A Steal of a Deal ?!

@Pudge72 Nabbed a hp18 just last month for $84!

@Pudge72 I liked eBay for the fact that every Whisky doesn't hit every market so I could still manage some bottles that way. It did have its ups and downs though..

@lmann86...you have a good point when a reputable seller could answer the call.

Just walked in to my local and found a 2012 George T Stagg for 89.99 , I know its is the going rate + but I am excited to find one! The owner said he only got one in this morning , I quess it is my lucky day.

@Cardinal George T Stagg is clearly the overall favorite of the BTAC lineup...but what about the Weller? There is one on a local shelf but I never hear anything about that one...is it worth picking up based on it's rarity alone?

If you find a Weller get it! I have the 2011 Weller and think it is fantastic , I don't think you will be disappointed .

@lmann86...to my understanding, the William Larue Weller of the BTAC is to wheated bourbons (i.e. Parker's Heritage 4th edition, Old Weller Antique 107, etc.) what Stagg is to rye based bourbons...the best of the best!

I have been very lucky (especially living here in Ontario) to have acquired a bottle of the 2011 Stagg (via 'Victor'...as always, many thank you's, good sir!). If I could only get one other bottle from the BTAC line at some point, it would be the Weller.

@Cardinal @Pudge72 Thank you gentlemen...I'll go in tomorrow and see if the Weller is still there...maybe the Stagg they had left will distract others from the Weller!

@Pudge72 The only wheated bourbons I have had are the van winkle 12 and 10 yr old, the Weller in comparison is another level. But my as far as the BTAC the 2010 Handy has been my favorite and my biggest whisky suprise . We will see if the Stagg changes that

@Cardinal The Handy seems to always be available! There are probably eight bottles on the shelves locally...I wonder why? Seems most people who've had it like it and Jim Murray named it whiskey of the year...strange.

@lmann86, the mass US whiskey market still really doesn't know, understand, or appreciate rye whiskey. From reading Connosr, you'd think that everyone, in the US anyway, knows and drinks rye whiskey. I'll bet that 95+% of Americans have never tasted one drop of rye whiskey. Rye has only become more well known again in the last 4 years, and that primarily from a resurgence of interest from bartenders for extending the range of cocktail-making options, and a few voices in the wilderness, like Jim Murray. That is why Handy stays on the shelves. Also, among the premium whiskey there is definite age bias, so Sazerac 18 disappears more quickly from the shelves than does the Handy. And there was also that Jim Murray World Whisky of the Year for Sazerac 18 several years ago to publicize it.

For my taste buds, I love all of the Sazerac Antique Whiskeys, but I prefer them in this order: Thomas Handy Rye, William Larue Weller, George T. Stagg, Sazerac 18, and Eagle Rare 17. That ordering really doesn't say anything bad about Eagle Rare 17, though.

Sorry to turn this into a bit of a BTAC thread, but here is one example of a major retailer (The Party Source in Kentucky) trying to limit the madness (the bottles aren't even listed on the TPS website for pricing purposes):

whiskyintelligence.com/2012/10/…

...still only $70/bottle! Seems like they're trying to avoid an Apple iWhatever release event situation (i.e. pre-dawn line-ups at the store, etc.)

@Pudge72 Went back this morning at the Weller was still on the shelf! To my surprise so was another case of the Stagg!!

To drag this somewhat back on topic, I grabbed a bottle of Washington Dry Fly Wheat Whiskey on Tuesday for $37.99 USD. That's $10 off the price anywhere else in my area.

@Mantisking, that's one I strongly want to sample, but I don't want to ante up $ 45 for a bottle for the privilege. I'll probably have to wait for my wild sister to eventually buy a bottle.

@Victor -- I've been wanting to try it myself, and at that price point I thought it was worth it. I'll have to post some notes once I finally crack the bottle.

Just found a Pappy Van Winkle 15 and a 10yr 107 proof! $70 & $35! Hell of a steal I'd say!!

Just picked up the Pappy Van Winkle 20 for $115! I've seen two 23yo's...both $250...is it usually that high? Seems a huge increase for 3 years.

@lmann86, these days $ 115 for PVW20 is a good price. PVW23 has averaged $ 200+ for a few years. $ 250 is probably average now. I wouldn't pay that for it.

@Victor I totally agree...not many single malts i'd spend $250 on either... have to be something QUITE special and not overpriced for what I'm getting.

I purchased a bottle of Ardmore Traditional Cask for $23 USD today. It usually runs about $35 to $45 in my area.

I just got a cask strength Coal Ila 25 year old distilled in 1979 for 115 USD. How much are these things worth? Anyone know?

@TpR I guess it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it, if you were willing to pay USD 115 then I guess it's worth at least that much ;-)

I see a 25 year old cask strength Caol Ila (non OB) on TWE for GBP 62 (USD 99 at current exchange rate) so it sounds like you got a good deal.

@systemdown yeah...this guy is an OB....there is one on ebay eu with a buy it now of £285.55 ....but there seem to be a couple retailers online in europe selling it for around 200 euros or roughly 250usd...i'd say a score of a deal considering I really enjoy caol ila at 12 years and haven't experienced the peat taming effects of age on an islay yet. It seemed strange when i bought it because the lowest i could find its original release price for was around $160. Information is scattered. But i think i found a heck of a collectors item. Hard to say what a decade of sitting on it would do.....also hard to say that whatever value it could gain would ever out weigh my enjoyment of the dram at such a steal of a price. To sip or to hoard....that is the question.

@TpR "...also hard to say that whatever value it could gain would ever out weigh my enjoyment of the dram at such a steal of a price. To sip or to hoard..."

Only one way to find out. Crack it open. Would be a shame to sit on it and never try it. You got it at a drinking price so I think that's only fair!

mentioned in another thread...a pour in the glass to 'WhiskyJoe' for kindly picking up a Laphroaig QC in Alberta for yours truly for $40!! A great price no matter how you look at it, for what was already a great bottle.

I only buy duty. Being based in Bangkok I travel quite frequently and so get to buy about 3 bottles a month. My favourite airport in the region to stock up is Changi in Singapore. Not only to they have the biggest selection (and even free tastings sometimes), but they also have the best prices in the region. And yes, much cheaper than regular supermarkets and bottle stores. e.g. 3o Euros for 1 litre of Laphroaig 10yo.

Saw a bottle of Jameson Limited Reserve 18 year (the green box) for $77 in the Woodman;s Market store in North Aurora, IL. Connosrs might want to check one of the Woodman's in Wisconsin or Northern Illinois.

Special ordered a bottle of Glenmorangie Astar here in Virginia. Price was supposed to be 70 bucks. It was a pain in the ass to get because the guys at the warehouse had one bottle and wouldn't ship it out for some reason. Then I talked to the manager closer to the state line who said he could persuade them by saying I was a Tennessee customer (Virginia wants all the Tennessee business it can get) When the clerk rang it up it showed up as being 43 DOLLARS! Thought maybe it rang up wrong but it even said Astar on the receipt. Me thinks this is a super steal. Me also thinks something was wrong with their system. Looking forward to trying it tonight.