A'Bunadh countdown - Ontario Edition

And the latest just in.... 23 bottles in just 6 stores throughout all of Ontario. Probably all batch 46 but still.... What's with them? Why are they letting this run down?

Does this mean they'll bring in batch 47? Stay tuned...

And now there are 22, but in 7 stores. An interesting quirk.

The LCBO, in response to my query, indicates that it is expecting the next shipment the second week in April. Right before my birthday! They didn't indicate what batch they expect but I would suspect it will be the 47.

So the countdown to armageddon commences once more...

19 today, still in 7 locations.

@Nozinan The nearest to me is 140+ km away so I think I'll pass, wait for the #47 release. Besides I've got more than half of a bottle of batch 45.

@AdamH How are you liking the 45? I'm saving my bottle for when I hit that age in 2 and a half months.

Today there are 22 but in 9 stores, the closest to Toronto being Whitby. It's curious that they seem to be redistributing themselves in such a way.

Also interesting is the price change. Ever since I've bought this nectar it's been $94.95 at the LCBO (granted, I haven't bought one here in over half a year)' and now it's list as $95.05. What's up with that? Was the 10 cent hike really necessary? Even if they get 500 bottles with the next shipment it and sell them all it adds $50 to their bottom line...

What a difference 24 hours can make!

5 stores now carry 14 bottles. At this rate the drought will be more than 2 months before the next batch comes in.

Its Strange,

I was told by an LCBO employee that the scotch prices have risen to some "scary heights" due mostly to excessive purchasing by many other countries. As a result the LCBO, the largest single purchaser of alcoholic beverages, is being very selective regarding its scotch purchases in an attempt to protect its customers fro price gauging.... sure

@whiskydallas

And if you buy that there's a bridge for sale...cheap....

@whiskydallas Of course, the government always tells the truth, and they are here to help you.

@whiskydallas, oh yeah, nobody will protect you from 'price gouging' better than the LCBO. Orwell must live in Ontario.

WOW! That was quick!

ALL GONE. Not a bottle to be found for sale in Ontario.

A'Bunadh party, anyone?

The a'Bunadh, it is a'goneadh.

@Nozinan glitch in their inventory caused A'Bunadh and many other products to default to 0 quantity.

And now, only a couple of hours later, the LCBO website now shows 16 bottles in 6 stores. Not only did those 14 disappearing bottles reappear, they had 2 babies!

I should check my own A'Bunadh collection to see if a few more have spontaneously appeared...

@AdamH

oops didn't see your post because I hadn't refreshed my screen. Now my last comment makes less sense... I figured it was a glitch. But now there are more. We need more glitches like that.

The a'Bunadh, it's a'comeadh back.

@AdamH: The various batches of a'Bunadh are individual and as such vary, sometimes more than a little.

e.g. 2oz. of #45, 3 of my small Coffee spoons works well - #19 worked well neat or with 5 or 6 drops of distilled water - #42 works well and shows best with 4 small spoons of water, IMO.

Start with a couple of spoons and take it from there - Importantly, do not swirl this Cask Strength Whisky in the glass; simply tilt your Glencairn (or other) 45deg. and rotate once. straighten the glass, watch the legs form (they carry the flavor), then holding the glass flat introduce your nose gently and repeat twice more! Do not swirl, as all you will achieve is an alcoholic belt in the snout!

For a more lucid account of nosing Whisky go to Highland Park's "How to do a Whisky Tasting" with Gerry Tosh.

highlandpark.co.uk/shop/…

There are several videos all basically the same and are well worth 'a look'!

Cheers and Good Luck.

12 bottles in 4 stores. 2 stores in the north (10 bottles), and 2 in the south.

Looks like Thunder Bay is best prepared for the A'Bunadh apocalypse....

14 in 4 stores. Ottawa has gained 2. Must be a direct result of the 2014 "economic action plan". Finally a reason to vote conservative!

Down to 10 bottles, 8 in Thunder Bay and 2 in Sault St Marie (Canadian side). Southern Ontario is SHUT out!

3 left! 2 in Thunder Bay and one in Sault St. Marie.

Soon we'll all be left waiting for the 47s to come in. Has anyone tried it?

And now there are none.... :(

There's one bottle about 10 minutes walk from me, but it's batch 46 which got less than stellar reviews when compared to the 45th, so I didn't pick it up. I'm in Quebec. There are 6 bottles downtown as well... might take a peek down there to see if they have batch 45. I'd like my first experience with the A'bunadh to be top of the line.

@HughesDePayens

If you're in Toronto in April I'm cracking the 45 for my 45th birthday.

Ooh, one has popped up in Whitby. I know someone there. Maybe I should arrange to have it checked out.

Wow, that single bottle is certainly bouncing around....from Whitby to Dundas, leaping right over the GTA...

And now the single bottle is in Windsor. If anyone has any idea what's going on, I'd love to hear about it. I really hope it's more than just people returning there bottles just as someone buys them at the other store...

And now it's gone again... I hope April bring more than showers...

I'm not sure I put much stock in the LCBO inventory system...I've had plenty of occasions where the online inventory has indicated that significant stocks exist at a given store, only to be told upon arrival that they don't actually have any (for some reason they don't scan breakages into the system...).

As another example, while the online inventory no longer has an entry for the Gibson's 100th Grey Cup Limited Edition, and hasn't for some time, last time I was into the King Edward LCBO, there were at least a dozen-or-so bottles of it on the shelf...

Either way, it is a tragedy that there does not appear to be any a'bunadh left in Ontario...I had to source the Batch 46 for our tasting in January from Quebec...