Scotch

[bigtoys]

Try Balvenie Doublewood, Talisker (smoky).
For more $$, try Macallan 15 yr old Fine Oak

Looking forward to trying these:

[aceswired]

Coming to the party way late, but since Scotch is another of my passions, thought I'd weigh in. For a newbie to Scotch, I'd strongly recommend starting with a quality blend. The newbie palate just isn't ready to appreciate a single-malt. Single-malts don't necessarily taste better, they just have more character and more unique overtones. A good 12-year blend like Pinch is an excellent place to start for a newbie. It's affordable and it's damn good Scotch.

You'll reach a point in time where single malts are something you'll want to enjoy for their uniqueness. But for me, blends are the place to start and develop a palate.

[AVB]

There is nothing wrong with a good blend and to say otherwise is falling into the SMS snob trap. The problem is that they don't sell too many in the US.

[ralford]

There is nothing wrong with a good blend and to say otherwise is falling into the SMS snob trap. The problem is that they don't sell too many in the US.

Sounds like you're a B&W kinda guy. I strongly suggest there are other alternatives to falling into the SMS trap - what ever the hell that is...

Taste is always subjective. And I stand by my statement that I recall nothing memorable about blends. Although, I haven't seen any reason to sample them for some time. I suspect the biggest scotch trap around is buying Chevas under the impression it is the top of the line.

If you have suggestions for a good blend, how about sharing. I would love to find an enjoyable scotch at a bourbon price point

Rusty

[Bassfever]

At about $42.Bottle. I LOVE Oban 14 year old. Prob my favorite to date. On another note and just my opinion McClellands is the worst I have tried to date. Now Macallan on the other hand is another great one. See what ya did. Now I gotta go get me some. Enjoy!

[Bassfever]

If you have suggestions for a good blend, how about sharing. I would love to find an enjoyable scotch at a bourbon price point

Rusty

Some blends cost as much or more the Single malts. JW Blue, Gold, Chivas 21 year old just to name a few that are pricey.

[rsanz]

Not sure how cheap it is in the US but Aberlour 10yo is a very drinkable single malt, and quite good value down this way.

http://www.aberlour.com/

[Roham]

Just thought of something as I re-read this thread. The taxes in Canada on liquor are insane... A case(12) of Bud for about $15.... etc etc (how much is it in the states?)


So a $50 bottle of scotch in Canada is probably equivalent to a $30 US bottle. Something like that;-)

[drew_goring]

Try Balvenie Doublewood, Talisker (smoky).
For more $$, try Macallan 15 yr old Fine Oak

Looking forward to trying these:

Wow, very nice. My first and favorite bottle so far has been the Bowmore 12 year. I love Islay Scotches.

[ralford]

Frankly, if you aren't an "experienced" scotch drinker, I would suggest you avoid the pricier bottles and instead get a couple of single malts, McClellands offers an Islay (very smoky) and a Highland (lighter) for about 1/2 the price of most other single malts. Probably around $25/.75l. That will give you a couple of points of reference. I haven't found a bad single malt, all are interesting. I haven't drank a blend for so long that I can't speak definitively but never noticed them very memorable. Used to drink Famous Grouse when volume was a priority.

for grins googled and found http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McClelland's_Single_Malt

Cheers,

Rusty