Suggestions for a begginer

[Rosscos20]

Hello everyone,

I've previously had Glenfiddich 12 and found that a little too light and fruity, tasted the 18 which I much preffered, more depth and complexity of flavour.
My last bottle was a Glenmorangie 10 and didn't enjoy it much. Again too light and lacking something.
other than that, the odd Johnny Walker black or Famous Grouse etc the usual bar stuff.

I tasted Uigeadail the other day and was blown away, what a revelation. I had no idea whisky could taste like that! The issue for me however was that it was a little too strong and smokey for an everyday whisky.

So I guess I'm looking for something a little less smokey and maybe a little more sweetness in there. Maybe somewhere in between a Glenfiddich 18 and the Uigeadail? Any suggestions?

[MoreDalmore]

You could try the Bowmore 15 Darkest; enough smoke and sweetness and not as strong ( 43% ) as the cask strength Uigeadail ( 54.2% ).

I bet you will also get the Highland Park 18 advised; but I found the last bottle I had a bit disappointing and loved the Bowmore better ( not many if any will agree with me on this I am quite sure off )

But the HP 18 is still a great allrounder so very suitable for a starting whiskydrinker. when you are more used to the smoke/peat you can challenge yourself with a Lagavulin 16 which I found way better drinkable than expected after reading tasting notes of it

And if you are looking for something in the vain of the Glenmorangie Original with a lot more "umph" I suggest either the Glenlivet Nadurra 16 or the Bommore Tempest 10.

[lockejn]

I'd suggest trying Teacher's/Ardmore. Much more restrained on the smoke, a nice bit of brown sugar, and good value.

[pkt77242]

Talisker 10 and caol ila 12 jump to mind. You could also try longrow cv and benriach 10 curiositas

[The Third Dram]

A 'world' of good recommendations to be had...

That said, I'd certainly second the Nàdurra if you want to experience a Glenlivet cask strength beauty exclusively from ex-Bourbon oak - a sure value as well.

Leaning toward an ex-Sherry cask Highlander, how can you go far wrong with Aberlour a'bunadh?

[Rosscos20]

thanks for the recommendations,

I've heard good things about the a'bundah, concerned it may be sickly sweet for my taste, should make a nice winter whisky! any comments on the latest batch? 31 I believe
I'm open to new things, just want to expand my horizons and try new things.

I'll take a look at the others mentioned too

[Swedish Chef]

In my opinion Highland Park 18, Springbank 15, Longrow CV and Talisker 18 would all fit the above mentioned criteria.

[matteo]

Talisker 10 and caol ila 12 jump to mind. You could also try longrow cv and benriach 10 curiositas

Agree with this selection and I add this distillery Aultmore, smoked Highlander not the peat of Islay and not the sweetness of Speyside but a mix of them

[Drammed]

Uigeadail and 'fiddich 18 have quite a large gap in terms of flavour profile. I see Talisker already mentioned but it tends to have quite a peppery note that is not present in either fiddich or uigeadail. Highland Park 18 has been mentioned and it would fit the less smoke and more sweet description quite well. you might want to try something like an Oban 14 if you want a little more smoke and same sweet as fiddich 18. also the Bowmore 18 if you want just less smoke and same sweet as uigeadail.

cheers

[Muskrat Portage]

God, I wish you guys had been around 35 years ago when I started drinking SM. The advice would have been very useful at the time.

Musky

[Rosscos20]

Yes a big difference I know. The Uigeadail just prompted me to try and experiment a little more. Bowmore sounds interesting.

[The Third Dram]

Bowmore sounds interesting.

If you do elect to try the 18-year old Bowmore, don't rush into it. It took me the better part of a bottle to come to a fuller understanding (taste-wise) of this one.

[dramtastic]

Bowmore sounds interesting.

If you do elect to try the 18-year old Bowmore, don't rush into it. It took me the better part of a bottle to come to a fuller understanding (taste-wise) of this one.

Or see if you can pick up a bottle of the Black

[Swedish Chef]

Or see if you can pick up a bottle of the Black

Might be a just a little to dear for an everyday dram.

[Klondike]

I am a great fan of the 18 YO Highland Park and the 18 YO Glenfiddich too! Both stunning IMHO - though especially the HP. It is slightly smokey, but definitely on the low side. I wonder how much smoke you'd prefer as some of the above recommendations are rather smokey. I had a real expert teach me something I have found very useful when describing the characteristics of malts and that is a "peatines scale". He was a salesman in a big whisky shop, but it really helped get an understanding of the malts, especially since I found him to be right on those that I already knew. The scale is from 0-10. Most Arrans are 0 ppm phenolics and thus are zero one the peatines scale. Most "non-smoked" malts are in fact about 1 as they have a few ppm's of phenolics. All other stylistical differences aside, maybe you'll find this useful when you're looking for an "everyday" malt:

HP 18 is between 2-3
Oban 14 about 4
Talisker is about 6
I'd rate Longrow CV between 7-8 and most Caol Islas at around 8. Same goes for Bowmore.
Lagavulin 16 is definitely a 9.
The Uigedail it'd rate at least as a 9, but differently styled.

Others I'd highly recommend though not really smokey are Glenfarclas 15 YO and also the 15 YO Glenfiddich. Up the same alley as the 18 YO but cheaper. If you can find it the old bottling of 15 YO Longmorn is stunning too. It's been a while since I tried it but I remember really enjoyng the basic 15 YO Dalwhinnie too, though that one is fairly mild. The unpeated 8 YO Caol Isla Cask Strength is very good as well.

I'm not such a great fan of Glenmorangie myself. I find there to be a bit of an awkward "hard" edge to them, as if the alcohol isn't really integrated.

Good luck in finding something good. Let us know the outcome

[Rosscos20]

Ok, that's a great help. I've been looking at the flavour map which I'm sure you've come across. I have to admit I am intrigued by the Lagavulin having heard such good things about it.

So as i'm choosing for a xmas gift, I've decided to be brave and finalised on the following three...

Aberlour A'bunadh - To enjoy over the winter before I move to the middle east (can't imagine this would work well in the heat...so my last chance for a while!)

or

Talisker 18 / Lagavulin 16 - to explore the smokier side of things, perhaps as a weekend treat with something cheaper for everyday

which one I receive depends on what they have in the duty free, I'll have to wait and see....I'll report back in the new year!

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions

[Klondike]

Aberlour A'Bunadh is a great choice IMHO. All batches I have tried have been very good to great, although I have nowhere near tried them all and there are differences between them.

I somehow haven't had any luck with Lagavulin 16 YO though many people keep raving about it. I have tried it on quite a number of occasions, so I have written it off a bit. It's not that I don't like Lagavulin as I was stunned by the 1987 Distillers Edition of Lagavulin and have greatly enjoyed all batches of the 12 YO Cask Strength I have tried. I find it a bit weird actually. Among the two peated you mention I am a great fan of Talisker and would thus choose this one over the Lagavulin but I'm sure many others will recommend you the opposite. Great maritime, peaty character in both though, so you'll definitely get a feel for this either way.

[Lucas]

No whisky education is complete without trying Old Pulteney 17 or 21yo. While they are not smoky, they are definitely not too fruity or sweet but pack that complexity you found in your Glenfiddich 18yo.

Apart from that HP18 may be a good shout, one of the first single malts I ever bought and still love it.

[Fscott]

I am no expert, but maybe you want to start with the 'basic' offering from some key distilleries.

Balvenie 12 Doublewood
Springbank 10
Talisker 10
Highland Park 12
Cragganmore 12
Glen Elgin 12

I don't know about your neck of the woods, but here in Madrid Talisker or HP 18 would set you back 70+ euros. Also, if I had started with a Talisker 18, I don't know if I would have been able to fully appreciate all its nuances.

[Willie JJ]

Aberlour A'bunadh - To enjoy over the winter before I move to the middle east (can't imagine this would work well in the heat...so my last chance for a while!)

When you get there, clean and freeze some pebbles. You can use them to stop your dram overheating without diluting it.

[Lucas]

BTW, I thought Talisker 18 was discontinued... ??

[Willie JJ]

I think there was talk of it's discontinuance, but I think that was just engineered by the Diageo marketing folk as they were trying to double the price at that point (they succeeded of course).

[lockejn]

BTW, I thought Talisker 18 was discontinued... ??

Seems to be released in the US in limited quantities in the late winter / early spring. The last bottle I got was February, 2010. Keep an eye out over the next few months.

[The Third Dram]

...that was just engineered by the Diageo marketing folk as they were trying to double the price...

I've noted an across-the-board rise in prices of Diageo malt whiskies over the last little while (i.e. not confined to the upper echelon releases) in my locality. Worst 'offences' do seem to lie with the Distillers Edition and more venerable bottlings, though.

[Klondike]

I think there was talk of it's discontinuance, but I think that was just engineered by the Diageo marketing folk as they were trying to double the price at that point (they succeeded of course).

Way, way off topic, sorry about that, but I found myself laughing quite a bit at the above comment. Diageo are masters at these things.

I think a masterpiece of theirs is the "dilution" of their Zacapa Rum. The first batches of the Centenario - before Diageo took over the distribution - were called 23 Años and were supposedly sublime and won tasting after tasting. After Diageo took over it suddently changed name to Solera 23 and the backlabel says it's a mix of Rums that are between 6 and 23 years old and quality dropped dramatically (though it's still a good Rum, just not as good). Packaging remains the same as before. Brilliant move as they now have a much bigger stock to distribute all over the world, it is way cheaper to produce and of course it's priced the same as the old "23 Años". More power to them I guess, as noone seem to be aware of this.