re: Single malt scotch for someone without much scotch experience?

Sadly, most places have a poor selection of single malts and your choices may be limited. Some local groceries may have a better selection. Glenlivet and Glenfiddich are very good starting places and also ones you'll be happy to come back to even as your taste evolves.

If you can find them, two good inexpensive (~$20) single malts are Tamdhu and Speyburn.

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i prefer the Islay malts, personally...laphroaig and lagavulin are my favorites.

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I love Laphroaig but I don't love to drink it too often, if that makes sense.

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Balvenie Doublewood 12 yr old(six in oak six in used sherry cask) is a very easy way to get started.

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I agree with this.

One of the other recent scotch threads made me want to try my own little taste test so I got a bottle of Macallan 18 and JW green to compare with my Balvenie Doublewood. For me, it was Balvenie > Macallan 18 > JW green.

When the weather cools off I'll switch to Highland Park. For some reason I don't like the smokiness when it's hot outside.

I can't emeber, nor do I desire to the name of an EIGHT yr old which I would consider infanticide of a single malt. But I have bought a thirty yr old for CHEAP BUCKS that the store owner did not know what he was selling. SWEET!!

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If the price point was lower I'd probably get it more often

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at the rate i drink whisky, it's not too much of an issue for me. i just finished off a bottle of laphroaig 18 yr that was given to me as a gift back in early january.

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at the rate i drink whisky, it's not too much of an issue for me. i just finished off a bottle of laphroaig 18 yr that was given to me as a gift back in early january.

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Yeah, if a bottle lasts me a week, it's rare, unless I'm specifically saving it for a special occasion (which usually doesn't work because I'll rationalize some basis for drinking it, "It's THE WEEKEND!!".)