Hi my daughter would like to buy me a single malt for christmas can anyone recommend some nice ones for under £40 as would like to give her a choice to choose from .
Thanks Ady
The Dalmore 12yr or 15yr
Caol ila is great imho. 96 distillers edition is what i'm on now. Really good.
Most supermarkets will have the [url= http://www.whiskymag.com/whisky/brand/lagavulin/whisky94.html ]Lagavulin 16y[/url] at £40.99.
Can open, worms everywhere!
Too many to choose from. What types do you like?
If you dont know what you like then you need to find out. Speyside are probably the easiest on the pallette. Islay probably have the taste which requires acquiring. All good though. Especially with a good bunch of guys to share with.
Enjoy
Russell
Get her to buy you a sampler selection from a good whisky shop.
If you don't know what you like: two £20 bottles; one Speyside and one Islay.
I noticed today that Asda have lighter ones on the top shelf and smoky,peaty ones on the bottom shelf, which I thought was a good idea.
Ard Beg (Supernova)- very different but my choice when someone else is paying
Ardbeg, as above, for me - it's completely personal taste with malts really - Ardbeg 10yo just stands out to me for some reason. It has a note of TCP to it, which doesn't sound too appealing, but becomes really nice once you're used to it.
I'd recommend Glenmorangie, too. It's more of a drink for the missus than a man's whisky, but as they brought the Ardbeg distillery back from the brink then respect has to be shown.
Ardbeg and Dalwhinnie.
Complete opposites, but both delicious.
The sampler set is your best bet if you don't yet know what your taste is. For myself, I like a little bit of peatiness - just a very little and that makes Bunnahabhain and Bruichlaiddich a perfect choice for me. I've currently got a bottle Bruichlaiddich Rocks which I picked up from Morrisons - it claims to be unpeated but it still has that subtle smoky tar edge to it but is also very smooth.
Sampler set is the way to go - other than a tour of Islay. Actually you can consume a lot of free whisky on multiple distillery visits - I think I've just had an idea for a biking/distillery version of the pub crawl. It can be done.
[url= 
]Aberlour A'Bunadh[/url]
Cask strength. Sherry cask finish.
Nose: Full flavours, slightly smoky with red apples and a fine sherry character
Taste: Intense fruity flavours. Buttery and creamy with a syrupy fruit sweetness. Soft on the palate with a rich chocolate orange-like note
Finish: Long mouth warming feeling and mellowness. Slightly peaty with a honey and spice aftertaste
Oddbins have some in at the moment.
Rusty Shackleford - Member
Most supermarkets will have the Lagavulin 16y at £40.99.
+1
[url= http://www.connosr.com/whisky/ ]If you're wanting reviews of whiskies.[/url]
I'm an Ardbeg fan as well, as it happens.
Aberlour A'Bunadh - meh.....it was OK, but not to my taste.
This is why a taster is a fine idea.
You'd better know what you're messing with if you're getting into the A'Bunadh. It's serious stuff (and good too) but it's not a malt to start the night.
Personally speaking, £40 well spent on single malt will get you...
Bruichladdich 15 - for a seriously classy bottle of well made whisky.
Talisker Distillers Edition - Just over £40, don't be afraid, not the Talisker you might expect. Fantastic, classic, drinkable, perfect?
Springbank 10 (with £10+ change) - Awesome whisky, just lovely, from the only distillery still malting its own barley. Please don't make it popular, you might just spoil it.
Bunnahabhain 12, everyone likes it, they just don't know it yet. Friendly, not around for long once it's open.
Longrow 10 for an interesting change. Superb quality with a little peat.
Ardbeg, arguably still not back to its best after a few changes of ownership, but still trading on its reputation.
If you're only starting to drink malts, I'd recommend the ten year old version of any of these:
Macallan 10YO
Glengoyne 10 YO
Jura 10YO
Edradour 10YO.
All very palatable without being too bruising.
In a similar vein the Bruichladdich is a good shout if you want to try an Islay malt with a bit of peat to it.
Tamdhu, Islay, Talisker or a nice bottle of Penderyn sherrywood.
This week I have mostly been drinking the Macallan select oak and it's really very smooth. if you're new to malt whisky you can't go wrong with some of the old 10 year old standards - Glenmorangie, The Macallan, Highland Park or even Jura ( one of my favorites). You should try some of the more hard core ones out there just to check your palate, my father-in-law almost had to strap me to a chair to get me to try Laphroig but now I love it 
BELVANIE 'DOUBLE WOOD'
ON OFFER IN ASDA OCASSIONALY FOR 20 NOTES (RRP 27)
SWEET, MELLOW BUT DANGEROUSLY MOORISH 🙄
I don't know anything about whisky but recently I've been drinking Laphroigh 10 yr old. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. So I'll have a bottle of that thanks.
Recently enjoyed a Glenfiddich 18. A very special wee dram. I also enjoy some obscure finishes from my local pusher, burgundy or port finish work very well... I've yet to have a bad one. Ask an expert or check out the Loch Fine Whisky website, hours of happy hunting.
A friend of mine recently bought me Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. Not only does it give you endless ideas for what to try next, it is a fantastic read. Some of his reviews are just bonkers. He does Irish, Japanese, bourbon (check out the Knob Creek entry) etc as well. Well worth a look.
On the whisky itself, I'd go with the sampler idea. Then you can work your way through some different options to see what you like.
What's a good 'beginners' whisky? (that doesn't cost a fortune!)
The only time I've ever really tried whisky its been the of the really peaty variety at a friend and I'll be honest it didn't taste that great - probably due to my untrained palate. So what is a good brand to ween yourself into whisky drinking?
driller has it about right.
I would also recommend
Edradour Caledonian (rather than the standard 10yo)
Aberfeldy 10yo (lighter than a lot of malts)
The Glenlivet
Edit - muffin man any of the above plus perhaps Highland Park. Keep away from anything Islay if you don't want peat and smoke
Hamo, there is a world of whisky out there, i can concur with so many of the names put forward. If you like the big, peaty Islay whiskies then i'm going for Lagavulin 16yo. For a mellower dram (and when you're used to Islay whiskies then pretty much anything from the mainland is a mellower dram) then i'll throw Benromach, Cardhu and The Glenrothes into the ring as well. The Balvenie 10yo is an abvsolute cracker if you can get hold of it, the 12yo Doublewood seems to be the standard now but to be honest, a whisky that 'light' doesn't last five minutes with me, which is why i stick to the Islay whiskies... 😀
A "beginners whisky" Muffin Man? Any of the mellower ones i mentioned above or perhaps the Dalwhinnie 15yo. Stick to Speyside or Highland whiskies and you won't go far wrong.
For anyone with half an interest in decent whisky then Wooobob is right, Jim Murray's Whisky Bible is a must have.
A bit of a curve ball if you can find it, Yamazaki 10yo. Sweet, very quaffable, although i'm not so sure you should really quaff whisky but hey ho.
Oh yeah, and get some talisker for your hipflask...
I'd recommend Glenmorangie, too. It's more of a drink for the missus than a man's whisky,
Quote of the day!
Ardbeg's pretty light on it's feet as well, isn't it though?
To the OP: Maybe tell her to get to a whisky shop/decent offy and ask for advice, so you get more of a surprise?
A couple of you have mentioned sample packs - can anyone point me to a good online sample set for a whiskey beginner?
Hi all thanks for the advice i think a good starter selection would be a good idea just to find the type i like
A Glen Ord is a bit more unusual
+1 for Dalmore. Simply delicious.
Dalwhinnie is very easy to drink. Far less "harsh" than some whiskies.
That as well as Highland Park and Laphroaig float my whisky boat.
I was recommended and tried a Rosebank as a beginners whisky. Didn't really do it for me and still don't drink it. This Xmas is my mission to like it! Bought my father in law a Murray McDavid Ltd Edition, very nice.
Singleton
If your not sure if you like whisky... I recommend Glenfiddich 15 year old Solera reserve... end of discussion 😉
Light Whisky - 15 YO Dalwhinnie - wee dash of water and an ice cube sipped in front of a roaring wood fire on Skye - Nice
Wee bit stronger Clynelish 14 YO.
Ice in Whisky... are you a septic?
Burn him!
I noticed today that Asda have lighter ones on the top shelf and smoky,peaty ones on the bottom shelf, which I thought was a good idea.
I spotted that, and take issue with their idea of classification. Danger, Will Robinson.
A Glen Ord is a bit more unusual
Really? We've nicknamed it Glen Ordinary. Mate of mine swears by it, it's decent enough but isn't particularly exceptional.
Jura, Dalmore, Highland Park are all good 'gateway' whiskies. Can I add the Benromach Organic to the mix? It's absolutely superlative for the money, one of the best bang-for-your-buck malts I've ever found.
I was given a Glenfiddich three small bottle sample pack recently.12, 15 and 18, and very good it was too. Not as good as visiting the distillary and doing the tour.... where you get to sample the same three now. The sample notes from the tour were brilliant and the tour was fun for my 3 & 5 year olds. The difference between the three whisky ages is huge.
Benromach organic mentioned by cougar is nice, tastes very much like a bourbon, a good oddity.
+1 for Lagavulin 16yrs and Caol Ila 12 yrs - both are lovely, have agreat aroma and are very peaty. The Talisker distillers edition is lovely too.
I picked up a bottle of Auchentoshan 3 wood yesterday. Matured in a Bourbon cask and then finished in spanish Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks.
Fantastic colour and nose, stays on the tongue for ages (still getting flavours coming through on the car journey home from the shop) but with none of the medicinal/TCP tinge of the Islay malts. Lovely stuff.
A touch over budget at £44 but well worth it.
Quinta Ruban is a Glenmorangie which has spent a couple of years in port wood casks, giving a really soft chocolatey finish. Very different.
Around £25-£30
i mentioned to the mrs after getting given some laphroaig quarter cask id like to try some more over christmas i now have glenfiddich 12,15 and 18 , talisker 10, dalwhinnie 15, singleton 12 and glenkinchie 12
im sure there is something there i like 😉
Some generalisations/rules that help me:
The overriding factor is if you like a strong peaty/smoky/tarry character. Cos if you don't you will find a lot of the "Island" recommendations vile: Lagamhullin, Laphroag, Taisker, CaolIsla, Bowmore, Ardbeg, Brora etc. My friend Paul is in this category.
Then decide if you like strong toffee vanilla notes (usually sherry finishing): Macallan, Glenmorangie and many others. Port finishing is interesting to: definitely winey.
The remaining spirity fruity "ester" flavours are more subtle so tend not to cause offence either way: Many of the Speysiders are like this.
The older the better as cask ageing removes the harsher spirits, leaving it smooth and palatable. I suspect the spirits have a minimum age that they become nice and it varies from still to still. I found this quite noticeable in the 'fiddichs. I find the 12yo harsh, but the 18yo smooth and complex.
I hope this helps.
Suntory Yamazaki 12 year old is excellent.
Waitrose did a very readable guide to whisky recently which came in one of their Wine Direct mailings. It groups recommendations by taste, rather than being just a "top ten whiskies to drink" type list. Good, if like me, you have only a handful of whiskies which you know and want to be a bit more adventurous. Not sure what the online version is like, as my work's smut filter won't allow access, but its probably worth a look.
+1 for Balvennie Doublewood - very easy to drink, good intro to whisky
hmm
in our collection we have
Highland park 12 and 18 (these are my hip flask whiskies)
Kilchoman 2009 Autumn release (this is a keeper)
The Yamazaki 10
Cragganmore 12
Caol Ila 12
Laphroaig Quarter Cask
Bowmore
Talisker 10
Macallan cask strength 10 (dangerous stuff)
Penderyn Peated
any suggestions as to where to go next with the collection? should get an idea of our tastes from the above.
mrmichaelwright, you need ardbeg 🙂
yes you are right
Luckily I shall be spending Hogmonay on Islay so it shouldn't be a problem 😆
mrmichaelwright - Memberany suggestions as to where to go next with the collection? should get an idea of our tastes from the above.
Cognac perhaps? 😆
I've got a reasonably diverse collection that seems to rapidbly diminish over winter !
Most fascinating one i had this year was a Bruichladdich 5yr old organic. I had low expectations of such a young expression but it was simply awesome.
Bruicladdich made me quite ill last time we toured in Scotland, not through excess either. Mind you the midgies had caused me to lose a good 90% of blood on Colonsay so that may have been a factor
google whisky taste map
don't knock Glenmorangie even the 'ordinary' 10 yr old has complexity but won't scare off the beginners.
My preference is for Islay Malts; Ardbeg and Buachladdich are my favs buthave also enjoyed the others and an occasional Highland and Speyside. Aberlour good too but not a fan of Jura not alot too it.
What's the welsh one like? thinking of a bottle for my Dad
it's pretty good, not got the complexity of the islay malts or the peatiness but certainly very drinkable and nice in that it's a little different.
I'm not a fan of Jura either, a bit to medicinal for me. Also our stay on Jura was pretty miserable!
The pub we are spending Hogmonay in has a collection of over 140 islay malts varying form normal to astronomical prices. I plan to sample one really expensive one to see if my naive pallet can tell the difference.