My local bottle shop

[Calliope]

This is just a place in the Melbourne burbs, but I thought it might be interesing to see what we can buy nearby.

[les taylor]

Calliope that looks good that you get some good variety. But is everything behind glass? I guess that's for security. Are you able to pick up the bottles and look at them before purchase.

[Malt-Teaser]

That looks like the old Ardbeg 10, I wonder when you'll get the new one?

When you do, you must do a H2H and tell us what you think.
MT

[Calliope]

Bottles in the top photo are not behind glass. The lower two photos are of the same cabinet, I couldn't get far enough away to squeeze them into the same shot.

Do you really think that's a good variety? What I like about Edinburgh shops is rows and rows of labels I've never heard of. Mysterious.

There are plenty of staff in the store I've photographed. I don't think they're all experts but they do seem to have keys so I'm sure they'd be happy to open the doors.

[Nick Brown]

An interesting selection - thanks for posting Calliope. It was especially encouraging to see independent bottlers on the shelves. Some of the prices look a little eye watering, though.

[Calliope]

At the risk of displaying my ignorance, which particular prices are much higher than they are in the UK?

[Nick Brown]

The higher priced stuff looks expensive - HP18 is £50; Glenfarclas 30 is £115. The Laphroaig 10, too, is £26 here. (All prices at Royal Mile Whiskies)

[Calliope]

I see what you mean - though I don't think the price differences are hugely unreasonable. 50 pounds (no pound symbol on my keyboard!) is about $120, and this bottleo is a lot further from Highland Park than is Royal Mile Whiskies.

I just checked and the HP12 is 28pounds at Royal Mile, or $54 here (about 22pounds) so maybe you win some, lose some - though there's probably more of a premium on the pricier bottles just because it costs more per unit to move items with fewer sales.

[Yello to Mello]

For the variety itself, if I went to Australia I wouldn't expect that much. There might be a few missing but thats ok.

That Australian dollars right? I guess that needs to be kept in mind...I just checked and it seems 1 USD = 1.55 AUS and 1 CAD = 1.25 AUS therefore I can say the prices are somewhat reasonable.

From my music forums its the Aussies that complain the most about their variety of albums and how much they are since they need to get them from an international Amazon.

[Yello to Mello]

Looking at prices that are visible and currency conversions and thinking of the cost to import all the way "down there", Ardbeg 10 for $74 AUS and the Talisker 10 for 60 something look like the best deals....HP12 too.

The Balvanie DW is a ripoff.....nice displaying nevertheless.

[tmaufer]

Wow. I really feel lucky to have two excellent shops in a 5-minute drive: K&L Wines and Beltramo's. There are a bunch of other great whisky shops in San Francisco, which is less than an hour away. It's nice to be spoiled. Prices are trending upward, or have been.

[Willie JJ]

Nice shop Calliope. I like the selection of Hart Brothers stuff.

[Gilles Deleuze]

Nice selection there!

As for me, well...let's just say that it says a lot about the single malt selection in North Carolina that my local shop is.....The Whisky Exchange in London.

[peat-chaser]

I dare say the selection isn´t rather impressing, but quite ok.
There might be some gemmes between the OMCs and Hart Bros bottlings.
I hope for you that this isn´t the only supplier you can use ....

[Calliope]

I dare say the selection isn´t rather impressing, but quite ok.
There might be some gemmes between the OMCs and Hart Bros bottlings.
I hope for you that this isn´t the only supplier you can use ....

This is just my local. I live a town that's in the process of being swallowed by a big city with many stores and the inner city ones are probably better - all the same it will be a long while before I can afford to have finished with this selection.

[peat-chaser]

Dear Calliope, this seems to be a global problem

Hey, I like the idea to 'talk' to a lady sitting in front of her pc right now in down under
It´s crazy, we saw our frist bit of snow of this winter right one or two hours ago and it´s half past midnight.
At the same time you may sit in your office or your garden, perhaps at 30° celsius or more in summers half
an hour to high noon???
Ok, it´s ONE wourld !!!

[Calliope]

A week ago it was over 35 degrees but right now I'm battening down the hatches - there is hail outside, and in Queensland (which sells itself as beautiful one day, perfect the next) this is going on,

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24683578-2702,00.html

SOUTHEAST Queensland is reeling from a succession of violent storms that have so far claimed two lives and led to traffic chaos in Brisbane as well as the worst flooding in 30 years of some of the state's best farmland.

Just after midnight yesterday, another violent storm moved into Brisbane and surrounding areas from the west, dumping up to 250mm of rain in some areas in a matter of hours.

The city of Ipswich and the Brisbane Valley to its immediate west were the worst hit in yesterday morning's storm, and one woman died when her car was swept away by raging floodwaters. The 85-year-old woman had been driving with her husband along a road near Laidley in the Lockyer Valley when the car was swept off the road by rising floodwaters just before 8am yesterday. Her body was recovered later in the day.

Her death was the second storm fatality in southeast Queensland this week - on Sunday night a 20-year-old man was killed after being stuck in a stormwater drain.

During peak hour last night, another fierce storm struck, bringing Brisbane traffic to a standstill. Blackwater, west of Rockhampton, was particularly hard hit, with dozens of homes badly damaged. A major concern for rescue authorities is that another storm is forecast for tomorrow, and the series of violent storms has led to a fatigued rescue force struggling to cope with the clean-up.

I have to say, this is all rather unusual. January is normally the month for extreme weather (storms or bushfires). This could be a long summer.

[peat-chaser]

I´m sorry to hear this, I didn´t know that summer might be the storm-season,
I hope your well and say good buy now for it´s becomming a bit late now.
CU Tommy

[Malt-Teaser]

I just awoke to the sight of that snow which Tommy spoke of.
I see a splattering on the driveway, but until I fully awake and really stick my head outside, I don't know exactly how much has fallen.

Must be time for a nice hot cup of tea!

[Sherried Malt]

Very nice selection, Calliope! Maybe not the selection our lucky friends in Scotland might have access to, but much better than what I can find around me! And that includes some shops in NYC...

And if you have an even broader selection at shops further away, nicely done!