Scotch experts or aficionado's? I need some help.

[Fuzz]

I'm looking for some suggestions.

I am drinking a 12 year old Glenmorangie finished in sherry wood right now, and I'm liking it.

Looking for something not too fruity or honey like. Had a couple that had way too much of a honey flavor and didn't like it. But also, not too dry.

Looking for single malts preferably as the blended ones I've had were not as good.

Moderately and cheaply priced stuff for building my supply for the long term, and moderately to mod-high for drinking now.

I'd like to get a decent number of bottles over the next couple years, some for aging, some for drinking now.

OK. Help the rookie out!

[mike_c]

1. I usually drink Laphroig...

...or, for a very decent and inexpensive blended scotch, Famous Grouse. Don't diss the Grouse simply because it's blended. It's really good.

[leftofthedial]

4. how do you pronounce "Laphroig"?

[Sabriel]

6. La-froyg n/t

[leftofthedial]

7. sounds expensive

[Kutjara]

10. It's priced similarly to other single malts, unless...

...you go for one of the brazillion-year old ones. Laphroaig's the elixir of the gods, though, so it's money well spent. Smokey, peatey heaven.

[leftofthedial]

11. maybe someday, I'll

be able to afford a modest exploration of scotch

[Rabrrrrrr]

2. If you like that, try the Balvenie double barrel - it's even better.

You might also like Cardhu, which is a fairly mild but still serious scotch.

For something a little more gutsy, get thyself a Lagavulin 16 yr old - it's a good stepping stone to the peaty stuff like Laphroig, which is wonderful.

Macallan is a good all-around scotch - and that doesn't mean boring, it just means it isn't peaty, but it isn't thin; it's not as strong as others, but stronger than some...

Ah, there are so many good ones!

[petronius]

3. My favorites (at the moment) are Talisker and Lagavulin

Both are peaty and smoky - Talisker has a peppery bite. Laphroig, as others have mentioned, is excellent, but perhaps not rookie material...

By the way: Scotch doesn't age in the bottle, so there's no point in storing it up. Drink it now, and buy more!

[w8liftinglady]

5. ok..I'm a total neophyte-how exactly do you drink scotch?

[petronius]

8. Short answer - however makes you happy!

Generally, a good single-malt should be drunk neat, or with a drop or so of water (the proper amount of water will depend on the malt), and sipped from a rock glass or small snifter-like glass. Blended scotches can be served on the rocks (or, I suppose, with your mixer of choice).

[mike_c]

9. neat, with a small splash of water....

Like two fingers of scotch in a rocks glass with just a tiny bit of water. I like to use a nice mineral water personally, like Calistoga water.

[Maineiac]

15. In a glass, with nothing else to spoil the experience

OK, maybe an ice water back.

[northzax]

12. don't worry about the aging

it's not really worth it in the bottle, unlike wine, scotch is stable once bottled, so it really doen't matter.

I have a lovely Glenfiddich 21 aged in rum casks (but of course, that is illegal stateside, since it is Havana Rum, and you don't seem to like the Speysides, which are sweeter)

anyway, I would suggest you look to the islands or the highlands to get away from the sweetness, Tobermory is quite reasonable,

but I will give you the same advice I do to budding oenophiles: find a store you like, and patronize it. talk to the people who work there and learn. failing that, I suggest royalmilewhiskies.com they have stores in Endinburgh and London, and will mail order to the States.

[never cry wolf]

14. I was gonna say about the aging

The only aging that matter is in the cask, once in a bottle the aging is over.

[Fuzz]

13. Thanks for all the replies.

Much info to go over.

[smoogatz]

16. Avoid the ten-year-olds, in general.

They always seem a bit raw, for my taste. Ten years is the minimum aging time for whisky in Scotland (before that it's legally considered raw spirits). I find that I generally prefer the 12-18-year-old varieties; much smoother. I tend to prefer scotches that fall in the middle in terms of their "peat" quotient: Lagavulin is very good; I also like MacCallen (the 18-year-old is spectacular) and most of the Balvenies. Talisker is great if a bit raw, Dalwhinnie is very nice--heathery and light. Don't dismiss the blends out of hand; there are excellent blends like Walker Black that represent very good value in the current overpriced market (the currency exchange will just kill you right now). I'm a bit of a philistine--I enjoy an ice cube or two in my single malts; brings them down to something closer to Scots room temperature.

[NV Whino]

17. If you can find it...

Tomatin 12 year old. Trader Joes has it on occasion, but I haven't seen it for a while. It's inexpensive and good. My favorites (when I'm in the money, which is infrequently) are Dalwhinny and Lagavoulin. The first is a sweeter scotch, the second smoky. And to repeat another poster, nothing under 12 years old.

[Little Wing]

18. aficionados