[ArnoldJamtart]

  I don't know what the situation is in Canada, but in the UK, Aberlour tends to be quite competitively priced and widely distributed*. If you can find their (less common) A'Bunadh malt, that's a much nicer dram than the standard expression.
 
*Not quite as common as Jura, which seems to be everywhere these days, and almost always discounted.

Aberlour is everywhere here, too -- at least, in BC. The A'Bunadh is very, very good. On the Caol Ila front, a friend brought me back a bottle of the 12 year via duty-free, and as an "inexpensive" peated option, it's also very nice. With the smoke element being slightly reminiscent of bacon, I consider this more of a "breakfast whisky".

 

[PalJoey]

  Aberlour is everywhere here, too -- at least, in BC. The A'Bunadh is very, very good. On the Caol Ila front, a friend brought me back a bottle of the 12 year via duty-free, and as an "inexpensive" peated option, it's also very nice. With the smoke element being slightly reminiscent of bacon, I consider this more of a "breakfast whisky".

Caol Ila is still one my all time favourites. The standard expression is good, but the Distillers Edition (Moscatel cask finish) is definitely worth seeking out.

 

[DJScope]

Caol Ila is still one my all time favourites. The standard expression is good, but the Distillers Edition (Moscatel cask finish) is definitely worth seeking out.

Coal Ila starts from $200 a bottle here in Australia. Their bottles are good but I wouldn't pay that price from em.

 

[Chris J]

I don't know what the situation is in Canada, but in the UK, Aberlour tends to be quite competitively priced and widely distributed*. If you can find their (less common) A'Bunadh malt, that's a much nicer dram than the standard expression.

*Not quite as common as Jura, which seems to be everywhere these days, and almost always discounted.

To be exact, I am in Ontario.

We can get Aberlour 10 year old, 12 year old, 16 year old, 18 year old and the A'Bunadh.
The 10 and 12 yesr old are very reasonably priced out here.

We rarely get Jura.

 

[shane55]

  Caol Ila is still one my all time favourites. The standard expression is good, but the Distillers Edition (Moscatel cask finish) is definitely worth seeking out.

 
Of all the Islay brews, this is my favorite. And cask strength is amazing.
 

 

[Chris J]

Two massive thumbs up for Caol Ila.
One of my very favourites. :tongue_smile:

 

[DJScope]

Any of you guys tasted anything from BenRiach distillery?

 

[mrscotchguy]

Two massive thumbs up for Caol Ila.
One of my very favourites. :tongue_smile:

This. I've always been a fan of Caol Ila. I was introduced early in my whisk(e)y drinking exploration days. It quickly became my winter dram.

I enjoy drizzling Caol Ila over Bloody Marys and throwing in beef jerky or bacon instead of veggies....

 

[DJScope]

This. I've always been a fan of Caol Ila. I was introduced early in my whisk(e)y drinking exploration days. It quickly became my winter dram.

I enjoy drizzling Caol Ila over Bloody Marys and throwing in beef jerky or bacon instead of veggies....

 
MMMMM.... Love beef jerky and crispy bacon rashers with a nice peated whisky!

 

[Tai1or Made]

Need to whiskey soon.

Currently drinking Bombay Sapphire.

I know...

Want to try this Caol Ila.

 

[mrscotchguy]

Need to whiskey soon.

Currently drinking Bombay Sapphire.

I know...

Want to try this Caol Ila.

Gin is delicious, we're actually aging our own Old Tom gin in 6L barrels for my shop to serve at our bar. Take that Ron!

Gin is exploding now, and quite delicious when mixed appropriately. But I had to know what peat would do to gin. So I took a 1L barrel about a year or so back and aged some rum for a short bit to "prime" the barrel with flavor so I could make some Arggbeg! I took that barrel and aged gin in it to see what happened... beautiful magical smokey gin-bliss!

That's just one of the many experiments we're doing, and it's so much fun tasting the results...

 

[Tai1or Made]

beautiful magical smokey gin-bliss!

 
Do want.

 

[mrscotchguy]

[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/She1j6cLF_M[/VIDEO]

Shameless plug... In case you want to know what I do

 

[ArnoldJamtart]

Any of you guys tasted anything from BenRiach distillery?

Some buddies of mine are doing a BenRiach and GlenDronach tasting next month, which I'm sadly going to be out of town for. Both distilleries gave them some of their higher-end stuff (pro tip: start a local whisky club and make enough waves that the distilleries take you seriously!). I've enjoyed plenty of GlenDronach (the 12 year is one of the best sherry options I've had for its price), but if I've had any of the BenRiach line, it didn't stick in my brain or appear in my tasting notes.
 
I did manage to snag an amazing 16 year old single-cask bottle of Bowmore from a SMWS tasting on Friday that I'm pretty excited about!

 

[shane55]

Shameless plug... In case you want to know what I do

 
Wait... that's YOU?
 
How freakin' cool is that?
 
Now I really understand your 'Location'  "Scotland... I wish"
Me too, of course.