Which bottle did you just buy and why?

@paddockjudge

I completely agree with you there.

Time for me to go put my Nikka T 17 in 'storage' now. haha. I look forward to hearing/reading about other folks' recent purchases.

I'm picking up a Highwood Ninety "Decades of Richness" 20 Year Old Canadian Whisky tonight. I've heard good things about this whisky and a 20 Year Old at Under 60 bucks is a deal too good to pass on.

I also paid for my first lottery win today ! I scored a W.L. Weller 12 Year Old bourbon. I was hoping for a Colonel EH Taylor Straight Rye as well, but something is better than nothing, right? This will be just my second experience with a wheated bourbon, with the ubiquitous Maker's Mark being my first. While I realize WL Weller 12 is NOT the same as Pappy 12, I have to admit that the Pappy association and the relatively low (Ontario) cost of $46 for a 12 year old bourbon swayed me.

@OdysseusUnbound Well you did better than me as I continued my personal 0 fer bottles ever. Although family and friends have scored me numerous bottles. The fact that these readily available E H Taylor's are allocated in Ontario is a joke. I am down to 1 unopened EHT Rye. If you can get the OWA 107, the 60/40 blend with W12 is far better than either one on their own IMO. The Lot B 12 year Van Winkle is technically not considered a "Pappy", only the 15, 20 and 23 get that title, just saying.

@Astroke, I have a shutout streak now too, but not as lengthy as yours.

@OdysseusUnbound, Drink that Weller twelve down past the shoulder and then tuck it away for a year...magic will pour out of that bottle after its nice long nap.

Just bought Yamazaki 12 for myself while I was in NYC for spring break. Also bought a bottle of Laphroaig PX Cask (JFK DF) for my friend's birthday.

Our group just put an order in with KWM. I'm in for another bottle of the Distiller's Art IB bottling of the excellent 22 year old Miltonduff and the AnCnoc 22 and a 19 year old Tomatin CS. I'm not doing too well on the restraint program, but drinking less and drinking better.

@BlueNote, anCnoc 22 YO gets better with more air time. I had smash tonight, lovely stuff.

@paddockjudge Thanks, that's good to hear.

Just took delivery of a Caol Ila Distiller's Edition (2004). Part of my quest to gently move towards peat / smoke, whilst trying not to crash against Mr.s Medicinal and Iodine (we don't get along very well). Will see how this goes later tonight...

@RikS I'll be interested to get your thoughts.

@BlueNote you're in BC right? Would you care to PM me more info on your KWM ordering process?

@cricklewood Will do. One of our guys generally does it. I'll get all the details from him.

@Webb

Congratulations on getting your hands on the 12yo Yamazaki!

おめでとうございます!

I didn’t technically buy it, but I just got a bottle of Tullamore DEW. My sister is visiting with my nephews for a few days and she bought me a bottle. I had some on Thursday and last night and I have to say that I prefer the Tullamore to other Irish whiskeys in this price bracket (Bushmills, Jameson, Black Bush, Caskmates Stout). The Single Pot Still character really dominates the nose and first part of the taste of Tullamore DEW. The finish is a bit short but it’s a nice sipper nonetheless. It’s also one of the few whiskeys bottled at 40% that improves with a bit of water.

@OdysseusUnbound - You must have a better bottle than I did last year, that was positively rank. Had to give it away. Even with ice it wasn't drinkable . . . I shudder at the memory.

Shame though as it's cheap and I'd expected to like it given its make up. Your analogy of the J&B recently springs to mind - like someone had poured rough vodka into a recently drank pot still whiskey glass!

@RianC @ "positively rank, had to give it away". I presume to someone you don't like very much??

Two new purchases: an indie Linkwood, one of my favourite distilleries, and a relatively unusual Deanston distillery bottling, in that it is fully matured, rather than just finished, in wine casks. Looking forward to trying this one.

@RianC Probably a lot of batch variation. I’ve noticed it with standard Jameson, as well as with Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7.

Was just given a bottle of BC Hopped Whisky, Limited Edition, as a birthday present. 42% ABV. From Okanagan Spirits, right here in BC, Canada. Interesting stuff...quite nice, I gotta say, with a rolling hoppy flavour—not overdone (as many IPAs are—I’m a big fan of craft beer, but some brewmasters seem to think that more hops are always better...).

In other news, recently picked up a bottle of Woodinville Bourbon, distilled in Washington State. No photo—and I’ve enjoyed most of it already anyway. A nice, classic bourbon, easy to like.

OK, why won’t my photo display properly? And how can I remove it?

@ajjarrett Thank you for the greeting! When I had a visiting whisky friend a few nights ago we compared three 12 yo side by side: Glen Grant 12, Bunnahabhain 12 and Yamazaki 12, all of them 43% ABV but Yamazaki managed to contained bit more flavours in very subtle way (with a bit of Japanese mushroom/dry wood chips, medium long finishing) very good indeed. The only thing against it is the price. I paid US130 for it while Glen Grant and Bunna 12 are locally available at Cd$69 & 89 respectively. Cheers!

@Spitfire Good to see you back! And the picture looks fine! Just need to click on "expand".

@Nozinan Thanks! I’m still around, and still enjoying the “odd” dram (as in, yeah, some of them are not necessarily mainstream...).

And yeah now the pic seems to be fully loaded. Wasn’t before—seemed to be taking it’s time.

@Webb

Well, I am not familiar with the Glen Grant 12yo, while I am quite familiar with both the Yamazaki and Bunnahabhain 12yos. I find that both the Yamazaki and Bunnahabhain have hidden gems that a person can discover over time. I am not sure if either one does more of that than the other. All I can say is, I have about four bottles of the Yamazaki 12yo in storage for future consumption, and that I am not going through the current bottle I have opened very quickly. I also have three bottles of the 12yo Bunnahabhain in storage for future consumption, and I do go through my current bottle quite quickly. Now, I will add that the latter part of the sentences for both the Yamazaki and the Bunnahabhain are for the same reason, it is because I enjoy the dram. I don't think I have to go into in great detail since you stated the reasons: Cost and availability.

What other Japanese whiskies are you 'eyeing' to buy?

@ajjarrett Wow lucky you to stock up a few Yamayazi 12 (assuming at good price point). My exploration with Japanese whisky started with Nikka From The Barrel. That little stubby bottle of blend whisky put many common single malt scotch in shame. Followed by Nikka Pure Malt (White, Black). My Yamazaki was 2 years ago, I traded a sealed bottle of Talisker 57 North with a half-full Yama 18, and have been thoroughly enjoyed it. Last year I managed to pick up a bottle of Yamazaki Distillers' Reserve (NAS) while traveling in Taiwan. It's not Yama18 obviously but still very enjoyable and proved to be crowd pleaser at party (low price allowed me to be generous). Here in BC Canada, Japanese SMW is hard to find and usually carried with huge markup at liquor store. Back to your Bunnahabhain comments. Do you have the new bottling or old version? The one I have is the the new version (same bottle but different label design). There is noticeable difference between the two. The old one if I recall, has somewhat flawed nose (very recessed presence AND with undesirable alcohol burn) but surprisingly rich and strong palate and finishing. The new one, while much improved nose and better transition across noise-palate, it lack the oomph of the older one somewhat. You really need to have the 18 yo expression to achieve satisfactory ending. Wish I still have old one in stock. Anyways, thats what I found so far. Cheers!

@ajjarrett Wow lucky you to stock up a few Yamayazi 12 (assuming at good price point). My exploration with Japanese whisky started with Nikka From The Barrel. That little stubby bottle of blend whisky put many common single malt scotch in shame. Followed by Nikka Pure Malt (White, Black). My Yamazaki was 2 years ago, I traded a sealed bottle of Talisker 57 North with a half-full Yama 18, and have been thoroughly enjoyed it. Last year I managed to pick up a bottle of Yamazaki Distillers' Reserve (NAS) while traveling in Taiwan. It's not Yama18 obviously but still very enjoyable and proved to be crowd pleaser at party (low price allowed me to be generous). Here in BC Canada, Japanese SMW is hard to find and usually carried with huge markup at liquor store. Back to your Bunnahabhain comments. Do you have the new bottling or old version? The one I have is the the new version (same bottle but different label design). There is noticeable difference between the two. The old one if I recall, has somewhat flawed nose (very recessed presence AND with undesirable alcohol burn) but surprisingly rich and strong palate and finishing. The new one, while much improved nose and better transition across noise-palate, it lack the oomph of the older one somewhat. You really need to have the 18 yo expression to achieve satisfactory ending. Wish I still have old one in stock. Anyways, thats what I found so far. Cheers!

@Webb

Actually, that's interesting you brought up the new bottling/label for the 12yo Bunna. When I watched Whisky.com (with Horst, and his son Ben) they thought there wasn't much difference with the contents that were in the new bottle 12yo and what they had previously. Not always trusting what you see on Youtube videos, mainly because tastes are different between people, I assumed there might be at least a slight difference. Luckily, in my hometown (Denver, Colorado) the shops I go to still stock the 12yo Bunna, with the older bottle. I have picked up three bottles so far, and I plan to get a few more. I might be worried about nothing, but maybe your post has confirmed what I assume might be a little accurate. It is difficult to keep up consistency for many distilleries, so I concluded (without evidence, meaning trying the whisky from a new bottle) that there must be a difference.

Now, jumping to a different Bunna, I strongly recommend the 14yo Bunna PX. At 54.3% Abv it delivers a lot and is extremely enjoyable. I was only able to score two bottles because they were snatched up quite quickly.

I haven't tried the 18yo Bunna, just because of the price, and now there is a new bottling of that too. I am happy with the 12yo (old bottle/label).

The Yamazaki Distiller's Reserve is a good dram, but not a favorite of mine. Since it has a completely different cask combination, I wouldn't compare it with the 12 or 18yo. I personally lean torwards, if I had to go with an NAS from Suntory, I would go with the Hakushu Distiller's Reserve. It is perfect for a warm spring/summer day. It is extremely refreshing.

@Webb I tried the 12yo Bunnahabhain for the first time two weeks ago at the distillery while on a tour of Islay. It was my first Bunnahabhain and very much to my liking. I ended up going for the Toiteach a Dha as I had (stupidly!) limited myself to one bottle and fancied something smokey. The tour and tasting has made me something of a convert to Bunnahabhain, so I shall be mopping up the 12 and 18 on the internet. Alas I'm kicking myself for not picking up a bottle of the Marsala distillery special. That was fantastic. I did get a sample though!

I did pick up a few limited editions from other distilleries though. The trip was a real inspiration with many 'firsts'. I feel my taste and my knowledge of whisky improves every year I go up to Scotland on these tours.

Wow! That's a more than decent haul

@Nickh I'm definitely "left leaning"! :))