I've been hearing around that there are people interested in Scotch, so I thought I'd put together a little list of stuff for people to try. This is by no means an all-inclusive list of good Single Malt Scotch Whiskeys to try, but it's a good starting point that provides good value and variety at approachable prices.
If you're new to the world of Single Malt Scotch, I suggest trying a sampling of Scotches from the four main regions of Scotch distillation: Speyside, Lowlands, Highlands and Islay as they each have pretty unique characteristics. Now there's a lot to say about how the regions are made up, etc. but since you're mainly looking for a buying list, here are my recommendations-
From the Spey:
Balvenie 12 yr Doublewood
Macallan 12 yr
Aberlour 10 yr
From the Highlands:
Glenmorangie 10 yr
Oban 14 yr
Old Pulteney 12 yr
Lowlands:
Glenkinchie 10 yr
Auchentoshan 10 yr
Islay:
Caol Ila 12 yr
Laphroaig 10 yr
Talisker 10 yr
For the most part, I've heard people often recommended older, more expensive bottles, and while they are good recommendations, the price points may scare off people new to scotch. There have been threads linking to Scotch related resources, which are awesome, but here's my list.
Also, if you're looking for a really cheap Scotch...most of them are wretched, but there is one: White Horse, a blend that is probably the only decent cheap Scotch out there. Even if you're only into single malts, and I have no reason to be drinking single malt that cheap...I'd rather not drink at all, but this stuff is actually pretty good. In blind tests, I've seen it mistaken for much, much more expensive whiskeys.:tu
If you're in my area and want to try some of the stuff on this list...let me know, if got approaching thirty open bottles of scotch in my collection...
If you're new to the world of Single Malt Scotch, I suggest trying a sampling of Scotches from the four main regions of Scotch distillation: Speyside, Lowlands, Highlands and Islay as they each have pretty unique characteristics. Now there's a lot to say about how the regions are made up, etc. but since you're mainly looking for a buying list, here are my recommendations-
From the Spey:
Balvenie 12 yr Doublewood
Macallan 12 yr
Aberlour 10 yr
From the Highlands:
Glenmorangie 10 yr
Oban 14 yr
Old Pulteney 12 yr
Lowlands:
Glenkinchie 10 yr
Auchentoshan 10 yr
Islay:
Caol Ila 12 yr
Laphroaig 10 yr
Talisker 10 yr
For the most part, I've heard people often recommended older, more expensive bottles, and while they are good recommendations, the price points may scare off people new to scotch. There have been threads linking to Scotch related resources, which are awesome, but here's my list.
Also, if you're looking for a really cheap Scotch...most of them are wretched, but there is one: White Horse, a blend that is probably the only decent cheap Scotch out there. Even if you're only into single malts, and I have no reason to be drinking single malt that cheap...I'd rather not drink at all, but this stuff is actually pretty good. In blind tests, I've seen it mistaken for much, much more expensive whiskeys.:tu
If you're in my area and want to try some of the stuff on this list...let me know, if got approaching thirty open bottles of scotch in my collection...