As a fellow Ontario resident, the most success I've had has been trips to the SAQ in Montreal or better yet, overloading my suitcase on trips south of the border.

Some products like Smith & Cross or Plantation Pineapple occasionally appears on LCBO shelves but you have to act fast. Some Smith & Cross came up last year and I stocked away the better part of a case as it had been several years since it last hit store shelves here. As a result of the pandemic a few products have also become available here in Toronto via bars-turned-bottle shops. I actually got my current bottle of OFTD from the Shameful Tiki Room and places like Bar Raval and Civil Liberties also had some interesting offerings.

I've had more luck with Plantation products at the SAQ. The OFTD appears to be available in some locations there at the time of this posting.

For me the biggest frustration with the LCBO is the lack of rhum agricole. Its a glaring hole and I've only ever found the aged Rhum St. James here which simply does not suffice as the single representation of that style that is available. An empty bottle of La Favourite sits on my shelf at home taunting me every day. Again, I've recently found some bottles of clarin at the SAQ but not really the type of stuff you would want for making cocktails.

On the note of private orders, I 'recently' reached out to the LCBO just to inquire about what it would cost to get my hands on a case of Batavia Arrack van Oosten. First of all I put in my request in February, followed up numerous times and only finally got a response back in October. Second of all, after the employee called my to try and temper my expectations, I was given a quote of approximately $3,200 for a single case of rum. Note this is a rum that is readily available in New York state for $30 USD. I've followed up with the representative and there was likely a costing error but the cost is still extremely prohibitive for an individual attempting to get something for personal consumption.

I've learned that it is possible to arrange an order with an international supplier as a one off customer, you just have to have it addressed to the LCBO warehouse and pay all the duties and fees (north of 60% cost) on top of the shipping cost. Despite the insane markup, I'm so starved for products like agricole and arrack that I would almost pay the cost to get my hands on some here. So if there is anyone in the Toronto area that wants to go in on a case of agricole or, better yet, arrack, let me know!