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Top 5 Wanted List for 2018

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@RianC
RianC started a discussion

So, at a time when we many are looking to curtail drinking and purchasing I thought it might be 'fun' to select what would be your absolute must haves for 2018.

Here are mine, in no particular order:

Talisker 18, Old Pulteney 17, Powers 12, Green Spot and Amrut Fusion.

These are a few others I'd like but will be prioritising these. I have also never tried any of the above but want them due to liking the style/distillery and due to excellent reviews.

Any Balblair, Glen Garioch 12 and Lot 40 would be my substitutes.

6 years ago

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Replies: page 1/2

@Victor
Victor replied

@RianC, buy that Old Pulteney 17 yo first. It should be the only one on your list scheduled to disappear soon.

List of must haves? I currently have none, but I do have a few which I would very much like to have, probably through trade:

1) Octomore Orpheus 2.2, my second bottle (so scarce now!)

2) Highland Park 25 yo

3) Amrut Portonova

4) more William Larue Weller; there is always room for more of that in my cabinet.

5) there are two others out of reach for price and scarcity reasons: 1967 40 yo Duncan Taylor Springbank, 23 yo "Iron Fist" Willett Family Estate Rye. $ 2,000 is too much to spend, by about $ 1,600. Yes, I would spend $ 400 for either of these, but I cannot buy either of these for $ 400.

6 years ago 3Who liked this?

@MadSingleMalt

On the heels of the "Resolutions" thread, this topic is just cruel!

6 years ago 3Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@Victor - Yes I think I read about the OP 17 being discontinued on here. I'd probably pick the T18 first given the choice as that tends to disappear quite quickly and I hear current batches are good. We'll see . . .

@MadSingleMalt - ' . . . insert maniacal laugh here . . . '

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor replied

@RianC, are there bad batches of Talisker 18 yo? I haven't encountered any....

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@Victor - I can only go off reviews and vlogs but I remember Ralfy commenting a few years back that the quality had improved over recent years.

Connosr, and yourself, certainly seem to rate this one quite highly!

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

I hadn’t really thought about it, but I suppose my Top 5 Most Wanted List would be something along the lines of:

  • William Larue Weller: I have no idea if I’ll even know how to properly “enter” the LCBO/Vintages BTAC lottery, but this is probably tops on my list.
  • George T. Stagg: similar to above
  • Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength: I love Laphroaig, but the tendency to release it at 40% ABV in some jurisdictions is troubling.
  • Wiser’s Dissertation: I just really want another one of these....or 3.
  • Lagavulin 12: I have a sample of this and I’m a little afraid to try it, lest I fall in love and never locate a bottle for purchase.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor replied

@RianC, I do prefer the 750 ml bottles of Talisker 18 yo I bought in 2011 to the first, 200 ml three-pack bottling of it which I had gotten first. The 200 ml bottle took a long while to open up, while the 750s were accessible immediately. Still, even the 200 ml bottle was pretty good, even at first.

As for Ralfy, he has a cute charming verbal delivery, but I don't pay much attention to what he says about whisky. I am sure that he is an endearing OK bloke and all that, but he is just too frigging long-winded for me to put up with. If his reviews lasted no more than 4 minutes each I'd have watched more than 6 of them by now. And his taste is not close enough to my own to trust it very much for my own purposes.

6 years ago 0

@RianC
RianC replied

@OdysseusUnbound - is Laphroaig 10 at 40% in Canada as well? Never tried the CS but can imagine it being a brute!

6 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor replied

@RianC, no, even Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength-less Canada gets 43% Laphroaig 10 yo as a standard.

Laphraoig 10 Cask Strength being a brute? No, not a brute, a beauty.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

@RianC No, Laph 10 is sold at 43% here, but I worry....

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@Victor - ha ha! Yes, he does go on but I have to say I like his style, generally. He seems like someone I could have a good natter to.

As for his vlogs, they are possibly getting worse and he seems to be a caricature of himself lately. I still think his opinion carries a fair bit of weight though and I seem to like the same of kind of whisky he rates highly. Not always though.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@OdysseusUnbound - Possibly with good cause - time to bunker a few? wink

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

@Victor I’m visiting a friend in Windsor, ON at the moment and I had a disagreement with a local LCBO employee about Laphroaig CS. He was trying to push some Laphroaig Select on me insisted that Laphroaig 10 CS wouldn’t sell as well as Select here, so it’s not a big loss that the KGBO doesn’t carry the CS. He also stated the fact that Islays are not as good at Cask Strength. I says pardon? I just bought some beer and left the whisky section altogether.

6 years ago 6Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor replied

@OdysseusUnbound, DRINK your sample of Lagavulin 12 yo! (Your soul is dying to be liberated from the Lagavulin 16 yo.)

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Victor
Victor replied

@OdysseusUnbound, yes, you followed one of the keys rules of life: leave the room when you see that someone is obviously full of shit.

6 years ago 6Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@OdysseusUnbound If you don't try the Lag 12 how will you know if you like it so you can procure another sample the next time?

I don't think I've ever tasted a CS Islay whisky that wasn't good. I can't say that about the weaker examples I've tasted.

I agree, one can never stock up on too much Dissertation or Legacy, but I had to stop at some point.

My top 5 list for 2018?

  1. George T Stagg or another CS BTAC

  2. Lot 40 CS second edition if it is released.

  3. Macallan 12 YO (someone is holding it for me)

I can't think of any others I want to add to my collection, though an affordable Octomore or Corryvreckin might round out the list.

Of course, I have to open a bottle to make room to buy a bottle. And to open a bottle I have to finish a bottle, so I have my work cut out...

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@OdysseusUnbound

@Nozinan I’d be shocked if I didn’t love Lagavulin 12. But it is next on my list of samples to try.

6 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor replied

@Nozinan, that is tough work, but someone's got to do it.

6 years ago 0

@casualtorture

@Nozinan got this today. He was allocated 4 bottles at his store.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

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@KRB80
KRB80 replied

1) Whatever special/limited release Springbank puts out.

2) Another bottle of George T. Stagg but I'll take a William Larue Weller or Thomas H. Handy in it's place. lol

3) Longrow 18

4) Amrut Portonova

5) Glenlivet 16yr Nadurra

...and of course some more Benromach 10/100 to bunker. The manager at a local highly lauded liquor store that has bigtime pull and everyone pays attention to told me the other day that they were going to name Benromach 10/100 as one of their Whiskies Of The Year. I simultaneously got excited and full of dread at the prospect of the cat being let out the bag and it having the "Jim Murray effect." Talk about cognitive dissonance! It's already pretty hard to get a hold of around here and that would probably just boost prices due to demand.

6 years ago 3Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@casualtorture We have a different batch but there are 52 still available in Ontario...51 available online.

(Yes, I will be happy to arrange pickup at a store near me for anyone who wants to buy it online and specify for me to pick it up and hold it until they come into town).

And that's just what is left from what was allocated to the LCBO. I have a couple of our batch which is fantastic.

I expect you'll really enjoy that. Good find!

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@cherylnifer
cherylnifer replied

As I sit and think about it, I do not have any driving wants at this time. Would love more bottles of Amrut Intermediate Sherry and Portonova, but already have several of each. Maybe Balcones True Blue Cask Strength and True Blue 100. But already turned down a Houston friend who offered to pick both up for me. WLW or GTS would be great, but I am not on any preferred lists, and half expect them to be secondary market priced. In the big picture of life, such thoughts are trivial anyways. Maybe even a waste of a valuable commodity; time. Going to be a difficult year. Will likely lose a sibling this year to cancer. I, for one, did not look forward to rolling over to a new year. But still need to remain positive, make the most of my time with my sibling and family, and be grateful for how much I have been blessed with.

6 years ago 7Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@cherylnifer you certainly have your priorities in the right order. I am sorry to hear about your sibling's illness.

6 years ago 0

@RianC
RianC replied

@cherylnifer - whisky is a luxury and I count myself very fortunate to be able to drink what I do, I never take it for granted!

As @Nozinan says, you have your priorities right and I sincerely hope 2018 gives you some joy along the way.

6 years ago 0

@GoHabs
GoHabs replied

In no particular order ...Highland Park 12, Cragganmore 12, Oban 14, Bushmills 10, Auchentoshan 3 Wood.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@RianC
RianC replied

@GoHabs - Still never tried Bushmills 10. I like the standard blend quite a bit and Black Bush is a decent dram as well.

6 years ago 2Who liked this?

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

Of course my list will Change over the year but for the moment, I would like: 1- Any BTAC 2- Octomore 8.3 3- Glendronach 18 4- Any cask strenght or single cask Amrut. 5- Stagg Jr I didn't put Wiser's Union 52 because I will probably never taste it and I will surely grab Lot 40 CS batch 2 if it comes available.

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@Robert99 I should have let you try the Union 52 when you were in Toronto, Sorry.

And Portonova, I believe, meets your Amrut criteria. So when you're next in town we can cross bot of those off your list.

6 years ago 0

@Robert99
Robert99 replied

@Nozinan Wow, that would be great!

It is always good to have another Amrut at CS or a SC. I am sure I will like the Portonova but I am not closing the door to a Bourbon Barrel SC or a Peated CS.

As for the Union 52, I was under the impression, probably because it was available only in BC, that you only had a sample. I am just very curious about it because it is peculiar, 4% peculiar. wink

6 years ago 0

@Nozinan
Nozinan replied

@Robert99 I think that a taste of U52 can be arranged.

As for the heated CS, i know someone with a few bottles stashed away who may be looking to make room in his cabinet...

6 years ago 1Who liked this?

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