What should I spend my gift card on?

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Fri Jun 27, 2014 7:22 pm

Got a $50 gift card for the LCBO - nothing to sneeze at. Question is, what should I buy?

I figured I'd take a trip down to summerhill or QQ.

Should I spend it on a bunch of beer or put it towards a nice bottle of something special?

What should I do? Help me spend it.

A few other factors - I'll be celebrating first day of summer vacation AND my birthday, so...yeah...

sofakingdrunk · Post by **sofakingdrunk** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 12:18 am

Personally, when i get gift cards i buy something i usually wouldn't spend the $ on myself. Considering that beer is 95% of what i buy myself normally.
That being said, do you drink rum?, if so, i'd put the $ towards a bottle of Dictador 12 year old columbian rum. I think it's around $64 last time i bought it, so you'd have to front some money. It's a great sipping rum, better than 95% of the single malt scotches i've had. Caramel, coffee and tonnes of toasted coconut flavour. I can't say enough good things about it. Worth every penny.
Another option i'd suggest, if you drink scotch, is a bottles of 3 ships whisky. A south african whisky. Really tasty stuff, and i believe only cost me around $35. An "everyday" whisky but still really tasty, and with enough $ left over to buy a 6 pack.

Just my(drunken) 2-cents

Craig · Post by **Craig** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 9:00 am

They just got aviation gin in, which is supposed to be great. They got dolin vermouth in a little while back, which is great. Combined you're looking at 55 bucks and some really nice Martinis, which is a nice celebratory drink.

sprague11 · Post by **sprague11** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 10:21 am

I'd use it as a 50 dollar discount on a nice bottle of scotch.

MatttthewGeorge · Post by **MatttthewGeorge** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 12:04 pm

sofakingdrunk wrote:Personally, when i get gift cards i buy something i usually wouldn't spend the $ on myself. Considering that beer is 95% of what i buy myself normally.
That being said, do you drink rum?, if so, i'd put the $ towards a bottle of Dictador 12 year old columbian rum. I think it's around $64 last time i bought it, so you'd have to front some money. It's a great sipping rum, better than 95% of the single malt scotches i've had. Caramel, coffee and tonnes of toasted coconut flavour. I can't say enough good things about it. Worth every penny.
Another option i'd suggest, if you drink scotch, is a bottles of 3 ships whisky. A south african whisky. Really tasty stuff, and i believe only cost me around $35. An "everyday" whisky but still really tasty, and with enough $ left over to buy a 6 pack.

Just my(drunken) 2-cents

Yeah, that 3 Ships is really great considering the price point. Good recommendation regardless of the gift card.

Ale's What Cures Ya · Sat Jun 28, 2014 12:36 pm

This.

http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo/product/auchen ... 67ucbFA4Zw

Inkling · Post by **Inkling** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 6:06 pm

Ale's What Cures Ya wrote:This.

http://www.lcbo.com/lcbo/product/auchen ... 67ucbFA4Zw

I can't afford that, but if I had a $50 LCBO gift certificate…oh man I'd be all over it!

BakaGaijin · Post by **BakaGaijin** » Sat Jun 28, 2014 7:31 pm

I recommend bourbon......because bourbon is awesome!

I used a few gift cards on to buy the Old Rip Van Winkle 10 year and the Van Winkle Lot B when they had the special releases.

You just missed out on the Four Roses 2013 Small Batch Limited Edition which was released a couple months ago. It was rated by many as one of the best whiskey's of 2013 and sold at the LCBO for the U.S. suggested retail price of $80. It was a steal.

W.L. Weller 12 year is going to be released at the LCBO in about two weeks. This is a well-regarded bourbon. It should retail for $45. It is the same juice as Pappy Van Winkle. Exact same mashbill and distilled at the same distillery (Buffalo Trace).

If you like wheated bourbon then wait a few weeks for that.

Four Roses Small Batch is very solid and it's at a similar price point to what it retails for in the U.S.

Elijah Craig 12 year is also quite good and I also have an open bottle of this on hand at all times.

Beer'n'gin · Post by **Beer'n'gin** » Mon Jun 30, 2014 9:35 am

BakaGaijin wrote:I recommend bourbon......because bourbon is awesome!

W.L. Weller 12 year is going to be released at the LCBO in about two weeks. This is a well-regarded bourbon. It should retail for $45. It is the same juice as Pappy Van Winkle. Exact same mashbill and distilled at the same distillery (Buffalo Trace).
If you like wheated bourbon then wait a few weeks for that..

This is great news as I have about an ounce of a bottle I bought from last release. Excellent stuff! Did the LCBO give you a product number and is it a vintages or regular listing?
Thanks. Definitely stocking up.

lister · Post by **lister** » Mon Jun 30, 2014 10:18 am

I've been using the various LCBO gift cards from Christmas and birthdays to get whiskeys and bourbons that were otherwise a little pricey.

BakaGaijin · Post by **BakaGaijin** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 8:15 pm

Beer'n'gin wrote:
BakaGaijin wrote:I recommend bourbon......because bourbon is awesome!

W.L. Weller 12 year is going to be released at the LCBO in about two weeks. This is a well-regarded bourbon. It should retail for $45. It is the same juice as Pappy Van Winkle. Exact same mashbill and distilled at the same distillery (Buffalo Trace).
If you like wheated bourbon then wait a few weeks for that..
This is great news as I have about an ounce of a bottle I bought from last release. Excellent stuff! Did the LCBO give you a product number and is it a vintages or regular listing?
Thanks. Definitely stocking up.

Got this info from the agent. #288886 - says it will be released through Vintages as per the agents hot sheet.

S. St. Jeb · Post by **S. St. Jeb** » Tue Jul 01, 2014 10:41 pm

Jeff, I'd really like to help you out. Let's meet at store sometime.

sofakingdrunk · Post by **sofakingdrunk** » Fri Jul 04, 2014 6:51 am

So....what did you end up getting Jeff?

JeffPorter · Post by **JeffPorter** » Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:06 am

I got this...

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-2623.aspx

for $63 - it's pretty nice. The great thing about summerhill is that little tasting room. For a buck you can try a nice half ounce of whiskey. I also tried Stalk and Barrel and while it was nice, it seemed sharp and young.

This was very approachable (especially me being a scotch noob) a little on the sweet and oaky side, but good for after dinner, which is when I'm likely to bring it out.

Even though I was willing to spend more, the guy in the tasting room really recommended it as a bit of a sleeper scotch worth a lot more than it's price tag.

If you're heading to summerhill anytime soon, well worth the dollar to try it out.

toweringpine · Post by **toweringpine** » Fri Jul 11, 2014 4:26 pm

I was handed a LCBO gift card this morning. There is no amount marked on it. Does anyone know if there is a way to determine its value or do I have to check at the store before I start shopping?