Single Malt suggestions

Joined Jan 2006
752 Posts | 0+
Kansas City
I am just developing a taste for Scotch and was wondering if anyone has a suggestion for my next bottle. I have just finished a bottle of Glenmoragie 10yo, and thought it was pretty good. Other than this I have only tried Macallan 12yo, 18yo, and 25 yo (Which I thought was incredible!) I would like to stay under $100. I do have a bottle of Macallan 18yo now, but want something else to try. Thanks in advance for your help.
~S
 
I'm certain vince and bloofington will chime in here with alot of good advice. As for myself, I'm a huge single malt fan and here are my suggestions with PA approximate pricing

these are all good and I would highly recommend any of them

Glenmorangie 12 year with Maderia wood finish - $50
Macallan 12 year - $43
Macallan cask strength - not sure
Glenfarclas 21 year $80

I also highly recommend the following Irish Whiskey:
Red Breast 12 year - $48

For bourbon's, bloofington is the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-blonde source, but my preference is Knob Creek ($27) but then again, I haven't been able to find quite a few of the ones that bloof rates higher - still looking for those
 
ahhh yes the water of Life, Scotch for a first timer I would suggest starting with blends but you jumped in right off the bat with a 25 YO Macallen , Bam , you hit the mother load right off the bat, no place to go but Down now ! , so lets do this alphabetically
Aberlour 10YO $33.00
Bowmore Dawn 103 proof $44.00
Dalmore 12 YO $33.00 ( Not the cigar malt, I find it to sweet)
Dalwhinnie 15 YO $45.00
Glenlivet 12 YO $ 34.00 18 YO $60.00
Highland Park 12 YO $38.00 18 YO $75.00
Oban 14YO $60.00
AND MY ALL TIME LOWWWW COST Great tasting single malt is Spayburn 10 YO under $25.00 a bottle, my go to dramm, sure I do drink some of the old stuff like the 25 & the 18 YO stuff, but not every day, I like thew taste of the Spayburn ( A Burn is a River is Galic) so it is the River Spay , I hope this helps, you got to ask the KING of Borboun about the other stuff, Oh yea Irish Whisky Red Breast is fine, Knappogue Castle is a fine dram & I am working on a bottle of Connermara Single Malt Irish whisky , Tullamore Dew is fine & I do enjoy a weee dram of Bushmills from time to time Jameson & John Power are are also wonderfull on Saint Patricks Day as well as any thing with a proof higher than beer or wine ! hahahaha
Enjoy, Vince
 
thank you, Gentlemen! I will take this list with me and see what the local store has to offer.


About Irish Whiskey... do you drink it the same as Scotch? I have been drinking my Scotch with just a splash of filtered water...is this ok, or is it sacrilage? :shock:
 
I started out drinking them both with a splash of water and a few ice cubes, then I went to just ice cubes, now I drink it plain - I think it tastes better that way. But, it's also much more intimidating that way, so I'd ease into it like you're doing right now
 
Well I stopped by the local spirit store while I was out today. The selection was not too good, but this is what I ended up with:

Scotch:
1 bottle of Bowmore 12yo
1 bottle of Oban 14yo

Wine:
1 bottle of Dynamite Cab. (if you happen to like cabs, this is a pretty good one, at least IMO. Worth a try anyway)
 
vince said:
ahhh yes the water of Life, Scotch for a first timer I would suggest starting with blends but you jumped in right off the bat with a 25 YO Macallen , Bam , you hit the mother load right off the bat, no place to go but Down now ! , so lets do this alphabetically
Aberlour 10YO $33.00
Bowmore Dawn 103 proof $44.00
Dalmore 12 YO $33.00 ( Not the cigar malt, I find it to sweet)
Dalwhinnie 15 YO $45.00
Glenlivet 12 YO $ 34.00 18 YO $60.00
Highland Park 12 YO $38.00 18 YO $75.00
Oban 14YO $60.00
AND MY ALL TIME LOWWWW COST Great tasting single malt is Spayburn 10 YO under $25.00 a bottle, my go to dramm, sure I do drink some of the old stuff like the 25 & the 18 YO stuff, but not every day, I like thew taste of the Spayburn ( A Burn is a River is Galic) so it is the River Spay , I hope this helps, you got to ask the KING of Borboun about the other stuff, Oh yea Irish Whisky Red Breast is fine, Knappogue Castle is a fine dram & I am working on a bottle of Connermara Single Malt Irish whisky , Tullamore Dew is fine & I do enjoy a weee dram of Bushmills from time to time Jameson & John Power are are also wonderfull on Saint Patricks Day as well as any thing with a proof higher than beer or wine ! hahahaha
Enjoy, Vince
Hooray! Vince is wonderful!

thanks.
 
Cybrus and Vince both have good taste in scotch. Two they forgot is The Abalour Abounah which is a cask strength. very smooth very good $54. And a Glen Garoich $24.
 
I am working on a bottle of the A'bradh right now, 121 proof but a bit on the sweet side, not as sweet as Cigar malt by Dolmore . there is a good reason not to have it on the list, I dont think that a first time scotch drinker or a scotch novice would like it, I didnt want to over load them with the smoke & sweetness of the fine dram.

I havent tasted the Glen Garoich as yet , so it is had to recomend some thing you havent tasted, it is not offered by the state of Pa, when we move in to the 19th centery here in Pa & get private owned shops then maybe we will get it, if I want some thing that isnt in the state stores price list they will order it for you but you need to take the entire case all at the same time , NO WAY am I going to buy 12 bottles of whisky I havent tasted yet,
Enjoy, Vince
 
Vince, Makes sense with the Abunah, but I have given it to people who are not real scotch drinkers and even they are like wow this tastes really good.

Yeah I wouldn't recommend something if I have not tried it either. Washington is also like PA in that we have state run stores. They actaully have a very good selection which I can see on their web and also see what store has what bottles. Heck surprizingly they even have $3,000 bottles. Personally I have stayed under $100 for all my bottle so far.

Vince some day we need to BS over a couple drams and a cigar.

Cheers
Martin
 
Red - you're welcome out here anytime - there are quite a few people from the board in our area! Just swing on by (if only it were that easy)
 
Had my first dram of Islay Scotch last night (Bowmore 12yo) It was not bad.... I finally understand what the "smokie" taste is all about...hehe. I am not sure I could drink this all the time yet, but I liked it. Going to take a little getting used to. Tonight I will try the Oban... glad I got a couple from different areas, so I can better understand the differences.
~S
 
Hehe, I was going to say something about Laphroaig. You beat me to it. Laphroaig was the first single malt I ever tasted, and it was HARD to get me to try any others! I kept thinking, "So, seaweed, burnt cork, saltwater and alcohol. Why do people drink this crap!?" The experience drove me back to Rebel Yell...

Luckily, I got over it.
 
Spider, is that the '02 Dynamite? If so, give it a year or two. I think this version is gonna be really good, but unlike some of their other years, it did not mature as year as it has in the past and is not ready to go yet. Trust me, buy a box now and forget about it for a year. You will thank me in a year.
 
phisherman said:
Spider, is that the '02 Dynamite? If so, give it a year or two. I think this version is gonna be really good, but unlike some of their other years, it did not mature as year as it has in the past and is not ready to go yet. Trust me, buy a box now and forget about it for a year. You will thank me in a year.


I actually think it was '03, but not 100% on that... will check when I get home from the office. I do not know much about wine, only that I tend to perfer Cabs. Sterling is a favorite of mine, and I had a glass of Alixander Valley Reserve at a resaurant over the weekend, It was VERY good.
 
Phish...it was the '02. My mistake... I will have to look into you suggestion of putting some back for a year. I thought this botle was pretty good, but i can see where it could improve.
 
well we are waiting for your report on the OBAN!
Enjoy, Vince
 
LOL, sorry, Vince. I had a dram of the Oban 14 a couple nights ago. It was ok, I thought it a bit harsh (sorry, I do not know whisk[e]y lingo.) The taste was good, but was not very smooth to me. Last night I had some of the Macallan 18...like you said, Vince, I have spoiled myself from the get go.... none of the few I have tried so far come close to the Macallan for smoothness, at least IMHO. I think the next bottle I get I am going to stick with the Macallan. Maybe get a bottle of 12 yo, the glass I had of that was damn fine too. Although I am curious to try the cask strength you mentioned. I will have to find a store with better selection for that though.
~S