Quote:
Originally Posted by Maynard
I think Oban or Lagavulin would be good to try, Caol Ila is also a bit less peaty, IIRC; if you can find the Oban Little Bay it is one of my new finds. Lagavulin 16 is one of the top tiers in e/b book, but their new 8yo is also very nice.
I tend to prefer anything 'non-chill filtered' when possible (or they will warn that it will cloud with ice - same thing). The chill filtering takes out some proteins that add flavor. And adding a dash of water is also crucial (usually just a few cc's), and something it took getting used to; most other spirits I prefer straight, even Bourbon seems to just wash out. With Scotch the water does something to activate flavors, so to me much improved - you can actually see it if you hold it up to the light.
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I think lagavulin 16 is excellent but heavily peated for a newbie. I would try Highland Park 12 or 15 for an intro to this wonderful world. More smokey than peaty, and light at that, but a nice introduction nonetheless.