Single Malt Scottish Whisky

A page dedicated to Single Malt Scottish Whisky Reviews

Glenmorangie 12 Nectar D’Or — in Sauternes Casks

And here it comes!  This stuff is amazing.  These guys have experimented with a lot of wood treatments.  Sauternes casks are just one of the many used barrels they’re played with.  And we’ve tried most of them.  It just so happens that this is our favorite.  It runs for $79.99 on missionliquor.com.  And this is a very special bottling.  It is opulent, smooth beyond belief and dreamy to drink.  I could drink just this one Single Malt the rest of my life.

Glenmorangie Original

When it comes to well-traveled names, amazingly available and supperb, Glenmorangie is up there at the top for me.  And these guys have been around for a long time.  They have pedigree.  And they’ve experimented with every barrel type you can think of.  

But this old standby is a favorite and I’m never without it.  It sits near the front of my cupboard like an old friend waiting patiently for a quiet conversation.

Dalwhinnie 15

Another old favorite.  This is so smooth and sweet.  It’s been a resident of my single malt cupboard for at least 20 years.  And these days, oddly, Trader Joes carries it for around $50 bucks.  

Glen Grant 10

I can’t even remember how I got a bottle of this.  I remember trying it somewhere way back around the year 2000.  And it stuck with me.  It’s cool because you can also find bottlings of Glen Grant from other distributors.  There are many bottlings to choose from.  But I try to stay away from the bank-breaking bottlings.  I stay simple, delicious and available.  This one has lovely fruity notes, a touch of peat and a deceptive smoothness.

Old Pulteney 12

This quickly became of standby for me after trying it once.  I just keep it around.  It doesn’t break the bank and tastes fresh, gentle and brackish.  There isn’t anything flashy about this.  I mean, you can go deep every possible barrel type and wood treatment you can imagine with this field.  But Old Pulteney is just unadulterated sipping pleasure.

Lagavulin 16

After getting hooked on peat, I ran after anything with smoke.  And Lagavulin was next on the list.  But it wasn’t just the peat smoke.  It was the taste of the sea in each bottle.  Rich whisky soaked in peat and smelling like fresh sea water and kelp.  I mean, if you’re gonna start into this rabbit hole, you can’t find a better place to start than this.

Laphroaig

This is where it all began for me.  Back in 1990 I was an avid brewer and had worked as a cellar rat in the wine industry since I was 18 years old in 1983.  And someone, somewhere, said, “Have you tried any single malt scotch?”  I’m a collector.  And I tried Laphroaig.  It was my first toe in the water of the seas around Scotland.  And it led to Irish Whiskey, then to Bourbon and now to a fixation on Rye.

But it all started with the 10 year old Laphroaig and all that peat smoke.  These days I edge toward Speyside.  But this one will always be my first love.