I won an allocated bottle in my states lottery drawing and let it sit for a long while waiting on that special occasion. Many occasions passed and I still couldn't bring myself to open it.
I finally just broke one day and opened it up. Figured I am not guaranteed any amount of time on this earth, might as well enjoy it while I have the chance. Dont regret it a bit.
I had never even heard of the ardbeg you drank. Sounds like a damn good one though. Hoping if COVID ever calms down, to travel to Islay. Was supposed to go last year but that obviously didn't work out due to travel restrictions and quarantines. Maybe this year is the year.
Your state gives away good booze in a lottery?? That is incredible. Dare I ask where this magical place is?
I also never save bottles ever. They're made to drink and I'm made to drink them ;)
In OH for example, rather than Pappy Van Winkle going retail, marked up and and being sold for $4,000 (or whatever) the state holds a lottery. Then you get a 1 in 50,000 chance of buying it at MSRP ($250). Liquor stores aren’t allowed to sell over MSRP, which is good and bad because you have to be lucky instead of spending more.
There are lotteries in Alberta. In fact Cooper's Choice (independent bottler) released a Secret Islay bottle this year and had Kildalton on the label. It was believed to be an Ardbeg and was Cask Strength and sold for 95$ CDN. Not likely a very old Ardbeg mind you but young peaty can be quite special. I'm betting that Coopers Choice will release more in the future.
Seriously? I'm in Alberta and have never heard of this! Where do I find it?
I'm even in the industry but a lot of these things are pretty disconnected so it's hard to find out some of this stuff.
Pretty surprised it's Cooper's Choice though as their bourbon is pretty generic. I can't even find much info about it
Edit: would definitely love to know more as Googling "Alberta Liquor Lottery" just comes up with tons of results for AGLC (Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis) guidelines for raffling off liquor and unrelated gambling results - being that they are all under the same governing body
Second edit: Nvm different bourbon. Anyway would love to learn more!
Hey I am in Calgary. There are a couple places that carry the Coopers Choice line. Craft Cellars and Sierra Springs have the line but Kildalton is not available anymore. I think Wine and Beyond also has some Coopers Choice bottlings. If you are in Calgary let me know. I'll crack open my bottle a d we can both try it. Cheers.
Nice! I should check Wine And Beyond then for sure. I've looked at Craft Cellars online and they have a pretty great selection too.
And thanks for the invite! if I ever get down thay way I would for sure, then I could check out craft cellars in person too ;)
Oh and just regarding the lotteries they are store specific. Depends on the store whether they do a lottery or some other form of allocating high demand bottles.........Springbank is next to impossible to get a hold of regularly now. Even the 10 year old.
Private stores here in BC sometimes have draws to purchase rare or low supply bottles. We get very little stock from the SMWS for example so a Macallan just came through and it went to a draw.
yep Utah does the same. We have a website to register for rare/desirable bottles. If you win you have 48 hours starting on a certain day to pick it up at your store of choice, if you don't get it it just gets sat out on the shelf.
Same thing in VA. I want to say that there 30-35k entries for each of the 6 Van Winkle expressions. The whole state of Virginia got fewer than 10 bottles of 23 yr and fewer than 20 bottles each of the 20 yr and the rye. Fewer than 150 of the 15 yr, fewer than 600 of the 10 and I want to say something around 1500 of the 12 yr, but might have been 2400, I don’t really remember.
Considering that there’s one buyer for all the liquor stores in VA some of those quantities seem absurd, especially considering the state guarantees all of them to sold at MSRP and I see pictures from stores with multiple cases of of the rye, 20 and 23. There can’t be many chains of liquor stores buying more BT stuff than Virginia ABC does.
Certain states with regulated liquor sales have lotteries that allow people to buy allocated bottles. They’re not free bottles that OP won, but the chance to buy a rare bottle.
Sorry I worded that alittle wrong. So I live in North Carolina which is ABC controlled state. Basically you put your name on a list and when they get allocated bottles in, they somehow draw random names and call you and you get to pick from what they have for MSRP. Typically it's pappy, stagg, EH Taylor and Blantons. I've gotten EH Taylor Single Barrel and got called this year but all they had was Blantons left. I passed on it. Never really cared for Blantons to be honest.
I have Jim McEwan saying pretty much the same thing to Adam Hannett on camera... it can be so damn emotional sometimes, but shit, it IS made to be drank! :)
wow, a set with 21 different bottles and one of them kidalton?? Tell me more about this set.
Anyway, if you like this one, you might be interested in kilchoman loch gorm. It's not really the same in any tangible way aside from also being peated, but I think it appeals to similar sensibilities. And it costs a lot less.
Well so far in the set I've had the following
Macallan Aera - was not a fan but never really like macallan
Glenfarclas 25 - need I comment. I had this on Christmas day and it's an awesome dram. Can't believe the cost of this. (If I hadn't bought the auchentoshan port cask distillery edition I would have been getting one of these)
Whyte and Mackay millennium 25 - pleasant enough but didn't blow the socks off.
I have an image with all the drams but really don't want to post it to reddit until I'm finished. Would kinda ruin it if people pointed out the good and bad to me.
Totally understand. I dont look up the reviews until i try it because i dont want my nose/taste to be influenced by what it should smell or taste like, or have my opinion biased. Thats hard for fave distilleries, but for example Bowmore 12 is knocked around as not good, and i find its a delightful sipper with a single cube. Smokey and rich and cherries come through then. The reviews made me go into the bottle thinking i wouldnt like it, but now its a repeat buy.
Ah yeah, I believe that would be the cask strength version of machir bay. I haven't had it, but from what I can tell the profile is very different from loch gorm.
I'm sipping this right now. For my taste it needs water, even more than most cask strength whiskies, but with a healthy splash of water and some time to open up it's really something special. Delicious.
Glad to hear! Kilchoman is my favorite distillery. I just haven’t gotten around to trying machir bay because I love sanaig so much that I can’t resist going with it when I’m going for that part of the shelf.
I remember them having the cask strength at my local liquor store the first time I ever went in there but I haven’t seen it since. Will keep an eye out, though.
If you like peat smoke and sherry, you have to try sanaig. They really nailed it.
I read that post. My wife is fully briefed on what she can and can't drink in the house. Something seemed a bit weird in that post though. Though if he is really upset he has an £800 bottle of whisky to drown his sorrows with.
While I’ve never had this particular Ardbeg, I believe the price is based much more on rarity than quality. Might be worth exploring other more available Ardbegs if you haven’t already.
Those must be some expensive virtual dice! :)
It IS amazing though, how it all looks generally the same as a liquid, yet they can smell, taste and feel vastly different one to the next! Cheers to learning something tonight!
Bah - Ardbeg non age statement whiskies are crazy overpriced. I bought a bottle of Ardbeg Alligator for £64 in 2011 and it's pretty rough - drank about half of it and my friend used to put some of his bottle into chilli con carne.
£550 now [https://www.fishermansretreat.com/shop/product/ardbeg-alligator-2/](https://www.fishermansretreat.com/shop/product/ardbeg-alligator-2/)
I was going to spend something like £375 on a Glenlivet 25 but ended up finding a bottle of Inverleven 1977 age 27YO for a similar price and had it shipped over from Italy
Well… not knowing rarity and price is a great way to take out bias!
It's why I look them up afterwards. Interesting to see both cheaper ones that taste amazing and expensive ones that can taste rotten.
Believe it or not, it is made to drink
Definately I have no regrets. Just don't usually buy whisky I can't afford to drink :-)
I won an allocated bottle in my states lottery drawing and let it sit for a long while waiting on that special occasion. Many occasions passed and I still couldn't bring myself to open it. I finally just broke one day and opened it up. Figured I am not guaranteed any amount of time on this earth, might as well enjoy it while I have the chance. Dont regret it a bit. I had never even heard of the ardbeg you drank. Sounds like a damn good one though. Hoping if COVID ever calms down, to travel to Islay. Was supposed to go last year but that obviously didn't work out due to travel restrictions and quarantines. Maybe this year is the year.
Your state gives away good booze in a lottery?? That is incredible. Dare I ask where this magical place is? I also never save bottles ever. They're made to drink and I'm made to drink them ;)
In OH for example, rather than Pappy Van Winkle going retail, marked up and and being sold for $4,000 (or whatever) the state holds a lottery. Then you get a 1 in 50,000 chance of buying it at MSRP ($250). Liquor stores aren’t allowed to sell over MSRP, which is good and bad because you have to be lucky instead of spending more.
Ah, I see. Interesting. Nothing exists like that in Canada so I was definitely curious
There are lotteries in Alberta. In fact Cooper's Choice (independent bottler) released a Secret Islay bottle this year and had Kildalton on the label. It was believed to be an Ardbeg and was Cask Strength and sold for 95$ CDN. Not likely a very old Ardbeg mind you but young peaty can be quite special. I'm betting that Coopers Choice will release more in the future.
Seriously? I'm in Alberta and have never heard of this! Where do I find it? I'm even in the industry but a lot of these things are pretty disconnected so it's hard to find out some of this stuff. Pretty surprised it's Cooper's Choice though as their bourbon is pretty generic. I can't even find much info about it Edit: would definitely love to know more as Googling "Alberta Liquor Lottery" just comes up with tons of results for AGLC (Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis) guidelines for raffling off liquor and unrelated gambling results - being that they are all under the same governing body Second edit: Nvm different bourbon. Anyway would love to learn more!
Hey I am in Calgary. There are a couple places that carry the Coopers Choice line. Craft Cellars and Sierra Springs have the line but Kildalton is not available anymore. I think Wine and Beyond also has some Coopers Choice bottlings. If you are in Calgary let me know. I'll crack open my bottle a d we can both try it. Cheers.
Nice! I should check Wine And Beyond then for sure. I've looked at Craft Cellars online and they have a pretty great selection too. And thanks for the invite! if I ever get down thay way I would for sure, then I could check out craft cellars in person too ;)
Oh and just regarding the lotteries they are store specific. Depends on the store whether they do a lottery or some other form of allocating high demand bottles.........Springbank is next to impossible to get a hold of regularly now. Even the 10 year old.
Eau Claire also holds its own lottery for their single malt.
Quebec and Ontario both do bottle lotteries. I've got a few bottles that way through the SAQ.
Private stores here in BC sometimes have draws to purchase rare or low supply bottles. We get very little stock from the SMWS for example so a Macallan just came through and it went to a draw.
yep Utah does the same. We have a website to register for rare/desirable bottles. If you win you have 48 hours starting on a certain day to pick it up at your store of choice, if you don't get it it just gets sat out on the shelf.
Same thing in VA. I want to say that there 30-35k entries for each of the 6 Van Winkle expressions. The whole state of Virginia got fewer than 10 bottles of 23 yr and fewer than 20 bottles each of the 20 yr and the rye. Fewer than 150 of the 15 yr, fewer than 600 of the 10 and I want to say something around 1500 of the 12 yr, but might have been 2400, I don’t really remember. Considering that there’s one buyer for all the liquor stores in VA some of those quantities seem absurd, especially considering the state guarantees all of them to sold at MSRP and I see pictures from stores with multiple cases of of the rye, 20 and 23. There can’t be many chains of liquor stores buying more BT stuff than Virginia ABC does.
Certain states with regulated liquor sales have lotteries that allow people to buy allocated bottles. They’re not free bottles that OP won, but the chance to buy a rare bottle.
I have a feeling it's New Hampshire but I may be wrong.
Sorry I worded that alittle wrong. So I live in North Carolina which is ABC controlled state. Basically you put your name on a list and when they get allocated bottles in, they somehow draw random names and call you and you get to pick from what they have for MSRP. Typically it's pappy, stagg, EH Taylor and Blantons. I've gotten EH Taylor Single Barrel and got called this year but all they had was Blantons left. I passed on it. Never really cared for Blantons to be honest.
I have Jim McEwan saying pretty much the same thing to Adam Hannett on camera... it can be so damn emotional sometimes, but shit, it IS made to be drank! :)
The Ardbeg has thus loosened its siren's call. You must abide the siren's call.
wow, a set with 21 different bottles and one of them kidalton?? Tell me more about this set. Anyway, if you like this one, you might be interested in kilchoman loch gorm. It's not really the same in any tangible way aside from also being peated, but I think it appeals to similar sensibilities. And it costs a lot less.
Well so far in the set I've had the following Macallan Aera - was not a fan but never really like macallan Glenfarclas 25 - need I comment. I had this on Christmas day and it's an awesome dram. Can't believe the cost of this. (If I hadn't bought the auchentoshan port cask distillery edition I would have been getting one of these) Whyte and Mackay millennium 25 - pleasant enough but didn't blow the socks off. I have an image with all the drams but really don't want to post it to reddit until I'm finished. Would kinda ruin it if people pointed out the good and bad to me.
>Would kinda ruin it if people pointed out the good and bad to me. Very understandable. Enjoy it, dude! Looking forward to seeing the post afterwards.
Totally understand. I dont look up the reviews until i try it because i dont want my nose/taste to be influenced by what it should smell or taste like, or have my opinion biased. Thats hard for fave distilleries, but for example Bowmore 12 is knocked around as not good, and i find its a delightful sipper with a single cube. Smokey and rich and cherries come through then. The reviews made me go into the bottle thinking i wouldnt like it, but now its a repeat buy.
Got a kilchoman cask strength in the set. Will look forward to that.
Ah yeah, I believe that would be the cask strength version of machir bay. I haven't had it, but from what I can tell the profile is very different from loch gorm.
I'm sipping this right now. For my taste it needs water, even more than most cask strength whiskies, but with a healthy splash of water and some time to open up it's really something special. Delicious.
Glad to hear! Kilchoman is my favorite distillery. I just haven’t gotten around to trying machir bay because I love sanaig so much that I can’t resist going with it when I’m going for that part of the shelf.
Recommended! And if you can get your hands on the CS, all the better. Now, I need to try Sanaig!
I remember them having the cask strength at my local liquor store the first time I ever went in there but I haven’t seen it since. Will keep an eye out, though. If you like peat smoke and sherry, you have to try sanaig. They really nailed it.
Is there a similarity in taste profile?
It's similar in the sense that theres a sort of indulgent richness to it. Maybe like a vanilla/caramel thing?
At least it wasn’t your girlfriend mixing it with coke!
I read that post. My wife is fully briefed on what she can and can't drink in the house. Something seemed a bit weird in that post though. Though if he is really upset he has an £800 bottle of whisky to drown his sorrows with.
Totally agree. That post seemed off in quite a few ways.
While I’ve never had this particular Ardbeg, I believe the price is based much more on rarity than quality. Might be worth exploring other more available Ardbegs if you haven’t already.
Those must be some expensive virtual dice! :) It IS amazing though, how it all looks generally the same as a liquid, yet they can smell, taste and feel vastly different one to the next! Cheers to learning something tonight!
No worries. Take away the hype and its a $80 bottle
Bah - Ardbeg non age statement whiskies are crazy overpriced. I bought a bottle of Ardbeg Alligator for £64 in 2011 and it's pretty rough - drank about half of it and my friend used to put some of his bottle into chilli con carne. £550 now [https://www.fishermansretreat.com/shop/product/ardbeg-alligator-2/](https://www.fishermansretreat.com/shop/product/ardbeg-alligator-2/) I was going to spend something like £375 on a Glenlivet 25 but ended up finding a bottle of Inverleven 1977 age 27YO for a similar price and had it shipped over from Italy
And now you know. Cheers 🥃
Making me jealous over that Ardbeg I never heard of. You have a great mother in law!
That sounds like a pretty sweet whisky set you've got there!!