Interim résumé: My starting line-up

I feel, by now it is time to take a little break and summarize the first steps I took on my whisky journey. Before setting out, I did some research and decided which bottles I would buy in the beginning - and in hindsight I think it was no mistake to do it the way I did it. I wanted to cover what I perceive as the cornerstones of the character of Scotch whisky, with standard bottles that are easily availabe and more on the inexpensive side. My choices turned out to be:

Glenfiddich 12 yo: Probably the most popular of all Scotch single malt whiskies, and the natural starting point for thousands of people who set out on their own whisky journey. This single malt is one of the cheapest out there, and so might also be a good option for people who are interested, but not yet sure if whisky is their thing at all. It represents the fruity fresh character of Speyside distilleries very clearly, without any traces of either sherry or peat smoke.

Macallan 12 yo: This is the classic from the range of the Macallan distillery, and a nice example for a heavily sherry influenced single malt. The Macallan distillery is incidentally also located in the Speyside, but due to the sherry, the character of this one is determined by a heavy sweetness with reminiscences of flowers and honey, which in my opinion forms the second cornerstone. Unfortunately, this bottling has been discontinued in many markets, so whoever still manages to get hold of such a bottle for a decent price can consider him-/herself lucky!

Laphroaig Quarter Cask: Moving away from the Speyside, the most notorious heavily peated whiskies, number three of the cornerstones, come from the island of Islay on the west coast of Scotland. Among the most famous peat blast whiskies, Laphroaig, Lagavulin, and Ardbeg, the Laphroaig is usually the cheapest, and thus seems to me to be a good entry point. I went for the Quarter Cask, but the standard 10 yo would be just as fine to start with.

Highland Park 12 yo: To round off my starting line-up, I bought this single malt, which comes from the most northern distillery in Scotland, from the Orkney islands. It does not represent another cornerstone, but as island whisky stands for a different provenence, and exemplifies neatly how the afore mentioned characteristics, sherry and peat smoke, come together in measured quantities to form a new kind of experience. As the standard 12 yo from Highland Park is also usually rather cheap and widely available, I think it makes for a good addition to the three cornerstone whiskies.

In summary, I recommend this line-up to others who like to start their own journey, maybe with the exception of the Macallan 12yo, as this bottling is gradually replaced with a more expensive series that omits the age statement alltogether. Alternatives might be the Glendronach 12 yo or one of the Glenfarclas range, which are also regarded as classic sherry-whiskies. I certainly learned a lot from sampling these four whiskies, and am excited to take the next steps on my journey, exploring the subtleties of the basic flavor components, how different distilleries compose these elements together, what other flavors there might be out there, etc...

Slàinte mhath!