Your Favorite Single Malts

[Mcbrad86]

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?

[jcp21]

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.

[Mcbrad86]

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.

[BourbonDrinker]

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.

[BourbonDrinker]

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.

[Mcbrad86]

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!

[Islay Peat]

Originally Posted by TheEtherMan

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 Uigeadail, Supernova, and Corryvreckan. 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.

I wonder if I'm the only Laphroaig 10 and Quarter Cask fan who didn't care for the Cask Strength version?
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.