What did you NOT buy and why?

@Nock hindsight is 20/20. It really is very easy to understand, though, when demand for top tier whisk(e)y accelerated over a period of only a handful of years at a pace which no one alive had previously seen. The most change-shocked of all appear to be the Japanese Distillers, whose extreme conservatism has put them seemingly many years behind the age-stated demand curve.

Lagavulin 12 CS: I can't justify spending 150$ for a bottle that I had for 100$ a few years ago. I'll miss you, my angular, ashy friend

The new Springbank 15 rum cask.

I've just joined a whisky auction site and bidded on a couple of bottles of this. However I've been outbid and the price now with still over a day to go is at a level that with commission etc you'd be paying over £100 for a bottle that retailed at £70 on release. So I've decided to avoid the silliness and pulled out.

There's some powerful psychology involved in bidding on whisky at auction though! Dark thoughts cross my mind 'out bid me will you? We'll f%@#¥g see about that you #@$%!!! There you go. £400 bid. How do you like that? Who's getting the bottle now eh??'

Got to separate the ego from it. Which isn't easy!

@Wierdo ha ha and that is exactly why so much stuff is sold via auction. I've never bought whisky via auction but for other items my 'strategy' is to decide beforehand what I'm willing to pay and only bid at the latest possible time - and hopefully any competitors aren't watching. If it goes above my threshold before I bid then so be it. Good luck finding a bottle elsewhere - I'd love to have one too.

@Hewie well my first experience of trying to buy whisky at auction wasn't great.

The 2 Springbank 15 rum casks went for around £120 with commission and postage which is more than I'd be prepared to pay. But then it is kind of the 'must have' bottle of the moment and people are obviously getting a bit silly.

I was also bidding on a Longrow 18. This year's release. With a damaged box. I was bidding a price that would have pushed what I paid for it to around £90 with commission and postage. You can buy it at pretty much every whisky retailer online in the UK for around £100. So I thought 'sod it £10 saved. You can't drink the box'. They are supposed to email you if you get outbid. No email so at the end of the auction I login to pay for my bottle and I'd been outbid. They just didn't tell me. The winning bidder paid £90+ for it before commission. So well over £100 all in. What's the point in that? You can buy it new, no damaged box for less!

I think the £5 registering fee will just go down as a lesson learned for me. I'll keep an eye on future auctions but probably won't get involved. Seems most of them have more money than sense.

@Wierdo that's a bit of hard luck there. As you say some just go a bit bonkers and pay more than is reasonable (and then have the associated costs on top to pay). Shame about the Longrow 18 but you're right that for a $10 saving it's not a big deal. I hope you're able to find some at a reasonable price somewhere.

I did not, and will not buy the Lagavulin Nick Offerman edition. Why? It’s being sold exclusively in the US and Australia.

@OdysseusUnbound Aren't your parents going to the US?

@Nozinan Yeah, but there are some bourbons higher on my list (and lower in price) than the Lagavulin Offerman edition...and my folks are nervous about bringing more than 2 bottles across the border. I’m really hoping to get any combination of Old Forester Probibition, Henry McKenna BiB 10 Year SiB, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof, Stagg Jr, New Riff SiB, Wild Turkey Kentucky Spirit, Russell’s Reserve SiB, etc...

@OdysseusUnbound those are some good choices. I personally have never found a Henry McKenna SB 10yo I liked. But the rest of your list looks delightful.

I also just passed on a bottle of the Lagavulin 11yo Nick Offerman. There is a single bottle about 10 miles from me. But it is priced at $99.99. And there are far more whiskies I care to buy. I already have the 8yo, the 9yo GoT, 12yo CS (2017), and the 16yo open on my shelf. I really want it . . . but as in the "What are you lusting after" thread I have Ardbeg on the brain right now.

Further, most of the reviews I have read were mostly positive . . . but not glowing. Think I might pass on this. Hopefully I can find a bottle on "Black Friday" priced at 20% off.

@OdysseusUnbound My sister in law is likewise nervous about more than 2 bottles at the border. I have tried to assure her that three regular 750 ml bottles is perfectly legal, I have done it a number of times and declared them with no problem. Can't convince her.

@BlueNote, complete honesty is the limit at the border. In my experience, if you are willing to pay duty there is no limit too large BUT STAY UNDER 45 LITRES (Canada) to avoid a lot of paper work. Be calm and polite while you truthfully disclose the amount you have in your possession and you may be told to have a nice day.

@paddockjudge or get into a conversation with the officer about something completely different and they’l forget why you’re there...

@OdysseusUnbound & @Nock, those Offermans are spilling off the shelves here in Madison, Wisconsin. I think they're around $80 (not sure), and they seem in no danger of running out.

Meh.

@OdysseusUnbound my experience with Henry T McKenna 10 yo is like @Nock's. I once tried one I Iiked a lot,...out of 5 or 6 total I have sampled. I actively disliked most of them, which is a rare occurrence with me and bourbon. When I read the good reviews I wonder what bottles they are drinking. Also beware that there is a 40% ABV NAS Henry T McKenna Bourbon available for sale in addition to the 10 yo. Modest fare. I didn't buy it. Somebody gave me a partial open bottle of it. Seriously I'd take a bottle of Fighting Cock over any Henry T. McKenna.

No sweat whatever bringing (3) 750s into Canada.

Le douanier: " Any alcohol?"

Answer: " Yes, below the 2.28 Litre Duty Free Limit." (for two persons)

@paddockjudge That has certainly been my experience. Best just to tell them the truth. If they catch you in a lie you lose everything and probably acquire a red flag in their computer system.

@Nozinan You mean something like "How about those Leafs, eh?"

@BlueNote The judge is much more artful than that...

@Nozinan And who really wants to talk about the Leafs anyway?

@Victor The OF Prohibition is the one I’ve really got my eye on. Another Stagg Jr would be nice, and New Riff seems to be the Bourbon darling du jour so I’m genuinely curious. I would also be glad for anything from Wild Turkey that’s unavailable in Canada, and another bottle of OGD 114 is never a bad thing.

Edit: all this bourbon talk is no good for my “reduce the size of the collection” plan...

@OdysseusUnbound The Offerman Edition quickly sold out locally where I live. Most stores received only a couple of bottles. I was lucky to pick up a single bottle.

I still didn’t buy the Lagavulin 11yo Offerman again today. Really, $99 for an 11yo at 46% . . . how crazy am I? I already know that I will likely score it only slightly above the 9yo GoT bottle which was mid 80’s at best. And I won’t like it as much as the Lagavulin 16yo for the same price. So what am I thinking? I need to hold on to my whisky budget. Christmas approaches.

@Nock They still had it on sale at $62.98 at a local store. I picked up a third bottle to give as a Christmas gift. I can justify purchasing an 11 year old at that price. At $100 I would be going for the Lagavulin Distillers Edition.

The Offerman is selling for $85 in Pennsylvania, if you can find it.

Wow. Just goes to show how much taxes and markup can vary in different jurisdictions.

@BlueNote That is so true. While Virginia has a very poor selection of single malts (due to it being state controlled) it does tend to strictly adhere to the suggest price list. This is one example where they seem to have failed. Everything I have read says that the suggested retail price for the Lagavulin 11yo Offerman was going to be around $75. So I can see it going for anything in that rage of $65 ($62 on sale for @TracerBullet) up to $85 (for @DaveM) . . . but $99.99? Come on Virginia! Clearly my whisky budget is bound elsewhere . . .

I was tempted recently, didn't buy the Kilkerran peated expression as I hadn't heard much about it. Anyone have any thoughts on this one? I'm looking at you @MadSingleMalt and @Victor and any other Kilkerran fans who might offer an opinion.

@BlueNote just in case: malt-review.com/2019/05/…

@BlueNote my sister owns a bottle of the Kilkerran 8 yo CS, matured in bourbon wood. It's great!!

@BlueNote, that Kilkerran Heavily Peated is rough out of the gate. It's softening up already in its first couple weeks open, to its great benefit. And I say that as a guy who never looks for softness in his whiskies—this one needed it.

@RikS Thanks for that; very helpful and pretty much in accord with @MadSingleMalt's impressions. Might take a pass until I can get hold of a sample. @Victor The 8 is on my to buy list.