Any suggestions for a Scotch Whisky rookie?

[ScorpionKing]

Hello and good evening.

I have been reading these forum for a while and I decided to register here to learn more of the wonderful universe of Scotch Whiskies.

I'm a newcomer to whiskies in general and I've tasted regular blended whiskies like Johnny Walker and the like.

I'm the lucky soon-to-be father (for the very first time) and I simply imagined myself sitting in my chair and enjoying a fine Single Malt Whisky once the little one has arrived in January, feeling incredible blessed and happy.

I've done a little studying in advance and I am really interested in Single Malt Whiskies. The idea of Single Malt Whisky coming from a single distillery is very appealing to me. I love the fact of knowing that a particular Whisky comes from one distillery. That way, hopefully, I can try a lot of different Single Malt Whiskies and in time develop my own taste and likings.

I'm a relatively young guy in the mid 20's and I already know that I'm not yet that keen about strong peated whiskies. As far as I know that suggest not buying whiskies from Islay to begin with. Perhaps whiskies from the Highland or Speyside region?

Do you have any good suggestions for a rookie like me to begin my whisky journey with?
My budget is relatively limited to whiskies in the £ 25 - 40 range.

Please feel free to correct me if I've got something wrong or enlighten me further.
I'm a bit of nerd with respect to subjects that interest me and I would really like to know more.

Any help is appreciated.

Cheers.
/SK

[sorren]

Hi and welcome to the forum..
Firstly it will help if we knew where you are located so we can give you ideas that may be accessible in your area.. But a few whiskys to look out for would be..
GLENFIDICH 12,15
Auchentoshan 12
Ancnoc 12,
Glenmorangie,
Glenfarclas 12,15.
Balvenie doublewood,
These are all entry level whiskys, and offer a insight of what is to come..

[opelfruit]

Welcome!

Firstly, perfect time to start. Your budget will be a healthy one at this time of the year with supermarkets throwing deals at you. A lot of very good entry level whiskies can be had within you budget.....on to that later.

Secondly, you have no idea about what it's going to be like when sprog comes along do you I have a 2 and a half and a 5 and a half year old.....In the immediate future time for relaxing in the evenings will be sorely limited!! However, my view was that if I'm not going to be sleeping and therefore shattered the next day, well, I may as well be tired from whisky consumption too!!


Best places to start, based on what you have said, is with some decent speysiders.

Balvenie Doublewood
Aberlour 16yo
Glenfarclas 10yo if you have a waitrose
Old Pulteney 12yo

Id also suggest Glenfiddich 15yo Distillery Edition of its on offer at £40. It's 51% abv, but it's also not chill filtered so it gives you a foothold into cask strength, naturally presented whisky. Bloody good too.

If you decide to do online then Masterofmalt and The Whisky Exchange are very good. Stuff from them I can suggest when starting out would be;

AnCnoc 12yo
Glencadam 10yo
Clynelish 14yo
Balblair 2003

All of which come in between £30 and £40 and are excellent displays of Highland malts.
_________________
"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[ScorpionKing]

Thank you for your reply.
I'm located in Denmark - I will add it to my profile.

I'll definitely look those suggestions up - most of them should be available here where I live.

[opelfruit]

If you're a nerd then read up on whisky maturation. Casks play a big part in what you get in the bottle so you need to know your American oak from your European sherry butts. Also, chill filtration, colouring and abv, these all play a part on the end result and experience.
_________________
"Too much of anything is bad, but too much good whisky is barely enough."

[sorren]

Once you press that European sherry button your hooked 😂😂😂👍

[Kenny M]

Welcome to the SMW forum SK

You don't need a huge budget to find a very good Scotch single malt whisky. A few I would recommend to wet the babies head which should suit your taste and which you should be able to find in most shops and should be within your budget are:

Glenfiddich 15 year old Solera Vat
Glengoyne 10 year old
Glen Grant 10 year old
Balvenie 12 year old Doublewood
Glenmorangie 10 year old
Benromach 10 year old

[TheWM]

Whilst it is a blend - have you tried Green Label 15???

It's my favourite JW and would be high up on my list, especially to wet the baby's head harder to find now but keep an eye out on auction websites.

In terms of a single malt you could do a lot worse than Cragganmore 12 which is used in JW.

[Kevin H]

Suggesting buying a discontinued whisky at auction is an interesting recommendation for a newbie...

Aberlour 10 is where I would start if I didn't want peat. Though where I actually started 30 years ago was Highland Park 12

[Newby]

As much as possible of anything you can get your hands on before baby comes!

Then start again after about 6 months, when life may return to some sort of normality or routine! :D

[xcompl]

Im fairly new to whisky, tried Linkwood 22 Octave, its was very nice. I did not like other ones as they were a bit stronger.

[GateToWire]

Some great suggestions in the forum. You won't go wrong with any of these replys

I started with Old Pulteney 12yr old, Highland Park 12yr and Caol Ila 12yr old

These 3 are a nice progression IMO. The Pulteney is a nice, non peated whisky but still is complex.
Highland Park gives you the mix of lots of favors and some peat.
Caol Ila is a lighter peat option and I think is a great place to start on peated whisky.

Just my 2 cents
_________________
Mike

[jimmy]

I am 3/4 through my fist ever bottle of whisky and it it a auchentoshan american oak 8 did no research just grabbed a bottle and hoped for the best and to be honest I like it but I also have nothing to compare it to be can't wait til I do