singlemalt advice

[rondo]

Okay, I have a bar/restaurant...I have Johnny Walker Black and Red, Cutty Sark, and MacCallan 12yo. I'd like to add a higher end...really smooth Scotch, something under $150/bottle wholesale. I like the MacCallan better than the others listed, perhaps an older MacCallan or something from the same region? Thanks in advance.
Rondo
P.S. This would be more for myself and close friends...not necessarily bar clientele.

[California Highlander]

This is such a great one and highly recommend it.
http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sk...TPV-Googlebase Also reviewed in the Whisky Advocate spring edition.

[Dale Seago]

This is such a great one and highly recommend it.
http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sk...TPV-Googlebase Also reviewed in the Whisky Advocate spring edition.

Agreed, Highland Park rocks!

And for someone who likes peat smokiness (aka peat-reek) but doesn't want to risk being overpowered by it (as might happen with, say, Laphroaig or Ardbeg), Lagavulin 16-year is superb.

I'd also recommend checking out Old Pulteney, "The Maritime Malt", from up in Wick (originally a fishing village) on the northern coast of Scotland:

http://www.oldpulteney.com/

(It's pronounced "pultney", by the way. It's also what I'm drinking at this moment, thanks to Beverages and More.)

[chewse]

The Balvenie should be on your short list.

Their Doublewood and the 12 year old are two very fine selections in the $50 range and their Caribbean Cask (aka Golden Cask) and Port Wood are a bit more expensive but well worth the extra dollars.

You will not be disappointed and no, I am not a representative for The Balvenie but could be a shareholder based on my wife's purchases of this brand!

[xman]

Oban and Lagavulin are crowd pleasers too.

[ForresterModern]

Lots of stuff in that price range but kind of scattered across the whole country in smaller availabilities than a lot of the more standard stuff. As far as stuff that should be relatively easy to find and in that range, give or take, I really like Glenmorangie Signet, Glenmorangie 18 Extremely Rare, and Glenfiddich Snow Phoenix. Could come up with more but you would probably be getting away from "production" runs and into cask strengths and/or secondary bottlings, which unfortunately are not as consistent in their tastes as they tend to be single cask or small batch limited edition stuff, that also is not necessarily easy to come by because of relative rarity of a specific bottling. And unless you get a chance to taste before buying (not common with this level of stuff) you cannot trust the name on the bottle to have any specific taste (e.g. I have tasted secondary bottlings of Glenlivet that were almost as white as water and very sweet to others nearly as dark as Smithwicks and peaty as bog pond water, neither of which is typical for production versions of Glenlivet). If you can get lucky enough to get to a tasting, even if it costs you some cash to do so, it might be worth having the opportunity to try several different styles before you decide on dropping enough green to buy you a nice sporran on one bottle of single malt that you yourself have never tasted and consequently might not like as much as a production brand of much more common breeding.

Good luck and let us know what you end up with, and its taste characteristics. Nothing like trying new single malts to finish of a nice evening.

[California Highlander]

Old Pulteney, yeah! Dale, you and I are on a scotch wavelength connection. Ardbeg? Glenmorrangie Quina Port finish? Ardbeg? Aberlour? Scapa? All on my fav list.

My grandmother was from Wick so I tried Old Pulteney and Highland Park to get a taste of the "home country" and loved them.

[mookien]

Take my subjective comments for what they are worth ...

Highland Park is a fine choice, if you like peaty scotch - very peaty in my estimation. Some peated malts are the smoothest I have tasted, eg Bowmore 18 and Sheep Dip Old Hebridean, though the latter is not a single malt (which matters little to me, personally). Full disclosure: I generally do not like peated malts, so I cannot tout their virtues, beyond smoothness in some instances.

Old Pulteney is also an excellent choice. It is what many, if not most, folks call a briny malt - one that is stored for years in casks near the ocean while, presumably, picking up some of the "salty" ocean flavor. The Obans are similar in that respect with the 18 being the best I have tasted. The three Old Pulteney's I have drank (the 12, 17, and 21) increase in "salinity" seemingly linearly with their age. The 12 is very good, the 17 excellent (and my favorite), but the 21 is VERY briny (salty to me), and I don't care for it. It also costs the most.

You mentioned Macallan, and like you, I think the 12 is the best (by far) of the scotches you listed. If you like that oakey nose/flavor (as I do), you might try the 15 yr. or the 17 yr. I prefer the 15, and it is less expensive. The 18 is about at the price limit you mentioned ($150 retail, not wholesale), but I find that it has a bitter lingering aftertaste, so I eschew it.

I also heartily recommend Auchentoshan 18, Ben Riach 16, Longmorn 16, and Balvenie 15 - all with excellent nose and flavor and very smooth. Good luck in you search, and Slainte!.

[TurboKittie]

The Balvenie should be on your short list.

Their Doublewood and the 12 year old are two very fine selections in the $50 range and their Caribbean Cask (aka Golden Cask) and Port Wood are a bit more expensive but well worth the extra dollars.

You will not be disappointed and no, I am not a representative for The Balvenie but could be a shareholder based on my wife's purchases of this brand!

***

I am also a huge fan of The Balvenie, though I can't say that I've yet tried the Caribbean Cask.

[Standard]

Bowmore is one of my favourites along with Laphroaig. The Laphoroaig Cask Strength is very good too IMHO.