Our 73rd Annual Cheatsheet for the Upcoming BCL Spirit Release

Well, here we are again. After a cancellation in the fall due to the BCLC strike, the annual spirit release is back and it’s not just the time of year that’s different. For starters, thanks to the ongoing tariff spat with the stable genius down south there’s no bourbon, which has been the fastest growing segment in spirits collectables over the past decade, but the market in general has been shifting with decreased spirit consumption across the board being the norm.

That being said, one of the few growth areas is the ultra-premium stuff—this release features a cool 18 bottles priced at over $1,000. I won’t be wading into said territory as I haven’t tasted any of them, but notwithstanding can advise in my experience the law of diminishing returns starts at about $175-200 in the world of whisky and climbs rapidly thereafter. To put it another way—there may be a multitude of reasons one might spend 4 figures on a bottle of spirits, but taste generally ain’t one of them.

But if you’re one of those throwbacks who actually like drinking liquor instead of “investing,” there’s some gems hidden in the mix. Here are the best of them that are approachable by mere mortals.

Aberlour 14 $130

Aberlour has been so successful with it’s A’bunudh series of cask strength whiskies, that it’s easy to forget about their everyday offerings, but this bottle of 14 is a bit of curveball. It’s pretty heavy on the fruit notes—orange peel first and foremost—before getting a wee bit chunky with wood thereafter.  I appreciate this isn’t a huge sell job. Add to that, it’s not exactly rare and the pricing is pretty much right where it should be, but it’s new for us and that’s what passes for a win in this kooky closed liquor system of ours.

Glenlivet Fusion $125

One of the fun/necessary jobs this release is to source whiskies that can reasonably take the place of the absent bourbon and while the natural choices are the Canadian Whiskies (more on them below), this offering from The Glenlivet is probably the best choice if you’re wanting something Scottish, but that stills channels a Kentucky-vibe. They take their classically smooth highland malt and age it in bourbon and then rum casks and the result is a richer, frankly sweeter, take on Scotch—maybe a bit of banana pudding with Skor bits, which even as a write it sounds sort of awesome.

Glenmorangie A Tale of Spices $130

Glenmorangie has been undergoing pretty major changes of late. They’ve redone all their bottles, they’ve changed their legendary 10-year to a 12 and hired that legendary grump Harrison Ford to be their spokesperson. It generally would be too much, especially given that I was of the mind that everything was already great at the distillery. But when you have the best mind in whisky (Dr. Bill Lumsden) with the savvy of LVMH (Glenmorangie’s deep-pocketed owner) great things can happen. One of big successes has been their Tale of Series, where they hit upon a flavour profile each year and craft a malt to match. There’s been a Tale of Forest, a Tale of Ice Cream, A Tale of Tokyo and they’ve been one of the few reasonably priced malts to get collectors excited. This year’s entry is a Tale of Spice and it’s wonderful: four types of casks are used, which is a lot, but the result is a cavalcade of notes including floral, peppery, cloves etc. Fun malt and the bottle looks gorgeous on the back bar.

Ardbeg Eureka $135

I’ve become a bit of an Ardbeg completist—an expensive hobby let me tell you—so take my thumbs up here with a grain of salt, sprayed fresh from the North Atlantic. But it’s less smoky than most Ardbeg releases, is really well priced and comes in at 52.2% of wallop. And full disclosure, I haven’t tasted it yet but if I was a betting man choosing which bottle would have the best ROI in 5 years, you’re looking at it.

The Yearly Diageo Release Debacle $Overpriced

Every year I say don’t buy these, they’re not special and they’re way overpriced. And every year if you wait a few months they go on discount, because they’re not special and they’re way overpriced. Both the 2023 and the 2024 “special” releases of Talisker (a malt that I truly love btw) are still on sale at the BCL, so that should show you just how special they are. Hard. Pass. (And this isn’t because I faithfully collected the entire Game of Thrones Diageo series thinking I’d strike it rich). It’s not bad whisky, and some of them are quite good, they’re just not worth the premium being asked.

Blue Spot 7-year-old Irish Whiskey $160

Middleton’s spot whiskies have always been beloved by collectors/drinkers. The original Green Spot used to be so tricky to find that it became a sort of game to find places both inside and outside or Ireland that stocked it. Middleton, now the brands owner, wasn’t about to let a good trend go to waste so they started new “colours” to entice fans. And for the most part it has worked. Green is very easy to find these days, but Blue is far trickier and that’s why a 7-year-old whisky costs $160, when the 12-year-old Yellow Spot in the same release is $130. And you can buy the 10-year-old Green Spot all year long at $85. It’s not because the Blue Spot is cask strength, it’s because it’s perceived as more rare. This manufactured scarcity is definitely a wank, but the reality is the Spot series, BS aside, is really good Irish Whiskey. Still, the contents of this bottle should be $70, the remaining $90 is for the “collectability,” so proceed at your own peril.

Nikka From the Barrel “Extra Marriage”  $80

It’s a deep release for all things Japanese here, but Lord the prices! I haven’t tasted these so I won’t opine other than to say they Chichibu offerings are crazy priced and look interesting. And if you want cred from hipsters who don’t actually drink whisky, there’s a very cool looking Nikka from the Barrel edition called, in a very Japanese way, “Extra Marriage.”

 

Alberta Premium 20-Year-Old Rye $70

The embargo means we don’t have access to American craft ryes like the famed Whistlepig or Sazerac and honestly, who cares when you can buy this glorious bottle from the most nondescript distillery in an industrial pocket of Calgary. It is the single best deal in the release, a 20-year old rye that’s still priced such that you could still make cocktails with it without feeling guilty. Or drink it on its own. Either way, you’re a winner. There should be a Heritage Minute on this bottle.

Wiser’s 24-year-old Decades Series $255

The problem with Alberta Premium’s insanely low price is that it makes the other premium Canadian Whiskies look quite pricey. But look at it this way—if this quite-wonderful bottle of 24-year-old Wiser’s was Scotch, it would be over $1,000. And it’s a really a lovely whiskey: warm, mellow with distinct caramel apple and spice notes. It’s a testament as to what blending and aging can do to a well-made Canadian dram.

Condessa Gin Prickly Pear and Orange Blossom Gin $57

I generally avoid “premium” gins, as shelf gin frankly works like a damn in most cocktails…but if you need a hyper specific taste profile like this one, you’re sorta hooped. The only other point is that I was just in Guadalajara and this Gin was pretty much the same price there as it was here, so it’s pretty reasonable on that front. Is it hard to find? Not really, but it’s sorta cool.

Avion Reserva 44 Extra Anejo $150

I’m not a huge “extra anejo” guy, because I love the clean clear taste of agave, but if you like the more robust, warm vibes of Anejo then this bottle is a pretty great deal at the BCL. We usually get hosed on tequila prices up here so this is a nice respite at the higher end. Again, you can find this bottle at most decent liquor stores in the US so no need to stand in line, but a decent effort by the BCL on this one.