Advice for beginner needed

[Newbie8611]

Hi all,

I’m wanting to buy a gift for a friend but don’t have the first clue what I’m looking for.

He says he loves “a nice single malt”, which is far as I know. I understand it’s probably subjective and can vary a lot though.

I’ve been browsing online but don’t feel I have enough information or knowledge to make a good decision and feel I’m possibly going to get ripped off paying for just a name or something over the odds that I don’t understand.

Would anybody be able to offer any suggestions as to what is a nice, middle of the road sort of single malt; Something that would appeal to any single malt lover. Hope that makes sense.

I’ve got a budget upto £200ish, no idea if that’s even enough or too much, again I’ve no idea after looking at what some stuff is priced at.

Thanks in advance.

[lincoln imp]

Sorry to ask but do you know what whisky the person drinks now?
Do they like sherry or bourbon cask, do they like peated whisky.
Do they have to drink single malts as blended malts and premium blends would give you more options.

My only advice is to stay away from Macallan, because £100 -£150 of your £200 budget will be paying for the name and nothing else.

I will get my protective tin hat on now for all the missiles the Macallan lovers on this forum throw at me for my last comment.
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Pour me a glass please.

[DanO]

Have you seen your friend drink any particular whisky brands, that would help us to point you at something special they should enjoy, perhaps you could discreetly ask them what brands they think is good.

[Newbie8611]

[Quaich1]

Just as a general thought without knowing exactly what the person actually favors, you couldn't go far wrong with a somewhat older whisky from one of the major brands like Glenmorangie, Glenfarclas or Balvenie (the 14 year Caribbean Cask is a very good single malt in my estimation, for example.
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"Always carry a large flagon of whisky in case of snakebite and furthermore always carry a small snake."
W.C. Fields (1880-1946)

[Scotchnthings]

I think 200 is a very generous amount for a good whisky, maybe check with them which distillery they like?

Off the top of my head, high quality malts would be:

Lagavulin 12 2021 edition, if they like peated whisky £130
Glendronach parliament or arran 18 if they like sherried whisky £140/£90
Deanston 18 if they like bourbon cask matured whisky, can get it at The Whisky Exchange for £63.95!

You can also look for reviews of specific bottles on whiskybase.

[BigShing]

Do you at least know how much of a whisky drinker your friend is, as in do you know him to be a true enthusiast who ha drunk for years, or just someone who occasionally indulges and likes a nice bottle in his spirit collection?

[sorren]

If unsure on style of whisky your friend drinks then it’s safer to stay away from peated whisky.. You could try getting a bottle your own / distillery exclusive from distilleries like Glenfiddich/ / Auchentoshan for example..
Older whiskies do not guarantee quality so don’t get too hung up on age statements..