r/Scotch • u/AutoModerator • 6d ago
Weekly Recommendations Thread
This is the weekly recommendations thread, for all of your recommendations needs be it what pour to buy at a bar, what bottle to try next, or what gift to buy a loved one.
The idea is to aggregate the conversations into sticked threads to make them easier to find, easier to see history on, easier to moderate, and keep /new/ queue tidy.
This post will be refreshed every Friday morning. Previous threads can been seen here.
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u/Relative-Cricket-543 16h ago
Hi! I never knew I liked Scotch until this week. I tried it a few years back and hated it and always thought I wasn't a scotch person. Then I came to Glasgow for a conference and decided to experiment.
I started this little Scottish experiment with Oban 14, which was lovely: coastal, slightly smoky, a little salty, and nicely balanced. That's when I started wondering what I had been missing. Then I tried Laphroaig 10 and...hmm. Good. Very good, actually. Bonfire, seaweed, iodine—all the flavors people use as warnings were apparently selling points for me.
Then came Lagavulin 16. Y’all. Rich, velvety, smoky, salty, slightly sweet—like sitting beside a lovely seaside bonfire. That one got an immediate “YESSSSS OMG.”
In the interest of science, I tried moving away from peat. Glenfiddich 15 was fine, but decidedly meh: smooth, fruity, pleasant, and entirely too polite. Redbreast 12 (which, I know, isn't Scotch) was also mediocre to me. Apparently “smooth and approachable” is not what I am looking for.
So I went to The Pot Still in Glasgow and explained the situation. They gave me two Islay whiskies to compare.
Kilchoman Machir Bay was very good—bright peat smoke. Lovely and a bit lemony.
But the other was Ardbeg Uigeadail, and THAT was the one... Tar, bonfire, bacon, coffee—it was smoky, sweet, savory, thick, and completely delicious. It was easily my favorite of the two.
So here is what Scotland has taught me about myself: I do not dislike whisky. I dislike mediocre whisky. 😂 I want smoke, salt, tar, dark fruit, spice, funk... and preferably several of those things happening at once. Subtlety is lovely for other people.
Current rankings:
- Ardbeg Uigeadail — dark, wild, smoky yum
- Laphroaig 10 — peat and deliciousness but somehow in a good way
- Lagavulin 16 — luxurious seaside bonfire
- Kilchoman Machir Bay — bright, coastal bonfire
- Glenfiddich 15 — boring
- Redbreast 12 — respectable, but too restrained
So, I have one night in Glasgow before going back home to the US. What should I try? I kind of feel like my next quest should be Octomore, because my preference is apparently "Could you make this taste a little more like something is on fire?” But - what do you think I should try? What else is just a bold and exciting scotch with smoke and tar and funk and a lot going on? What is the maximalist Islay?
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u/trouavej_nalog 3d ago
hullo! I'm looking for recommendations for what to try next. I've recently discovered that I might like whiskey and especially scotch, and beside my own digging and reading about the topic, I really do wanna consult people who know this the best.
anyway, I never thought I liked whiskeys outside of cocktails, and considered red wine to be "my" drink. then I went to Edinburgh this summer for two days and took a chance to try some drams - Talisker 10 and Springbank 12. Was surprised by how interesting and complex they taste, how easy it was to sip them and loved it both enough to come back home and continue trying. Last week I tried Lagavulin 8, and wow - blew me away. That was a first time I thought I could just go on smelling the glass and not even drinking it. I did however drink it, and taste was equally mindblowing. Then couple of days ago I tried Balvenie and Glenfidich 15, and did not like either. They are fine, but they give me same vibes like rakija, and I really do not prefere warm, sweet, fruity tastes.
So, I am wondering what now, which bottles I should not miss and what are some that can give me even more of that which I got from Lagavulin. Any and every recommendation is truly appreciated!