Scotch Whiskey

[VarlosZ]

So I was at a bar with my cousin last week and at one point he suggests buying a round of scotch. I didn't mind, but I've never been one for the drink (or for straight hard liquor in general) -- my idea of high quality scotch is a drink that tastes good in the mouth and then burns like the dickens going down.

So my cousin goes to the bar and brings back a couple of glasses of what turns out to be Lagavulin (16y). Wow. It was a revelation. Delicious, with a long, very smoky finish, and extremely smooth going down.


Now, at the moment I really can't justify the purchase of an $80 bottle of scotch, so I was wondering if anyone here who's more knowledgeable than I has a cheaper, comparable alternative? Smoothness is principally important, though of course if the taste is just meh there isn't any point.

Also, any advice or words or wisdom regarding scotch in general would be appreciated.

[JoseArcadio]

Isle of Jura - very smooth
Macallans - very smoky/peaty
Laphroaig - peaty

As an aside: Whiskey is Irish; if it's Scottish, it's "whisky."

ETA: don't have much in the way of general advice. I'm not an expert, these are some recommendations from my whisky-loving housemate.

[Demo]

It's funny because I recently found I had a love of Scotch whisky after having Lagavulin 16 as well! Islay whisky is known for being heavy on the peat smoke character. I am just started to try more of them too. Yeah 70 bucks is steep for a bottle, though it tends to last me a few months.

[psycat90]

My husband is having a love affair with Lagavulin these days. He got turned on to it on a trip to Canada a few months ago and it's turned him into a scotch whore. He came home with a bottle last night after his last ran out a couple of weeks ago.

I love whiskey, but I'm more of a Bourbon girl myself. Lagavulin is just a little too peety, smoky, and almost medicinal to me.

Or, just see post above mine. ;-)

[Alka Seltzer]

I recommend Laphroaig, which has a smokey, peaty flavour yet goes down easily.

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

Yes, please!

Seconding, sorry, thirding, the Laphroaig suggestion above. Bruichladdich or Balvenie are also highly recommended. I can think of cheaper ones that are less peaty yet still wonderful - Glenrothes has a fabulous rainbow of tastes and yet, tends to be in the $50 - $60 CAD range, rather than the $109 CAD for Lagavulin.

Highland Park or Talisker are also two I'd recommend highly - then again, I've yet to meet a single malt that didn't have something nice to say to me...

[ultrafilter]

Speyburn, Tamdhu and Glen Garioch are all very good malts that you should be able to find for well less than $80 per bottle.

[silenus]

You rang?

A previous thread with some good info.

[Chimera]

Yes, please.

Oh, you were asking about it, not offering. Darn.

[Attack from the 3rd dimension]

On an unrelated piratical hijacking kind of note, I used to have the occasional Scotch, and am definately a fan. However, after marrying into a family of Irish, and sometimes getting a little gift from the duty free after a trip home, I've become more of a fan of Irish whiskey. Its just a bit less peaty and medicinal, and never has the smell of a fresh bandaid, the way some scotchs do. When you've finished you tour of Scotland, try some Irish as well.

[An Gadaí]

I hate, hate, hate Laphroaig. I'll stick with the lighter fluid. However I love The Balvenie. Manna!

[susan]

Highland Park and Talisker are both fine whiskies with some salt and peat taste but not as heavy as Lagavulin.

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by An Gadaí

I hate, hate, hate Laphroaig. I'll stick with the lighter fluid. However I love The Balvenie. Manna!

I'm with you! To my palate, Laphroaig is bong water. Balvenie is wonderful (as is Jura; was given a bottle for my birthday earlier this year, and I've been rationing it). I also really love Redbreast (an Irish).

[Cyberhwk]

Originally Posted by An Gadaí

I hate, hate, hate Laphroaig. I'll stick with the lighter fluid. However I love The Balvenie. Manna!

This thread had inspired me to swig some of my Balvenie Double Wood.

[Elvis Chimney]

Lagavulin is a great big smoky monster, and you're not too likely to find many other whiskies which pack quite the same peaty punch. Any similar single malts are likely to be similarly priced.

For malts, I'd recommend Ardbeg. If you like Lagavulin then you'll love it.

If you can get hold of it, Black Bottle is a surprisingly excellent blend made primarily with Islay malts (same region as Lagavulin and Ardbeg), and it should do the job on a budget (get the 10 year old if you can).

[Nom_de_Plume]

I have found that Cardhu was about the smoothest Scotch I've tried, but I can't seem to find it anymore. Does anyone know if Cardhu is still made?

I had heard there was some kerfuffle about it not being able to market itself as a single malt. Has that been resolved?

[Saintly Loser]

Originally Posted by kenobi 65

I'm with you! To my palate, Laphroaig is bong water. Balvenie is wonderful (as is Jura; was given a bottle for my birthday earlier this year, and I've been rationing it). I also really love Redbreast (an Irish).

I'm with you on Redbreast. I think it runs around $40 a bottle around here, so it's not my regular drink. The bottle I keep around the house just for a before-dinner drink is Powers.

If you like Redbreast, you might really like Middleton. Unfortunately, it goes for something like $130 a bottle, when you can find it.

[msmith537]

I wouldn't call myself an expert, but my GF and I went on a tour of a scotch whisky factory when we went to Edenborough, Scotland last year. They gave a pretty good overview of what Scotch is and how it works (along with lots of samples). So if you ever happen to be in Scotland.

First of all there are "single malts" and "blended". Blended tend to be a bit smoother IIRC, but mostly it's just personal preference. I'm not a huge scotch drinker but I usually go with a Macallan 12 or Glenlivet 12.

If you happen to be in NYC I highly recommend a Scotch bar called St Andrews near times square. They have all sorts of Scotch whisky and the bartenders are pretty good at finding you something if you can tell them what you like.

[silenus]

Originally Posted by Nom_de_Plume

I have found that Cardhu was about the smoothest Scotch I've tried, but I can't seem to find it anymore. Does anyone know if Cardhu is still made?

I had heard there was some kerfuffle about it not being able to market itself as a single malt. Has that been resolved?

The Cardhu you knew and loved is gone. Diageo has "repositioned" the label as a "vatted" malt, which means it's a blend of single malts from different distilleries.

[cjepson]

I think Bowmore is a really good value. But if you are saying that you like Lagavulin in particular but not Scotch in general, then I can't promise you'll like it.

(Lagavulin is also my favorite Scotch, by the way.)

[_xiao_wenti_]

It is as much a thing of personal taste as wine. Well, maybe not as much. I am perfectly happy with Bushmills and water.

[FoieGrasIsEvil]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Blackadder yet. That stuff is liquid gold. I love their Islay scotch when I can get it.

Link: http://www.blackadder.com/

[susan]

If you want even more smoke, Clear Creek Distillery's McCarthy's Oregon Whiskey is like Ardbeg used to be.

[Grey]

If it's peat, and not just peat smoke you're looking for see if you can find a Springbank.

[kenobi 65]

Originally Posted by silenus

The Cardhu you knew and loved is gone. Diageo has "repositioned" the label as a "vatted" malt, which means it's a blend of single malts from different distilleries.

Alas. Guess I'll nurse the last half of the bottle I bought a decade or so ago...

[MrDibble]

For people who don't like whisky because they prefer something smoother/sweeter, I've found the Glenfiddich Malt Liqueur to be a nice compromise - still has a good whisky taste, but sweeter and syrupy (I find it a bit more "whisky-tasting" than Drambuie or Irish Mist)

[Hallucinex]

Originally Posted by cjepson

I think Bowmore is a really good value. But if you are saying that you like Lagavulin in particular but not Scotch in general, then I can't promise you'll like it.

FWIW, I went on what I assume is the same whisky tour msmith537 mentioned in Edinburgh (the scotch whisky experience, just near the castle), and would definitely recommend it.

I tried some of the Bowmore there and really liked it, and found it quite smooth to drink (my mum found that one pretty easy to drink as well, and had the same problem as you with most of the others)

[Wheelz]

On a side note, how is "Lagavulin" pronounced?
I've been hearing "luh-GAH-vuh-lin" in my head; is that even close? I don't wan't to sound like an idiot if I decide to try some next time I'm out...

[x-ray vision]

It starts with lah (as in laparoscopy), nut luh.
http://www.thewhiskystore.de/dist/lagavuli/lagavuli.wav

[Saintly Loser]

If you're looking for a Scotch with lots of smoke and peat and all-around character, but you're on a budget, Teacher's Highland Cream is definitely the way to go. It's a blended Scotch, but it's got more malt in the blend than other blended whiskies, and it's quite reasonably priced. About the same as a bottle of Dewar's.

[Munch]

Originally Posted by Saintly Loser

If you're looking for a Scotch with lots of smoke and peat and all-around character, but you're on a budget, Teacher's Highland Cream is definitely the way to go. It's a blended Scotch, but it's got more malt in the blend than other blended whiskies, and it's quite reasonably priced. About the same as a bottle of Dewar's.

Oooh - I'll have to try that. I really can't deal with Laphroaig's massive peatiness (it's like licking Scotland!), but I think I could deal with a blended.

For anyone looking in this thread for a scotch recommendation that doesn't taste like band-aids, I'll recommend Balvenie DoubleWood, a wonderfully smooth single malt.

[The Stafford Cripps]

Originally Posted by Wheelz

On a side note, how is "Lagavulin" pronounced?
I've been hearing "luh-GAH-vuh-lin" in my head; is that even close? I don't wan't to sound like an idiot if I decide to try some next time I'm out...

As with most whisky names it's an anglified spelling of a Gaelic name. Lowlanders in Scotland generally pronounce it with the stress on the 3rd syllable ('voo'), but that's no indication of how the unanglified name would be pronounced by Gaelic speakers on Islay.

By the way, most people pronounce 'Glenmorangie' with the stress on the 3rd syllable, but locally (an area where Gaelic is no longer spoken) the stress is on the 2nd.

For homework, get your tongue around 'Bunnahabhain', which is one of the few that uses a Gaelic spelling. "Bh' is pronounced 'v' and I think the first 'h' is silent.

[The Stafford Cripps]

Originally Posted by ultrafilter

Glen Garioch

If you're interested, 'Garioch' is a Lowland placename which is pronounced 'Geeree' (with a hard 'g').

[ultrafilter]

Check out this pronunciation guide.