Priced Out of The Market?

In a word, yes.

I have actually bought more in the past few months rather than less. I did not start this jourmey at a time when drams were more affordable and it was easier to build a bunker of goodies. I have been buying a few "better" whiskies that I was afraid of not being able to afford/jusify soon if prices keep escalating. So in answer to your question I would say that I will soon be priced out of the market. Once I have enough scotch whisky am planning on looking at bourbons and quality Canadians. Will have to develop a palate for bourbon tho.

@Jonesz

I wouldn't suggest going out of your way to "develop a taste" for stuff because it's cheaper... As far as I'm concerned, if I like it and can afford it, I'll get it. II don't like it...I won't settle.

I "got in" just as the whisky bubble started to grow, about 5 years ago. In those days there were still some affordable high quality expressions. I could stop buying and not run out for a long time.

However, I am still discovering styles that are new to me. My price threshold has gone up. Stuff I would not have considered 5 years ago is now a routine purchase.

I think I'm becoming more discriminating in what I buy, still have a hard minimum for quality, but the choices are getting fewer.

I'm on a pace to increase my collection by less than I did last year, and there is less I am interested in (ie it as to be better to catch my eye and open my wallet) but there were a couple of expressions this year I didn't want to pass up. I fully expect to buy less as time goes on, partly due to cost/benefit, butmostly due to there being less out there that interests me.

I have to say that even though prices are higher, I am buying more now than I did 3-5 years ago. And I have to give credit for that to the Connsr community. Your reviews, ratings, suggestions, and insight have opened up a vast number of quality whiskies for me to explore, and to hide away. The higher prices have certainly led me to evaluate risk and return more consciously. Several of my friends have turned to bourbon and away from single malt scotch because of the higher prices (in general). Not so much me. Maybe the bargains or "steals" are few and far between, but tolerably priced whiskies are still available. One only needs to be more open to opportunities outside one's norms or set perceptions. And listening to more experienced peers, such as you, helps too.

@cherylnifer, thank you very much if your comment was directed to me.

For sure, nowadays whisky research is vital to reducing the odds of major disappointment. Paying $ 120 for a bottle and hating it is a very big turn-off.

@cherylnifer

I agree with you that Connosr is a big driver of my whisky purchasing despite the price rises. If I had not been active I would probably not be expanding the depth or breadth of my collection and my tastes, and focus more on specific distilleries or genres.

For instance, I tasted and bought my first bourbons in the fall of 2013. Just over a year later bourbon was just under 7% of my collection. Now it's 11.6%, but 28% of my purchases were bourbon in 2016.

If not for Connosr, my collection would contain 0% bourbon. A similar story for Canadian whisky.

And I'm pretty sure my collection of Scotch and other single malts would be a fraction of what it is now.

@Nozinan Like you say, I find my price threshold has gone up. I haven't been in the game long enough to really remember when prices were a whole lot less (and let's face it, here in Canada we seldom get the good deals, anyway)--but there was a time when I would never crack $100, nowadays I have several bottles I've paid a bit more for.

But also, as others have said, I'm broadening my horizons as to whisky types. I've developed a taste for good bourbon--some of it is stunning--and I'm hoping to discover some Canadians that suit my palate as well--with help from this community. Yeah, there's price, but for me there's also a bit of national pride...I'd like to be able to truly enjoy a product made here in my own country (Confederation Oak fits the bill--but there have to be more!).

@Spitfire, CR Monarch is one worth finding...before it is gone. There are many great Canadians. I'll post my top 25 soon. Yes! I have a list of my Top 25 Canadian Whiskies.

I haven't been into this hobby for more than a couple years myself so I'm kinda used to the high prices. From the start I've been quite discriminating and turning to you guys for notes and advice has helped me spend my money on quality rather than quantity. Having said that I also have to admit that my tolerance have gone up as well in regards to price

I've only been drinking whisky for a couple of years myself so I missed the opportunity to buy whisky at bargain prices.To be honest these days I'm buying more and more whiskies trying to offset future price rises.This week alone I've bought myself 9 bottles and most of them are a result of people's opinions on Connosr. For example I've just ordered 3 bottles of Bowmore Laimrig at a bargain price of 53 pounds.I haven't tried it before but because of people like Nozinan on this site I know I'm going to love it.

@maltmate302

That's so kind of you. I'm hoping you end up liking the Laimrig. Otherwise I'm in trouble!

I do buy "untasted" based on some Connosr reviews/advice. Usually things work out. The site has also helped me avoid expensive mistakes (Arran 12 YO CS) because reviews weren't all positive so I bought a sample first.

@Alexsweden Simply put I concur.

Just thought some people might be interested and others probably already know(Noznian) that Aberlour Abundah now costs $130 in BC.

Not priced out but ticked off I didn't buy couple of them when they where just under $100 and this has been just about a year.

@MrFathom. Remember when the government promised that when they took the tax out of the shelf price and then added it (15%) at the till the overall price would remain the same? I wonder how A'Bunadh went from $92 with the tax included to $134 in a short time. And HP 18 went from $149 last year to $237 today. And as I'm sure you know there are many others that have gone up significantly over the past year. The Ontario folks think the KGBO is bad; it's got nothing on the BC government. No Springbank available here, but plenty of $11000 to $40000 Dalmores and stupidly price Macallans for the rich and famous. It's to the point where I now only buy at duty free or ask any of my friends going to Alberta to pick up a few bottles for me.

@MrFathom @BlueNote

Ouch! to the $130 A'Bunadh, I thought the $5 hike in Ontario to $100 was bad enough (though it pains me to see occasional prices of < $60 in the US).

I was in BC in November and my impression of the BCLiquor was that there were some excellent finds that you just can't get here. And some of the prices were comparable or cheaper than Ontario. Others, however...

Makes me want to retreat to the bunker for a few years...

@Nozinan Problem with BCLiquor is that, while they may list some good items, they can be nearly impossible to get outside of the greater Vancouver area. I live in the interior, and I've tried to order in some items they have listed in other stores--sometimes they will, but often they won't. Example, Masterson's rye--at $92 a bottle, you'd think they'd be happy to bring in a bottle, but no...

Then, there's the annual Premium Spirits Release. THis past fall, out of nearly 200 stores in BC the release items were available in 30 of them--and over half of those are in the Vancouver area. The closest one to me was a 4-hour drive away. And I can't order those items through my local store for several weeks after the release opens, so of course all the good buys are gone. I spoke to my local store manager--it is a "Signature" store, so should be eligible, manager says he wants to participate but the stores are selected on the value of spirits sold. I said hey, look at your shelves--you don't stock much of the "good stuff," so how are you going to sell any? Almost my entire cabinet has come from out of town stores; I'd prefer to shop local, but when you can't even bring in a bottle for me, that's in stock a few towns over, what do you expect?

It sounds like these issues of price and availability are common to most areas of Canada. Alberta, so far, seems to be the only exception and definitely an anomaly in our part of the world.

@Nozinan. I know you have a pretty well stocked bunker. There could be worse places to retreat to in a crisis.

@Spitfire. I know the feeling, brother. We live on the Sunshine Coast and may have the most pathetically stocked liquor store on the continent when it comes to single malt Scotch. I managed to score 2 Laphroaig 2015 Caideas and 1 Bowmore Tempest VI from the annual special releases by calling the Cambie and 39th store and having them hold them for me until I could get into town. A friend and I just had 10 bottles shipped from Edmonton. Where there's a will there's a way. Cheers.

@BlueNote

Yes, that Cambie and 39th store is a goldmine.

I admit I was a fool. When Cairdeas was released I wasn't sure I wanted one for $100, too expensive. @Paddockjudge anticipated I would so he delivered one to me and I was "convinced" to take it. He also gave me a sample to try it before opening my bottle. But since the fall, which is around the time the price bump happened, I've bought other CS expressions between $100-120. I did have a chance to by the Cairdeas in Toronto and in hindsight should have picked up a couple.

Oh well...

And you're right, apart from Cairdeas I do have a collection I should be proud of and embarrassed for at the same time. So if you're ever in Toronto you must visit and help me clear some of the backlog.

Cairdeas treasure hunt with @JasonHambrey after a Forty Creek Whisky Weekend at the distillery in Grimsby. There was no way I was delivering @Nozinan's FC Harmony without a bottle of the difficult to find Cairdeas. I have been on the receiving end of many bountiful harvests by @Nozinan.

@BlueNote Yeah, the BCLCB doesn't seem too interested in those of us outside the lower mainland. I did score a few bottles fromt the special release (Glendronach CS Batch 4, 40 Creek 3-Grain Harmony) by calling the Kelowna store and having them held--which apparently they're not supposed to do, or so i was told. The thing is, there were several stores in the Okanagan participating in the release, as well as Kamloops, and even Prince George--but here in the Kootenays, nothing. And like I said, it's not like there aren't people here who would purchase good single malt, if it was available.

The upside, I guess, is that I don't buy as much as I might if it were easy to get, and it does make the "hunt" more exciting...

Hey, a question--how did you ship whisky from Edmonton?7

@Spitfire, @Bluenote, you should probably go private message for this topic as there are regulations for shipping spirits, even if they are seldom enforced...just in case big brother actually gives a shit...which they might.

Good point @paddockjudge. Thanks for the reminder. Cheers.

@BlueNote, Go team!

Networking is beautiful thing. I'm sure it is just one bottle at a time being carried in gramma's luggage.

@paddockjudge Grandma's luggage is kinda what I expected...

I believe the last federal budget bill of the previous government relaxed the rules about moving spirits between provinces but the interprovincial obstruction remains.

With the trade deal with Europe I'm hoping the prohibition against shipping from online retailers will drop, and perhaps they will celebrate with low shipping rates....

Maybe in my lifetime.

@Nozinan, it will give 'going to the post office' a whole new meaning.

@paddockjudge, @spitfire. Granny does love a wee dram before bed.

If distilleries go the way of Macallan then they will price me out. That is, removing whisky with an age statement (10, 12, 15, 18 year old) and replacing it with a 3-7 year old for slightly more cost that the respective 10,12,15 or 18 year old.

Am I buying less whisky? Yes, but that is because in recent times I'm focusing on older expressions before they creep up to the unaffordable.

I find I am buying more independent bottlings - seeking out specific criteria, now that I have developed a (somewhat) understanding or appreciation of the different elements that make up whisk(e)y. For example: cask strength, purely sherry matured, Clynelish with a bit more age than 14 years.

Really interesting topic. I have to say yes and no. I am generally experimental. I used to get bottles that were new to me just about every time I went to the bottle shop. I wanted to try as many whiskies as possible... but these days I find myself usually going back for the bottles that I know are worth it because as the prices have risen, the stakes have gotten higher. Many whiskies have become too great of a risk to buy without trying.