Ardbeg

Competition alone won't do it. B.C. has some private liquor stores, but they must buy from the government liquor distribution branch, so they're stuck with approximately the same prices as the government stores.

Alberta has all private stores, but the government still handles distribution, and the private stores must buy their liquor through the government. The difference is the amount of tax the government adds, which makes Alberta prices way lower than B.C.'s or Ontario's on higher-end products. (On low-end stuff, Alberta prices may actually be slightly higher; that's another quirk of the tax regime.)

It's not, actually. New Brunswick also has a government-only liquor system. But it has low liquor taxes and if you look at their home page, you find Ardbeg 10 currently listed at $54.49. At the government liquor store.

Thank you.

I saw what I considered to be a reasonably-priced bottle of a'bunadh at a local liquor outlet. I must save my pennies and hope nobody else buys it in the meantime.

Well, I saw that the a'bunadh was still there yesterday so bought it. I've noticed that, as 'new' stocks of SMSW appear on the shelves here in NZ they are around 25%+ more expensive than the older stock. The NZ dollar was very high last year but has dropped a lot in recent times which is probably effecting the retail price of whisky here.

Wow! It's a really nice dram, completely different to the Islays that I'm used to.

One thing I found interesting; I've had several 'cask strength' expressions before. Indeed, one of my favourites, Ardbeg Uigeadail, is 54% alcohol. However, I've found that so far, without exception, I prefer to taste and drink them without water, that the water doesn't improve the nose or tase for me, often the opposite. a'bunadh is completely different in that respect. It has higher alcohol content, at 59.7% (batch number 18) but not hugely so compared with Uigeadail and considering I've drank spirits at 70% and above.

I think that I found the alcohol at full strength so much more dominant than I'm used to. Maybe because I'm also used to a lot of peat phenols which perhaps balance out the sharpness of the alcohol? Regardless, if I add a splash of water to take the a'bunadh down to ~45% alcohol or so it's a very pleasant dram indeed. It'll not take the place of Ardbeg in my affections but it's a nice change.

Thanks again for the recommendations. If I find myself with the funds I'll perhaps try another from your list.

Cheers,

I love A'bunadh - but also don't miss the 16YO - sells at my local outlet for $49 and I like it more than 18YO Macallan- the best deal out there.....

Gladys.

Opened the newsreader, read the title and thought: that's a neat trick.

-- Larry

Thanks Gladys, I'll certainly keep that in mind. Alas, single malts are a rare treat for me, available only if I have a 'windfall'.

Cheers,

I'm glad you enjoyed it. One word of warning: the only malt on that list that is truly outstanding and remarkable is the a'bunadh. It is the giant in the group. The others are various degrees of pleasant, which is not a bad thing, but they fall short of magnificent. (Except perhaps for the Mortlach, which I haven't tasted.) Your mileage may vary.

cheers.