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Campfire Scotch suggestions

My top three scotches are (in no order) Ardbeg 10, Lagavulin 8 and Laphroaig 10 single-malts but NOT the older ones. I prefer the younger bottles because they have LESS cask, and more SMOKE.

What would be a top-smoke (cough cough level) in Ontario, or other places as well?
 
The NAS Laphroaig Quarter Cask is very phenol forward with no distinct cask tones.
To be honest not my cup of tea.
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Multum in parvo said:
The NAS Laphroaig Quarter Cask is very phenol forward with no distinct cask tones.
To be honest not my cup of tea.


I tried the Laphroaig quarter cask, it's good but less smoky than the non-cask 10.
Edrarour now that I will have to look into.
 
It’s hard to beat good ol Laphroaig. You listed all my top 3 except I like Lagavulan 16. I revisited Bowmore 12 last year and it was a nice smoky bottle. Use to get it in the $30 range but nowadays it’s $45.
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
You pretty much named the big ones. I'll add Port Charlotte 8 (Bruichladdich folks) to the list.
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
What would be a top-smoke (cough cough level) in Ontario, or other places as well?

I'm going to go out into left field here and give you a different sort of oddball scotch to try ... Talisker 10.

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Now, most of the smoky-peated scotch comes from Islay (the island in the red box). But Skye (the pink island) has one distillery: Talisker. It's not "smoky" but it is ... well ... it's got a certain sort of peppery "oomph" to it.

So it's not a "smoky" scotch but more of an "if you like this then you will probably like that
sort of situation.

Give it a go!
 
My top three scotches are (in no order) Ardbeg 10, Lagavulin 8 and Laphroaig 10 single-malts but NOT the older ones. I prefer the younger bottles because they have LESS cask, and more SMOKE.

What would be a top-smoke (cough cough level) in Ontario, or other places as well?

Well, if someone can afford Octomore then looking for anything else will be a sub-par, at least in terms of smoke.
If not, Ardberg, Laphroaig and Caol Ila are very good alternatives (at least from those I have tried).
 
Black Bottle is an interesting and reasonably priced one if you can find it. It's a blend of the major Islay malts, so naturally it's fairly peated/smoky.
 

TexLaw

Fussy Evil Genius
I just remembered something I tried a while back. Smokehead whisky. The name and packaging do make it sound more like a novelty whisky, but it actually was pretty decent. It's not going to take the place of anything on my whisky shelf, but it's worth trying for anyone who's interested in the smoky ones.
 

Rudy Vey

Shaving baby skin and turkey necks
My top three scotches are (in no order) Ardbeg 10, Lagavulin 8 and Laphroaig 10 single-malts but NOT the older ones. I prefer the younger bottles because they have LESS cask, and more SMOKE.

What would be a top-smoke (cough cough level) in Ontario, or other places as well?
Laga and Laph are two of my three favorites, the third one is Talisker...
 

Doc4

Stumpy in cold weather
Staff member
Now, most of the smoky-peated scotch comes from Islay ... But Skye ... has one distillery: Talisker. It's not "smoky" but it is ... well ... it's got a certain sort of peppery "oomph" to it.

So it's not a "smoky" scotch but more of an "if you like this then you will probably like that"
sort of situation.
Laga and Laph are two of my three favorites, the third one is Talisker...

Amen!
 
I’ll echo Caol Ila and Talksker above, both excellent smokies.

But...Lagavulin 12 Cask Strength is the most electrifying, complex and smokey single malt I’ve ever had. It’s expensive but worth every penny. Add a splash of filtered water, sip it slow and be prepared for a rainbow of fireworks.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
I agree on the love of younger Islays. Ardbeg 10 or Laphroaig 10 make up two-thirds of my usual choices, a younger Bowmore being the third and bringing a slightly more pronounced salt spray with iodine note.
 
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