LCBO selection

The LCBO is hit and miss. They did bring in a great selection of Amrut single casks, and have in the past done some good work (Springbank Claret Wood, A'Bunadh), but you're right... I get most of my good non-Canadian bottles from Alberta or online, either in US or UK.

@Nozinan If I'm not mistaken Nozinan, you're in Ontario as well? Last time I checked there isn't any easy way of ordering booze online and having it shipped to Ontario...or perhaps I'm missing something?

@cheeserandyburg

Absolutely. It is not currently legal to order spirits online into Canada, though I think between provinces the federal restrictions have been lifted.

However, if you know someone who lives or is traveling where online ordering is permitted, you hpcan ship to them and they can bring it to you. This is how I discovered Bladnoch. Unavailable here, I ordered it online and my cousin brought it, along with a number of minis to bring the total to 1.1 litre (I once managed to hit exactly 1.14L). Then I ordered more when a friend was in the UK and coming here.

More recently I found great deals on Ardbeg and Booker's online in the US and had them shipped to my friend in Florida, and I have also shipped BLADNOCH to him when I learned the distillery had shut down. Now he has 9 bottles waiting for him to visit me..... It does take time.

In August I ordered Caol Ila cask strength in the UK, and am waiting for my cousin to go in December to bring it over.

That's how I do it. You have to have connections, and you have to be patient....

It's also how I got my Springbank Rundlets and Kilderkins.... Though later I saw it in Calgary.

When LCBO got in a Bladnoch G&M bottling it was at 43% and priced around $130, much more than the per bottle cost to ship Bladnoch OB 55% to Florida. Go figure....

Yeah I figured its not that easy without knowing someone or having connections. Thanks for that!

@Nozinan, the fact that it's necessary to do all that in order purchase decent whiskies in Ontario is utterly ridiculous. I respect your ingenuity and I once again shake my head at the LCBO.

@CanadianNinja

It CAN backfire. I have 5 200 cc bottles of Caol Ila CS waiting for me in England but the person who was to bring them just got a new job and cancelled the trip.....

Not sure why they've run out of Springbank, etc. - the new search function is, quite frankly, shite...use this instead: foodanddrink.ca/lcbo-ear/jsp/… (it's essentially the old search tool, just buried where you can't find it).

I tend to look for things that I can't get in Ontario when I'm traveling for work. Luckily I've been out to Calgary three times in the last two years, so I've been able to pick up some interesting stuff, but otherwise I bother friends who might be heading overseas, etc., to try and pick stuff up for me.

@YakLord I used that last night actually. (the old search) It states 1 Longrow, but a stock of 1 isn't always reliable as I found out in the past. If I remember correctly the release was "limited supply" back in 2012/2013 which is absolutely ridiculous of them to do. Not sure if the LCBO does this, but I wonder if there would be a discount on custom ordering several/bulk spirits through them. I'm sure some bars do that in order to stock up. Then again seeing how they operate I wouldn't be surprised if they'd overcharge the customer even more. I'm gonna see if I can get any discounted Springbanks in the US or other goodies. The Longrow is $55 over there as opposed to $86 over.

@cheeserandyburg

I've looked into ordering special orders through LCBO. It's very complicated. First you have to order minimum 1 case. Then it has to be shipped to their depot in Glasgow (if Scotch). Then they ship it to Ontario (at your expense). Then they open one bottle to "test it" (not sure what happens to the rest of the contents).

Then they charge you all the import duties and taxes. Then, finally, they decide on a markup (their "profit" had they sold it retail).

For small distilleries such as Bladnoch, that require cash on purchase (LCBO only does payment of invoices after the fact), you have to pay the distillery up front and pay for shipping to their depot.

I calculated that a $60-70 bottle (at the time) would cost me at least $140 a bottle and I'd have to get 12 of them (now that the distillery is closed 12 doesn't seem to bad, but not at that price). In contrast, I was able to buy and ship to Florida several bottles at a price of about $80-90 a bottle including shipping.

The only downside is I can only get a bottle when my friend comes to visit, but considering I'm still on my second opened bottle since Nov. 2011, I can afford to wait.

If I had any influence on what some have nicknamed the KGBO, and price gouging aside, I would want them to stock the following consistently:

• Springbank 12 YO CS

• Amrut CS (and Intermediate Sherry, Peated CS and Portonova)

• Bladnoch (if they reopen)

• Aberlour A'Bunadh (consistently, no gaps in availability)

• More Ardbeg more of the time

• More cask strength and rarer Bourbons

And I'm sure I could think of more....

@Nozinan you rock. Thanks for letting me know that, I've always be curious about the procedure. My friends dad used to order european beer by the case. Perhaps he saved a few pennies, but nothing substantial. I'm liking that "KGBO" reference.. made me chuckle because its the truth!