Single Malt Scotch
 

So what's your favorite bargain basement Scotch? What's the one you don't mind spending a ridiculous amount of money on because it's just that good? For me I think Glenfiddich 12yr is the best bang for the buck. Nothing fancy but smooth and enjoyable. KenyanSandBoa also mentioned Balvenie Double Wood in a recent thread which I think is also an excellent value. I was never a big fan of scotch for many years, probably due to the fact that all I'd had was Dewars or Chivas. Then for Father's day one year I bought my Dad a bottle of Macallan 18yr old. Well, that one reinvented the wheel for me. Earthy, smoky, wonderful. So, what does it for you?

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

My favorite is the Glenlivet Nadurra (16 yr), but it is a little pricey.

Best "bang for the buck" for me is the Speyburn 10 yr...

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...Speyburn10.jpg

About $26, and as BarneyBandMan said, "I would drink this!" (Which is a little odd because he WAS drinking it.) :ss

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was doing quick google while thinking about this and noticed that kl wines has Glenlivet 12 for $23.50
that is an incredible price!
might have to buy some myself!

http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sk...TPV-Googlebase

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

The Nadurra is an excellent malt - and for the price? Definitely worth getting a bottle.

Also, I'd recommend the Balvenie 12 DoubleWood:
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showthread.php?t=31096

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

When I first started drinking scotch, I didn't like Glenfiddich at all. Then my sister-in-law gave me a sampler for Christmas with the 12, 15 and 18. I was pleasantly surprised with them all, but epecially the 12. At about 35 bucks a pop around here, that's not too bad. I also have to revisit the Glenlivet 12, because I was never impressed with it either, though the 18 is one of my favorites.

I also like Balvenie, but its just over $50 a bottle here. Not that it is too much, but its less of a bargain than some others being mentioned in here. Though for the money, I actually prefer the Macallan 12 yr sherry cask. Same price and just tastes richer to me with characteristics similar to the balvenie.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

I'm an Islay fan, my favorite low end malt is Bowmore Legend, generally runs about $30.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

If you were pleasantly surprised with the Glenfiddich on the last go-round, I'd recommend finding the Glenfiddich 21 - it is a caribbean rum finished whisky, which pairs well with cigars due to the rum influence. (Springbank and Balvenie also have rum-finished whiskies.)

And Macallan richer than Balvenie? Blasphemy!! :c
(just kidding - to each their own!)

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Glenlivet 12 is my go-to every day scotch. Not too expensive but good flavor.

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Yeah I said it! I think the Macallan has more body too. But they are both great scotches in my book.

Thanks for the suggestion on the 21. I'll have to give that a try. :tu

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I bought a bottle of Yamazaki 12 last night, lack of choices. I was impressed with it. It is a Single Malt made in Japan. It has a strong butterscotch flavor and went down real smooth. I usually drink Glenlivit 12.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

The 18 is also very well regarded. Also from Japan is Karuizawa - the prices seem to really have gone up, but if you can find a bottle I would highly recommend it. :tu

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

tbe glenlivet, mccallan and balvenie are all good choices....for around $ 20/btl i usually get either Lismore or McClellands as an everyday drinking scotch...both good for the price when i dont want to touch the good stuff

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I am having what I would say is the BEST Single Malt I have ever had. Its the Glenfiddich Caoran Reserve. The bottle was a gift from a friend.

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...ch12Caoran.jpg

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I didn't even know this existed. Gonna have to hunt some down.

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I've been known to ply cigar smokers on my patio with scotch. I don't know anything about bargain basement ones, however.

If you have questions about 25 y.o. and older and specialized bottlings, I may be able to provide some info from my experience.

Haven't bought any scotch since I quit regularly drinking it, maybe in 2000. Still have 20 or so bottles left (nearly all gone!). The 27 y.o. Rosebank private bottling is an exceptional example of the craft. Only a few wee drams left in that bottle. It shall be missed.

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what patio? what scotch? :D

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I'm with markem, life is too short for cheap scotch but if I had to choose a "bargin" scotch it would be Smokehead for about $60 locally (that's as cheap as malt gets in BC :( ) or significantly less if I pop over to Alberta or WA. My "cheap" scotch used to be Ardbeg 10 and Laphroaig 10 before demand pushed the former to $100/bottle and discontinued the latter in Canada.

In terms of favourite regardless of price?

Toss up between the Laphroiag 15yr (Prince Charles' favourite whisky, awarded his Royal Warrant to the distillery for it), Bowmore 17yr (now re-released as an 18yr) the Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist, Lagavulin 16 and Longrow 14.

The picture's a little out of date now, but this is my whisky cabinet. I tend to buy in doubles and triples so most of the tubes behind the bottles have an unopened bottle in them as well. My friends refer to them as "shark's teeth" bottles :r

http://gallery.mithril.ca/albums/whi...t_20080324.jpg

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

There is no such thing as a "bargain basement" Single Malt if you appreciate the fine qualities of Single Malt then the basement is no place for you to shop. Laphroiag is about the lowest level Single Malt that one can appreciate IMHO.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

My first SMS was a Glenfiddich 12yr...couldn't stand it at all. Learned from my mistake of buying a full 750ml and started trying every single small bottle of SMS I could find. Finally settled on Glenmorangie and bought a bottle of their 10yr. I really enjoyed that and tried their Sherry and Port cask matured bottles too. I've tried many others but I always find myself enjoying these as the best bang for my buck. At ~$60 a bottle it's not cheap, but really that's about as cheap as I can get without getting into bottels I don't like. Of course you can find better stuff for more money, but these have been my favorite "every day" drinkers.

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I found a bottle of Bowmore for like 20 bucks in Dayton Ohio last year. Of course that was before I found out I was not a fan of Islay!

(MithrilG60, SWEET Ikea whiskey cabinet! I have a shelf like that, never thought to use it for my booze!)

EDIT! - Brutus2600, Glenmorangie is one of my favs too, if you like that, Aberlour isn't too far off in taste profile, even a little smoother I think, those are my 2 go-to's now!

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I searched for a whisky cabinet for a very long time before happpening across that Lack bookcase at IKEA. The problem with most bookcases/wallunits/etc was always their shelf height. I've got a couple bottles, like my Glen Garioch 21yr that came in presentation boxes instead of regular tubes and the Lack bookcase was would fit them. The fact that it looks ok too was a nice by-product ;)

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

I'll have to see if my local store has some Aberlour...I'd definitely be interested in trying it.

And all this talk got me wanting to drink some scotch! So I broke out some Glenmorangie and an Opus X I've been waiting to smoke for awhile. So far pretty tasty! :tu

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Not sure I would call this a bargain Scotch, but I picked up a bottle of Ardbeg Supernova. Wow is a good intro. Very complex and sweet with an orange and sea taste with a finish that keeps going and going!

Highly recommended, but might not be to everyone's taste.

http://deadlinescotland.files.wordpr...upernova-1.jpg

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Moses, what's the msrp on that scotch? Also, was it aged in sherry barrels?

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I got it for a song, but I think MSRP if you can find is around $150? In UK it is going for almost double that I heard.

As for barrels? I don't know, but it claims to be the peatiest Scotch ever created.

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I myself am a fan of Oban... I've yet to try the Ardberg or Laphroig, but both should be happening soon. On a side note, does anyone decant their scotch?

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

I would if there were a few drinking the same bottle and I thought we'd kill what I decant, but that hasn't happened yet.

Decanting would be a good idea in the right situation and is commonly done.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Im working on a bottle of Aberlour 12, which is fantastic and not to terribly expensive, but my everyday scotch is McClellands highland. At $23 a bottle its hard to beat. imo

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I'm not really sure when this would be an advantage as the point of decanting is to either aerate the decanted or separate out sediment (or both). Sediment should never be a problem with whisky and aeration will pre-maturely age the whisky by loosing much the aromatics and with it the whisky's character. That's the same reason you don't want to let a bottle sit for a long time at 50% or less volume.

Decanting might be an advantage if you were hosting a large tasting or event where you could reasonable expect the entire bottle to be consumed over the period of a few days but I probably wouldn't do it otherwise. Whisky also naturally self-decants when you use a proper tulip or thistle shaped glass, and that glass also allows you to nose the aromatics which are just as good (and IMHO often better) as the tasting of the actual liquid ;)

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Macallan 17yr Old

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Highland Park 25

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Lagavulin is our favorite here. We wait until we can afford another bottle and switch to something else when we run out......like now. $80/bottle here.

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This stuff is seriously good. I was able to sample some at the Whisky Guild's Whisky Classic and chat with the guy there from Glenfiddich about it. Its the standard Glenfiddich 12 but they finnish it in Islay Scotch barrels. A damn shame they don't distribute it in the states.

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On my honeymoon in the Caribbean last month I picked up a 1L bottle of Laphroaig 10 for a song. :D

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Jim poured me a glass when I visited his place and it was good.

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Recently tried some Rosebank 1991 Gordon MacPhail Cask Strength. Outstanding.

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I've not had too many scotches but I like Macallan 12 and glenlivet 12 for a cheaper scotch. But Macallan 12 is my go to bar scotch if they have it.

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I have been drinking these this summer for about $35 a bottle and loving every dram.

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I am still learning about single malts but the best I have had was Glenlivet 18Yr. that my neighbor gave me.

Since I now work at a liquor store, that has some of the best prices anywhere, I just got a bottle of Glen Moray 12Yr. old for $19.99 that I think is very good.

BTW. The store I work at has Glenlivet 21Yr. for $99.99 right now.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Picked up a bottle of this on a whim. Haven't tried it yet (maybe tonight!).

The Singleton of Glendullan

http://www.drinkhacker.com/2008/10/0...dullan-scotch/

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...glendullan.jpg

Anybody try this one?


:ss

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Never tried it but I saw one bottle come into the store and it didn't sit on the shelf very long.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Tried The Singleton tonight...

Caught a fruity/floral scent right away. Had a nice body to it. It was more peaty than I normally like, but it wasn't overpowering. Thought this review I found nailed it:

I look forward to a few more drams. :tu

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Questions. Im normally a rum guy but I thought at the ripe old age of 22 id start branching out.

Im just getting into Single Malts. I just went to Total Wine and talked to them a little and grabbed a bottle of Glenfiddich 12, and Bunnahabain 12.

I came home to find an old unopened bottle of Mcallan 12. I realize it doesnt age outide of the cask but is there a way to tell when this was bought? I also came upon a couple bottles of J&B (any good?)

Based on what i have rounded up is there anything I'm missing?
Doing a tasting with a friend of mine later this week, is there a particular order youd all recommend?

Any and all help is appreciated. :al

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Not a fan of Scotch. Prefer bourbon. That being said, I think I could drink Talisker Distillers Edition just about ANY day of the week. Not expensive, generally $50-65 per bottle range, but NOT available at all in Bama, and difficult to find elsewhere since it's a limited production item.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Just like Cigars - drink what you like and buy what you drink. As a scotch newbie you got some popular newbie stuff that are good quality but not usually preferred by seasoned single malt folks. Just got to try them till you find what you like best which is all that matters.

I just poured 3 fingers of Lagavulin 16 over my standard 3 small cubes of distilled water ice which is my favorite but many of my Malt friends find Lagavulin too smokey for them.



J&B is upper medium quality blended not single malt so not even in the running.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

So being a newbie I should learn from the three bottles what I prefer. Correct me if im wrong but Macallan would be the cleanest and Bunnahabvain would be the peatiest? I suspect im going to like the smokey peaty flavor best. Its a flavor throughout my life im drawn to.
We shall see.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

Heavens no I did not mean you should learn from 3 bottles or anything like that. It is so similar to cigars - try as many as you can. Macallan is on the sweet side but I have never tasted Bunnahabvain.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

I was speaking as to what style highlands, lowlands, Islays etc not just the three brands i currently have. I am by no means close minded.

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

I enjoy Balvenie Double Wood 12, Cragganmore 12, and Laphroaig quarter cask. I don't remember buying much for them (not over $50ish).

Re: Single Malt Scotch
 

My favorite too! I like it neat. Perfect during the cold months. :tu