A Steal of a Deal ?!

The only Ardbeg that the local store stocks regularly is the 10 yo, which they sell for $52.99. A couple of weeks ago, they had a lone bottle of Uigeadail on the shelf for the same price. For about 20 bucks less than what it costs elsewhere, of course I bought it. Yesterday, they had another bottle of Uigeadail, still priced the same. Do they know what they have and what they should charge for it?

Bladnoch 10 year old Sherry Cask (single cask) 55%. Was about 40 pounds plus shipping. someone had to bring it from UK but otherwise it was much cheaper than a 43% G&M bottling (of spirit distilled prior to the new owner upping the presentation) at the LCBO in Ontario

@WhiskyBee My goodness, the Uigeadail is over $150 in Ontario! Get all of them! And the Ardbeg 10 is north of $100.....For Shame!

My other steal was Aberlour A'Bunadh. I happened to stop in a shop in Nova Scotia for another reason and decided to glance at the Scotch selection. There was A'Bunadh at about $5 less than in Ontario, and I had plenty ( I go through less than a bottle a year typically), but then I saw a boxed A'Bunadh (the others were in the now usually seen cylinder)

I saw it was a batch 28 (I did not know at the time that this is considered by many to be an especially good batch), and having had nothing blow 32 in my collection I said, what the heck and took it to the cash. I don't remember the exact amount, but it must have been at it's original earlier price because I was charged in the $70s for it! Luckily there was only one or I now would have kicked myself for leaving a "28" on the shelf.

I know it's cheaper in the US and in other places, but for me, that was a steal.

@Nozinan - Believe me, I'm tempted! It's a tough call when your choice is spending your dollars on something new vs. stocking up on an old favorite. Your nudge may have made the decision for me. There are maybe only one or two whiskies I like as well as Uigeadail, after all. (Even my bottle, with an L11 [2011] bottling code is superb. One of these days, I hope to try one of the coveted 2009, or earlier, bottlings.)

As for the 10 yo, everybody in the area stocks it, and for a few dollars cheaper. I love the 10 yo, but I don't need to stock up on it -- I know I can always get it at a good price. Don't mean to rub it in... ;-)

yesterday I bought 3 bottles of the balvenie 10yr old founders reserve at £27 a bottle. it has been discontinued since 2008. cheapest online price I could find was £95. Quite happy with my purchase!

@WhiskyBee You mentioned 2009 and earlier as the date for the batches with I assume the older sherry. A store near me has 2006 bottles that are pricier than other places but may be worth it if those are good batches. Do you have more info or a good site/link that will help me decide if it is worth it?

Just reviewed the Laphroaig Cairdeas 2013 Port Wood, which at £47 I think is unbelievable. I also think the Bladnoch Sherried 11yo at £43 was amazing - very underrated. Agree though that Uideadail and especially Aberlour A'Bunadh represent some of the best bargains out there.

@Nemesis101 was that the 55% Bladnoch 11 year under Raymond Armstrong? Have you tried the 10? How do they compare?

@Nozinan No, it was a 46% release. Might have been from the same batch though, with one being a cask strength version. Only Bladnoch I've ever tried so cannot compare.

This is the one: www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-19359.aspx

I've come across a shop who offer the Balvenie Tun 1401 Batch 5 for €279. Seems like a steal. Should I buy? Just received my Batch 8, but never tried a Tun 1401 before.

Reinhard

@Nemesis101 Give this one a try:

www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-17628.aspx

I'm always surprised how drastically prices can swing from store to store. Sometimes, even between different locations of THE SAME store. (In my area -- southern Wisconsin -- the main chain for big selections of cheap booze is Woodmans. Four locations are reasonably close to me, and each one has quite different prices. Different selection too.)

Here are the low-price outliers near me:

A'bunadh: $52 (versus a norm of $70+)

Caol Ila OB 12: $38 (versus a norm of $50+)

Nadurra 16: $48 (versus a norm of $75)

Connemara CS: $49 (which has no norm around here, but seems super-cheap and stock-up-worthy)

Laphroaig 10 CS: $60 (versus a norm of $70+)

Not precisely a steal, but, 4 years after the release of Glenmorangie Sonnalta PX, the $ 72 I just paid for a bottle of it at a Quebec Duty Free shop seems to me like a most excellent deal.

@msudukie - Sorry for the late reply; I haven't been online since yesterday afternoon.

There are a few sites that have some batch comparisons of Uigeadail, but none that evaluates more than a few at a time. My desire to try a 2009-or-earlier batch is based only on scattered comments I've read here and there, such as: "Seems to have gone slightly downhill in the last few years," and the like. Ralfy reviewed it in 2009 and gave it a 92; he reviewed a later (2012?) batch a few weeks ago and gave it an 89. He also has some thoughts on the quality decline in his review #359. Jim Murray also has the same 92/89 scores in the 2013 Whisky Bible, in his evaluations of 2008 and (I presume) 2012 bottlings.

Others seem to think it's held up pretty well. Serge Valentin awarded a 92 to both 2004 and 2010 batches, for instance, and I've seen raves from respected whisky pundits over the latest bottlings. The ratings for Uigeadail on whiskybase.com also seem pretty consistent for the last 10 years.

My own desire to try an earlier batch is little more than curiosity on my part. I don't know what advice to offer, but my own impulsive nature tells me I'd buy a 2006 batch in a second if it were priced at, say, $100 or less. More than that, I'd want to try before buying.

To get things slightly back on topic, all I know is that $52.99 is a steal of a deal for any Uigeadail!

@WhiskyBee Thanks for all of the great information, it is really helpful. I agree that most information out there is broader in nature so is hard to say when precisely they stopped using the old sherry casks. I got another bottle so now have two 2006 and one 2011. I already went through a 2006 which was great but I have no comparison. It will be interesting to try them side-by-side. I paid $84 (w/tax) for the 2006 but $60 for the 2011. Any interest in me helping you get one? Can you receive shipped alcohol in your state?

@msudukie - If there's still some available in a few weeks, I might take you up on that. I'll send you a private message if so.

@WhiskyBee Sounds good. Let me know.

@Reinhard I dunno if I'd call that a steal. i know a lot of people like it, but I'd barely pay that much for a Batch3. I've heard surprisingly good things about Batch 8 and am awaiting my shipment. I thought the composure of the casks would make it the exception, but I guess good old David nosed out some good ole ones. When you try the 8, consider just backing it up since the stocks are just being released.

A good example is Batch 6, which many felt inferior (though only to the likesmof Batch 3). But many, without the reference and expectation of certain flavor profiles really enjoyed it.

Wish I could comment on 7, but all the people traveling about for me have been hard-pressed to find one.

my local shop wineandcheeseplace.com has Oban 18 for $79.99 and they do ship in case anyone is interested.

I have been offered a bottle of Compass Box Hedonism for £39.50. I said yes. I have never tried it or any blended grain for that matter so it will be interesting. They also have Asyla for £25 but I'm well over budget for this month so I think just the one will do for now.

I've once purchased a case of Jameson from a venue hosting a print industry event and after a chat with a guy next to me in the cue I got a discount from print24.com/uk which kinda worked as a deal for me at a time!

I purchased a bottle of Cragganmore Distiller's Edition last night. Normal retail is $81.99 USD. After 10% discount, $1.15 in bottle returns, and a $10 gift card, I paid $62.64.

The new thread "Help me pick a couple "cheaper" Single Malts" boasts a ton of sweet deals that KRB8o revealed in NE USA. Wow.

connosr.com/wall/discussion/…

A double bottle special at a local retailer:

Glengoyne Cask Strength Batch 001 Glenfarclas 105 1L

Totals 97.50 CAD. Yup, I'll take it.

i seem to have pretty good luck with finding discontinueds. i recently came across a store selling the glenkinchie 10 (which i liked much better than the 12 which replaced it) for what probably is the original price of $45. (last one i bought was $130 on Ebay before they disallowed it. i bought 2 of the 3 bottles and had my wife go pick up the last one a few days later. B)

This Glendronach 12 has a lot to offer at €25,- pretty complex for its age and a nice finish Now I had this one, next in line is the 21 Parliament for only €69,- Compare that to a 21 year old from Islay... just crazy

My friend @talktalksleep and I were doing a tour of some of the local shops here in Taipei this weekend when we stopped by a tiny little hole-in-the-wall place. It was cramped and messy with bottles randomly shelved without any price tags or sense or organization.

While browsing, we found an IB Old Malt Cask 20 yr CS Macallan. Assuming it would be expensive; we asked the lady what the price was. She seemed to think about it for a moment, then gave us a price that equated to $90 CAD. We even got to sample it, and we both loved it. HUGE flavours. We grabbed it and brought it back. Later, we discovered that the suggested price on that one should have been around $300! Clearly she had made a mistake.

Of course I’m delighted with the deal I got. But I do feel a bit bad for a couple reasons. For one; it’s a mom-and-pop shop. And two; the woman who worked there, while aloof, was actually quite sweet. Oh well. I got an amazing deal. Hopefully the staff there will learn a thing or two about organization and professionalism before they let something like that happen again.

@hunggar, you can always thank that shopkeeper by giving them more of your business in the future.

The other point is that while the bottle may have been worth $ 300 now, perhaps the price you were quoted was based on what they had paid for it at an earlier time before it gained much of its current value. In that case they still made money, just not as much as they could have.

@Victor: The woman had made several mistakes throughout our conversation with her. Also, it wasn't from her that we discovered the actual value, it was through the company that imports the Old Malt Cask series. Finally, it was bottled last year, so I doubt the value has appreciated much at all. I'm pretty sure it was just a mistake, plain and simple.

So yes, I feel kind of bad for them, and I'll likely take your advice. Poor professionalism aside, I'm sure I'll find myself shopping there again at some point again.