Noob Single Malt Scotch List

[jkim05]

I've been hearing around that there are people interested in Scotch, so I thought I'd put together a little list of stuff for people to try. This is by no means an all-inclusive list of good Single Malt Scotch Whiskeys to try, but it's a good starting point that provides good value and variety at approachable prices.

If you're new to the world of Single Malt Scotch, I suggest trying a sampling of Scotches from the four main regions of Scotch distillation: Speyside, Lowlands, Highlands and Islay as they each have pretty unique characteristics. Now there's a lot to say about how the regions are made up, etc. but since you're mainly looking for a buying list, here are my recommendations-

From the Spey:
Balvenie 12 yr Doublewood
Macallan 12 yr
Aberlour 10 yr

From the Highlands:
Glenmorangie 10 yr
Oban 14 yr
Old Pulteney 12 yr

Lowlands:
Glenkinchie 10 yr
Auchentoshan 10 yr

Islay:
Caol Ila 12 yr
Laphroaig 10 yr
Talisker 10 yr

For the most part, I've heard people often recommended older, more expensive bottles, and while they are good recommendations, the price points may scare off people new to scotch. There have been threads linking to Scotch related resources, which are awesome, but here's my list.

Also, if you're looking for a really cheap Scotch...most of them are wretched, but there is one: White Horse, a blend that is probably the only decent cheap Scotch out there. Even if you're only into single malts, and I have no reason to be drinking single malt that cheap...I'd rather not drink at all, but this stuff is actually pretty good. In blind tests, I've seen it mistaken for much, much more expensive whiskeys.

If you're in my area and want to try some of the stuff on this list...let me know, if got approaching thirty open bottles of scotch in my collection...

[Aaron]

Originally Posted by jkim05

I've been hearing around that there are people interested in Scotch, so I thought I'd put together a little list of stuff for people to try. This is by no means an all-inclusive list of good Single Malt Scotch Whiskeys to try, but it's a good starting point that provides good value and variety at approachable prices.

If you're new to the world of Single Malt Scotch, I suggest trying a sampling of Scotches from the four main regions of Scotch distillation: Speyside, Lowlands, Highlands and Islay as they each have pretty unique characteristics. Now there's a lot to say about how the regions are made up, etc. but since you're mainly looking for a buying list, here are my recommendations-

From the Spey:
Balvenie 12 yr Doublewood
Macallan 12 yr
Aberlour 10 yr

From the Highlands:
Glenmorangie 10 yr
Oban 14 yr
Old Pulteney 12 yr

Lowlands:
Glenkinchie 10 yr
Auchentoshan 10 yr

Islay:
Caol Ila 12 yr
Laphroaig 10 yr
Talisker 10 yr

For the most part, I've heard people often recommended older, more expensive bottles, and while they are good recommendations, the price points may scare off people new to scotch. There have been threads linking to Scotch related resources, which are awesome, but here's my list.

Also, if you're looking for a really cheap Scotch...most of them are wretched, but there is one: White Horse, a blend that is probably the only decent cheap Scotch out there. Even if you're only into single malts, and I have no reason to be drinking single malt that cheap...I'd rather not drink at all, but this stuff is actually pretty good. In blind tests, I've seen it mistaken for much, much more expensive whiskeys.

If you're in my area and want to try some of the stuff on this list...let me know, if got approaching thirty open bottles of scotch in my collection...

No Lagavulin? Dalmore?

Cheaper scotches are worthy of mixed drinks.

[jagmqt]

I'm going to ingnore this thread until I finish law school...otherwise, I'll never finish law school!

(Thanks for the info, though...it will be helpful when the time is right.)

jag

[jkim05]

Originally Posted by Aaron

No Lagavulin? Dalmore?

Cheaper scotches are worthy of mixed drinks.

Yeah, like I said, there's too many to make a list that everyone would be happy with, but I wanted to give a sampling of the different scotches available in an approachable list that didn't have too many on it. I know when I first started getting into Scotches, I felt overwhelmed by the options out there and didn't know where to start. I put a few of my personal favorites on there and a bunch of ones that should be relatively easy to find at a good price point. As for mixed drinks, I don't really care for any of the scotch based ones, idk, I'd just rather drink it straight up or with a splash of water or a bit of ice.