The Glenlivet Helios......is itworth the $$$?

Don't know about the Balblair, but you could get the Nadurra and the Talisker DE and have enough of your $225 left over for an HP 12, a Laph QC or any number of others in that price range. I guess if you are buying to collect rather than drink your criteria will be different, but I have both an earlier Tal DE and the cask strength Nadurra and I find them both excellent and good value.

@StevieC Personally my friend after having tried quite a few whiskies in that price range and higher I'll be frankly honest that with few exceptions once you pass about $200 you're more often then not buying because of what the distillery wants you to think and what people who don't mind throwing down lots of money on one bottle are willing to spend. The whisky is VERY rarely worth the price paid past $200.

I know the situation in Canada in some ways is similar to Australian prices and out of the quite a few whiskies that I've purchased/had purchased for me that ran $200+ and out of those only the Glenfiddich Snow Phoniex, Buffalo Traces George T Stagg, William L Weller, Thomas H Handy and a cask strength 25 yr old Rosebank were worth breaking the $150 mark. Every other whisky and there were a few up there, left me feeling meh, that the money could have been better spent on purchasing several bottles.

Personally if something like the Glenlivet Helios has your eye, do what I do. Wait til your birthday, anniversary, Christmas, etc. At those times people usually give me a price range and go "what do you want?" That's when my $200+ whiskies that I've never tried list comes out. That way if you're disappointed your at least not out cash.

@BlueNote I have done some deep thinking about purchasing this bottle, and I don't feel that it is necessary to drop that amount on this particular bottle. I have been reading a lot of posts online and on this website about how prices are not necessarily indicative of what is in the bottle. I find that there are TONS of awesome bottlings in the $75 - $200 range. Laphroaig QC being one of my favs. There are also many independent bottlers who have limited cask releases for half the price of the Helios. Bottom line, collecting can get out of hand, and once you are hooked, things can get out of hand when it comes to spending cash. I bought the Talisker Distillers Edition yesterday, and I anticipate to buy a few more. Christmas is on its way too! So many choices!

@SquidgyAsh You are right when it comes to distillers setting high prices for so-called "limited" edition, one off bottles. Like I mentioned in my previous comment, you can buy limited cask release bottles from independent bottlers for less than half the price of what the distillery releases. The indies release some amazing quality mature limited whiskies. That is why I heard that the Helios tastes very similar to the Nadurra Triumph. The Triumph is an 18 year old cask strength whisky, and the Helios is a 20 year old cask strength whisky (single cask). I don't see the point in spending $160 more for 2 more years in a barrel.

@StevieC Even more so my friend are some whiskies released with no names, but with hints to their identity such as SMWS, MoM Secret Speysides, Abbey's Secret Speysides, Secret Stills, etc etc etc. A friend on the site, Systemdown once commented that it was stupid how much difference in price there was when you could say this is Glenfiddich and this is Secret Cask. Same age, same distillery, same strength, different name and packaging, hundreds of dollars difference in price...

@StevieC. I think you'll like the Talisker DE. There seems to be two versions of Nadurra, one at 48% that Murray gives high marks to, and the full cask strength one that I have at 57.6%. It's killer.

I just popped $190 for the Old Pulteney 21, about $50 more than it costs in Alberta. Jim Murray better be right about it. Cheers.

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@BlueNote I appreciate the input.....there are so many "killer" single malts available. I hope you enjoy your Pulteney 21! Please let me know what you think of it......I do enjoy the 12, and I hope to get my hands on the 17, which I have heard amazing things! Cheers!