Which Water of Life Did You Purchase Today?

[Gov]

I just bought a bottle of HP18 in the airport in Montego Bay Jamaica for $60 duty free!!

[unclebunk]

I just bought a bottle of HP18 in the airport in Montego Bay Jamaica for $60 duty free!!

Are you trying to make me cry?? That's a steal!!

[Gov]

Are you trying to make me cry?? That's a steal!!

Yeah, it was. I should have bought two! :grin:

[JamesW]

Picked up 2 x Balvenie Double Wood for 32.99 at duty free coming back from Canada. The bottles were mis-priced as some had 39.95 like the sticker on the shelf saidbut a few others were priced at the 10yr old pricing. First I grabbed one and then the wife said in the car to get another when I told her how good a price it was. The bottle sells for >$50 in my parts usually.

Also saw an Ardberg 10 for 42.99 in NH. Usually priced at $60 now here in MA. I have one open and one in the bunker so I passed as I make it to NH often.

[unclebunk]

Picked up 2 x Balvenie Double Wood for 32.99 at duty free coming back from Canada. The bottles were mis-priced as some had 39.95 like the sticker on the shelf saidbut a few others were priced at the 10yr old pricing.

Wow. That's a good deal! I stumbled across a few bottles of the now discontinued Balvenie 10 Founders Reserve for $34 each and bought all three, as I really enjoy that one and was disappointed that Balvenie killed it off. The DoubleWood, another one of my favorite Speysides, was available for a few bucks more, but that's widely available and often on sale around here, so I went with the Founders Reserve instead.

[unclebunk]

First I grabbed one and then the wife said in the car to get another when I told her how good a price it was.

Man, I must have married the wrong woman! You must be like David Copperfield to have that kind of magic. When I point out what a good deal a certain whiskey is to my wife with the hope of purchasing more than one bottle, I usually do so while covering my groin for protection. :grin: Then the tired old rant of "I just don't see why you need to have fifty bottles of whiskey in the house" begins (as if all fifty plus bottles are identical) and my eyes glaze over, and we're back to that seemingly endless discussion that each one is part of a "collection," etc. I don't get it in the ear often but it sure does put a damper on my enthusiasm for this hobby from time to time.

[JamesW]

Man, I must have married the wrong woman! You must be like David Copperfield to have that kind of magic. When I point out what a good deal a certain whiskey is to my wife with the hope of purchasing more than one bottle, I usually do so while covering my groin for protection. :grin: Then the tired old rant of "I just don't see why you need to have fifty bottles of whiskey in the house" begins (as if all fifty plus bottles are identical) and my eyes glaze over, and we're back to that seemingly endless discussion that each one is part of a "collection," etc. I don't get it in the ear often but it sure does put a damper on my enthusiasm for this hobby from time to time.

Yeah, my wife usually isn't easy going about anything else in my life but for some reason she hasn't got a problem with my purchases of late. I'm not sure she knows how many bottles I have in the semi-hidden bunker though....:grin:

To top it off, she's the one that went back into the duty free shop to get the other bottle!

[AVB]

Just picked up a Kilkerran distilled at the new Glengyle distillery. Don't know if I'll continue with getting the set though.

[unclebunk]

Finally snagged my first bottle of Highland Park 18 today! I managed to find an older bottle for $75, which still ain't cheap but it beats the hell out of the $90-$100 price tag that I've been seeing everywhere else. They also had Lagavulin 16 (my favorite of all) for $55 and Clynelish 14 for $35, so I grabbed them too so the HP could have so company on the way home. I hate to drop that kind of dough all at once but Illinois will be seeing a MAJOR tax hike on booze as of Sept. 1st ($2 per 750ml bottle plus whatever the retailer decides to increase the cost--perhaps another $2 or $3 per bottle), so I pulled the trigger to save a little money in the long run.

Can't wait to do some sampling tonight!

[JamesW]

Finally snagged my first bottle of Highland Park 18 today! I managed to find an older bottle for $75, which still ain't cheap but it beats the hell out of the $90-$100 price tag that I've been seeing everywhere else. They also had Lagavulin 16 (my favorite of all) for $55 and Clynelish 14 for $35, so I grabbed them too so the HP could have so company on the way home. I hate to drop that kind of dough all at once but Illinois will be seeing a MAJOR tax hike on booze as of Sept. 1st ($2 per 750ml bottle plus whatever the retailer decides to increase the cost--perhaps another $2 or $3 per bottle), so I pulled the trigger to save a little money in the long run.

Can't wait to do some sampling tonight!

I really love the 18 but I have to say that sometimes the 12 just has more ooomph for me. The 18 is almost too smooth and laid back.

[TomH]

The new owner of a local liquor store decided that he needed to get rid of some of the inventory that had been sitting around forever so he put all of his Glenhaven bottlings on sale for 50% off. Since these had all been bottled in the 1994-1996 timeframe and had not been re-priced since they were put on the shelves there were some real bargains that I could not pass up.

The 2 biggest highlights for me were a 20 YO Highland Park at $55 and a 23 YO Dalmore at $70.

Tom

[unclebunk]

The new owner of a local liquor store decided that he needed to get rid of some of the inventory that had been sitting around forever so he put all of his Glenhaven bottlings on sale for 50% off. Since these had all been bottled in the 1994-1996 timeframe and had not been re-priced since they were put on the shelves there were some real bargains that I could not pass up.

The 2 biggest highlights for me were a 20 YO Highland Park at $55 and a 23 YO Dalmore at $70.

Tom

Awesome score, Tom! Awesome! Those are AMAZING deals. Why doesn't this stuff ever happen to me?

[smokinjoe]

Awesome score, Tom! Awesome! Those are AMAZING deals. Why doesn't this stuff ever happen to me?

It did happen to you, Uncle!! Or, have you forgotten the (possible/probable) SW Pappy 15's at $37, and the slope shouldered OCPR's you stumbled on a couple of months ago??!! Even, better scores, IMO!!

Tom's pickups do sound good, though...

[unclebunk]

It did happen to you, Uncle!! Or, have you forgotten the (possible/probable) SW Pappy 15's at $37, and the slope shouldered OCPR's you stumbled on a couple of months ago??!! Even, better scores, IMO!! Tom's pickups do sound good, though...

[bigtoys]

after sampling it from a gentleman in a formal (tuxedo look) kilt at Chicago Gourmet last weekend. Good old Binny's didn't have it in stock in Highland Park, but had it transferred in a couple of days. Another reason they beat Sam's up here (Sam's closed HP store a couple of weeks ago--will miss the fresh blue cheese stuffed olives for 'tinis, however).

[ACDetroit]

I wish I knew more about SMS some times. I found a Talisker 16 on the shelf the other day and can not seem to find any info on it now! Does anyone know if this is a good dram? It was $100.

Thanks,

Tony

[DeanSheen]

On the same track as Tony here. I'm going to Canada, I love Red Breast and Green Spot. Thinking I may add this to the bunker. Any thoughts?

MAGILLIGAN PURE POT STILL IRISH SINGLE MALT

http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo-ear/lcbo/product/details.do?language=EN&itemNumber=924340

[unclebunk]

I wish I knew more about SMS some times. I found a Talisker 16 on the shelf the other day and can not seem to find any info on it now! Does anyone know if this is a good dram? It was $100.

Tony

Well, I'm no expert by any means, but I've done a lot of research and have built up a reasonably substantial collection of SMS. Like bourbon, different qualities of SMS appeal to different drinkers, but of all the bottles I've sampled, the Lagavulin 16 is among the very best--I'm talking top 3 in my book. It has enough smokiness and peat to satisfy the lover of Islay malts, but is superbly balanced by a malty sweetness that is almost unparalleled in my experience. Only Highland Park 18 has hit me the same way--just amazingly balanced and so viscuous that you could eat it with a spoon. Unfortunately, for those of us on a budget, it's quite expensive. I happened upon a major score and was able to snag a few bottles for $55 (!) but $90-$95 is the norm around here. See if you can try some before buying. I went into a local liquor store and told the guy I was interested in buying some but couldn't afford the asking price for something I might not like, and he invited me into his office for a sample. It never hurts to ask. Hope this was helpful.

Hank

[Solomon2]

Laphroaig 10yr Cask Strength, $54/750ml in MC. 'Cause MC is all out of ETL. I wonder where it went - it was on sale last month!

[chouffe62]

A Glenfarclas 1968 vintage bottled in 2004, and a Duncan Taylor 40 year old 1965 vintage that was distilled at Invergordon. The DT is the most amazing grain whisky I have ever had!

[kateric]

Finally found a bottle of Balvenie Madeira locally... curious to compare it to my Edradour Madeira from a couple of years ago.

[The Boozer]

Glenmorangie gift pack - 4 100ml bottles of Original, Lasanta, Quinta Ruban & Nectar D'or for $29.99. Actually bought 2 packs - looking foward to trying all the bottles over the hoidays.

TJ

[The Boozer]

I've been living on a fairly steady diet of Highland Park 12 at $35 a bottle and would kill to pick up the HP 18 but can't stomach the $100 price tag, for which I can just about buy three bottles of the HP 12.....did get lucky though not long ago when I snagged a Lagavulin 16 for $55 ($90 at Binny's!), Talisker 10 for $51 and an Ardbeg 10 for $43.

Agree 100% on the HP12 v HP18. Tried enough of the 50ml pours to know that while the HP18 is very good, its not worth the $116 OTD price tag around here. Can still get HP12 for $45/bottle which includes the 50ml gift bottle of HP18. Lagavulin 16 is $88 a bottle in MI so not on the "to buy list". Ardbeg 10 yr has dropped $20 in price - $69.95 to $49.95 in the past six months. Don't know why but don't care and needless to say picked up a couple of bottles. Today got a bottle of Macallan cask strength. This will also be a frequent holiday pour.

TJ

[AVB]

Picked up a Glen Flagler 1973 the other day.

[unclebunk]

Agree 100% on the HP12 v HP18. Tried enough of the 50ml pours to know that while the HP18 is very good, its not worth the $116 OTD price tag around here. Can still get HP12 for $45/bottle which includes the 50ml gift bottle of HP18. Lagavulin 16 is $88 a bottle in MI so not on the "to buy list". Ardbeg 10 yr has dropped $20 in price - $69.95 to $49.95 in the past six months. Don't know why but don't care and needless to say picked up a couple of bottles. Today got a bottle of Macallan cask strength. This will also be a frequent holiday pour.

TJ