whisky lovers

[GiGi]

I think I had a batch 49 as well. Enjoy.

These are what have been on my desk over the weekend.

Spoiler

 

[jimbaxters]

8 hours ago, HeartsOfficialMoaner said:

Are you bidding?

W.L. WELLER SPECIAL RESERVE 1L?

 

I had made a few bids earlier in the week but they all got outdone. I did bid initially for the Weller but for some reason got put off by the sheer number of bottles available. My real interest was in the Evan Williams 12 yr old 101 but when adding commission and postage (in EU) it got too rich for me. I bought three bottles last week online too (Knob Creek, Wild Turkey Rare Breed & Michters straight) so couldn't really justify buying any more. I will certainly be following future auctions though.

Thanks again for the advice.

[V.Aye.R]

I finished my Ben Bracken 16 tonight.
[emoji22]

My bottle has just had its final outing. Would love to know what it was. Lovely stuff.

[V.Aye.R]

Picked up a Longrow 10 today. Might be me done for a while. So many exciting releases in a short space of time, plus my birthday is coming up so will surely get a bottle then too

[Sarcastic Bairn]

18 minutes ago, V.Aye.R said:

Picked up a Longrow 10 today. Might be me done for a while. So many exciting releases in a short space of time, plus my birthday is coming up so will surely get a bottle then too

How do you manage to get them?

Thats the one I was after 

[V.Aye.R]

How do you manage to get them?
Thats the one I was after [emoji23]

Follow a few twitter accounts mate, its never one shop in particular. Although certain shops do tend to put their products out there at certain times of the day.

If you cant have easy access to a phone during the working day its almost impossible.

[Sarcastic Bairn]

20 minutes ago, V.Aye.R said:

Follow a few twitter accounts mate, its never one shop in particular. Although certain shops do tend to put their products out there at certain times of the day.

If you cant have easy access to a phone during the working day its almost impossible.

Well done!

The Bunnahabhain 28 year olds are still around today, but at £150 and having already paid more than double RRP on a Stage JR I've been after for a while this week, I'm going to give this one a miss.

[V.Aye.R]

Well done!
The Bunnahabhain 28 year olds are still around today, but at £150 and having already paid more than double RRP on a Stage JR I've been after for a while this week, I'm going to give this one a miss.

If only falkirk had a whisky shop we could exploit lol

[CountyFan]

I got a Kilkerran 8yo cask strength today and an ardnamurchan earlier in the week. Wouldn't have got either if I hadn't been on annual leave all week. 

[GiGi]

This was a magnificant bottle. Great value at the time as well. I'll be on the lookout for another if they do the cask strength edition again.

Spoiler

 

Edited February 13, 2021 by GiGi

[B.K.]

On the subject of Auctions ..

Over a period of years I have bought a fair few bottles from the various auction sites & on the whole, I have no complaints, as its the only way to access bottles you would otherwise be unable to attain and lets face it, is a very good pass time during lockdown, trawling and hunting the net for a 'guid dram. 

I have a bit of a thing for drinking & collecting a particular East Highlands brand and keep a close eye on releases, prices & market trends with it, bit of a passive hobby you could say.

Anyway, what intrigues me about the auction sites now and its only really been over the last 2-3 years that its been upper most in my mind is this … pick any identical brand, expression and condition of whisky that is up for auction on any given site and if there's  more than 1 of that bottle for sale, why do they always go for almost an identical price., whether that's under, bang on or vastly over the perceived market value, life just does not roll like that !!

For instance, I was bidding on a particular expression at Christmas time on one of the main sites who had 3 identical bottles up to be bid on, great, I thought, I'm bound to get one of them, having placed a maximum bid that was slightly above the previous 12 months average price (£240), I was surprised to see that my choice bottle went for £310, but to my even bigger surprise, the other 2 bottles went for £300 & £310, now I can live with losing out on "my" bottle , because lets face it , there is nearly always someone out there that wants it just that bit more than you, so therefor pays a price that guarantees success, fair play, but 3 of them !! come on. This is not an isolated instance as I have noticed it happening more and more recently.

Have the learned P & Bers' in here had any similar experiences like this or want to cast their penny worth on the subject ?

 

 

 

[jimbaxters]

What are the other auction sites please?

[V.Aye.R]

On the subject of Auctions ..
Over a period of years I have bought a fair few bottles from the various auction sites & on the whole, I have no complaints, as its the only way to access bottles you would otherwise be unable to attain and lets face it, is a very good pass time during lockdown, trawling and hunting the net for a 'guid dram. 
I have a bit of a thing for drinking & collecting a particular East Highlands brand and keep a close eye on releases, prices & market trends with it, bit of a passive hobby you could say.
Anyway, what intrigues me about the auction sites now and its only really been over the last 2-3 years that its been upper most in my mind is this … pick any identical brand, expression and condition of whisky that is up for auction on any given site and if there's  more than 1 of that bottle for sale, why do they always go for almost an identical price., whether that's under, bang on or vastly over the perceived market value, life just does not roll like that !!
For instance, I was bidding on a particular expression at Christmas time on one of the main sites who had 3 identical bottles up to be bid on, great, I thought, I'm bound to get one of them, having placed a maximum bid that was slightly above the previous 12 months average price (£240), I was surprised to see that my choice bottle went for £310, but to my even bigger surprise, the other 2 bottles went for £300 & £310, now I can live with losing out on "my" bottle , because lets face it , there is nearly always someone out there that wants it just that bit more than you, so therefor pays a price that guarantees success, fair play, but 3 of them !! come on. This is not an isolated instance as I have noticed it happening more and more recently.
Have the learned P & Bers' in here had any similar experiences like this or want to cast their penny worth on the subject ?
 
 
 

I have bought a handful on auction in the last few years. My max bids are normally £80-100 so I'd doubt there is any manipulation going on at that level.

Which distillery do you follow out of interest?

[HeartsOfficialMoaner]

7 hours ago, B.K. said:

On the subject of Auctions ..

Over a period of years I have bought a fair few bottles from the various auction sites & on the whole, I have no complaints, as its the only way to access bottles you would otherwise be unable to attain and lets face it, is a very good pass time during lockdown, trawling and hunting the net for a 'guid dram. 

I have a bit of a thing for drinking & collecting a particular East Highlands brand and keep a close eye on releases, prices & market trends with it, bit of a passive hobby you could say.

Anyway, what intrigues me about the auction sites now and its only really been over the last 2-3 years that its been upper most in my mind is this … pick any identical brand, expression and condition of whisky that is up for auction on any given site and if there's  more than 1 of that bottle for sale, why do they always go for almost an identical price., whether that's under, bang on or vastly over the perceived market value, life just does not roll like that !!

For instance, I was bidding on a particular expression at Christmas time on one of the main sites who had 3 identical bottles up to be bid on, great, I thought, I'm bound to get one of them, having placed a maximum bid that was slightly above the previous 12 months average price (£240), I was surprised to see that my choice bottle went for £310, but to my even bigger surprise, the other 2 bottles went for £300 & £310, now I can live with losing out on "my" bottle , because lets face it , there is nearly always someone out there that wants it just that bit more than you, so therefor pays a price that guarantees success, fair play, but 3 of them !! come on. This is not an isolated instance as I have noticed it happening more and more recently.

Have the learned P & Bers' in here had any similar experiences like this or want to cast their penny worth on the subject ?

 

 

 

I have been on a site and saw a bottle I liked and bid on it but there have been 2 or 3 of the same bottles so you keep your eye on them.  

I just bid on the cheapest and when that goes too high I switch bottles then bid on the other. 

Most people will not keep bidding on the same bottle when there is another at half the price so the price usually balances out.

 

[HeartsOfficialMoaner]

3 hours ago, jimbaxters said:

What are the other auction sites please?

I have never used this but found it by accident. Prices are in euro's. 

https://www.catawiki.com/c/437-whisky

Looking at the shipping costs it could be based in Poland.

Then again, maybe not. 

Edited February 13, 2021 by HeartsOfficialMoaner

[B.K.]

Depending on how serious you are about this, there are actually quiet a few whisky auction sites available now ....

Grand Whisky Auction

Just Whisky

Scotch Whisky Auction

Speyside Auction

Whisky Auctioneer

Whisky on-line

Whisky Hammer

Whisky Shop

& as mentioned by someone in an earlier post, catawiki, but that's not as straightforward as the others.

These are just some of the more common ones, but like everything else, it really just depends what your looking for and where your budget stretches to.

Macallan still dominates most sites followed by the Islay distilleries and the Wm Grant brands like Glenfiddich and Balvenie, but if its just a time filler / pastime / hobby, as the old saying goes, "There's no harm in looking".

I tend to follow, collect and drink "Forgue's finest" which has seen a massive increase in pricing over the last 2-3 years, so the drinking bit is starting to turn into the collecting part.

Like everything else, "look before you leap" and study it closely for a couple of weeks before you go bidding to understand the mechanics of the operation, remember there are various fees to pay on your purchases / winning bids, like a delivery charge (which can sometimes be hefty) and in some cases a site registration fee, so that £200 bottle you thought was a bargain, could end up around £230 - £250 mark, bringing it back to market value or even above.

But as I always say, if the arse falls out the market with the prices, then at least I can still have one hell of a party !!

[The Holiday Song]

Ordered a number of samples over the festive and enjoyed trying the different ones so gone for another order (including quite a few mentioned on this thread). List is below. One thing I'm wondering though, will (or maybe more accurately, could) whisky taste different coming from smaller bottles than the normal size? They are obviously drunk a lot quicker than normal bottles, and get the impression that some whiskies need to be open for a little bit to get their best taste? (looking on google has just confused me more tbh!)

 

Deanston 10 Years Old Red Wine Cask Matured 6 CL Sample 

Bowmore 15 Years Old Darkest 6 CL

Compass Box The Story Of The Spaniard 6 CL Sample

Laphroaig PX Cask 6 CL

Springbank 10 Years Old 6 CL

Glenallachie 10 Years Old Port Wood Finish 6 CL Sample

Bunnahabhain 12 Years Old 6 CL

Ledaig Rioja Cask Finish 6 CL Sample

Balvenie 14 Years Old Caribbean Cask 6 CL

Rock Oyster Blended Malt 6 CL Sample

Longrow Peated 6 CL

Tobermory 12 Years Old 6 CL Sample

[V.Aye.R]

Ordered a number of samples over the festive and enjoyed trying the different ones so gone for another order (including quite a few mentioned on this thread). List is below. One thing I'm wondering though, will (or maybe more accurately, could) whisky taste different coming from smaller bottles than the normal size? They are obviously drunk a lot quicker than normal bottles, and get the impression that some whiskies need to be open for a little bit to get their best taste? (looking on google has just confused me more tbh!)
 
Deanston 10 Years Old Red Wine Cask Matured 6 CL Sample 
Bowmore 15 Years Old Darkest 6 CL
Compass Box The Story Of The Spaniard 6 CL Sample
Laphroaig PX Cask 6 CL
Springbank 10 Years Old 6 CL
Glenallachie 10 Years Old Port Wood Finish 6 CL Sample
Bunnahabhain 12 Years Old 6 CL
Ledaig Rioja Cask Finish 6 CL Sample
Balvenie 14 Years Old Caribbean Cask 6 CL
Rock Oyster Blended Malt 6 CL Sample
Longrow Peated 6 CL
Tobermory 12 Years Old 6 CL Sample

Any standout favourites for you?

Just wondering how you found the Deanston Wine Cask? Never tried it before.

Whisky does oxidize in a half full bottle over time. You might hear people also mention a 'neck pour' from a newly opened whisky which can sometimes disappoint initially before opening up.
Long term whisky will go a bit flat, different opinions on how long the sweet spot is. Mine seldom last longer than 6months.

Edit: *last 6 months before I finish them

[CountyFan]

I was told at Oban not to have a bottle open longer than 24 months and ideally to drink within 18 months of opening. They were trying to sell me whisky at the time so perhaps take with a pinch of salt. 

[GiGi]

4 minutes ago, CountyFan said:

I was told at Oban not to have a bottle open longer than 24 months and ideally to drink within 18 months of opening. They were trying to sell me whisky at the time so perhaps take with a pinch of salt. 

I think unless you live in a rainforest or a desert this is not true. I've had bottles opened longer and all were still perfectly drinkable.