New to Scotch

Hello there!
I am.. well a noob when it comes to scotch and.. was wondering what you would recommend trying? Not overly fond of too peaty tasting,, and this forum is very cool love just looking it over...

ty

[Jojo]

Hey there Ty - the best advice I have for you is to start attending Scotch tastings / events. This is where you will find out what YOU like best! As for me, some of my favorites include Glengoyne 10 & 17 year, Glenmorangie D'or and Quinta Ruban (let it be known I would have a hard time ever trying to turn away anything from Glenmorangie ) Macallan Cask Strength, Balvenie 21 Year Portwood, Benromach Organic (recently tried this at a tasting - very smooth, fruit, vanilla, toffee flavors). Also just tried a Gordon & MacPhail Smith's Glenlivet 15 year which I thought was simply outstanding. I could go on and on and on..... BTW - Have you checked out this thread: http://whisky.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38

Originally Posted by Jojo

Hey there Ty - the best advice I have for you is to start attending Scotch tastings / events. This is where you will find out what YOU like best! As for me, some of my favorites include Glengoyne 10 & 17 year, Glenmorangie D'or and Quinta Ruban (let it be known I would have a hard time ever trying to turn away anything from Glenmorangie ) Macallan Cask Strength, Balvenie 21 Year Portwood, Benromach Organic (recently tried this at a tasting - very smooth, fruit, vanilla, toffee flavors). Also just tried a Gordon & MacPhail Smith's Glenlivet 15 year which I thought was simply outstanding. I could go on and on and on..... BTW - Have you checked out this thread: http://whisky.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38

Oh, I love reading about the.. well flavors... how do you get all those flavors to come out? Sounds so tasty heh

[buckeyede06]

So how does one "taste" whiskey? This is a shortened version;

Pour the drink into a whiskey glass, I use Glencairn glasses. Any glass will do but it should have a slight tulip shape to concentrate the vapors into a small area. Notice the color as there are actually many different colors in whiskey.
Swirl the glass and watch the whiskey settle, look at the "legs" that form on the glasses. This tells a lot about the viscosity and age of the drink.
Smell the drink, gentle sniffs, three times. The first sniff you usually just get that smell of alcohol and nothing else. With each progressive sniff you notice more smells. I often smell honey, vanilla, smoke, and berries. ( I like Highlands and Speyside scotchs)
Now actual raise the glass to your lips, take a small sip and make sure the drink hits the middle of your tongue. This is possible by sticking your tongue out a little bit on the rim of the glass. This helps relieve the bite of liquor (you can do this with all drinks too). Hold the liquid in your mouth and "roll" it from side to side and notice its sweet/sour/spicy taste. When you feel ready, drink it down and feel its presence drift up your throat and you get another "taste" of the vapors as it travels down. You can add water to the drink but be careful it can alter the taste but also release a whole new level of smells! Use the same water each time.
That is how you taste whiskey/whisky! O and when you see "whisky" with no "e" its a Scotch.

http://someofthefinerthings.blogspot.com/

I am interested in buying my first bottle of Scotch, while I'm on a budget, I would like this to be a memorable bottle. I have tried Glenlivet 12 and 18; I really liked the 18 but I'm hoping to get something a little bit cheaper and something I haven't had before. I live in central Indiana, near Terre Haute, searched for scotch tastings and didn't find any. There is a liquor store nearby that stocks about 15-20 types of single malt from $45-$250.

So... all that being said, I'm am looking for a recommendation on a common whisky that is less than $60. I would also like to know what kind of flavors/smells to look for if you know of any. We have a sort of nosing glass from a winery and I am really excited to decipher all the flavors and smells. I've looked through the single malt stickies on recommendations and how to taste/drink it, all very cool. Thanks for any help.