Best single-malt Scotch...


I have to give credit to Redwiki for the inspiration to start this thread. Yes, certain malts better compliment certain music or certain moods. Of the fifteen or so different malts in my cabinet right now, my favorites are: Aberlour "Antique", similar to the popular Macallan, but not as syrupy; a bit drier, light hearted and less complicated; great with Mozart and Brubeck. Mortlach "Limited Edition" cask strength. Powerful, smoky, mysterious. Great with Bartok, Berg and late 'Trane. Loch Morar 25 yr old. Incredibly complex and intense, with a hint of honey and flowers. Great with Poulenc, Stravinsky and Bill Evans. Any other single-malt aficionados out there?
frogman

Showing 2 responses by tweakgeek

I work in the high end of the booze biz & get good opportunities to purchase rare malts. Springbank is the distillery that I would miss the most were it to go silent. My all time fave Highland malt is the discontinued (since 1995)Balvenie Classic (the one that came in what look like an E&J brandy bottle). For pure in-your-face sauvage Islay charachter, you can't beat the younger Murray McDavid bottlings of Laphroaig. These bottlings, sometimes labeled as "Leapfrog", make the distillery bottlings seem tame & muted in comparison. The lack of chill filtration is the key to the superior quality of these Murray McDavid bottlings.

BTW, if any audiogonsters out there were to find a dusty bottle of the Balvenie Classic sitting forlornly on some retailer's shelf (I found one last year), I'd trade a fairly spectacuilar bottle of wine from my cellar for it.
Highland malts are (generally) full bodied, with a sweet finish & little of the pronounced iodine, peat & salt air character found in Islay malts. Glenlivet is an excellent place to start. Go to a bar or restauarant that has a good selection of drams. Try four or five different ones before you buy a bottle. If you like the Glenlivet, try the Macallan 18 (currently around $80, but worth it), Glenfarclas, any of the offerings from Balvenie, or, for a killer bargain, get a bottle of the Dalmore 12 (less than $25).