Beyond my year of bourbon ...

[jjking54]

So I still need to wrap up my bourbon thread ... I see that I need to re-taste and rank Knob Hill, and I plan to. And there are several bourbons I still want to get ahold of, so as I acquire them I'll probably be updating the thread.

But after researching the Solera bottle, and stumbling across Ralfy and his reviews, I'm becoming intrigued by Scotch. I've actually been watching others of his reviews here and there when I have time, and I don't know if it's his brogue or just his style but I'm increasingly considering buying my first bottle.

Given the price of scotch, I highly doubt I'll be as deep (in terms of number of bottles) into scotch as I have been bourbon, but I'm kicking this around for sure. Thoughts gents?

I'll admit, the first bottle I've got my eye on is the Glenfiddich 15 Solera ... or Abelour 12 looks approachable. Decisions decisions ...

 

[jjking54]

Follow up question ... How many here would consider themselves newbies when it comes to scotch?

 

[martym]

I’m a lush!
I love both Scotch and Bourbon!!
Neat!
Laphroaig 16 is special
Glenlivet 12 great as a gateway

But everyone’s tastes are different

 

[Doc4]

But after ... stumbling across Ralfy and his reviews, I'm becoming intrigued by Scotch. ... I'm increasingly considering buying my first bottle.

Thoughts gents? ... Decisions decisions ...

Well, you might be interested in this Ralfy video ...

 

[jjking54]

Well, you might be interested in this Ralfy video ...

Watched that one last night

That Highland Park 12 is high on my list as well. Very intriguing.

And the Caol Ila interests me as well ...

 

[OtherMoe]

I wouldn't consider myself a scotch newbie, but definitely not authoritative. Before i got into bourbon, scotch was about the only whisky I drank. Drank a lot of Glenfiddich and Glenmorangie starting out, then switched to peatier like laphroaig and Lagavulin. I still like a Lagavulin 16 now and then but my tastes are moving back towards the middle. I have been drinking a blended scotch lately (Monkey Shoulder) and like it quite a bit as well as the Balvenie 12 Double Wood. A couple people have told me the Monkey Shoulder makes a good cocktail but not tried that yet.

 

[jjking54]

Reason I asked about newbs was I was thinking that rather doing this "journey" alone, I was wondering if any of the Speakeasy brethren would like to maybe do it as a group? We could share tasting notes, heck if we got adventurous enough we could share samples and that way we're not shelling out crazy money throughout the year to try different scotches we may or may not like.

I dunno ... just thinking out loud and that it might be more fun as a group

 

[paintflinger]

Based on my experience I'd skip the Highland 12 and just buy a bottle of the 18, but that's me.

Tomatin is a nice one to start with. Johnny Walker Green for a nice blended scotch that isn't too pricey (~45). Bruichladdich is fairly cheap, but it's got it's own kind of flair that I like.

If you are going with the easy to get scotches, I'd go for Glenmorangie over Glenfiddich. MacCallan is overpriced, but easy to drink. Highland Park is fantastic, but it's best to skip the 15. Aberlour A'Bunadh is fantastic for its price. I've never actually tried Laproig, so I'm of no use there.

There's so many different types, it is a fun journey to figure out what you like.

 

[dadiswin]

HP18 isia fantastic dram, but the price point of hp12 makes it a good choice as well. Aberlour 12 is a great option and a very beginner friendly bottle. The non chill filtered bortlong of aberlour 12 is a sherry bomb. I'd highly recommend it.

Amother fun bottle is glenmorangie nectar d'or. Arran also makes some tasty finished malts.

 

[jjking54]

I'm still on the fence about this ... but still thinking about jumping in, but I may just jump in slowly. Found a new liquor store with an amazing selection (scotch as well as bourbon).

 

[dadiswin]

You shoild consider purchasing the glenmorangie taster set. Highland park and ardbeg sometimes include sample bottles with a full size bottle too. Great way to get some higher end drams at a lower price to try.

 

[jjking54]

You shoild consider purchasing the glenmorangie taster set. Highland park and ardbeg sometimes include sample bottles with a full size bottle too. Great way to get some higher end drams at a lower price to try.

I'll keep an eye out for it!

 

[Cl3anShav3]

Although not a scotch I would suggest Westland single malt or Balcones single malt a great transition into scotch. It is a 100% malted barley mash but it is aged in new oak barrels just like bourbon. So its got the tannins of bourbon with the malt cereal and butterscotch character of a scotch.

 

[silvertipped]

Based on my experience I'd skip the Highland 12 and just buy a bottle of the 18, but that's me.

Tomatin is a nice one to start with. Johnny Walker Green for a nice blended scotch that isn't too pricey (~45). Bruichladdich is fairly cheap, but it's got it's own kind of flair that I like.

If you are going with the easy to get scotches, I'd go for Glenmorangie over Glenfiddich. MacCallan is overpriced, but easy to drink. Highland Park is fantastic, but it's best to skip the 15. Aberlour A'Bunadh is fantastic for its price. I've never actually tried Laproig, so I'm of no use there.

There's so many different types, it is a fun journey to figure out what you like.

Abelour A'Bunadh is great, tried it the other night.

 

[FL shaver]

You shoild consider purchasing the glenmorangie taster set. Highland park and ardbeg sometimes include sample bottles with a full size bottle too. Great way to get some higher end drams at a lower price to try.

I saw a Glenmorangie box last night without a price. I thought it contained 750s of Quinta Ruban and Lasanta. I asked the cashier for the price. "Thirty-eight." I thought I was walking out with a steal. I asked what was inside and she told me to open it. It had a 750 of The Original and two small samples of Quinta Ruban and Lasanta. Still a good deal, but not what I had hoped was inside!

 

[jjking54]

One of these things is not like the other ...