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Well, my first Malt was Crown Royal, but that of course is a blend and it was Crown and Coke. Goodness did it spoil the taste of my Coke!!! LOL But my first Single Malt was a delicious dram I had during my first visit to Scotland over 8 years ago. Being so new to Single Malts, and also being excited about being in Scotland, I forgot to get the name of that lovely Dram that started my journey! It very well could have been Glenmorangie 10yo, since that was one of the 1st bottles I purchased.
13 years ago 0
I do recall years ago trying mom, and dad's "J & B" on a Easter Sunday (had to follow it up with a chocolate marshmellow bunny - was only 8 yrs old then).
Then there was the time I was watching the neighbor's dog - they had Johnny Walker Red in the cabinet so I "swigged" a mouthful down - yuck - was 14 yrs old.
Was up in northen Wisconsin at my parents cottage several years ago with my wife, and kids - rained all week, and was unusually cold...My mother being the scotch lover had a bottle of the Balvenie 10 yr Founders Reserve...Helped myself to some - then 20 min later a little more...Wow - what had I been missing - my 1st malt experience (that I thoroughly enjoyed) at the tender age of 36.
13 years ago 2Who liked this?
My first single malt was a 12 year old Strathisla which I did not enjoy. It was my very first whisky. I went over to blends and gradually moved back towards malts my second malt being a 10 year old Aberfeldy which I love and I always make sure the Aberfeldy is well stocked.
13 years ago 0
After realizing there was more to it than just j/b with eggnog , bowmore 12 was the first single malt i truely enjoyed
13 years ago 0
@FMichael It seems you were born for whisk(e)y... Waiting for your reviews on those balvenies you have. One of my favorite brands see...
13 years ago 0
When I was about 12 I remember taking a sip of Lagavulin 16 year out of my dad's glass. I hated it and remember quickly going to get another drink (a soft drink I wasn't a raging alcoholic!) to get the taste out of my mouth.
8 years later my dad gave me a small shot again of Lagavulin 16 years and I loved it. I couldn't properly describe the wonderful taste I was experiencing but I knew I loved it. I then went out and bought 3 bottles for myself - Glenfiddich 12 years, Macallan 10 years sherry and a Laphroaig 10 year. That is how I started my whisky journey. I'm 13 years down the line but there is still a long way to go!
12 years ago 3Who liked this?
18 September 2010. My wife suggested doing a "scotch toast" at our wedding instead of a traditional champagne one (I'm half Scottish, and grew up there). Dispite my Scottish heritage, I never got into drinking scotch. I got a bottle of Glenlivet 12 upon suggestion it was a good all round scotch. Well, almost two years to the day, I'm a junkie.
12 years ago 2Who liked this?
Pretty sure it was a Talisker 10 but its funny cause I really dont like it much any more. Kind of weird as it started my journey.
12 years ago 1Who liked this?
My first whisky was Johnnie Walker Red. Didn't touch any brown liquor for a very long time.
My first single malt was Cardu, recommended by a gentleman who knowing JW was pitifully my only experience wanted to coax me into single malt territory. Not hugely impressed but intrigued to try more.
My first wine finish was Glemorangie Lasanta. Really liked it. Scotch became interesting and opened my eyes to different possibilities.
My first islay was Caol Ila 12. Love at first sip. I became a peat-head, unafraid to challenge my taste buds.
My first big-time whisky was Ardbeg Uigeadail. Ignited my passion for whisky and spurred me to find others I can share with. And brought me to Connosr!
12 years ago 1Who liked this?
Glenmorangie Sonnalta Px Got me hooked... Lagavulin 16 wasn't far behind
12 years ago 1Who liked this?
first dram of malt was the 12yo singleton of dufftown. first bottle was 12yo glenfiddich
12 years ago 0
Two years ago I wasn't a whisky fan at all. I could barely drink a blend like JW Red label, more so with Coke. I could never understand why people are raving about a complexity and various flavors of whisky. So, I decided to try a Single Malt, hoping there was more sense in it than in a cheap blend. I bought a bottle of the most affordable single malt whisky, Glenfiddich 12 that is. I could immediately tell it was much more interesting than any whisky I've tried before. That got my quest started)
12 years ago 0
Now I can answer this finally I had Glenfiddich 18 last night. A sweet and fruity dram almost a dessert replacer
12 years ago 0
Talisker 18 - lights out! It was all over at first sip. Couldn't afford a bottle, so after that I had a Balvenie Doublewood (did not like), the old Bunnahabhain 18 (liked it a lot), JW Black (okay to pretty good), and then really got rolling again with Lagavulin 16 (became bonafide whisky lover thereafter).
12 years ago 2Who liked this?
It was fortunate for me 6 years ago when I change departments at work that I met a couple of guys that were Scotts drinkers. These guys make a large Scott orders on the internet quarterly and would save quite a bit of money this way. When the order came in they would have a big get together and have a nice scotch tasting. I was lucky enough to be invited to 1 of these tastings even though I didn't participate in the order it was a love affair ever sense. These gentleman showed me how to drink and appreciate scotch. I had Oban 14, Lagavulin 16 and Laphroaig 18 in that order. Standards I still measure by. 1 friend sold me a bottle of his Oban 14 and another friend sold me a bottle of his Lagavulin 16. Great friends to have.
12 years ago 2Who liked this?
When I was about 10, my parents gave me a sip of their Glenmorangie 18. I was a little put off by the initial alcohol, but really liked the honeyed and buttery notes. It became my standard go-to bottle for years after that.
12 years ago 0
Mine was the 10yo Laphroaig too. My brother gave me a taste of his when I was about 16 years old. It's still one of my favourites.
12 years ago 0
The first single malt I bought for myself was AnCnoc 12yr, however the first malt I drank was, like so many others, was Glenfiddich 12.
12 years ago 0
First malt tasted was Glenlivet 12. First bottle purchase was Glenfiddich 15. To this day Glenfiddich 15 is still a favorite.
12 years ago 1Who liked this?
after years of being a die hard vodka drinker, my first foray into the world of whisky was with a glass of johnny walker blue a fellow bartender poured for me. That same night i ordered a glass of macallans 18 which at the time I loved, but has since fallen out of my favor. At the time johnny blue seemed magical to me, with a nice calming warmth, very buttery and fresh, with hints of dried fruit. since then though, i find johnny walker blue to be a bit boring after the arrival and much prefer the green or gold. The first bottle of SMS i bought was HP12 followed very quickly by OP12. I have been drinking nothing but single malts for about 7 months now and must say...i am officially a malt maniac : )
current cabinet - Lagavulin 16 Ardbeg 10 Clyenelish 14 Oban 14 The Laddie Ten revival Glen Grant Majors Reserve (which i do not like at all i plan on using it to make a whisky liqueor)
btw any recommendations would be welcome. I have narrowed my next purchase down to Laphroaigh CS or Ardbeg Uigeadail ,,, any thoughts
12 years ago 0
@Plenti0203...both, if you can afford it.
My first foray into Scotch was about three years ago where I tried several whiskies at a food/wine show. As I did this, I pestered the representative with tons of newbie questions about whisky. He appreciated my sincere interest and poured me a free sample of the most expensive bottle on the table that day. Unfortunately, I did not keep any notes about what I tried that day, though I believe the freebie was Macallan 18, and one of the other samples was an Islay (possibly an IB Caol Ila).
While I was not instantly hooked (no bottle purchases yet), the experience led to my wife and I incorporating a visit to Glenora Distillery on Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia for a trip we took about 8 months after the whisky tasting. Doing the tour and learning about the whisky making process further piqued my curiousity. A good friend of ours then gave me a bottle of Glen Breton 10 as a Christmas present that year (2010).
However, the "ah, ha!" moment occured about a month later at my first whisky tasting. Oban 14 (nice, but not noteworthy), Talisker 10 (wow, this is interesting!), and finally...Lagavulin 16 (wow, campfire in a glass...awesome!!!). It's been a great ride since.
12 years ago 0
For me it was Glen Grant 10 and 16 yo, and Glenfiddich 12 yo at the Whisky Live Festival in Cape Town. I then bought a bottle of Glenfiddich 12 yo and got stuck into it at home .... hook, line and sinker!
A year later I bought an Ardbeg 10 yo and Laphroaig 10 yo, my first trip to Islay ... OMG! I am now a converted peat head and can't put the stuff down.
I am glad I have discovered this wonderful spirit at the age of 36 and that I'll be drinking the water of life until the day I die!
12 years ago 0
First single malt I bought was Cragganmore 12. I'm not sure what possessed me to buy a bottle of liquor double the cost of anything I'd bought previous that day, but to this day it's one I really enjoy. I didn't know the first thing about it when I bought it either - just looked like a fine bottle.
Not long after that I was visiting Portland, and sitting at a bar I asked about getting a scotch. I still didn't really know anything about scotch but wanted one. They asked how serious I was about scotch, I said not very. So they brought me a glass of something usual (not sure what, something like HP12) and a very small dram of some mystery "serious" malt. I was VERY intrigued by the mystery malt. I neglected to find out what it was (not that I was likely to even remember). Over the next few months to a year I got into scotch and started to learn a lot more about them. Over a year later I got a glass of Talisker 10 at a local pub here in Vancouver. IMMEDIATELY I realized that I had finally found that mystery scotch. Today, I'm an Islay lover and can't do without Ardbeg, Laphroaig, and Talisker all in the cabinet (some Caol Ila and Lagavulin ideally, too!)
12 years ago 2Who liked this?
@lostboyscout Glad to hear such an awesome story. I also enjoy the Islay range of whisky. I do still hang out in Speyside as well. The best part of the whisky journey is when you have an admiral (wife) who is only a peat drinker. Lots of Caol ila, Laga 16 in the cabinet. LOL. :)
12 years ago 1Who liked this?
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