Which Water of Life Did You Purchase Today?

[LostBottle]

It was a Talisker week.

Thanks to a friend, I got my hands on a half dozen Bottles of Talisker 18 at $69 (though 2 are for someone else). I also purchased two bottles of Tali Distillers Edition. The current state of the 25 saddens me, it is such a shame Diageo watered this down.

[Yeti]

That's a great haul of Talisker. I had a glass of 10 last weekend, so balanced. Stocking up on 18 at the old price is really smart. Hell, that's only $10 more than the 10 year is here.

[Yeti]

Look what the cat dragged in. Very happy to see the mailman today.

[MyOldKyDram]

Cool. Be sure to share your thoughts on that Bere Barley w us!

[Yeti]

I love the Bere Barley 2006. It's the best young (<10 years) Scotch I've ever had. Very grassy and malty. At that age you're tasting a ton of the distillate itself without much cask influence and Bruichladdich put something really great together here.

The one spot I got my first bottle from sold out before I could bunker up. I read on the K&L blog about how there wasn't any more coming through the distribution pipeline so I went online to get a few backups. I think it was a 7,000 bottle release. The story of the barley itself is a neat little bit as well. From their website:

BERE - GRAMINEAE, HORDEUM VULGARE - IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S OLDEST CULTIVATED CEREALS.

IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THIS IS THE BARLEY THAT PRODUCED THE ORIGINAL “USQUE-BAUGH”, THE WATER OF LIFE. IT IS ALSO POSSIBLE THAT THIS GRAIN, AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO DISTIL IT, WAS CARRIED TO THE HEBRIDES BY NORSE INVADERS IN THE 9TH CENTURY FROM ITS ANCIENT ORIGINS IN THE "FERTILE CRESCENT" OF MESOPOTAMIA.

1,200 YEARS OF DISTILLING HISTORY IN A BOTTLE?

http://www.bruichladdich.com/the-whisky/classic-whisky/uber-provenance/bere-barley-2006-whisky

[squire]

Yeti my mailman needs to learn from yours.

[thiemb]

Found some Balvenie DW on sale for $40. Couldn't pass up a great deal like that.

[tanstaafl2]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]14990[/ATTACH]

Look what the cat dragged in. Very happy to see the mailman today.

Definitely envious. Can't get my local distributor to bring it in. They have access to it but so far won't carry it. Very annoying.

Don't suppose you could PM me your on line source, presuming they still have it and they ship to Georgia.

[Brisko]

Some Black Grouse, on sale. Have heard good things about it.

[onewman]

Picked up a bottle of Glengoyne 10 Year Old and Balvenie Founder's Reserve 10 Year Old tonight. $36 and $46 respectively.

[tanstaafl2]

Slowly trying to expand my whisky experience. After spending some time in the Highlands recently , with a much enjoyed detour to the Old Country that past couple of weeks, I decided to drift over to Islay. Picked up a Bowmore 15 "Darkest" (I rather like the sherry influence in other drams) and a Laphroaig 18 for what seemed like a decent price.

Once I work my way through Islay (already have a couple of Kilchoman bottling's) I may expand to the rest of the island offerings, in addition to the Talisker I already have, as my next destination.

Oh, and recommendations for choices from the different Islay distilleries are happily considered. Especially if available in Atlanta. I have only seen Coal Ila 12 for example and even though it is from the evil empire (along with Lagavulin I think) I will happily try them all!

Leaning towards Ardbeg Corryvreckan and Lagavulin 16 next.

Edited March 23, 2013 by tanstaafl2

[HighInTheMtns]

Slowly trying to expand my whisky experience. After spending some time in the Highlands recently , with a much enjoyed detour to the Old Country that past couple of weeks, I decided to drift over to Islay. Picked up a Bowmore 15 "Darkest" (I rather like the sherry influence in other drams) and a Laphroaig 18 for what seemed like a decent price.

Once I work my way through Islay (already have a couple of Kilchoman bottling's) I may expand to the rest of the island offerings, in addition to the Talisker I already have, as my next destination.

Oh, and recommendations for choices from the different Islay distilleries are happily considered. Especially if available in Atlanta. I have only seen Coal Ila 12 for example and even though it is from the evil empire (along with Lagavulin I think) I will happily try them all!

Leaning towards Ardbeg Corryvreckan and Lagavulin 16 next.

[Yeti]

Lagavulin, Laphroaig, and Ardbeg rarely misstep. So nearly anything from them is an easy recommendation. Specifically, my favorites are the standard 16 year, the 10 year cask strength, and the Corryvreckan respectively.

Bruichladdich is not heavily peated, but you should try the Laddie Ten on your Islay journey.

Don't sleep on Cambletown either. You should try something from Springbank and Glen Scotia if you have the chance.

[tanstaafl2]

Don't sleep on Cambletown either. You should try something from Springbank and Glen Scotia if you have the chance.

Yes, I am kind of inclined to include Campbeltown with the "Other Islands" category even though it is connected to the main island. After all it is pretty much a tiny peninsula not much bigger than an island itself and surrounded by Islay, Jura and Arran with the distilleries on the coast.

[black mamba]

Compass Box The Peat Monster is another terrific Islay blend, though a vatting with some Highland in it as well.

More money, but my favorite Scotch of all is the Laphroaig 18 yr. Just slightly better than Lagavulin 16.

[tanstaafl2]

Compass Box The Peat Monster is another terrific Islay blend, though a vatting with some Highland in it as well.

More money, but my favorite Scotch of all is the Laphroaig 18 yr. Just slightly better than Lagavulin 16.

Yes, I decided to go with the Laphroaig 18 over the other Laphroaig options at the recommendation of my local whisky monger. But I left the Bowmore 18 on the shelf and went with the less expensive Bowmore 15yo given the sherry influence and the recommendation of a friend who drinks more scotch than I.

[Wall Eye]

Picked up a Caol Ila 12 and a Benromach 10 to replace a couple of recently emptied bottles. Both are on my list of regulars to keep on hand.

My Lag 16 is down to it's last pour as well but I have a replacement ready to be called up from the bunker..

[LostBottle]

Picked up a couple Tun #3 bottles while I still had the chance.

I have been on the fence about a Port Ellen 12th. Should I?

[Trey Manthey]

I have been on the fence about a Port Ellen 12th. Should I?

[ChainWhip]

Picked up a couple Tun #3 bottles while I still had the chance.

I have been on the fence about a Port Ellen 12th. Should I?

[LostBottle]

Definitely! You may never have another chance.

You are correct, and that is what is killing me. The trouble is that Diageo doubled the price between the 11th and 12th releases, $600 is a hard pill to swallow.

PE... I'll just say Lagavulin 21 '07

Yeah...not buying Lag 21 when I had the chance is probably the biggest mistake of my hunting career. When it first came out, I had a shot at two bottles at $350. I passed on both. The initial reviews coming out were mixed, some people thought it was ruined by sulphur. As more reviews started hitting, it became apparent that this was one of the best single malts ever. Also, at the time I wondered who the hell would spend $350 on a bottle of Scotch. Now, I would kill to pay that price.

Edited March 27, 2013 by LostBottle

[ChainWhip]

You're right though, it is difficult to think that the PE12 is that many multiples better than the TUN #3.

[Yeti]

Batch #3 in the wild? That's awesome. I've only seen (and purchased) #6. As far as PE12 goes, the lowest price I've seen is $900 fwiw. I picked up a PE9 for $500 because, like Trey said, I might never have another chance.

[Trey Manthey]

Ardbeg 10 and Talisker 18 (x3) on clearance! The silver lining to the price increase?

[LostBottle]

Yeti and ChainWhip, your posts in this thread encourage me to do very, very bad things to my wallet.