What is the next bottle you purchase or open?

@RianC, light for summer? Try Suntory Toki blended whisky. Four Roses Small Batch would work well too. If I were going for Irish I would choose Jameson's 12 yo. That one is harder to find now, though, and has gotten a little expensive.

@BlueNote you were spot on "great bang for the buck'. My neighbour who drinks Canadian Rye and rarely drinks scotch, ended having a few drams. For me, so much better than the disappointment of HP Svein.

@Victor - Thanks! I opened Writer's Tears knowing it would be a great summer malt but this particular bottle is a bit of a let down unfortunately.

Some recent whisky purchases.

• Another three bottles of the Nikka Coffey Malt for casual drinking.

Some collectible bottles from a bygone era:

• A bottle of the Famous Grouse 18 Year Old.

• A bottle of the Jim Beam Train Collector’s Series “4th Baggage Car”.

• Jim Beam Train Collector’s Series “1099 Passenger Carriage”.

@sengjc where does the whisky come out of?

@Nozinan - It's in little bottles on the tables in the carriages - duh!

@RianC sure, for the passenger car, but what about the baggage car? Little bottles in tiny cases next to suitcases?

I was curious too, here's the only photo I found online that shows the spout....looks like it would be awkward to pour from it. I still love how funny these ceramic decanters are.

@Nozinan

The individual carriages conceal a porcelain decanter within each design.

For the Passenger Car 1099, you have to remove a small compartment on the left to reveal the decanter spout.

For the 4th Baggage Car, you just slide open one of side doors.

I think these were meant for displaying rather than to drink from although the contents look quite interesting since the labels say that the bourbon contained within is “150 months old”. An older style Jim Beam, perhaps?

I purchased a bottle of the 21yo Redbreast during my travels, which I mentioned in another post in this thread as a whisky I just purchased. Anyway, just few days ago my parents and I had dinner with our cousins, and I took it along to open it. My cousin Ken really enjoys his whisky, so I thought it would be a good thing to open it with someone who will certianly appreciated it. To my surprise he just opened his 21yo Glengoyne, which got for Father's Day. So, we enjoyed a dram of each. Both are exceptional, and uniquely different, so I won't do the silly thing and compare. I am planning to buy a couple more bottles of the 21yo Redbreast the next time I travel, assuming they are still there when I get there.

PS. After I have another dram or two, I plan to write a review.

PPS. I forgot to mention this, but might have mentioned in my "purchase" post; however, I will still mention this, this is my first bottle of the 21yo Redbreast. My first tasting was extremely positive.

@ajjarrett It is stunning whisky.

@talexander I definitely agree with that, with my first impressions. I am a huge fan of the 12yo CS and the 15yo, and I suspected I would enjoy the 21yo. It was definitely not a gamble when I bought, even though I hadn't tried it. If I may ask, what is the price of the 21yo in your area?

@ajjarrett In Pennsylvania the price is controlled by the state and is currently $300 for the Redbreast 21 YO.

@ajjarrett it is fantastic. I got it sub $200 in Calgary.

@nooch @DaveM Between the two prices you mentioned, here in Colorado we are floating in between. Thanks for your replies. I am not sure what my maximum price would be, but I guess I would say 240 to 275 USD; however, at these prices I wouldn't purchase it quite often and have to ration it to make the bottle last a while.

@ajjarrett In Ontario it's $CAD244.30 (or $US185.85). Well worth it.

@ajjarrett Amazon UK £144 = $189USD / Japan £111 = $145USD

@RikS @talexander Well, it appears here in Denver, Colorado people are paying a decent premium compared to those to our north.

@ajjarrett a very rare occurrence...

@Nozinan Actually, that just came to mind. From the threads of conversations I have read, its the people in the "Great White North" that are paying premium prices on whisk(e)y, compared with us 'down' here.

@ajjarrett Not so white with global warming. Not so great after the last provincial election...

Still North... unless you live in Alaska.

@Nozinan That's right. Well, you are north of me, since I am in Colorado. And actually, when I hear "Great White North," SCTV comes to mind.

Just saw this tweet by Dr. Don...

Look at that ABV!

This is clearly different from the sampling we were given at SOT this year which was a single cask offering at 54.8%.

I will probably get 1. Given I preferred the 1 year older version from 2017 to the one I tried this spring, and this year's is $30 more, I will need to try this before I stock up.

That is of course, if I can even get my hands on a bottle...

@Nozinan Given your proximity to the center of the LCBO universe (Yonge & Summerville) you should be fine...

@OdysseusUnbound It's summerhill, and I'm not close, and it doesn't help when insiders are given info about where it will pop up...

@Nozinan LOL ! I meant to write Summerhill. Friggin autocorrect ! You’re much closer than I am. And can’t you doctor types just take a few weeks off and tell your patients you’re golfing or something?

@OdysseusUnbound We can...if we don't want to get paid.

But my wife wants to re-landscape the front and back and we owe more for our new (my adolescent years) house than we paid for our old house so I have to keep on working, and working, and working...