Best single-malt Scotch...

I am a old malt and cigar guy,so of course I love the Islay region.
My favorite is Bowmore 17 which they have stopped production of (I have one bottle left).It has a almost citrous/vanilla accent with a nice balance of smoke and peat.

Laphroig 10 (I hate the 15 year)is one of my staple malts.Smoke and peat with a iodine/seaweed finish.My significant other says it tastes like bandaids.I just tell her to stay away from my Scotch.

Lagavullan One of the best but too pricey.In your face smoke and peat. I bought a bottle in Ireland for 19 pounds,here it sells for over $80.00!

Bowmore "darkest" I very interesting a complex malt.Smoke and peat as usual but with a delicate complexity.

Laphroig 30 A fairly rare and what I would call "sublime" malt.

the cask strength craze has brought some interesting "session" malts. I call them session matls because it takes a session to figure out how much water to add. I have a couple of these and have fun with them when a brave audiophile friend comes over for a listen in the man cave.

Ah music,whiskey,cigars, life is sweet!

if only I could find a job.

e

I can tell you that Scapa 16 yr. old is extraordinary.

well, one year after my last post, i've found laphroaig 10 to be my staple scotch. i've gone through the cask strength, 15, and quarter cask, but find that the standard 10 is most pleasing overall. i tried the lagavulin 16, but it always left me with a very dry mouth feel which i didn't enjoy. my next bottle with likely be a talisker 10. then maybe onto bottles of caol ila and bowmore as i tour the islay scotches.

Kgturner, Laphroig 10 is my staple as well,but I would say that it is a malt that folks either love or hate.My significant other has a friend that says it tastes like ass!LOL!!!
If you like Islay malts you need to try the Bowmores. If you can find a 17 year;snatch it up as it is no longer produced.This is my absolute favorite. Their other malts are all excellent as follows:
"Darkest" a 15 year sherry cask which has great complexity and a lovely brine finish.
"12 year" A very nice and less expensive malt with the typical Isaly attributes of brine and complexity.
"15" A better version of the 12 year old. More complexity and a more refined finish.Worth the extra money.
"16" Their newest malt.I suppose this is their replacement for the 17 year,but it doesn't even come close but is a good smoke and peat malt.
There are many others but are much rarer and more expensive.
The 30 year is less rare and in my opinion not worth the price. It is very good,but still not up to the 17 year.

btw when newbies taste malts they tend to say how "smooth" they are. This is a given and by saying so display their neophite status.
sorry for the snobbery.

e

I like the Islay scotches as well (I am very slowly nursing a bottle of 30yr Laphroig).

But, I like other scotches too. A friend, who is into cask strenth stuff has a nearly 30 yr old bottle of Brora that is fantastic. I usually find drinking scotch at cask strength to be a bit too harsh an experience, but this bottle was a notable exception --smooth, well balanced, with just enough peat to please someone who likes peaty scotch (doesn't have the iodine taste that I like in Islay). This friend also has some odd-ball stuff like "Scotch" distilled in Japan that had a very peculiar nose but was quite pleasing (can't recall the name). Tomorrow, he is hosting a poker game, so I am sure I will get a chance to sample yet another bottle or two.