Postby Cardinal Fang » Thu Oct 21, 2010 2:12 pm
My own personal preference is for blended rather than malt, with my current favourites being Bailie Nicol Jarvie (about £15 a bottle), Asyla (around £20) and Famous Grouse (about £16). Blended is cheaper than malt as a rule, but price also depends on the age of the different whiskies in the blend (the stated age of a blend is the age of the youngest whisky in it). It goes without saying that you should stick to proper Scottish whisky IMHO. My friend on the other hand reckons Johnnie Walker Black Label is the king of blends but you pay a bit more for it (about £25).
If I'm going for a malt, I prefer Lowland ones which tend to be quite dry, fruity and mellow. I'm partial to a bit of Auchentoshan 10 Year Old Single Malt (the 18 year is even better, but at £50 a bottle it's so not in my price range!!!). You can also get some similarly lovely light ones from the Highlands - Loch Lomond malt is rather good. Had some Talisker 10 Year Old recently and that was also really good- sweet, slightly smoky with a kick at the end.
If you like your single malt smokey and peaty, you can't fault Lagavulin 16 Year Old. Not cheap (around £40 a bottle), but damn, it's good.
CF