When I first was turned on to single-malt scotch whisky in the 90s, my preferance was for the smooth malty whiskies of the highlands. A couple of years ago, a friend gave me a bottle of Compass Box Eluthera vattet malt blend. That whisky combines a nice smoky nose with a smooth malty body. I then tasted the Caol Isla that is the smoky constuient of the Eluthera, and got hooked on Islay whiskies. Then I discovered Highland Park. I've now had two very different expressions of this whisky: the Murray & McDavid 13? year old, and the Signatory UnChill Filtered 13 year old. Of the two, I prefer the Murray & McDavid befause I prefer the sweeter, maltier finish over the dry finish of the Signatory expression.
My $0.02 worth
So many whiskies, so little time :)