A Steal of a Deal ?!

@Nozinan The worst bit is there were other bargains before that, that I missed!

The shelves were nearly empty by the time I got there, but I'm just grateful for the bargain of my lifetime

What is wrong with this picture?

Last week @nosebleed went to a Sobeys in Calgary and saw 2017 Lot 40 CS on sale for $55, likely to clear them in preparation for the new stock. They were sold out. He got a raincheck just in case. He was called in this weekend as they had arrived.

But it wasn’t the 2017 release. It was the 2018 release, 11 YO which is supposed to be priced at $99.95.

So, essentially, he picked up 2 x hundred dollar bottles for $55 plus tax. One for him and one for @paddockjudge. And one for me at the “regular” price, still 30% off.

That is probably the best steal of a deal since Macallan CS (8 @ $73) in 2014!

Thanks nosebleed!

A local store near my work has a case of Hazelburn 12yr that they are selling for $12.99/bottle on "Black Friday." I don;t think they know what they are doing because they don't have a great whisk(e)y selection (never had Springbank before) and on the flier, they list the regular retail price as $39.99. LOL!

@KRB80 sheesh...buy it all

@KRB80 No brainer. Grab 'em while you can and then go and buy a lottery ticket.

@KRB80 lovely! Clear the shelf and you got Xmas for friends sorted for a year or two!w

@KRB80 wow, that's truly a steal, worth clearing the whole case for sure, that's cheaper than most bottom shelf blends

Yeah, I'm gonna try to get as many as I can without feeling like a douchebag.

@KRB80 I understand how you feel but to be honest, if it's not you it will be someone else who will most likely try to flip them on the secondary market. I see so many folks on Instagram clearing shelves of expressions and then asking people to PM them for trades or buys. Better it go to the home of someone who will drink them or help others discover it.

@KRB80 @cricklewood I totally agree with @cricklewood. At least, that way, we are sure it will not finish in a stew...

CLEAR THE SHELF

So, I went there immediately after my Dr. appt and they had four left behind the counter. They asked me how many I wanted and I couldn't, in good conscience, ask for all four of them so I bought two. Let others reap the rewards of once-in-a-lifetime deal. I'm just elated to get a piece of the pie.

@KRB80 well, respect for the considerate generosity. I hope they find a home with someone that appreciates them.

I just got a message on my tracker that in 1hr amazon is issuing a "super special" deal on Highland park 18. I suspect it won't be $12.95... Curious to see what they make from the standard £105

@KRB80 well done man, in the end it's important to follow your conscience too.

Ok so it's not often that us whiny Canadians get to partake in the deals announced here so I figured I'd share.

Zyn Wine Market in Calgary is having a black Friday sale over the weekend, they have a pretty open shipping policy so make of that what you will, it helps to group up with friends to split fee (hint order in groups of 6 or 12 bottles. No biting my head of to those who wanted to keep all of this a secret

They don't specifically indicate the discounts applied and there's still plenty of stuff that is at everyday rates. There are some sweet deals for example:

Deanston 18 102$, Denston 12 53$ Arran 18 94$, CB Flaming Heart 2018 102$ Ardbeg Oogie 88$, Bruichladdich Rockside Farm 59$, Port Charlotte 10 (the new version) 79$, Glenfiddich Fire & Cane 63$, Glengoyne 18 96$, Little Book Volume 2 88$, Lagavulin 12 2017 113$

Craft cellars also has a sale 15% off all regular priced items but I've never ordered from them and some of their stuff is priced higher than Zyn.

@cricklewood Craft Cellars also hits you with what ever your provincial sales tax is instead of 5%, I would be paying 13%. I doubt that money is going to Ford. ZYN is still the best deal out west but the shipment needs to be multiple bottles to lower the shipping cost.

@Astroke yes sadly one must group the purchases for it to be worthwhile. That's when the network comes in handy.

A tip I can give is to make your purchases in increments. I've had great deals disappear while I browsed the site for what else to buy. Having it in your cart doesn't guarantee anything. They charge shipping separately so you can buy each bottle as you go along and then wait to get your quote afterwards. Even a couple of days apart.

@cricklewood Yes, I rarely order 1 bottle and usually hop a ride with a couple of people who purchase a lot of Scotch out west.

I guess this question is about the exact opposite to a 'steal' unless you're in the US...

Does anyone know or have an explanation how it can be that the Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength (I believe current batch is 010) is £180/US$230 in the UK, but appear to be available in the US for US$65???????

@RikS That's very odd. I bought one at the distillery in September and it was 60 pounds.

@BlueNote Indeed. I suppose it could be that its out of stock so the few stores that have it here have bumped up the price. Still odd that serious retailers like twe and mom would increase the price 3x for that reason? Makes me real curious. Maybe i should call the destillery ...

@RikS - I've wondered about this too. I think it only officially retails (UK) at the distillery now so any remaining bottles have had the prices jacked up. Shame as it's one I'd really like to try and would not mind paying £60 for it - I'm not paying upwards of £100 though!

I've resigned to only getting one when I take a trip up to Campbeltown and the isles. Though knowing my luck they'll have sold out

Amazon UK: Johnnie Walker Green, £26

@RianC yea, I've put it on my "someone going / coming over from the states, or I finally win the lotto and can take my brother for a week's travel around the Scottish distilleries " list

It appears that Virginia has been slowly increasing its Bourbon and American spirits offerings over the past 6 moths, or so, while simultaneously downsizing its Scotch single malt selection. This is going to be a big problem going forward in Virginia. With over 70 different distilleries in Virginia now (I know - crazy!) there is no way for the ABC stores (state controlled) to have room on their shelves for all the local products without dramatically cutting offerings in other areas. But that is a discussion for a different thread.

The good news (at the moment) is that it appears that each month Virginia ABC stores are discontinuing different Scotch whisky lines. That often means half-price-close-out sales. They did that with Glenlivet Nadura, Bruichladdich Islay Barley, Highland Park Dark Origin, and Kavalan Classic.

I saw that they were eliminating the 1.75 Liter and 375mL bottles of Macallan 12yo 43% (Sherry oak) at half price. I scrounged all over my local store. I really wanted to pick up about a dozen of the 375mL bottles at $18.50 each (down from $36.99). Sadly, no store panned out. The best I could do is that I was able to track down the last two 1.75 Liter bottles for $72.59 each plus tax. After doing the math that means I picked up 4.667 bottles of Mac 12 for $32.67 dollars apiece. Not bad. I’d call it a steal of deal.

I am planning to do some open bottle longevity experiments with the first bottle (gas, no gas, decanting, etc.).

Another steal of a deal if you can find it in Virginia:
Virginia also decided to eliminate Middleton Very Rare Irish Whiskey from its stores. All bottles were discounted to half price so about $68 or so. Sadly, there weren’t any in any of my local stores. Maybe up north? Or out in the western part of the commonwealth?

Now I am waiting on them to decide to cut their Laphroaig 25yo and Bowmore 25yo prices! One can dream.

My wallet is drooling.

@Nock, VIRGINIA IS FOR (scotch single malt) LOVERS

@paddockjudge But Maryland is even better . . . (I get it )

LCBO alert

Queen and Coxwell- picked up from the Maple Leaf Lounge forum. Many still available if your in the area.

• Pike Creek 21 year old Reg $99.95 Now $70.05 • Gooderham & Worts 11 Souls Reg $99.95 Now $70.05 • Pendleton 1910 12 yr old Reg $49.95 Now $35.05 • Forty Creek Unity Reg $79.95 Now $56.05 • Oban Little Bay Reg $100.00 Now $70.05 • Aberlour 16 Reg $88.45 Now $61.95 • Ancnoc 12 yr old Reg $79.10 Now $55.45 • Ardbeg 10 yr old Reg $100.10 Now $70.15 • Singleton of Glendullan GOT House of Tully Reg $69.95 Now $49.05 • Talisker 10 yr old Reg $104.95 Now $73.55 • Talisker Storm Reg $88.50 Now $62.00 • Glen Garioch 16 yr Renaissance Reg $142.35 Now $99.70 • The Macallan Classic Cut Reg $149.95 Now $105.05 • Aberfeldy 12 yr Reg $60.95 Now $42.75 • Cu Bocan Reg $98.65 Now $69.10 • The Deveron 18 yr Highland Reg $137.65 Now $96.40 • Burnside Bourbon 4yr Reg $74.70 Now $52.35 • Arta Silver Tequila Reg $101.45 Now $75.10 • Aguamiel Tequila Reg $59.95 Now $42.05

@Astroke Wow some of those are really good deals, especially the Glen Garioch and the Ardbeg 10 good catch man. I suppose these manager discounts are a sort of consolation for the general fuckery that is the LCBO. We don't have these type of spontaneous discounts at SAQ, we do get the points but it's not always a great system.

@Astroke your pricing there is so odd... Here Talisker 10 is about £35 and macallan classic cut can be found for around £200... There, almost the same price?!?