Looking for advice!

@lucadanna1985 Talisker is less peaty than the Islay whiskies you mention and has some sweetness to it. How about something like Talisker Distillers Edition? Its got the basic Talisker lightly smoky base but finished in sherry casks so it marries some extra sweetness in there with some real depth of favour.

Also worth looking at Springbank 10 or if you can get it Springbank 12 Cask Strength. These are very light on the peat but with citrus and fruity notes. Really complex but with a light touch.

well i think i will buy the Talisker ED, i really love the 10yo...what about Strathisla 12 0r 10? i have to face serious problems to get even common bottles, here in Sicily we're overwhelmed by wine, whisky retailers are very few! ;(

Hi @lucadanna1985 - as a beginner you seem to have explored some the flavours that many people come to further down the line, with Ardbeg and Talisker in your cabinet. All good.

Less smokey (and much more subtle - in a good way) is Springbank which is an superb whisky. The 10 year old is a good place to start.

Cask strength bottlings might be a nice area to explore if you want to broaden your horizons. Perhaps a cask strength Bowmore if you already like the smokey Islays. The Macallan Cask Strength is worth a try if you found the 8 year old too light. As is Aberlour A'bunadh for something we a real sherry punch.

Then of course there's Japanese whiskies, I'm no expert in this area but Nikka All Malt was recommended by @WhiskyNotes in this article connosr.com/distilled/issue-1/…

what about Highland Park 12?

Tried Ardmore?

bought Highland Park 12 finally!

@lucadanna1985 TALISKER DE is great!!! I am in the same boat. LOVE LOVE LOVE THE PEAT. Its also nice to have something else is there. I must say ardbeg uigeadail and the 2009 supernova are SMOKING really. ha ha.. Cheers yall

If I can add to what others have said...

I love Talisker, especially Talsiker DE. In fact, if you can find them, Distiller's Editions from other distilleries that fall under the Classic Malt (Diageo) line are very nice. I've been fortunate to own most of the line and highly recommend Lagavulin DE and Caol Ila DE. Also, if you can find Talisker 18, it is a great whisky and reasonably priced for an 18 year old.

Another Classic Malt you may want to try is Clynelish. The 14 year old is the standard bottling, but they offer a Distillers Edition as well. Both are worth a try.

Macallan Cask Strength was the one that turned me on to Scotch. (My first love - other than my wife, of course.) :-)

As for Highland Park, in my opinion, all are very good, but I prefer the 18 year old (or the 15 year old, if I'm trying to save a little money).

For over-the-top Islay, I agree with cartermclean, the 2009 Ardbed SuperNova is awesome! (I haven't tried the 2010 SuperNova, but read a review that said it wasn't as good). You may also want to try the Bruichladdich Port Charlotte series. (I've had PC6 and PC7). Would love to try PC5 and PC8.

Finally, you may want to look at the Italy chapter of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society (www.smws.it). With the limited selection of Scotch that I can get where I live, the whisky society is a way that I get distilleries that I wouldn't otherwise be able to get.

Hope you don't mind me sharing my thoughts. Best of luck finding some new whiskies that you love.

thank you boys, this is really a great welcome in the community! a few days ago i decided to buy the HP 12 also because i spent more than 100 euro in whisky during the last month so i didn't want to exaggerate (here it was priced 30 euro), but listening to your advice will absolutely force me to find a DE, maybe talisker :)

Am in a similar position being new to whisky but am enjoying some of the flavors that some get to further down the line. I am indulging in the Ardbeg 10yo and Talisker 10 but the DE sounds a good path to take so thanks for the discussion

If you can find a bottle then I'd recommend - 'Nikka Pure Malt White' . It's a vatted blend of Yoichi and Islay malts. Not overly smokey - very well balanced as most of the better Japanese blends tend to be.