I’ve seen this bottle with the dogs on the label at A-mart for about $350. Haven’t tried it yet.
Recently picked up the Glenfarclas 1L 12 year single malt for $780. it’s a sherried one. Seems like pretty a good value. Would buy again.
That sounds like a good deal. Where did you find it at that price?
In hualien. A pretty amazing selection at this store. some prices are quite low, some not so much.
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The 1l bottles tend to be duty-free editions that find their way into Taiwanese retailers through some dodgy channels. Sometimes you can even see that they erased the lot number from the side of the bottle. Usually nothing wrong with them, just not brought in by the official importer.
Interesting info. I could totally see that. I think this one is a legit offering though. After I tried it I did the google rounds and saw a few things- apparently they recently discontinued the 70cl (or is it 75cl), and that the 1 liter is a reference or influence of duty free trends, and possibly for export. I watched the ralfy youtube vid (and the horst luening one too, they are both a riot) and he also noted something unrelated but interesting about trends- that 12 year age statements came about because it was something originally for the duty free market and before that the standard ageing was 10 years, and now 12 years is more the standard.
Also interesting that Teacher’s and Catto’s both come in that big bottle size, and also are affordable and quite quaffable.
anyways blah blah blah, drink da whisky 
I will say this store does have some oddball old stock and cast-offs. I have found a few hidden gems but also a couple that probably were not stored properly and likely suffered from it.
@marasan will definitely appreciate this now that he’s traveling to and from Taipei and Hualien.
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Will check it out! So far, this place has been good enough.
The website is so quaint. Got to love Hualien.
Over the weekend I finished off my own 1.75L bottle of the Costco 12-yr blend (bought it in late March). This is a very good value, I think. If memory serves I paid NT$1,149, so it clocks in at just under NT$657 per liter.
First glass was not impressive. I thought the flavor was just ok and the finish a little short. Ended up putting the bottle away.
In the meantime I bought and finished a bottle of Ballantine’s 12-yr blend. A few weeks back I also polished off a small bottle of Famous Grouse (also blend). Then I went back to the Costco blend, and finally it clicked just how good it is. fwiw, I don’t do ice and if the ABV isn’t above 40% I usually don’t even do water. The Costco is very good just the way it is, nothing added at all.
Purely on flavor I have the Costco at a head above the Ballantine and two heads above the Grouse. The value is very high. I just wish the damn bottle wasn’t so high (tall): that is one large bottle of whisky.
Ridiculous bottle. Good whisky. I will buy again.
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I was embarrassed when bringing that down to the recycled area at my apartment complex. Luckily nobody saw me. I will also buy again, but with the warm weather, I’m enjoying my beer now.
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A month back, for about a week it seemed like every morning I was taking a different empty bottle of booze out to the recycling area, and of course the same woman was there cleaning up every day. “Hi, just your friendly neighbourhood booze hound!”
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Drop in temps. Scotch it is. Drank the cheap stuff after this sampler.
Down at the cheap ass end of the road, 7-11 has started carrying travelers of Bell’s for the same price as the Grouse.
Seemed a little fruitier, not sure if I like it or not.
Either way, choice is good.
After all, we are not Communists.
That’s right where you want things sometimes. Okay, I’m drunk.
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Love that movie. Late 90s is when I really got into it. Wow, that was a different time for me.
Has anybody ever tried the Fire Whiskeys? I bought a bottle of Jack Daniels Tennessee Fire the last time I was in the US and I haven’t cracked it open because I don’t know how to approach it. Truth be told, I bought it as a bit of a novelty but I’m still sort of, kind of interested. The thing is, once I open it I’m committed to finishing the bottle, so…
In the States, yeah. Never tried the JD version, though. The undisputed king of cinnamon whisky is a Canadian outfit, Fireball Cinnamon Whisky. It’s very good for what it is, which is not whisky but is cinnamon flavored grain spirits. Tastes like cinnamon toothpicks from when I was a kid (you went to the pharmacist, bought a bottle of cinnamon oil in which you placed wooden toothpicks, let 'em soak, and sucked on them later).
Shots. Put the bottle in the freezer, and pour shots. Beer back.
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This one guy brought a bottle of that to my birthday party some years ago.
Blick
I thought it tasted like
I was under the impression, though, that it was the go to shot for freshman college girls who flash their bosoms at beer pong players.