Glenmorangie Astar is really nice, as is their Nectar d’ Or.
I really am just going to print this thread out and head to the liquor store, so you are all genuinely helping a guy out.
It’s not just a bet, but like I said, he was right about something that I disagreed with but went along with, and it could turn out to be a game changer for my career.
The caveat is that he is my boss, and while I do well enough to splurge on a bottle of scotch, he is a multimillionaire (and a really nice guy who has helped my career even before this). So, I’m not going to impress him by just throwing bucks out, but would rather maybe find something special that maybe he hasn’t had before. Small production, something like that.
I really appreciate all the help here.
In which case, you may want to keep an eye for whiskies bottled by Murray McDavid. He’s the person who specializes in unique ‘expressions’ of a particular whisky. Want a Talisker that’s been aged in a sherry cask? Or a Caol Ila aged in a bourbon cask? Or an Ardbeg that’s been aged 25 years? He buys the casks, bottles them himself and distributes them. Just about everything he has is some sort of new angle on a particular whisky, usually done by distillers that can’t afford to bottle and distribute something that isn’t their usual line.
Second Highland Park as a great all-rounder gift.
Something more unique that isn’t going to start costing serious money would probably be a single cask bottle, but it would depend on what suppliers you had to hand. Be about £60 for a single cask here (Edinburgh).
Has he got anything along the lines of a Monarch aged in a Cisco cask? I’m looking for something special to share with my bowling buddies.
If you have a very good store near you, or the time to await an online order, I suggest Edradour. As Scotland’s smallest distillery, it produces some very small runs (often fewer than 500 bottles).
A friend and I found some at a duty-free shop in Sint Maarten about five years ago, and it was beautiful. Most come in 500 mL bottles instead of the standard 750 mL, but hell, get two.
Sure, there are more expensive Scotchs within your price point, but most aren’t too difficult to come by. The advantage (in my mind) of whiskys like Edradour as gifts is that you have to seek them out, and that effort means more than the dollar amount spent.
I heartily endorse one of their cask strength runs, but take a look at the whole line. Here’s one place to start: Edradour | Master of Malt
Is there a reputable online source (is this even legal)?
I am over 21! Well over 21.
You need to find a warehouse liquor store with a large Scotch department. Like Bevmo. Several companies do independent bottlings, as noted above, and they can be very, very good. I have a bottle of Glen Livet that was bottled at a much older age than the official bottling, and it is very different. With a little luck, you might find something like a McDavid bottling of MacDuff, which has been shuttered for quite a few years.
If you want to be a bit adventurous and exotic, see if you can get Amrut Fusion. It was rated third best in the world by Jim Murray in his Whisky Bible last year. It should fall within your budget, but is relatively new so may not be available everywhere.
Or give the winner a picture of Sean Connery. In a bottle.
I am an enthusiast, and couldnt argue with any of the excellent suggestions here. My all-time favoright though is simply a ten year old Talisker.
Looking at the advice, I’ve found a bottle locally for about 90 bucks of a Murray McDavid bottling of Macallan in wine casks, 12 year old. Sounds interesting. What say the experts?
Lagavulin would be my suggestion. It smells like someone threw a couple of caramels into a campfire. Heavenly.
Sounds like a winner! Great distillery, different expression.
Ignore Drain Bead. Their taste buds are addled from the peat. 
Gotta say, this is all making me want to start drinking scotch…
Me, too. Intht facth, I shtharted a couplthe of daysh agoo… 
The MacAlllen wine cask sounds lovely to me, and a good choice when you don’t know someone’s peat preferences.
Perhaps you could talk your boss into doing a whisky tasting for the next ‘corporate entertainment’ event…
What is Monarch, and what is Cisco?
[Leonard Nimoy voice] I sense we are being whooshed, Captain. [/LNV]
I got my scotch drinking organ teacher a bottle of scotch for Christmas once. Chivas Regal. Skimming through here, I haven’t found one mention of it yet. He liked it, but am I to assume that it’s the Jim Beam of scotch…cheap and grotty? 
Any Glenmorangie fans? Love.
I’m a scotch newbie, having had only the youngest Macallan, Glenlivet, Glenfiddich, and Glenmorangies, but the last was my favorite by far.