If you could only buy one whisky...

Ignoring fiscal constraints? If you favorite is expensive, you might not be able to afford it in the volume required. And cutting back on consumption is, of course, out of the question.

-- Larry

Let's keep it as realistic as possible, so money *is* a factor. No ordering a case of Blue Label if you normally can only afford Bells :-)

I suppose the question was slightly out: rather than "what's your favourite" it should be "what do you buy the most".

Jim

Difficult! I'd probably go with a Talisker (probably the 10), because I find it to be the best compromise. Laphroaig is so strong that half the time I'm just not in the mood for it.

Mind you, if I could pick *two*, it would probably be one with more peat and one with less - say, a Laphroaig (maybe a single cask) and a Balvenie (probably the doublewood).

Order can depend on local cost or local availability:

Ardbeg 10 (great price, great peat) Laphroig Quarter Cask (expensive, but great taste) Glenfarclas 12 (wonderful, inexpensive, peppery malt)

Give me 3 categories, Islay, Speyside, Sherried, and I'll give you one from each:

Ardbeg 10 yr. Balvenie Doublewood 12 yr Abelour a'bunadh Lot #17

All factors taken into account it has to be Ardbeg 10 for me.

Peace,

Jock

The Step-We-Ceilidh Band.

,On Mon, 4 Jun 2007 10:18:23 +0100, the alleged Jim, may have posted the following, to alt.drinks.scotch-whisky:

As far as "whisky" goes I'd probably go for the Talisker. Very smoky, salty and low phenols.

But if you open it enough to include "whiskey", I'd go for the "Henry McKenna Special Reserve", it's a spicy, medium bodied, sippin' whiskey.

Regards, Rob

[*] No goats were mentioned in this post.

It's a close call for me. Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Talisker, all 10yo. Make me choose right now? Ardbeg 10.

cheers.

bill

Glenfarclas Cask Strength ("105")

If I have to choose a "regular" bottle, then...

Glenfarclas 10

And cutting back on consumption is,

Since I can only pick one, as unfair as that is, Ardbeg is right up there. But since I just quit coffee, a sad day indeed, I have a bit more to add to the scotch budget. So I'm going with the Lagavulin 16. I was able to pick up 2 bottles on sale at 49.99 not too long ago...woo hoo! I shoulda bought more :(

I bought my first dram about 10 years ago during a darts match as my partner owns the bar and I got it for a good price..hehe.. Forgive me but I didn't know any better at the time and ordered it on the rocks; couldn't do it now. Anyway, the first thing i notice of course was the peat, and the compexity was somthing I'd never experienced before. The second thing I noticed was that, unlike the Black Lable I'd been drinking, it held up to the ice over the course of the drink! Ran to costco and bought a bottle, learned to drink it neat with no small help from this group, and started a love affair with Isla that has not abatted to this day.

Enjoy Bill P

Hmmm... Judging by a lot of the replies so-far, Islay malts are coming out as the most popular in this group. While I do like Laphraoig and Finlaggan, that's not my most-favorite style of Scotch.

My all-time favorite (so-far) is Glen Morangie Portwood Finish. Orangy (yes, somehow it manages to live up to it's name), grapey, fruity, spicey, caramelly, slighly smokey, slightly woody. It's got to be one of the most complex whiskeys around.

(On the other hand, there's a lot of whiskys I've never tried: Ardbeg, Talisker, etc. Hence my opinion may change in the future.)

Good price and yes, you should have bought more. The Lagavulin 16 was No. 4 on my list, and pretty much interchangeable with any of the top three. Not that they're the same; they're quite distinct. But the level of enjoyment I get out of all four is roughly the same.

Was the Lagavulin your first single malt? If so, you are a lucky man.

By the way, I'm a huge fan of young Lagavulins from independent bottlers. The ones I have occasional access to are Dun Bheagan and The Ileach; Finlaggan is another, or has been at some point.

They are just terrific. Imagine the Lagavulin 16, but with more peat/smoke reek and less quiet sophistication. They share the basic elements that make Lagavulin great, but they present them at their most rambunctious.

bill

I confess I'm rather suprised by the lack of Highland Park entries - the

18 might be too expensive for a 'only this ever' bottling but the 12 is quite affordable (here in Blighty at least) and it's far from being a bad drop.

Jim

It was for me, way back when it was somewhat more affordable. Beena while now since I last bought a 16.

I'm a big fan of the 12CS. It's like a punch in the face with a mass of smokey seaweed. In a good way.

For me though the Laphroaig 10 combines affordability with peat, smoke and a hint of sweetness.

Jim

I had been drinking Glenlivit before that, but the Lagavulin was my first Islay, there was no comapirison and all....and no going back either! Now if I'm throwing darts at a bar with a limited choice, I find myself gettting the Black Lable over the Glenlivits and the Glenfiddichs.

Right now Finlaggan is my daily dram, quite a rough and tumble drink! It's available at Trader Joe's for $16.99. I don't have access to the others, though I have looked for them.

Enjoy Bill P

Interesting. Substitute Dallas Dhu for Bruichladdichs and you've got my hit parade as well. Oh, wait -- have to add Springbank and Longrow. 8;)

-- Larry

Uzytkownik "pltrgyst" napisal:

Oh yes, a good Dallas Dhu will never be kicked out of my drinks cabinet. However, I must insist on Bruichladdich. Some of the new, Jim McEwan versions have this Highland Park quality of being complex and subtle. When I'm in the mood for contemplating whisky, hardly anything beats the 15yo Bruichladdich OB.

Absolutely. These two completely slipped my mind. Fantastic stuff. But then, we could go on lining up the "dream team" and include Edradour, Clynelish/Brora, Balvenie, etc. The list is endless.

It has just ocurred to me that nobody mentioned Macallan. Not my favourite whisky by far, but with all the praise it has received in publications you would expect it to be _somebody's_ favourite.

Cheers, Rajmund

True - I've always got an Edradour Sauternes in the cabinet, as well as their Marsala finish which is my favourite. They do a mean Port Wood as well.

Good point. I like it, certainly, but it's not one I make a point of looking for.

Jim