I was with two friends in a European city a couple of years ago. The hotel had a "whiskey library," sort of an upscale bar. My two friends were taking turns buying rounds of scotch over the days we were spending in the hotel. When I joined them for a dram, it was my turn to buy, so I ordered a round and made the mistake of letting the bartender select the scotch (which was what my friends had been doing). It was a nice scotch. When I got the bill, it was $150 for three shots. Ouch.
To my pallet, it wasn't worth 1/10 of that money.
Live and learn. Some folks will pay stupid money for a scotch just because somebody told them it was good.
My personal favorites are Lagavulin and Laphroiag.
Agree on Lagavulin and Laphroaig. Mrs. Basket Case and I visited Islay a few years ago. Small island, big whisky and not easy to get to. But worth the effort.
A couple of others to suggest: Ardbeg. Another Islay, distillery near Laphroaig and Lagavulin, which are only a few miles apart. Kind of a middle point between Laphroaig’s medicinal tar and Lagavulin’s pear. Like all Islays, heavy peat. Almost like drinking smoke.
If you like Laphroaig, you might want to try Caol Ila. Pronounced as if it were one word, “CUH-lee-la.” It’s even more peaty than Laphroaig, though it doesn’t have quite the tar.
While I love the Islays, I also acknowledge that they’re an acquired taste. Talisker is the only major single malt from the Isle of Skye. It has some of the sea / brine notes that the Islays have, but not quite as much peat, so it’s a bit more approachable. Talisker’s signature is a blast of black pepper on the finish. Unmistakeable, even for beginners.
I’d also mention that Lagavulin and Ardbeg offer double-matured bottles that take some of the edge off the full-throated versions. They’re matured as normal, except for the last six months, when they go into casks previously used for sherry or wine.
Lagavulin’s is just called, “Lagavulin Double Matured.” Ardbeg’s version is called, “Ardbeg Uigeadail.” Had to ask a local how to pronounce that. Phonetically, it’s, “OO-guh-dahl.”
Mrs. Basket Case likes them.....naturally, they’re a bit more expensive.
If Laphroaig offers something similar, I’m not aware of it.
One last thing — I don’t generally pay for age. Sometimes, the older whisky just isn’t as good. I’ve rarely had one that justified the price difference over the distillery’s standard age.
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