Being I'm turning 21 in about 2 weeks I wanted to pick up a birthday present for myself. I've been looking at picking up a bottle of scotch but being I have only had a limited experience with it I'm not quite sure what to buy. I've had JW black and dalwhinnie 15 that I have liked quite a bit. I've got recommendations of trying talisker 18 and chivas regal 18 but I figured i'd get more recommendations before I actually buy a bottle. My price range is anything less than $130

This message has been edited. Last edited by: CigarGuy88,

Hey Cigarguy,
I would suggest a Scotch from Both the Islay and Highland regions.
Hit a bar and taste a few first.
With $130.00 and some shopping around, you should have no problem picking up 2 Very nice bottles with some cigar money left over as well.
Happy Birthday and enjoy!

I have plenty of cigars but not enough scotch the bars around me have a very limited selection of scotches so trying them would be near impossible on top of expensive

Stay away from any thing that is not a single. Some very good onew for a good price are:

Glenmorangie
Balvenie
Auchentoshan
Highland Park
Bowmore

This are just a few very good ones that are good on the pocket book too.

Blends are a nice entry to scotch. JW Green is a very good scotch IMO. I haven't tried Chivas 18 but would like to.

A nice, easy drinking single malt example would be a Balvenie Doublewood 12 yr. For around $35-40 a pop, it's a great value. Highland Park 18 is also a nice value for the quality. Good luck and happy b-day...

belvenie doublewood, belvenie 15yr, glenfiddich 15 or 18yr. you wont do any better in my opinion. you could also go with belvenie portwood 21yr but that might exceed your spending limit. dam, I wish I had 130 to spend on scotch!! happy birthday.

I really like jw blue , but its a little more pricey , i bought a bottle on ebay awhile ago . good luck happy b day

hey bud, you want to buy something special that you'll enjoy (will always want to replenish); get yourself a bottle of Aberlour 'A'bunadh' (hot, slight sherry, fruit, wood finish)- most recent batch i've seen is #23. this is one special SmS that you'll enjoy.

if u like the old fashioned SmS (peaty) try Lagavulin 16 yr (smokey, sherry, peat & salt finish) - but since u r 21 this may be too complex for you.

best advice is to go out and try 'em all - till u find what you enjoy!!!

well it looks like I've finalized my list with a few different choices... I've decided to buy a few different less expensive bottles and throw a couple bottles of bourbon in the mix too. Here's the final list... What do u guys think?

Van winkle 12 year old lot b
Woodford reserve
Dalwhinnie 15  
Chivas regal 18 (maybe if I have extra money)
Cragganmore 12 

I'd like to second your notion of buying a bunch of different bottles and trying things. I don't see a lot of reason for buying a huge expensive bottle, unless you have a really pronounced palate and certain things in scotch that will make you really appreciate it. I'm not there yet, so I can't tell the a lot of difference between say, a $40 Islay and $130 Islay... (begin flaming below).

Good idea trying different lesser priced. The Dalwhinnie is a little too light for my taste. Like the Cragganmore a little better. The more you taste single malts the more you will tend toward the more peaty/smokey Islay types (straight up - don't mix/dilute/ice). Never warmed back up to the blends once I tasted a single malt.

Any good scotch come in something less than a 750 ml? I never really drank much scotch, so I don't want to spring for a whole 750 yet. I know JW Gold comes in like a 200 ml, that's all I found at this point.

Dalmore Cigar Malt, of course! Actually a lot of people find it too sweet. My ideal is Glenmorangie in sherry wood. 12 is awesome, 18 is better.

If you haven't tried the Islays before (Laphroig, Bowmore, Lagavulin, etc), I wouldn't make that a first bottle. They are more of an acquired taste and kinda like cilantro - some people love it, some people are repulsed by it and will never acquire the taste. I'm somewhere in the middle personally but everyone different.

Didn't ask, but if you decide to go with a Bourbon, I really like the Elijah Craig 12 or 18.

The Balvenie 15 years single malt is really tasty. Their Doublewood, on the other hand, I didn't enjoy straight, but it makes a fine scotch and soda.

There are several places on the internet that sell miniature bottles. You can easily pick up about ten minis. and see what you like. Singleton of Dufftown is a great introduction to the world of Scotch.

quote:

Originally posted by chrisguinther:
There are several places on the internet that sell miniature bottles. You can easily pick up about ten minis. and see what you like. Singleton of Dufftown is a great introduction to the world of Scotch.

Thanks, Chris. I'm going to go to one other place in my area to see what they have. If I don't find anything there, I'll look around online.

I found a mini 3 pack of Balvenie scotches and it included the doublewood, 15 yr. it was a great way to try them all.

Here is what it looked like. I am not aware of this site though.

http://www.royalmilewhiskies.c...IS7R1FJYLYXILZMVYCYK

Whoever said Laphroaig is right on the money.

Try some ardbeg-10yrs old and some talisker.