Coming soon to a LCBO near you (perhaps)

@PeterG7, I will be astonished if the Laphroaig 25 year is under $800 and even more amazed if the 30 year is less than double that price.

@paddockjudge BC Liquor has the 25 for $530 plus all their multiple taxes. BC is usually higher than the LCBO if that's possible.

@Astroke I'm not familiar with the BC prices, however, in Ontario the tax is already calculated into the price. Is that the same for BC?

@paddockjudge I agree with you. That's why I qualified the cost with "north of". I also suspect the LCBO has some type of matrix that identifies where high end alcohol sells. It doesn't make any sense for those malts to go to "end of the road Ontario" where they will sit in a locked cabinet and gather dust.

@PeterG7, LCBO is The Matrix. This is TIFF week. Keanu Reeves is a Canadian actor, so watch for him at an LCBO near you flogging $1600 Laphroaig 30 YO.

@PeterG7

It doesn't make any sense for those malts to go to "end of the road Ontario" where they will sit in a locked cabinet and gather dust.

Your first mistake was assuming the LCBO does things that make sense.

@PeterG7 No, the price on the shelf is before taxes plus they have a liquor tax on top of that,

@Astroke What is the price of Lagavulin 16 before all the tax is applied?

@PeterG7 I don't know. Actually I am from Ontario but have some friends in BC who tell me of these wonderful extra taxes. Special alcohol taxes exist in many states as well

@AstrokeI went to the BC web site and the lag 16 is a penny shy of 140$. It is about 6$ more than Ontario. However, I'm not sure if that price is tax included. Perhaps, someone from BC can let me know

I'm a big balvenie fan and apparently, Balvenie 14 year "The Week of the Peat" and 26 year A day of dark barley will be coming soon. I suspect they will be only be available in LCBO's that have a vintage section. On another note. I am a creature of habit. I like order and things in their place. I went into my local LCBO today and headed to the scotch section. It was gone. In its place were row upon row of wine as far as the eye could see. I actually thought about going back outside to see if the LCBO had morphed into the Wine Cellar. I had to ask where the scotch was. From a wall of honour to a back alley that was hard to find is not acceptable for such a noble whisky.

@PeterG7 Be prepared for the ludicrous high price of any Balvenie product at the LCBO..

@Astroke I'm totally prepared for the cost of the balvenie. I'm not sayinging I'm a buyer, I'm just prepared

@Astroke Equally atrocious prices in BC on Balvenie, and just about everything else.

@PeterG7 in BC the tax, 15%, is added to the shelf price at the till. Mega rip. That makes something underwhelming like Balvenie 12 Doublewood $115. That’s why we do most of our shopping in Alberta where both the prices and selection are much better.

@BlueNote I have heard that. I usually only order Single Malt Scotch from Alberta any more, the hell with the LCBO

@BlueNote are there two levels of taxation? A 15% at the till for bottom to mid shelf products and a 19% for top shelf?

@fiddich1980 15% across the board. That’s on top of their already massive markup.

@BlueNote Thanks for the clearification. At a BC Liquor last year, I seem to remember the clerk commenting "that the premium products had a higher tax mark up".

@BlueNote Thanks for the clarification on the BC tax. Here is something to think about. Last summer I was in New Hampshire and I dropped into a state run liquor store. First of all there is no state tax and secondly the prices compared to Canada are very inexpensive. Our purchase price was 150$ for 3 malts and a bottle of rum. When I paid, the cashier gave me a 25$ gift card. I was told spend 150$ and you get a 25$ gift card. I wasn't planning to come back so I turned to the person behind me and asked if they wanted it. The look on their face was priceless.

@PeterG7 prices in Alberta can rival anywhere in the US (Single Malt Scotch), and stores like ZYN have some of the best prices in North America. Their prices for brands like Amrut and Kavalan are some of the best in the world. An American shopping in Alberta for Scotch or any SM Whisky would be like a kid in a candy store with his US dollar :)

@Astroke That's the beauty of the Alberta open market.

@PeterG7 The downside is it's in Alberta, and many of us are in Ontario...

Got an email from Laphroaig yesterday re: the limited edition 30 year old. 120 bottles coming to Canada, retail $2400. That will be +15% tax if you buy it in BC. That's just about the equivalent of 4 Glenfarclas 30s in Alberta.

@BlueNote That's a pretty steep price. I, for one, won't be buying.

@PeterG7 Nor I.