Any One for a Scotch?

You ought to keep an eye out for Brora as well. If you like really peaty whiskys have you considered Ardbegs, Port Charlottes or Octmore?

Originally Posted by ama

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You ought to keep an eye out for Brora as well. If you like really peaty whiskys have you considered Ardbegs, Port Charlottes or Octmore?

Ardbergs? He said he liked peaty not inky iodine.

Cragganmore is one of the most flavourfull peaty ISlay Malts. Also I really like Johnny Walker Blue 15 y.o.

Originally Posted by Pezzaturra

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Ardbergs? He said he liked peaty not inky iodine. Cragganmore is one of the most flavourfull peaty ISlay Malts. Also I really like Johnny Walker Blue 15 y.o.
Cragganmore is neither peaty nor an Islay. And JW Blue is a blend that does not give an age. 15 is green, 15/18 is gold. Here is a picture of a line up of Scotch we were tasting one night: Notice the Duncan Taylor reads "40" and the Balvenie "21." No age on the Blue. And here's my latest bottle of Crag. Note the "Speyside."

Originally Posted by ama

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You ought to keep an eye out for Brora as well. If you like really peaty whiskys have you considered Ardbegs, Port Charlottes or Octmore?
Thanks your suggestion somehow helped me since I think you knew what I was talking about...will check that out (esp. Ardbegs). But I'll also look into Cragganmore cause I believe that I'd actually like it, too- though on another level...that's the secrets of whiskey- so many nuances and variations; and then combine those with different life-circs and moods you are in: as I said: a life's pursuit.

Originally Posted by Pezzaturra

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Ardbergs? He said he liked peaty not inky iodine.

Cragganmore is one of the most flavourfull peaty ISlay Malts. Also I really like Johnny Walker Blue 15 y.o.

Seriously? Ardbeg is peaty, Laphroaig is arguably medicinal. (The 10yr is in my opinion, after that I think it drops off significantly.)

But don't take my word for it, look at Whiskyfun (http://www.whiskyfun.com), where Sarge has tasted thousands upon thousands of scotches. His profiles for the distilleries are as follows:
Ardbeg:
Overall: Peat Smoke Tea Pepper Lemon Apple Camphor Liquorice Oysters Grapefruit
Laphroaig:
(>1975) Peat Pepper Smoke Medicinal Liquorice Tea Lemon Apples Iodine Oysters
(<1975) Tropical fruits Peat Smoke Oranges Pepper Camphor Medicinal Oil Lemon

Cragg, as mentioned below, is certainly not an Islay, its a Speyside.

JW Blue does not have an age statement, but most of the scotches in there are defiantly more than 15 years old, probably closer to 25 years on average.

I don't think you should be making too many suggestions about what others should drink until you are a little more familiar with the topic yourself.

Originally Posted by Jerome

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Thanks your suggestion somehow helped me since I think you knew what I was talking about...will check that out (esp. Ardbegs). But I'll also look into Cragganmore cause I believe that I'd actually like it, too- though on another level...that's the secrets of whiskey- so many nuances and variations; and then combine those with different life-circs and moods you are in: as I said: a life's pursuit.

Cragg is good, its got a little smoke on the nose, a fruity taste and a pleasant, but short, finish. A lot of people on this board is much bigger Cragg fans than myself, so they might be able to provide you with more alluring description. I think that the Cragg DE is a much better scotch, but I think that you ought to try the original first to appreciate the nuance.

I love scotch, but it makes me crazy if i have too much.

Ardbeg's whiskies have one of the peatiest flavor profiles in all of Scotland... particularly the recently released Supernova. Saying otherwise is like saying the sky isn't blue. It does, however, contain this Iodine element that was previously mentioned.

As ama stated, Cragganmore isn't from Islay... it is a Speysider. Assuming you're talking about the widely available 12yr distillery bottling, there is an almost indiscernible amount of peat in it (at least compared to the Islay bruisers). Perhaps Pezzaturra was thinking of Bowmore, but claiming any one distillery as being the most flavorful in all of Scotland is asinine. Whiskies released by individual distilleries also vary wildly in flavor profiles (particularly noticeable if you start drinking the independent bottlings in addition to the original distillery bottlings).

If one is looking for a heavy dose of peat without the Islay rubber/iodine/shellfish, the obvious choice is any of the current Diageo releases of Talisker. You'll still get plenty of the salty sea air though.

Also, do not dismiss Highland Park until you've sampled a variety. Even within the current distillery offerings of the 12/15/18yr, the profiles (and levels of peat) vary quite a bit.

Once you stray from the islands, getting a decent dose of peat gets more challenging. Suggesting Brora is a good idea since the Broras from the early 70's did have good amounts of it, but the later Broras are significantly less peaty. Suggesting Brora is also a bad idea because you'd be hard-pressed to find any bottle for less than $200.

After that, there are lots of smaller operations that dry their malted barley with peat... only one that comes to mind at the moment is Ledaig and maybe Benromach.

Anyway, I'm rambling now...

Originally Posted by I<3Bacon

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Ardbeg's whiskies have one of the peatiest flavor profiles in all of Scotland... particularly the recently released Supernova. Saying otherwise is like saying the sky isn't blue. It does, however, contain this Iodine element that was previously mentioned.

As ama stated, Cragganmore isn't from Islay... it is a Speysider. Assuming you're talking about the widely available 12yr distillery bottling, there is an almost indiscernible amount of peat in it (at least compared to the Islay bruisers). Perhaps Pezzaturra was thinking of Bowmore, but claiming any one distillery as being the most flavorful in all of Scotland is asinine. Whiskies released by individual distilleries also vary wildly in flavor profiles (particularly noticeable if you start drinking the independent bottlings in addition to the original distillery bottlings).

If one is looking for a heavy dose of peat without the Islay rubber/iodine/shellfish, the obvious choice is any of the current Diageo releases of Talisker. You'll still get plenty of the salty sea air though.

Also, do not dismiss Highland Park until you've sampled a variety. Even within the current distillery offerings of the 12/15/18yr, the profiles (and levels of peat) vary quite a bit.

Once you stray from the islands, getting a decent dose of peat gets more challenging. Suggesting Brora is a good idea since the Broras from the early 70's did have good amounts of it, but the later Broras are significantly less peaty. Suggesting Brora is also a bad idea because you'd be hard-pressed to find any bottle for less than $200.

After that, there are lots of smaller operations that dry their malted barley with peat... only one that comes to mind at the moment is Ledaig and maybe Benromach.

Anyway, I'm rambling now...

The Ardbeg 10 is ever so slightly iodiney, but the other standard bottlings display much more sweetness that eliminates that. Once you get to IBs all bets are off, and as you stated, the taste profile is all over the scale.

Talisker is a good suggestion, although its not so much peaty as it is peppery. I also think that most of the Taliskers, especially the younger ones, do have a quite discernible salty profile. This makes sense considering that the distillery is surrounded by salt water on four sides. I also agree on the HP suggestion, however, I think that the quality of the 12/15/18 has declined in the past five or so years. The 15 represents the best value in my opinion.

If one is a peat head there are plenty of options not previously mentioned. Ardmore (peated Speysider), Benriach (some), Bruichladdich (runs the gamut), Bunnahabhain (light peat), Caol Ila (heavy peat), Jura (esp. Superstition), Longrow (peated Campbeltown) Scapa, Tobermory, just to name a few (well, most...) of the more widely available bottlings.

The reason I suggested Brora was because Jerome is from Central Europe and should be able to find some great, and not terribly expensive independent Brora bottlings that will blow his mind. In the US they can be found as well for reasonable sums, but it requires more of an effort. I also disagree that post early 70s Broras were categorically less peaty. I have and have had a number of late 70s - early 80s Broras that would qualify as peat monsters. The post early 70s Broras, however, not categorically peaty like the early 70's expressions. There is much more varience and a little homework is required. In fact, I'm drinking a peaty 80s Brora right now, an Old Malt Cask 21 year 1981/October 2002.

I had the Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist a few weeks ago. Highly recommended for Islay fans. The finish lasts for days.

Originally Posted by shaftoe

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I had the Ardbeg Airigh Nam Beist a few weeks ago. Highly recommended for Islay fans. The finish lasts for days.

Its very good, but expensive, for about 2/3s the price you ought to consider Ardbeg Uigeadail. Its an amazing peppery, smokey, sweet explosive whisky. One of my favorites.

Originally Posted by ama

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Its very good, but expensive, for about 2/3s the price you ought to consider Ardbeg Uigeadail. Its an amazing peppery, smokey, sweet explosive whisky. One of my favorites.

Yes the Uigeadail is a beast as well. The Airigh Nam Beist was a very thoughtful gift.

My local specialty liquor store just got in some Macallan 30 yr. A cool 2k. Anyone willing to chip in?

Originally Posted by rjmaiorano

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My local specialty liquor store just got in some Macallan 30 yr. A cool 2k. Anyone willing to chip in?

Not worth the $$. Macallan is very overpriced. You can get some amazing bottle for $2,000 and still have half left.

Guess what I collect? Here's most of 'em (I've kept a few of the duplicates)