleries (Springbank 10 being the exception).   Most of my favorites from non-Islay distilleries have been in the 18 - 30+ year range.

Thanks!

I have tried the Wee Beastie.  It's okay, but I didn't like it enough to buy another bottle.     The only non-Islay whiskey on our bar is a Balblair 13 year, an Oban 14-Year and a Cragganmore 12 year.  The Oban & Cragganmore were gifts.  The rest of the bottles are all Islay.   I've never tried the Cairderas but, from the descriptions that I've read about the 22 year, it sounds good.     

[MM818]

I’ve really wanted this bottle for a few years but never was able to track it down. Or be at the store when it hits the shelves. Excited to share w friends that roll their eyes about how deep I go in bourbon. I’m not sure it will live up to the hype.

 

This was claimed in a local lottery that we’ve been discussing in another thread. Ranked 15 out or about 145 bottles I ranked. I didn’t rank the entire list because it got exhausting! 

[beasled]

Nice surprise this week. £45 for the 10 and £70 for the 15. 

 

Edited March 31, 2023 by beasled

[Jam]

Picked up a Glenmor 18 today. Had a few friends over this week and realized I was lacking on the fruity sherry offerings. Also grabbed a Dalmore 12 sherry cask. 

[evasive]

I got this as a gift today. I don’t know anything about it. 

[evasive]

On 4/3/2023 at 7:15 PM, evasive said:

I got this as a gift today. I don’t know anything about it. 

I’m impressed. I think I read a little about this distillery in a Whiskey Advocate a year or two ago, but never expected to try it. The tasting notes they provide on their website are pretty accurate. Lots of fruit and a solid mouthfeel. 

[jvd99]

On 3/31/2023 at 11:29 AM, beasled said:

Nice surprise this week. £45 for the 10 and £70 for the 15. 

 

Those prices are pretty good - in the USA these bottles are so outrageously priced, they're just a no go for me. I've got plenty of Springers in the bunker thankfully

[Kepler]

Recent pickups.  I've had the 15 before and I'm already enjoying this bottle.  I haven't tried the other two yet but looking forward to em.

 

[LCWoody]

Picked this up last week. From what I understand, this distillery is not known for non peated whiskey so should be interesting.