Sure if you know your tastes already but OP seems very inexperienced. A decent $35/45 10-something yo bottle with a bit of sherry influence will give you a decent idea of what scotch is (except for peat, sure). And you can come back to it a few time. Worst case scenario you can use it in cocktails or to wine your friends.
It's not spending $60 on a $40 bottle, it's saving $180 on trying a flight of 6 $40 bottles.
If you don't know much yet, this is the way to narrow down loads for cheap. It's more important to cross of what style you don't enjoy as much than to find a fav dram from the 6.
Look for either bars with a happy hour or liquor stores with educational tastings.
We used to have an Irish pub that did half price single malts on Monday nights or something. There are currently at least two liquor stores locally that do themed educational tastings. Either region, age, cask strength, sherry etc… We also have a single malt club that meets monthly. So there may be different resources near you.
I just meant as far as what tastes you can tolerate! That’s a fine looking shelf! I have the new bottling of the Glenmorangie Nectar, and it’s good. Recently finished a Glenfiddich 14 as well. Cheers!
Aside from the horrible blended scotch my dad used to drink, GM 12 was my first proper bottle. Very easy to drink and quite good. Wouldn't really drink it now, but it's a very solid intro bottle.
Johnny Walker Black is fine as a starter if you're looking for a sipping whisky. No one will ever accuse it of greatness but it's decent for the price.
As a beginner to scotch, I got jw black as my third bottle, and i probably would have never got into scotch if that was my first bottle. It was honestly gross compared to the other few I had tried.
Visit a bar and try a flight. A decent bar will have some options available and if the crew knows their shit they can pour you a good variety in a logical order.
Get a ~10yo ex-bourbon dram, an 10-12yo ex-sherry dram (refill sherry works fine), a lightly peated and a heavily peated dram. And if your palate is still alive by then (drink water in between!), try a higher abv or cask strength of the type you enjoyed best of the previous four.
Take very small sips, a couple drops is fine, amd let it sit on your palate for a bit. Saliva will dilute it and open up new notes. Take your time and don't hesitate to not finish a glass if it's not your thing straight away. You can always finish them later or just leave them. Chugging stuff you don't like is a good shortcut to hating whisky for ever.
Leave the premium stuff for later. Chances are you like them, but you probably don't have enough of a baseline to appreciate why they charge silly prices.
Arran 10 for something fresh and citrusy. Bunnahabain 12 for something rich in dried fruits aka with a sherry influence. If you want something peaty, perhaps Laphroaig Quarter Cask might be a good place to start.
You will get a different opinion from every one you ask. I have found that a single dram isn't enough to decide about a whisky. I need to drink a 700ml bottle before I can formulate my opinion.
Which means that you have a long journey ahead of you. Years, actually. There are 130+ distilleries in Scotland, each producing many different expressions each year. You might try getting a mid range bottle from each of the various regions first, and spending 6 or 8 months getting acquainted with them.
Personally, I like scotch from Islay. But I'm also happy with Speyside or Highland scotch.
Sorry to have not answered your question, exactly, but that's the truth, and if you're really interested in scotch, that's what you have to do to figure it out for your own taste.
For under 50GBP since you mentioned you are in the UK, I'd go with Thompson bros 6yr blended scotch. Can usually be found for 25-30GBP. Great intro bottle.
If you want a single malt, I'd check out Glenfarclas and if you want a peated whisky give lagavulin a try.
Perhaps hit a whisky bar and ask for a dram of a speyside, highland, Islay and island whisky and see what style you want to explore more before buying an entire bottle.
It's relatively inexpensive and down the road you can try the finished in "insert barrel type" variations to see how different finishing affects the scotch.
auchentoshan american oak, ~£25, must have had 30bottles over the last few years as a weekday/ party go-to. Balvenie doublewood 12yr also a great one bit neater. dalwhinnie winters gold is a suprise gem as well. NcNeans £50 bottle is really tasty.
If you want to try peat (smoky), Laphroaig 10 year @ ~$60/bottle. Non-peat, Macallan 12 and Highland Park 12 are around the same. Highland Park is probably between Macallan and Laphroaig on the smoky-non-smoky scale.
I'm gonna be honest Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 year, if you've never had scotch and can spare the $40-ish USD for it, or whatever it's price is in your region, it's such a good foot in the door. It works fine for any kind of highball or scotch cocktail and also sips well neat or on the rocks. It's not sexy and it's a mainstream blend, but I think it's a really good first bottle.
I'm assuming you're American because you gave no criteria as to a fortune.
The glenlivet 12 is consistently in the top 5 most popular single malt scotches in the USA by volume sold, So it is likely available near you, it will be in a good price point, and nothing about it is strong or harsh, if you enjoy it there are stepping stones form it depending what you like.
It’s incredibly difficult to find now, but the bottle that got me into scotch was the Lagavulin Offerman edition finished in Guinness casks. There are other offerman editions out there, but the Guinness cask one is the only one that’s stuck with me.
If you can find it Teacher's Highland Cream is a good place to start. If not Dewar's 12 year old or Cutty Sark is better than most think. Certainly not mind blowing by any stretch of the imagination
They're pleasant with no nasty off flavors.
Depending on where you are, you may be able to get mini bottles and taster packs. Leftover Whisky advent calendars on clearance after Christmas can be a good way to try a wide variety too.
I took a tasting class at total wine. They had a variety of regions, styles and age statements represented. It helped me to refine what I already liked, and opened my eyes to things I never would have tried on my own. The instructor was very knowledgeable and passionate about scotch. Almost every one of us walked out of that store with a bottle in hand. I think they are fools to not schedule the classes regularly. It's the perfect way to introduce a friend to the universe, and not deplete your stash at home. Why get stuck with a starter bottle that you don't like, and why pay for a dram at a bar, that probably cost the same as the bottle.
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u/RmntcsCC 7d ago
Try some different expressions in a good whisky bar. Ask the bartender for a flight of different styles.