Trying Lagavulin 16 for the first time tonight, on the basis of the recommendations in this thread. My previous familiarity with scotch was Highland Park 12, Glenlivet 12, Glenfiddich 12.

This whisky is something of a revelation for me. I had come to enjoy the clean and subtle complexity of the very popular single malts to which I've been exposed. They definitely helped me to come to appreciate what can be good about single malt scotch. But this Lagavulin is blowing me away. Thanks very much to those who recommended it.

BTirish - once you get a taste for Islay whiskies, you'll find it hard to enjoy other whiskies as much as you did before.

Trying the Sazerac now, it's pretty nice, seems lighter but harsher/spicier and less sweet than the bourbons I've tried. Not experienced enough in this kind of whiskey to give a good tasting review, but it is definitely nice stuff. It also comes in a cool bottle which is a nice added bonus.

Then here's hoping, for the sake of my family's budget, that Jura 10 or Jura Superstition can compete. I bought a bottle of the former today; I've only smelled it, and I'll drink some tomorrow night.

The Jura 10 is an island whisky, but obv not from Islay. Island whiskies tend to be more peated than those from the mainland, but nowhere quite matches the power of the Islay whiskies. AFAIK the standard Jura 10 is only very lightly peated, but I've never tried it myself. The Superstition is more heavily peated but is also very sweet and fruity (see my review above). Imo anything produced at Jura will be good whisky, but as I said, once you've got a taste for the Islay whiskies, it's hard for anything esle to truely compete.

Ah, I'd seen Jura compared to the Islay whiskies often enough that I guess I ran them together in my head. Thanks for the clarification.

Still enjoying this glass of Lagavulin--it's just ridiculously good. I'll try it with a few drops of water next time.

yummy

Blended whiskies ..yuck

the real deal : http://www.connemarawhiskey.com/

Hobbies like this interests me.. for example I just finished buying a Humidor and like 30 high quality cigars and plan to start a collection. As for Whiskey I'm not sure if I would like drinking it straight as I was never a big fan of straight alcohol. I like whiskey and rum a lot when mixed with soda but when I do shots of certain liqour at the bar and stuff after 1 or 2 I feel like puking. I think I may pick up some whiskey on my days off though and give it a shot..maybe I'll enjoy it more than I think. Great thread though.

Just try it with single malt whiskey like the one I stated above, you will think twice mixing it with another drink : just a pure pleasure. (I would never mix anything with Zubrovska vodka but it's a bit OOT

yea, its alright straight. i mostly use it for making old fashioned's. here is a good video/recipe for old fashioned's if u want to try it. tons of ones on the internet are wrong and suggest muddling an orange slice and cherries at the bottom of the glass(DONT). just watch this and give it a try, they are really good.

http://www.smallscreennetwork.com/video/42

When in Vegas recently I had the perfect excuse to go on a whisky adventure. Every night after finishing up at the tables, we'd hit the 24hr bar at the MGM for whisky and cigars and had a chance to try a few new whiskies.

After seeing so many people loving Macallan whisky both in this thread and others, I decided to give it a go. I bought a flight of 3 different Macallans, as far as I remember they were the 10, 12 and 15yo. I don't remember enough to give a detailed review, but I certainly didn't like any of them, mainly due to them being too fruity and sickly sweet. I was pretty disappointed after hearing so much good stuff about the brand, but I guess it's just personal preference.

On the other hand, I did try a Caol Ila 18yr old which just blew me away. This is my new favourite whisky (replacing the Caol Ila 12yo) and I will be getting a bottle as soon as possible.

Another new-to-me whisky that I tried was the Lagavulin Distillers Edition which is standard Lagavulin 16yo but with an extra maturation period in sherry casks. While it was very nice, I thought that the sherry finish was just an unneccessary extra and actually took something away from an already fantasic whisky.

I earn a -1 for failure to meet-up for a whiskey evening. I blame my crappy tournament schedule versus your typical Vegas schedule.

It's funny though, I just bought a bottle of McCallan 12 and love it. Goes to show how much personal preference kicks in with these kinds of things. Also, I am finally beginning to pick-up on a few more nuances between the various bottles. One that I used to think was pretty good, now I find too smokey. Interesting journey.

I'm appalled by some of the posters here! Mix whisky? JD? American ?

Nothing in the world matches the fine taste of a single malt Scotch. I was a whisky retard up until about two years ago when I decided to head over to Scotland on a Whisky trail tour with my best friend.

Since then, I'm no expert, but I can tell you a few things.....

The ONLY whisky worth drinking is Scotch single malts. Throw away your JD, Jonnie Walker blends, american bourbon, etc etc.....and start trying some Bowmore, Oban, Glengoyne, Maccallan, Talisker and others.

Try something different. Be a man. Buy a dram of 21 year old scotch.

Feel the taste. Savor it in your mouth and then swallow. There's nothing better than scotch.

Except scotch and a cuban cigar.

I also suggest, if you have facebook, which if you are from the planet Earth, you do, then add some distilleries as groups and become a fan...you'll learn a lot

While single malt scotch is generally my favourite variety of whisky, this statement is just garbage and closed-minded snobbery from somebody who lacks knowledge of the wider world of whisky.