Hi, we want to gift a great friend with a very fine bottle of whisky. I know he likes Ardberg and Lagavullin, peaty smokey ones. Any suggestions of something that would look and taste special. Budget up to £150 because it's a big deal.
And he's done tasting tours etc, definitely want to gift a bottle or bottles.
Thanks
Lagavulin distillers edition is a rather nice dram if that’s what they like.
How about .... https://www.masterofmalt.com/whiskies/caol-ila/caol-ila-17-year-old-2007-cask-3-cask-strength-collection-signatory-whisky/
You can get this lovely gift set for £98...
And add in a bottle of this for all the peat without buying a very expensive bottle that might not hit him right...
https://www.thewhiskyexchange.com/p/3395/laphroaig-10-year-old
I'd look at something west coast but nuanced, maybe: Kilchoman; Ardnamurchan; Tobermory/Ledaig
Possibly Nc'nean also, but its at the lighter/less peaty/smokey end of that regions flavour profiles
If he likes the smoky peaty ones, how about an Octomore? Kids bought me one for my 60th...... the bottle looks pretty trick too
https://www.masterofmalt.com/search/?query=Octomore
Octomore is excellent but if you want to be sure of getting him something he's not had before then look at a single cask bottling from an independent bottler. The other south coast Islay distillery, Laphroaig is often bottled as Williamson by indies, and is generally very good. eg https://www.thompsonbrosdistillers.com/product/williamson2010/
Chorltons recent Highland 21yo is a heavily peated Jura so would probably appeal too. https://chorltonwhisky.co.uk/uncategorized/chorlton-whisky-bottlings/
I work in a shop and we stock over 70 different whiskies, with a particular emphasis on more local, island malts or smaller, independent distilleries. I have to tolerate being given this stuff to taste as in-work training! 😉 I'm within sniffing distance of the Tobermory distillery and can see both Nc'nean and Ardnamurchan from where I'm sitting.
It's worth noting that price frequently has nothing to do with quality - age statements are sometimes more to do with a poor whisky that needs to be left for longer as it hasn't sold well.
Tobermory Distillery have a limited edition Ledaig Hebridean Moon out at the moment - sherry cask finish. I'm not a big peat fan, but this was more tolerable for me but there are better whiskies out there. The distillery folks are lovely, but less so their parent company.
Ardnamurchan do a nice range, generally half-peated rather than full-blown smoke. They do some nice single-cask releases - we did a limited edition one in the shop that sold out in a few weeks and everyone raves about. The Ardnamurchan distillery folks favourite is their cask-strength bottling.
Nc'nean is generally very good - they've just release an AON cask strength limited edition of 240 bottles - matured in bourbon casks with a Moscatel finish for a apricot jam, buttered toast and raspberry liquorice taste - might have to tuck one of those away! Their Quiet Rebel editions are typically very good too with some nice flavours - the current Simon just won an award with a stout cask finish. Their previous Gordon edition is one of my favourites.
Another good independent distillery is Raasay - recently finished a bottle of their core which was nice, not too heavily peated. Their Dun Cana with Olorosso/Pedro Ximinez finish gets great reviews.
A whisky that we get asked a lot but can never get hold of is Springbank from Campbeltown - they only generally sell directly as there are few stockists. Just opened a bottle of Glen Scotia that's been sitting in my stash for a while - a touch of spice without being too smoky.
Raasay changed my mind about chasing age statements. Now a firm favourite.
Proper 12 *LOL*
@dovebiker wins 'Job Of the Year'
And add in a bottle of this for all the peat without buying a very expensive bottle that might not hit him right...
THEWHISKYEXCHANGE.COM
Laphroig 10 has been on offer in Tescos for a few weeks now at £29. ive been buying a bottle each time i go in
"oooh look, its still on offer, better get a bottle before it finishes" 😀
Truth on the age statements and great shout on Raasay.
You could buy them a membership for a year and bottle from SMWS. Let me know if you want a referral.
Ok - I'm probably going to come across as a heathen....and a tight fisted Scot! I'm not sure £150 whiskies are worth it - I'm just just not convinced I can appreciate the difference and I'd find myself struggling to treat myself enough to a dram of the expensive stuff so it would just sit there. I work with a lady (chemist) who had previously been an up and coming very well paid big noise in the whisky industry until covid destroyed her tasting ability so she has had to find another career. She's very scathing that after a certain point expensive whiskies are so much marketing and snobbishness and the sweet spot is about the £60-80 zone if you want something a bit better than supermarket discount single malt drinking but not just wasting your money on fresh air.
To that end...... I'd recommend two bottles for your friend - an Islay style in his comfort zone and a Speyside. Contrasting flavours to suit your mood. And I'd go for a bottle of Aberlour A'bunadh for the soeyside. Seems to vary a bit from batch to batch but I'd say a'bunadh is pretty much the essence of a Christmas cake in a bottle. And if you are giving a bottle of whisky to someone to sup in the winter evenings I'm not sure there's anything much more appropriate. I'll leave others with more local knowledge of the west add the 2nd bottle.
And I'd go for a bottle of Aberlour A'bunadh for the soeyside. Seems to vary a bit from batch to batch but I'd say a'bunadh is pretty much the essence of a Christmas cake in a bottle
I would have agreed with you 6 years or so ago, it’s still a nice drink, but far too expensive now. It used to be around £40 at our local Waitrose, but the price jumped, and it’s difficult to get it anywhere for £85 now. An alternative, with a very similar taste, and a very fine drink itself, is Glenfarclas 105, which is still pricey at £70. Both are cask strength , so 50% stronger than typical ‘run of the mill’ whiskies. Nowhere near the peaty/smoky taste the OP is after though.
I’d chuck an Annandale Man O Swords in as an outlier in the peaty selection. My local distillery, all types have tasted well to me, but I’m no expert. They also do a mixed box of 6 peaty miniatures for £40 - they do a lot of single casks, so taste can change from one day to another.
I asked my brother who likes his whisky what he would want and he sent me this link:
I think they buy single barrels and then bottle them themselves.
I'd recommend two bottles for your friend - an Islay style in his comfort zone and a Speyside.
If someone normally walks past Speysides… Macallan is the one to win them over. Yes, it’s too expensive, as is any bottle at £75… but that’s why a peat lover would never buy a bottle for themselves… but would really enjoy it… so perfect gift territory. Once did a blind whisky tasting where everyone was won over by it, no matter their tastes. Annoyingly good.
I am someone who has to taste it before I buy it. So much spouted and marketing BS out there to be able to tell what I like, and of course my palette is different to many others. I also think a lot of people chase peated, coloured, smoky *BAM* whisky, where I like a mix, and often end up favouring more subtle and flavoursome whisky.
I also love buying local / from distillery of the places I visit.
I can remember now the cold beach on Harris where I opened a new bottle of Hearach...
Or the view across Solway when we opened the bottle of Bladnoch...
Or the campsite on the Tay with a fresh Aberfeldy 12 year old...
Is there any way you can get to a tasting?
I would have agreed with you 6 years or so ago, it’s still a nice drink, but far too expensive now. It used to be around £40 at our local Waitrose, but the price jumped, and it’s difficult to get it anywhere for £85 now.
Schiphol airport of all places had Aberlour of variuos types on sale - the cheaper ones at €25, and up from there. I stupidly didn't pick one up.
But it's noticeable that some of them have decided to up their prices - Tallisker's the other; used to be £30ish, but now in the £50+ range.
Or something slightly different - a couple of bottles of Peak District whisky from Wireworks at Ambergate. I've not had a bad one from there.
https://www.whitepeakdistillery.co.uk/
I am someone who has to taste it before I buy it. So much spouted and marketing BS out there to be able to tell what I like, and of course my palette is different to many others. I also think a lot of people chase peated, coloured, smoky *BAM* whisky, where I like a mix, and often end up favouring more subtle and flavoursome whisky.
I also love buying local / from distillery of the places I visit.
I can remember now the cold beach on Harris where I opened a new bottle of Hearach...
Or the view across Solway when we opened the bottle of Bladnoch...
Or the campsite on the Tay with a fresh Aberfeldy 12 year old...
Is there any way you can get to a tasting?
Give Lindores Thiron a shot sometime, not all that far from you
I've not had a bad one from there.
They do rather nice stuff but as with anything whisky related its highly personal.
I think I would go with northernremedy and their suggestion about SMWS. A gift years membership plus bottle. Send them the list of questions, possibly slightly obscured, and then fill in the request.
But it's noticeable that some of them have decided to up their prices - Tallisker's the other; used to be £30ish, but now in the £50+ range.
£33 for their 10 year old at Waitrose at present, or £28 for their Skye. The former is much better value ( and taste) in my opinion
This thread is going off the original query, so this has nothing to do with it! Macallan was mentioned above, I’d always fancied some, but only one local pub keeps it, and as we were there a couple of weeks ago, thought I’d try it. 12yo double cask, £9.20 a measure. It was very underwhelming, so much in fact that I said I think this has been watered down. Certainly not worth the £9.20, and looking later, at £82/bottle, I would have been annoyed at paying so much. More ‘exclusive’ marketing than taste for that.
On the other hand, on the same night, we won a bottle of Glen Marnoch 12yo Speyside malt. Never heard of it before, but on trying it, it was a typical ‘fruity christmas cake’ Speyside, similar to Abunadh and Glenfarclas 105, and very likeable to me. Then much surprise when I found it was from Aldi at £18.49 a bottle. Bargain of the year, we’ll be buying another.
This thread is going off the original query, so this has nothing to do with it! Macallan was mentioned above, I’d always fancied some, but only one local pub keeps it, and as we were there a couple of weeks ago, thought I’d try it. 12yo double cask, £9.20 a measure. It was very underwhelming, so much in fact that I said I think this has been watered down. Certainly not worth the £9.20, and looking later, at £82/bottle, I would have been annoyed at paying so much. More ‘exclusive’ marketing than taste for that.
Good Macallan is very good but the majority of the stuff bottled at 40% is crap. It really needs decent age in sherry barrels but then it's stupidly expensive. You can find decent stuff from the Indies but it's rarely bottled as Macallan. Signatory bottles are generally good.
Macallan was mentioned above, I’d always fancied some
Their marketing department are absolute geniuses and have done a very good job during the boom years of creating various limited editions for collecting. That doesnt necessarily translate to having a decent whisky at a sensible price for someone who actually wants to drink it though.
Regarding the leap in prices. I stopped drinking whisky for about ten years or so and it was a case of "wtf has happened to the prices" when I went shopping again.
Well, as I said, my surprise about Macallan came from a blind tasting, nothing to do with marketing. I wouldn't buy it, too pricey for me, but was delicious and I'd be cock-a-hoop if someone bought me a bottle as a present. If it was two bottles, one Double Cask 12 Macallan and one cask strength Raasay, I'd never stop saying thank you! And the total price is spot on the £150 budget of the OP.