Coming to the LCBO

@Mancub, I gather that you would like to see some bottles of the Col E H Taylor 4 Grain and other special releases become available outside of Toronto. I would too, if I were you.

@Victor I attended University in Toronto and lived there for many years, but am a couple hours away now and my trips are infrequent, especially the ones taking me into the city core. I would love to try this one, but will most likely not be getting one of the bottles released by the LCBO. I'm happy to share the information though in hopes that someone here may see it and be able to snag one.

@Victor The last EH Taylor we received was lottery based...I would prefer that system, I think. Is the Four Grain a lottery in your State controlled store?

@Mancub, I would expect that the Col E H Taylor Four Grain would be a lottery item in my county's system, but I have not seen notice of the lottery yet here for it or any of the regularly allocated whiskeys, e.g. Van Winkle and BTAC. Odds in our lottery are about 1 in 10 to 1 in 20, so I don't expect anything.

@Victor That's better than our BTAC lotteries where odd are like 1000 to one.

@Nozinan How does one get in on the BTAC lottery? I signed up for the LCBO Vintages newsletter. Is that how they send out the invitations to sign up for the lottery?

@OdysseusUnbound If you go by the premise that the lottery is actually random and fair...

I think you will be notified about the opening of the BTAC lottery if you get the weekly newsletter. In order to be IN the lottery (you gotta be in it to win it) you need to set up an account on vintages and when the lottery is on, the various expressions that are available will show as for sale with the price. You order ones you want and prceed to checkout. They don't ask for payment, just confirmation of the order. When the lottery closes, the people who win the option to buy something are notified and they complete the order and pay, then then choose the store to which it is shipped.

Some have suggested that there are strategies to increase one's chances of winning. Choosing only one or 2 (and quantity of 1) expressions, or some say ordering all allows you to come away with something, even if it's not what you want.

Last year many people who oedered an OWA 107 as part of what they ordered seemed to come away with only that. That was my experience. This year I may just focus on the things I really want (ie no OWA 107 for me).

The lottery is, according to HelloLCBO, going to be in 2 parts, in January and in February. Does this mean that it will not happen before or after those dates? Who knows, if the recent fiasco with NBC is a predictor, the only certainty is uncertainty.

@Nozinan Thanks for the info. I’m really hoping for a WLW, but I’m probably not alone on that count.

@OdysseusUnbound I really want a Stagg...so if you get a Stagg and I get a Weller, I see a potential trade...

@Nozinan And if we each get a bottle of both, everybody wins

@OdysseusUnbound Yes, we split one of each and each keep one of them.

In 2014 3 of us snagged a Weller, Handy and Stagg and opened them at one Epic tasting.

@Nozinan The Handy Sazerac Rye??? Ohhh, that sounds good too...

@OdysseusUnbound Still have some. Sorry I didn't think to pour you a sample... but I hear it's one of the lesser batches.

@Nozinan You have no reason to apologize, you have been more than generous. But the BTAC plan sounds like a good one.

@Mancub The mystery bottles that showed up were for a private tasting. I was downtown that day for a meeting and decided to swing by the pop-up store because the bottles showed up at Spadina Rd and the guy told me they were destined for the pop-up. I arrived just at noon thinking I was going to luck out but was told by the manager they were for a private tasting ( Whisky bar owners no doubt). The place is a joke for parking, the entire area is under construction, so in the eyes of the LCBO a perfect location. Don't see what was wrong with Summerhill

I received an email from the LCBO today, $230 for 24 mini's(50cl) but no information on what you get. It's a surprise.

lcbo.com/lcbo/product/…

Searching the LCBO website by distillery I noticed 50cl's of HP18, Glengoyne 18, Glenlivet Cipher and I assume they will be in there as well as Knob Creek and Maker's Mark.

Hmmm just over a litre for $230.... tempting. I think I'd want to know what I get though.

Tempting indeed and a nice product offering from the LCBO - presumably a call to the customer service will be able to identify the large majority (even the number of distilleries would be helpful).

@JayRain Good luck with that...