Official Scotch Thread

[Julio P.]

Lately, I've taken to stocking my scotch cabinet after a long hiatus and thought us scotch lovers should have a place for all things scotch!

Currently have the following:
- Talisker 10 (my absolute favorite)
- Lagavulin 16
- Glenmorangie Nectar D'or
- Macallan 12
- Glenlivet 12

Finishing a bottle of Glenfiddich 12 as of typing. It was my first scotch many years ago and thus will always hold a special place in my heart...but lately it's seemed bland as my tastes expand. Looking to buy a bottle of Glenfiddich 15 Year Solera soon.

So what are your favorites? What are you currently drinking? What do you recommend?

[tdig]

I enjoy some scotch now and then. Much more of a bourbon drinker but I'll mix it up once and a while. I think my favorite staples are Balvanie Doublewood 12 year and Bruichladdich Laddie 10. Always have one of the two in the house. Good call with the Talisker 10. I have been searching for the Talisker 18 with minimal luck. I also quite enjoy the Aberlour Abunadh and Compass Box Oak Cross. I've got a couple bottles of peaters that I'm looking to open soon, Ardbeg Uigeadail and Laphroig Cairdeas.

[Julio P.]

My search for the Talisker 18 has been unsuccessful. I've yet to come across any brick or online vendor with a bottle. May have even been discontinued, though those rumors started as far back as 2009.

[MikeAD91]

Balvenie Doublewood
Glenmorangie Lasanta

But I struggle to justify buying Scotch when I can get a good bottle of American Rye.

[Bookman]

Glenlivet 12
Glenlivet 15 (French Oak)
Glenlivet 18
Bowmore 12
Talisker 57 North
Aberlour A'bunadh- My favorite at the moment
Aberlour 16
Laphroig 10
Macallan Cask
Glenfarclas 105
Mortlach 16
Ledaig 10
Tomatin 12

[tdig]

Glad to see I'm not alone on the Abunadh. It is damn tasty. Bookman - What batch do you have?

[TheMichaelD]

I'm a big fan of Laphroig. It's more complex than a lot of the single malts out there, at least in that price range.

[Julio P.]

Bought a bottle of Aberlour A'bunadh earlier today. The description on the box alone made my mouth water.

[robert12]

I love Laphroig, too. None of my friends will go near the stuff, though. Far too peaty for them.

[Bookman]

I'm on my second bottle of A'bunadh (not at home, so can't tell you which batch). I got my first bottle at the distillery (one of the best tours in Scotland...and you can head over to the Mash Tun bar to taste one of two complete collections of the the Glenfarclas Family collection in the world). The story behind A'bunadh is pretty funny. For those of you that don't know, Aberlour, like many distilleries, has been bought out by a larger company. That company decided to expand the distillery and, when workers knocked down a wall, they found old bottles of scotch nestled beneath one of the walls. The foremen, luckily, were able to catch the workers before they drained every bottle (believe they drank about 75% of it!) and gave it over to some chemists, who were able to discern the recipe/technique used to make it....A'bunadh is the result.

[bremersm]

I just finished a bottle of Glenlivet 15 year. That was excellent. My father inlaw turned me on to The Glenrothes. For blended you can't go wrong with Johnie Walker black.

[ajk170]

I've tried a multitude and have established a very well equipped home bar and gotten into taste-testing a multiple number of whisky/whiskeys in the paste two years (with no kids I find I can afford a lot of hobbies and interest).

Here are my thoughts and what I have come to discover -

1) Taste testing is a great way to find out what you like and compare new stuff to what you like. And it has the added benifits of being a socializing event while justifying having multiple bottles of whisky/whiskey in the house.

2) The Japanese make a damn fine single malt (Suntory- Yamazaki 12)and worth having on hand in conjunction to your other scotch

3) The Glenlivet 12 is possibley the best single-malt value when out on the town drinking highland single-malts. All the others taste similar and all the others either linger as long or even less. Most bars to include dives carry it.

4) Water can open up some scotches but not all, purist can by me a round and then feel justified to critisize if I choose to add water. Otherwise, they can bite me.

5) American and Canadian whiskeys are much sweeter and have a thicker feeling.

6) American Ryes (the few I tried, Wild Turkey and Jim Beam, are not bad), in taste, are a distant cousin to a scotch.

7) Blended and single malt are different in taste but not so much so that one should turn down a blend if it's free and that's all there is for scotch or that's all the bar has.

8) Aberlour 12 & 14 are both excellent

[bremersm]

I was at my FIL this weekend and we opened a bottle of Glenmorangie 10. That was quite tasty.

[yoyorobbo]

Famous Grouse is a pretty nice (affordable) blended option too, IMO. And Johnny Walker Black, as mentioned above.

The only single-malt that I currently have in my liquor cabinet is The Glenlivet 12.

I too am more of a bourbon or rye guy. But I switch things up all the time, including some Canadian, some Irish, a little Brandy here and there, and even some nice dark sipping rums.

I know this is a scotch thread, but since bourbon was mentioned, my biggest splurge as of late was a bottle of Angel's Envy. I certainly have been enjoying it, but I'm not sure I'd pay that much for another bottle of it. We'll see, I guess, when I'm finished with it.

I try not to get *too* into pricey options, as I already have enough "hobbies." But a quality drink is something worth enjoying; on occasion. YFMV (your frequency may vary).

[Eric F]

Scotches are fun and I've always found it interesting to explore the variety that each region offers. I tend toward Islay malts (Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Laphroig) but have always loved Glenlivet and Balvenie (their doublewood especially; great stuff) and have even found plenty of enjoyment out of a bottle of Bruichladdich Rocks (a summer scotch if any could be called that) which I finished with a few friends on a warm evening last summer. And yes, you ought to try it on the rocks with a couple of those large scotch ice-cubes. I guarantee it's worth any scoffs and glares you might get from other self-proclaimed scotch connoisseurs.