Any serious whisky enthusiasts on here? Looking for a great peaty whisky for a present would appreciate any hints and tips!

http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-13991.aspx

In that price range that I can personally reccomend is the not peaty but incredibly nice Glenfarclas 30yo.

I love all the Highland Park’s I have tried so would love to try the 25 which is in that price range and generally gets high praise.

I have found some highly peated Whiskys don’t age in the same way as the others and hence costly aged versions can be a disapointment (ie not much different)… that said I tasted an aged Talisker the other day and it blew my socks off… but it is not on general release and I have no idea what it might cost.

Do you know what they like?
Is it a birthday/anniversary so go for the age?
Location of a special event or trigger for an area?

You might get a late port ellen for the top of that price range. Great gift for someone who likes islay whisky, as it’s a lost distillery from the area.

Couldn’t claim to be a ‘serious’ enthusiast but I do like a drop 😉

You can’t really go wrong for that much money, but law of diminishing returns applies – you might not get anything that’s too much better then the younger version, in which case you’ve wasted £75-£100! But if you’re buying for a whiskey lover they will appreciate it the gesture and know that you’ve got them something special (and pricey!). Alternative idea for a gift: a ‘tasting selection’ type set of smaller bottles…?

Funnily enough the only ones I’ve tried in that price range are 25yo Highland Park and 30yo Glenfarclas so cannae really add to anything above… I got a bottle of the latter for my 30th, and it’s like nothing else I’ve ever tasted. In a good way!

I’m no expert either, but I picked up a bottle of Port Ellen for 80 odd quid a while back. Haven’t opened it yet, but the distillery closed down a while back so obviously there aren’t so many bottles around now. Could make a nice gift & it’s meant to be a typically peaty Islay. A quick google reveals a few in your price range.

Just thinking – if you looking for an oddity I know where there is a bottle of Bruichladdich Port Charlotte PC6 Cuairt-Beatha which would be about that price. I tasted it when it came out about two years ago and it was brilliant – and at the time only about £80… demand is strong and supply is low so it’s gone up.

Info on the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte experiment here http://www.allthingswhisky.com/?p=471

My wife works in the local wine/Whisky shop and the owner is a top bloke and very knowledgeable on all aspects of the industry he loves. PM me if you want his shop number to have a chat with him – I’m sure he can sort you out with something fabulous and unusual.

Get some of the Islay “elements” series

I like peaty whiskys and my favourite distillery is Ardbeg. I have a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail (pronounced oooh-gah-dahl – I think it’s named after the series of noises you make if swallowing it without a drop of water in, as it’s cask strength…) which is great stuff. At the price you mention, I’d be extremely inclined to try Ardbeg Supernova.

a the joys of the middle classes,

I’ve tried 15yo Laphroaig and it was lovely much smoother than the 10yo or the quarter cask. at around £85 its expensive for a 15 year old but very nice

I’m just getting to the end of a bottle of 30yr old Port Ellen, and whilst it’s certainly good whisky, and it’s good to have finally got the whole way around Islay, I would say there are better bottles of whisky for the money.

I paid £190 for mine recently. Gald I had it, but wouldn’t buy it again.

But then to a serious Islay lover, it would be a great present. You might find one cheaper than the one I got from LFW, but not by too much I’d have thought.

The Bruichladdich PC6 I can vouch for as being a good un.

The latest bottling from this expression – PC8 is £66.50 from the laddie shop, where spend more?

you could get a 25yr old Tallisker for just over the budget
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-4852.aspx

or the Laphroaig 20 yr old
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-13991.aspx

As an aside, the finest whisky I ever tasted was this:
http://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/P-4733.aspx
I had no idea how expensive it was- my host gave me two good drams and it blew me away

If you want the most peaty taste I have come across, and surprisingly good value (!) try this:
http://www.whisky-online.com/big-peat-blended-malt-2.html?source=googleps

Don’t dismiss it as a blended whiskey- it is all single malt from Islay , including from Port Ellen, and it is exceptionally good

Definately go for an Islay malt.

Port Ellen special due to exclusivity if you can get it.

Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich, Bunnahabain all good.

My personal favourite is Caol Ila – did whiskey tasting in Scotland a year or so back and the 1996 Distillers Edition came out on top with most votes.

I seem to remember Bruichladdich Octomore being around £100, being delicious and having 130ish PPM. One of the best whisky’s I have drunk and comes in a sweet bottle.

Ended up with the Islay Malt thanks for all the advice above Bottled by Blackadder, 25 year old Caol Ila! £100 Bought myself an 11 year old one and that blew my socks off (in a nice way) must admit a massive headache the following morning though!