Found a bottle of whisky in the celler - any good?

[mydeafcat]

Dan S

$165 CAD is about $120 USD, so I don't see too much of a difference in this case.

It all depends on the product. When I visit a BevMo or even Costco in the US the price differential on most items is often substantial. Mind you, I'm not referring to products that originate in the UK; I usually buy rye or bourbon and my wife buys wine. Bourbon is especially high here.

Apparently, Canadians have it easier on some things than I thought!
https://fx5solutions.com/distilled-spirits-excise-tax-rates-around-the-globe/

 

[Archer]

mydeafcat

Wow! I did not realize Ontario has a variable rate on alcohol; most provinces have a flat tax. Indeed, it's Canada, not just BC as I indicated that charges more for alcohol than pretty much anywhere. Unless you're ordering a stiff cocktail in NYC, that is. With our present exchange rate that's a $30 drink.

Upon further investigation it seems that, depending on the tipple, when shopping at a liquor store we pay up to twice what our American friends do for the same product.

Well, the LCBO is the biggest single purchaser of beverage alcohol in the world, so you would think that they have some leverage to negotiate good pricing, but we don't see it on our end. Just went for a big shop, but no Scotch - beer, wine, port, rum, and cognac.

It's funny, almost every government-in-waiting here promises to privatize the LCBO, but when they make it into office they crunch the numbers and find that they are going to have to increase taxes, or drastically cut spending to make up for the billions in revenue that doing so would lose them, so they always back away from it.

 

[Pianotuna]

JwRosenthal

Clearly past it’s prime! As this may be a hazmat by this point, I will send you my address and I will safely dispose of it using a special filtration process through my kidneys.

Time and time again you show what a thoughtful human being you are.

 

[JwRosenthal]

Pianotuna

Time and time again you show what a thoughtful human being you are.

It’s a burden.

 

[Pianotuna]

JwRosenthal

It’s a burden.

I can see that.

if you luck out on the Lagavulin 16 I can at least suggest the Laga 8yo. Excellent drinking

 

[JwRosenthal]

Pianotuna

I can see that.

if you luck out on the Lagavulin 16 I can at least suggest the Laga 8yo. Excellent drinking

I think OP has decided to take one for the team and work on his own disposal system.

 

[Nupero]

Dan S

Lagavulin 16 is probably about $100-$120 at your local store. As noted above, it does not age in the bottle, so don't pay extra for the deteriorated cork. ;-)

I think I will have some tonight in honor of this thread, although it looks like I will need a new bottle afterwards.

Yes, whisky does not age in the bottle, but modern Lagavulin and old 80-90s bottlings are not the same stuff. Not even close. Both are smoky and that's about it. Old Lagavulin is way, way better because production methods used to be superior (better casks, different yeast strains and barley varieties, running the stills slower, you name it) Nowadays the demand for smoky whisky is so strong that the company has started to cut corners --> "optimization" of production = subpar whisky.

OP's bottling is old and worth hundreds, minimum. Maybe even four digits, but I am not an expert on vintage Laga. Since he is not a whisky aficionado, it makes little sense to drink it. The value for an occasional whisky drinker is just not there. Sell it and buy a case of modern Lagavulin 16. Much better bang for your buck.

EDIT: After some digging it seems OP's bottle is from about 1995-1998. That would put the value somewhere around $300-450.

Edited: Oct 21, 2022

 

[Dan S]

Nupero

OP's bottling is old and worth hundreds, minimum. Maybe even four digits, but I am not an expert on vintage Laga. Since he is not a whisky aficionado, it makes little sense to drink it. The value for an occasional whisky drinker is just not there. Sell it and buy a case of modern Lagavulin 16. Much better bang for your buck.

Talk is cheap. See if @Nupero will put his money where his mouth is, OP.

 

[Togri v. 2.0]

JwRosenthal

I think OP has decided to take one for the team and work on his own disposal system.

Unfortunately, my own system does not respond well to very peaty whisky I like the slightly lighter whisky better.

 

[Togri v. 2.0]

Dan S

Talk is cheap. See if @Nupero will put his money where his mouth is, OP.

Shouldn’t the expression be: put the bottle where the mouth is?

Naaah probably going back in my mother’s cellar for a couple more years. Now I am getting greedy

 

[Nupero]

Dan S

Talk is cheap. See if @Nupero will put his money where his mouth is, OP.

I like vintage scotch, but I buy it 2cl at a time I would never drop 1k on a single bottle.

Togri v. 2.0

Shouldn’t the expression be: put the bottle where the mouth is?

Naaah probably going back in my mother’s cellar for a couple more years. Now I am getting greedy

Here's a protip: put it back in the cellar and sell it after seven years. You know, when the stock market has recovered and there's a new bubble. Whisky prices follow the stock market, much like most asset classes.

Edited: Oct 21, 2022

 

[Faz]

Archer

The 16 YO is $165 here in Ontario...

Same in Quebec and out of stock unfortunately.

 

[kkt]

Aged 16 years in cask is the typical aging time for Lagavulin. My local liquor store says $105 (in a state with relatively high liquor taxes) and out of stock. It's a very good whiskey, but don't expect this to be some super-valuable rare nector especially when the bottle has been open. Have a sip, and if you like it keep having sips once in a while. Enjoy.

 

[Togri v. 2.0]

Nupero

EDIT: After some digging it seems OP's bottle is from about 1995-1998. That would put the value somewhere around $300-450.

How do you tell? It should be older, as I believe I bought it in 2002/2003 along with all the other bottles, I bought at my after school work. I could be wrong of course but I don’t remember buying it after. There is no bottle code on the label but there is a code on the inside of the label. It is just hard to read

 

[Togri v. 2.0]

Here is a photo of the inside of the label

Looks like: LLJL03525935

 

[Nupero]

Togri v. 2.0

Here is a photo of the inside of the label

Looks like: LLJL03525935

According to this post, code LLJL indicates a 1998 bottling.

"Hier geistern im Internet diverse Einteilungen, die ich noch nicht zu 100% verifizieren konnte. Demnach soll A = 1988, B = 1989, C = 1990, D = 1991, E= 1992, F = 1993, G = 1994, H = 1995, I = ausgelassen, J = 1996, K = 1997, L = 1998 und M = 1999."

Also, your bottle has the words 1816 ISLA embossed in glass. Older bottlings from 80s to early 90s have them painted in gold. Interestingly 1998 was the final year Lagavulin produced the White Horse Distillers series, so your 16yo Lagavulin is one of the last classics

Togri v. 2.0

How do you tell? It should be older, as I believe I bought it in 2002/2003 along with all the other bottles

Just to make sure we are on the same page, date code refers to when the scotch was bottled, not distilled. So the spirit in this bottle was distilled in 1982, aged 16 years, bottled in 1998 and purchased by you in 2002/2003.

Edited: Oct 22, 2022

 

[tmw57]

Davidt

Lagavulin is the devils juice. In a good way. Absolutely wonderful.

And the 16 year old is "The Bomb" as the young folks like to say

 

[Togri v. 2.0]

Nupero

According to this post, code LLJL indicates a 1998 bottling.

"Hier geistern im Internet diverse Einteilungen, die ich noch nicht zu 100% verifizieren konnte. Demnach soll A = 1988, B = 1989, C = 1990, D = 1991, E= 1992, F = 1993, G = 1994, H = 1995, I = ausgelassen, J = 1996, K = 1997, L = 1998 und M = 1999."

Also, your bottle has the words 1816 ISLA embossed in glass. Older bottlings from 80s to early 90s have them painted in gold. Interestingly 1998 was the final year Lagavulin produced the White Horse Distillers series, so your 16yo Lagavulin is one of the last classics

Very interesting. Thank you so much for the help, very kind of you. The info is a bit harder to come by than Omega serial number charts

It’s also me screwing around on the dates. Of course a bottling in 1998 fits me buying it in 2002.

 

[Donn Chambers]

Nupero

According to this post, code LLJL indicates a 1998 bottling.

"Hier geistern im Internet diverse Einteilungen, die ich noch nicht zu 100% verifizieren konnte. Demnach soll A = 1988, B = 1989, C = 1990, D = 1991, E= 1992, F = 1993, G = 1994, H = 1995, I = ausgelassen, J = 1996, K = 1997, L = 1998 und M = 1999."

Also, your bottle has the words 1816 ISLA embossed in glass. Older bottlings from 80s to early 90s have them painted in gold. Interestingly 1998 was the final year Lagavulin produced the White Horse Distillers series, so your 16yo Lagavulin is one of the last classics



Just to make sure we are on the same page, date code refers to when the scotch was bottled, not distilled. So the spirit in this bottle was distilled in 1982, aged 16 years, bottled in 1998 and purchased by you in 2002/2003.

Just a small clarification about Scotch ages on the bottle. 16 years indicates the YOUNGEST barrel used in the blend that went into the bottle, not the age of all them. Single malts (unless it indicates it came from a single barrel) blend multiple barrels from the same distillery to get the taste profile the master distiller wants. There could be a lot older barrels used in the mix, and likely were in these older bottles before the popularity soared. That’s one reason older bottles are highly sought.

 

[watchthinker]

Is it good? Hmmm....maybe you should crowd source the question by issuing and open invite so we can check?

I've never opened an old bottle but, in general, Lagavulin is a smokey, wonderful substance given to us as proof the almighty loves us and wants us to be happy. It is something that I think of drinking on a fall afternoon or during the holidays next to a fire.