Please help, which single malt for a beginner?

[Rossmeister]

Gents, I am in need of some assistance!

I'm going to Scotland (Edinburgh) early-mid January, and I'm figuring I can't go there and come back without some damn fine whisky.

Problem is.. I almost have no experience with them!

Only thing I know is that I really like Canadian Club. Mainly with at least two ice cubes... I want to learn how to enjoy whisky anyway, so gotta start somewhere, right?

My budget is fairly big (I'll pay what it costs if it's a reasonable beginner's whisky), and I'm figuring I could buy maybe two bottles. So guys, please tell me what's good for a beginner, and why!

EDIT
To be honest I just put single malts in the title because that's the "good stuff." I don't know if it's right for a beginner.

 

[RF1963]

Single Malts are fine for a beginner, we all started somewhere!

A quick internet search found this company with three shops in Edinburgh http://www.whiskyshop.com/ and I'm sure your hotel will have details of other, long established emporiums such as this http://www.royalmilewhiskies.com/

Visit one of these and I'm sure that it will be possible for you to taste some of the stock and find whiskies that you'll enjoy.

 

[RolandofGilead]

Well the first one that I really enjoyed was a Glenfiddich...nothing special, but helped me aquire the taste. I've mentioned in some other threads that Macallan is a favorite of mine and great for beginners...

 

[Rossmeister]

Hmmm. So why are the ones mentioned good, you think?

I dunno if these are tastes commonly found in whiskys, but here's what I personally appreciate.

Pepper
Citrus
Cinnamon
Honey
Pine
Sweet tastes in general

 

[doublebucklemonk]

I think the reason the Glenfiddich and Macallan were both mentioned is because they are both readily available, middle of the road (taste wise not quality wise) single malts. I believe Glenfiddich is still "the most popular single malt scotch in the world" and is therefore a pretty good benchmark to compare against. Neither of them pushes any of the tastes to the extreme (like say Laphroig). I always have a bottle or two of Glenfiddich (it doesn't hurt that my uncle works at the distillery) and almost always have a bottle of the Macallan around the house in addition to whatever other bottles I may be working on. If I have a friend who wants to try scotch and doesn't like either of those, they are just not meant to be a scotch drinker

I copied the following description of the 12 Cardinal Flavours from another website.

For anyone trying to pick the perfect single malt whisky, there are 12 "cardinal flavours" identified by a Scottish academic with which to make your selection.

Scotsman
"Smoky, honey, body, sweetness, medicinal, tobacco, spicy, winey, nutty, malty, fruity and floral.... After sampling malt whiskies at almost 100 Scottish distilleries, Dr David Wishart is still standing -- and his classification has won official endorsement from the Scotch Whisky Industry."

 

[nitty]

Ask the locals what they like. You may find that it's not single malt.

 

[Rossmeister]

Hey, welcome to BnB

I think I'll get as many answers as the amount of people I ask if I do that, I'm afraid. It's the capital of whiskey-land, after all!

Oh man, I am looking at the Glenfiddich 21 Year Old Caribbean Rum Cask right now, and my mouth is watering..

I also looked up Macallan 10, which I'm not sure sounds right for me, and Dalwhinnie 15 and the Auchentoshans, and they all sound like yummy.

 

[shaveBandito]

Hello and welcome to B&B! When I was a novice at drinking good scotch, I got some advice which I will pass on to you in the hope that it helps. While you have a chance, buy 2 bottles of what the scotch makers drink themselves. Keep those bottles around until your taste in scotch becomes more mature - and then open and enjoy them (that may be decades lter, but the bottles will wait for you). I saved several bottles - Mortlach, Laphroaig, Dalmore, Aardbeg, and Caol Ila (every single malt has its followers - so most of them are good, but Springbank almost always appears on everyone's list).
I still have a bottle of Mortlach waiting for a special occasion but the others have done their part in educating me on life, love, and the enjoyment of such things. Hope you enjoy your trip to Scotland. By the way, like everything else, there is aritual in drinking single malts (almost as specific as the Japanese tea ritual, IMHO) - and I encourage you to ask about it whikle you are there. Best wishes.
justin

 

[BBchew]

Talisker as most love it.

 

[RolandofGilead]

Hey, welcome to BnB

I think I'll get as many answers as the amount of people I ask if I do that, I'm afraid. It's the capital of whiskey-land, after all!

Oh man, I am looking at the Glenfiddich 21 Year Old Caribbean Rum Cask right now, and my mouth is watering..

I also looked up Macallan 10, which I'm not sure sounds right for me, and Dalwhinnie 15 and the Auchentoshans, and they all sound like yummy.

The 10 is a Fine Oak IIRC. Check out the Macallan 12 it's matured in sherry casks and is sweeter than the 10.

if you like sweet I think the Macallan 12 might be right up your alley. I also enjoy sweeter malts and the Macallan has nice vanilla notes and is on the sweeter side as far as malts go.

 

[Rossmeister]

Okay, so I followed your advice and just bought a Macallan 12 just 20 minutes ago! I'll get right back to you gents when I've tried it!

 

[BigRich]

I would also suggest going to Royal Mile Whiskies while there. The guys there are great and they will let you sample a good number of drams to find what you want to buy.

 

[Rossmeister]

Yeah, I will most definitely do that.You just don't get that service and expertise here, the market is completely different. Since all our liquor shops are state owned (obe, big government chain in the entire country), you don't get that service, although employees are generally quite knowledgeable.

 

[Rekrab]

I would also suggest going to Royal Mile Whiskies while there. The guys there are great and they will let you sample a good number of drams to find what you want to buy.

I believe that's the name of the shop I visited there as well. They do a scotch tasting night on certain nights at the Cannon's Gait Pub in the same area. Great folks and they utterly ruined me for cheap scotch. These days I must drink single malt, cask strength, unfiltered, scotch or I'm simply miserable.

 

[Rossmeister]

I just tried it! Man, that vanilla is just explosive, isn't it? Takes a second or two after the sip, then WHAM: vanilla heaven.

I tried it neat at first, then adding a bit of water. It might've been too much, because it completely ruined the vanilla! it sweetened the first sip though, but much of the vanilla disappears. Similar experiences?

 

[commanderkeen]

I find adding water takes the sharpest edge off and thus reveals subtler notes that you could have troubles tasting if drinking neat. I personally like adding a couple of drops of water, but it does depend on a bunch of variables.

From someone who has quite a limited experience of Scotches, I wish you luck on your malted endeavors.

 

[Rossmeister]

You might be right, because I couldn't taste the honey at first, but it was very apparent in the aftertaste after I added the water.

Thanks. I'll post a picture of tonight's enjoyments in a few days.

Thanks for all the help, guys!

 

[Bertilak]

If you have time before your trip, see if there is a local Scotch tasting available in your area. Check with liquor stores. Also do some research on the Internet. Two ways to categorize Scotch Whiskys are a) by region and b) by flavor profile. Here a re a few links that came up near the top of a Google search.

Regions: http://www.scotchwhisky.net/distilleries/
Flavor profiles: http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/drinks/flavourmap.jpg

That flavor map shows up in a lot of places. That region map should help on your trip.

I suspect the different distilleries will be glad to help! Also, go into a bar (pub?) and ask about different brands. If you can find a brand that is listed on the flavor profile it will help you organize your actual experiences.

P.S. I am partial to the Islay region. (Pronounced like the word "island" but stop before you get to the "nd" and the "a" sounds more like "uh" -- or so I am told by someone who has been there.)

 

[binowatch]

If you like a smokey, peaty aromatic then try Talisker-it is my favorite. For starters Glenfiddich and Glenlivit are always great. In Scotland you can go into department stores and they often have free Scotch sampling (like perfumes at Nordtstroms-but alot better) so you can try a few at one time. If you go to the Isle of Sky or other sites of the distilleries you can also sample before buying. Single malts are like wines-each with its own personality. Once you try them even good blended whiskeys will just seem like also rans.

 

[betat]

I could never get past the peat and smoky flavor of the Islay malts. So I stuck to mostly Highland when I was drinking scotch (I have since moved on to bourbon). Some of my favorites were Oban, Dalwhinnie, and Glenmorangie. All good stuff and not bad for a beginner.