Birthday coming soon... Looking for Input.

If you're new to whisky, then rather spread the £400 on more than one bottle :)

Personally I have struggled with the concept of "something tht will last for years of sipping". If its good it doesn't last long in my cabinet!

Highland park 18yo is a winner, as well as the older Taliskers and Balvenies. Can't go wrong with those!

Good luck.

@Maltmark If your interested The Whisky Exchange Web site would allow you to look for something that was bottled the year your were born, many brands to choose from with pricing that would fit your budget or give you ideas of what to ask for. Hope this was helpful. :)

Keep in mind that whisky oxidizes and changes with time in an open bottle. The pleated whiskies especially loose their peat over time. There are solutions, like the inert gasses used by wine folks or decanting into smaller bottles to minimize air volume...but it is something you should consider if you want to sip on something for years.

Oh, and yes, the Glenfarclas is that good. Honest, family run business without an international conglomerate to feed, so prices stay reasonable. The 40 year old is supposed to be epic.

@MaltyMike: Sound sdvise! With $400.00 in hand, you could purchase excellent Whisky across a rather broad spestrum; those giving a good over-view of the whole Whisky experience - Say, 0ne bottle each of the Highland Park 18yo., Aberlour a'bunadh (any batch #), Ardbeg 10yo., Benromach 10yo. (Gordon & McPhail's new make) and if I've done my sums correctly have change to, maybe, try a couple of minatures - Of course, saving any small bottles that you acquire to store your own samples etc.

Cheers and Good Luck!

@Maltmark If you like Islays this might be a time to swing for a Port Ellen. Barring that I think you might be quite happy with a Talisker 25 year old. It's more robust if somewhat less complex and nuanced than the 30. I prefer the 30 myself but many are disappointed that it's lost some of its power. If you like sherry monsters you might consider tracking down a single cask bottling from GlenDronach, you'll be able to find something in your price range and they tend to be knock-outs. Do you plan on buying the bottle locally or shipping it in from over seas?

@FederalNate not sure... What's the difference? Is it the shipping prices or is there something I need to lookout for? Also, thanks for all the input. Also, did not know that the peaty ones lose their umph with time.

@Maltmark The difference is availability. Your profile says you're from florida, I'm not sure what the liquor stores are like down there, state run or privatized or what have you, and whether you're restricted to things commonly available or whether you have any specialty shops you can go to that would have a wider range of, say, independent bottlings. If you're shopping on the internet though then the world is your oyster. It's just helpful to know how to tailor suggestions. As for peated whiskies loosing their oomph, it's a general trend but certainly not a hard and fast rule, nothing in scotch ever is (except the laws of course). 25 years old is plenty old for a single-malt, and you wouldn't think a measly five extra years would make that much of a difference, but with those two taliskers it generally does. It comes down to a matter of preference. @A'bunadhman and @MaltyMike have a good point though, if you're fairly new you may benefit from putting that money towards going to a whisky festival or buying 2-3 bottles in the $100-$150 price range, which is, I find, the price point at which things really start to get interesting. Many independent bottlings of real quality start in that range, and many great special releases from distilleries hit that mark as well.

Glenfarclas 40 for the 40th birthday sounds great! There you got some money left to buy minis/standards to get an insight into different sort of whisk(e)ys.

@Maltmark I have to also agree with Maltymike and Abunadhman. If you're new to whiskies I'd be purchasing a range of whiskies, whether that be 4 - 6 normal bottles or dozens and dozens of sample size bottles from some place like Master of Malt which has an awesome whisky calender (samples vary by calender, but I've been extremely pleased with mine so far).

Generally speaking while $400 is an awesome amount of money to spend on a bottle of whisky I find that past $300 or so your more paying for how awesome other people think said whisky is, rather then how awesome said whisky is. If you realize that you'll be able to crack open a $400 with less disappointment, but I find quite a few friends I know have gotten those real expensive bottles and then went "awww, but it's not nearly as awesome as I was hoping"

That being said if you're determined to go with just one bottle, being an Islay lover I'd head over to Port Ellen and grab yourself a bottle while they're still available, that way you can have a bottle from a legendary Islay distillery.