Best single-malt Scotch...

Curriemt11,

interesting recommendation for Longrow. I will try to locate one if possible since I love Islay whisky. Springbank is quite different IMO though.

Abe

Well, I find the concept of a 'best' single malt to be just as elusive as 'best' preamp or a 'best' speaker. It doesn't exist. Depends far too much on weather, attitude, time of day, or whatever. HOWEVER...if my arm were twisted, I would point the gentle reader to this:

http://cgim.audiogon.com/i/vs/i/f/1194193217.jpg

In the center of the top shelf, just to the left of the Macallan jug, is a bottle of 1973 Longrow, which is my all time favorite whisky - and not by a narrow margin. Unfortunately, it is effectively unobtainable now. Several years ago, I saw a bottle go for 600 pounds at a Glasgow auction. I lived in Aberdeen for 4 years in the 1990s. This was going for about 30 pounds ($45) at the time. If I had only known...

I'll be opening that bottle on the day I retire. Incidentally, Longrow is available again. It's made by Springbank, using peated malt. For those of you who like both Springbank and the Islays, give it a try. Not the equal of the 1973, it's still very, very good.

Whisky Magazine's Best Single Malt list has:

World’s Best Islay Peated Single Malt Whisky
Lagavulin 16 Years Old

World’s Best Highland Single Malt Whisky
Glenmorangie Nectar D’Or

----------------
well diserve the honor.
Lagavulin, an all time classic. nothing more to be said.

Glenmorangie has a very delicate aroma, not too much to be tacky. The after taste has a hint of sweetness, an open feeling, refreshing. Truly Wonderful.

Everybody have their own taste. For me, I A/B'ed some and ranked them as following:

#1, Lagavulin 16;
#2, Talisker 10;
#3, Oban 14;
#4, Laphroaig 10;
#5, Springbank 15;
#6, Balvenie 15;

When I lived in Scotland there was no "best malt" - variety is the spice of life - I'd have a half a dozen bottles from speyside (from towns where we played golf) - another half dozen from the west coast and then several from the Islands up north and of course a few from the highlands and a couple from the lowlands. Now I am nolonger in Scotland I simply keep six bottles - I stick with Lagavulin - Talisker - Oban - Cragganmore - Glenkinichie - Dalwhinnie - to which I throw in a few with a port wood finish and other distinct colorations. These are all easy to find and relatively cheap/good value and will cover the range that you need for guests (actually a great marketing ploy from United Distillers) - to me there is no best - only what you happen to feel like depending on your mood, the weather and your meal.

CARDHU

Black Bowmore 1964; I drank and still treasure the rest of my 1995 bottled edition which was supposed to be the final ons but I have read Bowmore bottled a few hundred bottles more in November 2007.

Lagavulin 16 is awesome!!! Costco carries for only $62 per bottle -- got 4 for myself ;-) hehehe.....

I am new to whisky but Lagavulin opened a whole new area for me. Put a large order from local Liquor store and will have some serious A/B'ing in summer vacation:

Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel Single Malt Whisky 750ml

Glenmorangie Nectar D'Òr Extra Matured Range Sauternes Cask 750ml

Laphroaig 10 year old Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml

Laphroaig 10 year old Original Cask Strength Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml

Laphroaig 15 year old Islay Single Malt Whisky 750ml @

Springbank 15 year old, Distillery Bottling Single Malt Whisky 750ml

Talisker 10 year old Isle of Skye Single Malt Whisky 750ml

1992 Talisker Distillers Edition Isle of Skye Single Malt Whisky

I love Lagavulin 16yo but also have a nice weakness for Balvenie Portwood.
I also love strange national liquours like Unicum, Talla Vannin, Cynar, Bechorovka, Balsam, etc.

I like Glenlivet 12 year. I know a bit plain, but I'm only 30, I haven't even heard of many of the other ones that are mentioned. Also, for a decent bargain J+B 6 year does the trick. Most often it's just a canadian whisky on the rocks.

Oban is king

I had an 18 yr old Benrinnes last night, only available in extremely limited quantities (single cask) but one of the best scotches I've had.

Pepperdog, I haven't seen the Mac SR 18 for years, loved the purple label, and the scotch of course!

Bruichladdich 18, Lagavulin 16, The Macallan 18, Glenmorangie 21, Highland Park 21, Springbank 18, Bowmore special reserve 25....and on and on.
I gotta admit, there's something to love in any quality single malt over 15 years old....I even like Lafroig 16.
Nice thread,
I think I'll have me a nice dram of The Macallan Special reserve 18 and a Bass Ale.
Life is good...Schlange!

I am currently enjoying a few nice and reasonably priced single malts.

Lagavulin 16 is, for my money, an excellent Islay malt.

Longmorn 15 (Speyside) is an incredible bargain at approx. $60.

Macallan Cask Strength continues to impress me. I keep a bottle of Macallan 18 in my office, but open it far to infrequently...

I agree with Gliderguider's nod to Bruichladdich as an alternative to the better known Islays. But I have to say there are some Laddie's that are relatively expensive and a divergence from the 12 y.o. consumers will generally find on the shelf. In particular, the Links bottling is an outstanding Islay that doesn't beat one's taste buds to death. Limited distilling/release make it an unusual, and pleasing find. Also, Bunnahabhein ('Boonahaveen') is another outstanding Islay, as is Jura. But, if I can find it (and it's increasingly difficult to come by in my neck of the woods) I'd go for the Highland 18, an Orkadian whisky whose peatiness is distinctly more inviting, IMO, than any Islay. As far as combining smoke with a good Scotch, I would use something other than nicotine...

sorry, I meant Bowmore...drinking too much scotch you know!

Funny I was just thinking of this thread as I just got the details of my birthday trip.... Tuesday we fly to London for two days then to Prague for a week... so I will be visiting my favorite whiskey shop in the world, Cadenheads for some sampling and no doubt buying of rare single casks.....

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me.....

Bowman islay 12 year is a steal at 30.00. It is, to my taste, quite similar to Lagavulin, and at half the price...a hell of a lot like Lagavulin!

For me it's a tie between 25-year-old Caol Ila and 5-year old Clynelish, with 15-year-old Macallan getting honorable mention, especially with milk chocolate. I have the 10, 12, 15, 18 and 25 Macallan at home, and every so often I do a vertical tasting. I think Macallan becomes less interesting after 15 years. By 25 years, it's a shadow of its former self.

"Aye, ifiT's not ScoT, iT's crap!"

There are so many reasonably priced Single Malts, how can anyone argue that Scotch is'nt the King of Spirits for price and flavour. Day to day, I still come back to Glemorangie as a distillery, though Laphroig, Dalwinnie come close. If you ever get to the UK, go to the Highlands and follow some of the Malt Whisky trail, the most beautiful scenery and spirits you will find anywhere. I still think the old saying that the best stuff never leaves Scotland is probably true.

Have you heard the old story about God talking to St Peter about Scotland" I gave them the best scenery in the world, clear streams, Scotch whisky". St Peters replies "Why so great bounty Lord". "Wait till you see the neighbours I've given them"

The Balvenie Doublewood is indeed a very smooth whisky. But for great memories, I have to harken back to a Glenfarclas 30 yr old that I sampled on a vacation to Scotland back in December of 1999. I wanted to lick the inside of the glass!

..."a flavor tha fits like an old glove." Much better than a flavor that sips like an old sock.

Best I've tried is Macallan 25 as of yet. But, my standard single-malt for any day is the Balvenie 12 Doublewood. Ultra smooth, a bit syrupy, gorgeous color and a flavor that fits like an old glove.

It's a bit of a drive for you, but you can find a much wider selection in the Cincinnati area. Best place is The PArty Source right across the rive in Newport. They have a huge selection, with lots of rare (and expensive) bottlings. Just picked up a bottle of 21 yr old Bowmore from a single cask private bottling for $ 68....lees than the very good but now overpriced LAgavullin..and arguably better....

Do any of you live in Central Ohio? If so do you know of a store with a good single malt selection? I'm in Columbus and it seems hard to find anything other than the usual suspects (Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, Macallan & Bowmore).

Likely, yes - I haven't heard of any scotch-flavored hookah tobacco, though. Could be a huge seller for the guy who invents it.

-j.

-J., guess I'd have to put in a hookah to smoke it?

Unsound,

Sorry - I hopped back into Single-malt land for a post there. Old Pulteney is a Single Malt from the Highlands - see here:

http://www.maltwhiskey.com/html/northhighlands.htm#Old%20Pulteney

That's an excellent site, by the way, for Single Malt reviews.

-j.

-j., I used to like the imported and therefore packaged "Amphora". That's no longer availble here in the states. I now get most of my pipe tobacco loose from Barcley Rex in NYC. A good cigar has beautifull aroma, that is until it lingers. I tend to do the vast majority of my smoking outdoors. I've never heard of the Old Pulteney. What's it made of? I have to see if I can find some.

OH, one which I should have mentioned for excellent taste for the value is Old Pulteney.

-j.

I don't care much for cigar smell - I prefer pipe by a longshot. Unsound, do you prefer loose tobacco or tinned / prebagged?

-j.

-j, I tend to go towards blends with a lot of burley light. I used to buy Amphora, but, it's no longer imported. I don't care much for the flavored blends. I can enjoy the vanilla ones though. I haven't tried espresso. I tend to smoke a pipe a lot when drinkng coffee, and a cigar when drinking scotch.

The local place carries loose blends of turkish and Virginia tobacco, flavored and un-. I usually prefer one with a mild expresso edge, cool and long-smoking - but I experiment (just like with Scotches).

Most tobacco aficianados prefer non-flavored, but I've found one with a light expresso flavoring is very nice.

-j.

Jonathan, what kind of tobacco do you prefer?

Ardbeg has always had an excellent taste to me, as have Cragganmore and Springbank.

With a tobacco pipe, Ardbeg works very well because of its intense flavor.

--Jonathan

You musn't forget the best of the Islays (IMHO)....Ardbeg.

I think those who get a taste for Islay tend to migrate to the extreme end of the flavour spectrum (eg. Lagavullin, Laphroiag, Caol Ila and Port Ellen), leaving otherwise worthy candidates like Bruichladdich and Bowmore out in the cold.

I wonder why nobody has mentioned Bruichladdich yet as this is a traditional malt that is extremely pleasing without having the need to break the bank

Absolutely agree, Pardales. Hardly an inexpensive whiskey but worth the bucks. The only way I can get it is to have my son track it down in CA. WA's state liquor board controls imports and this is one of many whiskies that I can't purchase here. There is an 18 year old with rum finish available which I've had the chance to sample. A bit long in the tongue for me but Aberlour's 15 is very good. FWIW, my greatgrandfather was born in Aberlour, or Charleston on Aberlour.

"A'bunadh" by Aberlour -- I just discovered this delight in the last year. Check it out.

Glenfarclas 25 year old - big and rich almost like the sherry barrels they age it in!

For a birthday present, I'm now a member of the
http://www.smwsa.com, single malt whiskey society of
america, which is a branch of the official society in
the UK. One gets a free bottle of their cask-strenth
hand-picked whiskey.

Yum! It's a whole different ballgame out there beyond
MacCallun 18-year stuff. This free bottle totally blows
away anything I've ever bought in a store!

Very interesting thread. I'm not surprised audiophiles appreciate a good whisky, after all its one of the cheapest upgrades. My preference goes to Talisker and Highland Park, both excellent with Bruckner.

Hi Jamiehughburr,
I've been a busy beaver sampling these single malts and there is nothing IMHO that stands up to the Islay stuff, particularly Laphroaig. Are you a "friend of Laphroaig"? Do you have a plot? I'm at plot#284343

Glen Rothes 20 y/o.

Laphroig. Goes well with anything. Drink enough and you'll not care what you're listening to (well, draw the line at most audiophile fare--give me real music--Bach,Beethoven, Brahms Debussy, etc). Actually, I love the smokyness--Islay peat makes all the difference.

Curriemt11-
Sir, my hats off to you, you certainly know how to tweak. I'll take your advise in full. Thanks.

Phaelon,

Basil Hayden is the best of the bunch, in my opinion. Wonderful stuff. As for single malts, I invite you to take a look at my system photos:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?vaslt&1130505439&view

Note the LP rack...and half of the whisky collection on top :) (the other half is on the other side of the room). By the way, the second bottle from the lower left is Basil Hayden. You should, in my opinion, test the Scotch waters further. Single malt whisky has a wider range of flavors and aromas than any other spirit, and some of the best aren't necessarily that expensive. Slainte!

Hi Pops,
I don't recall trying the Basil Hayden, the other two I have, they're fine bourbons. I like the Jefferson Reserve and am still enjoying, the now discontinued, Hirsch 16yr. Have you tried the Jim Beam Black? I think it's impressive considering bang for the buck.