Your Favorite Single Malts
 

Hi, I'm fairly new to scotch and my first bottle was JW red, what a disaster. My first single malt was Glenmorangie 10yo. I liked the smoothness and sweet taste. Next I tried laiphroaig 10yo and fell in love. At first i was surprised at the full mouth burn. It was almost overwhelming. After a few sips i got used to it and that was that. I haven't bought anything else since. I'm scared to buy something that's no good and dont really have the funds to buy something with a good age to it. What's your favorite sub-$100 bottle? Also, how long does a 750ml bottle last you?

I'm also fairly new to the scotch world, but I've tried about 12-15 different types over the past 6-8 months so I'm learning which ones I like best. My favorites right now are Bunnahabhain 12, Highland Park 12 and Ardbeg Uigeadail. Those are all under $100, with the Ardbeg the priciest at around $70. I like these because to me they seem to have nice mix of flavors. Bunnahabhain is nutty, Highland Park is a tasty mix of smoke and sweetness and the Uegadail is a bold and delicious mix of flavors, but it could be too strong for some. I've had all these bottles for several months. I don't touch them every day and when I do, it's usually a small amount. Good scotch isn't cheap so I try to make it last as long as possible. Do some research before you buy and you really can't go wrong if you're open to enough different varieties.

Thanks jcp. I've been wanting to try the ardbeg, especially the ugedial. I haven't heard of Bunnahabhain, but I will check it out. I was a bit skeptical of the highland park but I will definitely try it now, it's the only one of these that's actually available in my area. I suppose I'll have to purchase the others online. I have done a lot of research online but reviews differ greatly on many products. Ralfy does great reviews on YouTube and I get some recommendations from him as well. Thanks again for the reply your advice is much appreciated.

It sounds like you're a big fan of the powerful peat smoke flavor. If you like the Laphroaig 10, you'll love the 10 yr old cask strength. I know a couple peat freaks who rate the Laphroaig 10 cask strength above all other whiskies.
Laphroaig's not the only peat monster in town. Have a look at Ardbeg, particularly the Uigeadial, Supernova, and Corryvrecken. They offer a bit more than the standard Ardbeg, of which I'm not a big fan. Bowmore is also known for it's peat and is very nice. Some of the Bruichladdich offerings are heavily peated (Octomore) as is Springbank's Longrow brand. A fun vatted malt (malt blend) of peated whiskies is Big Peat. One that you can probably find anywhere is Talisker 10.
This should give you a place to start, and all of those should be at or below $100, so you won't be breaking the bank. It's worth noting that the "peat heat" tends to mellow with age, so if you are a fan of the BIG peat reek, older (and more expensive) won't necessarily be better. Have a look at some of their reviews and see what sounds good.
Keep us updated on what you like and we can make some better recommendations.
Cheers!
PS FYI, I really like Highland Park 12 & 18, but it's smoke essence is not peaty. You'll probably like it though, everyone seems to.:)

I forgot to mention Lavavulin 16. It's a peaty beast that's widely available and has some peat and medicinal properties in common with the Laphroaig.

Thanks for the recommendations. I definitely like the smoke and peat, you got that right my friend. I do enjoy a good a lighter whisky sometimes as well. I recently purchased a glenlivet box set bc it came with a couple of glasses and was a very good price. I like it a lot actually, glenmorangie is another one of my favorites, very smooth, creamy and fruity. I've been traveling to a lot of different of my state liquor stores bc they are way more reasonable than an average liquor store and each of them seem to have a different selection. I've been wanting to try the macallan 12yo and the balvenie which they have in my local store. They also have highland park 15 yo on sale for $57, that may just be my next purchase. How is the glenrothes? I'm not big on blends at all but they also have JW swing and JW gold at a very good discount. Let me know what you guys think I should do and not do. All advice is much appreciated.
P.S. my father just went to NYC and went to a specialty shop while he was there and got me a bottle, don't know what it is yet but I'll let you know when I get it!

I wonder if I'm the only Laphroaig 10 and Quarter Cask fan who didn't care for the Cask Strength version? :rolleyes:
However I definitely love the Ardbeg 10 and Uigeadail, although I thought the Galileo to be a big mistake. Blasda also appealed to me; very light, still nice.
Thanks for the list of suggestions and I hope I can find the Big Peat and Talisker 10.