hey! I have some scotch questions if you don't mind. I really love Lagavulin 8 + 16, Bunnahabhain 12, and Talisker 10. Less relevant I think McAllan 18 is good and Balvenie 21 as well. What should I try that is similar to these?
Every scotch I tried that is less than about ~45-50 USD I really hated, is there anything good that is cheap?
The three scotches you like are peaty; 2 are Islays and one (the Talisker) is an Island, which is like a toned-down Islay. You like smoke, phenols, and brine. If you want something sort of "in between" the Lagavulin (almost one-note phenolic) and the Macallan (caramel and wine, little wood, no smoke), try a BenRomach, which is a briney and not smokey and right in your price point.
The other Islays you haven't tried include:
* Laphroig, which adds a huge medicinal flavor to the wood and smoke in Lagavulin.
* Bowmore, which tends towards leather and fruit flavors (they do some interesting wine cask expressions). Kilchoman is similar, pricier, but with even better casks.
* Ardbeg, which tends peatier/smokier than Lagavulin but not as iodiney and briney as Laphroaig.
The other two you like, the Macallan and the Balvenie, are very mainstream Speysides. No peat, lots of wine flavor. It's easy to find a lot of whiskeys in the same region and all will be better values than the Macallan (which is one of the world's most popular single malts and priced accordingly) and the Balvenie, which is solid but also grocery store scotch. I recommend GlenDronach 12 or 15 if you want to explore the sherry-bomb character of the Macallan 18 (GlenDronach is probably the scotch most like Macallan that isn't called Macallan), and Glenrothes if you just want to explore the cereal/vanilla/caramel malt characteristics of Speysides. Both are ~$50-$60 priced well.
There's a whisky from Glenrothes? That's hilarious somehow. When I lived in Fife we called it Glen-grotty, it had some "great" brutalist architecture. Also known in the past for its lino factories (floor covering, the making of which was highly polluting).
Yeah, it's in Rothes; I drove past it a bunch of times when we stayed in Craigellachie. There's distilleries everywhere you look in that part of the country (like, literally, go up on a hill and look in any direction), and Glenrothes is one of the better known (there are a bunch of distilleries around there that produce only for blended scotch, but Glenrothes is one of the more popular single malts).
Glenrothes is the first scotch I recommend to anyone who loves bourbon and thinks they hate scotch.
You are getting a lot of far too convoluted answers. The simple one is the Ardbeg Corryvreckan. It checks the value box easily - at nigh-60% alcohol, you can practically make two bottles of booze out of it by adding water. Taste and smell? On consumption, it removes your ability to taste and smell anything else making it incomparable and thus, the best whisky by default. Free bonus - The Corryvreckan sounds a character from a bad TV adaptation of a bad Neil Gaiman novel.
I like all the Ardbegs, particularly An Oa which is creamy, the 10 year which is refreshing (if any Islay can be called refreshing), and Uigeadail which is more caramel sweet than the others. These are all big peaty whisky.
Corryvreckan ... is more so. Tasting notes: refinery, bed fire, shipwreck. The distiller must have been out for a pint or five with the other distillers on the island ragging him about "too much, over the top" and decided to show them what "over the top" really was. Worth a try and good in its own way, but not for everyday.
I'm not crikli, but we have similar tastes! Talisker is my go to dram.
Try Bruichladdich Islay Barley. It's heavy on the saltwater characteristic that Talisker and other Islays have but is overall a bit lighter in both color and taste. I don't recall which vintage I had, which supposedly makes a notable difference for this whisky.
Kilchoman is another Islay that I enjoy a lot.
If you want to delve further into the world of peat, checkout Ardbeg and Laphroaig 10. Laphroaig has other nice varieties like Quartercask and PX that aren't as peat-centric. Ardbeg also has a wide variety of offerings to explore.
Of course I would recommend trying before going in for a bottle on all of these since everyone has their own tastes!
Well, first and foremost you should try as much as possible the rest of the Islay distilleries; Bowmore, Laphroig, Caol Ila, Ardbeg, Kilchoman and Bruichladdich.
Bruichladdich is a little special since regular Bruichladdich, which is bottled under that name, is mostly 'unpeated', they then have a bottling under the name of Port Charlotte which is peated to the "regular" Islay standard (e.g. 35-50 ppm phenol - a measurement for peaty/smokiness) and last but not least they have the Octomore which is peated to the super heavy levels of 167-300 ppm phenol.
There's also a now defunct distillery from Islay called Port Ellen where it's still possible to get hold of stuff that was in the casks when they went under, maturity here ranges from 22-30+ years and they will start distilling again in the coming years, so there is something to keep an eye out for. I would never recommend people to buy an entire bottle of Port Ellen since the cheapest one in my country is roughly ~$1000 and it's not just THAT good regardless of how much money one have. But if you're ever in a whisky bar which has good enough inventory a dram of Port Ellen won't ruin you.
Staying on Islay, Ardnahoe is a new distillery which started distilling spirits this spring so the first bottle of what can legally be called whisky will probably be available in 3 years.
There's also two independent bottlings from anonymous distilleries on Islay called Smokehead and The Ileach.
Leaving Islay and traveling the neighboring Jura which has a distillery with the same name, Jura Superstition is their peated whisky.
Other than whiskys from Islay, Jura and Skye (Talisker) I'm quite fond of Highland Park (any bottling pretty much), Oban 14 and anCnoc Peatheart Batch 1.
You should also try different bottlings from Bunnahabhain, Talisker and Lagavulin. My current favorite whisky is the Lagavulin Islay Jazz Festival, bottled in 2017.
Not OP but we have similar tastes (I’ve had the Lagavulin 16, the Bunnahahain 12 and 18, Talisker Storm, McAllan 12 and 15 - no Balvenie I can recall though).
For under $45, see if you can find Talisker Storm (my shop has it on sale around $32 quite often). The Laphroaig 10 can be had under $40 if you look around. Feels like an oddball but Johnny Walker Green Label would be a good one to try - I believe Talisker is a primary component - it is blended, however it is a blend of all single malts. I’ve had it for $33ish, on sale, should be able to find it under $40 if you keep an eye out.
Laphroaig, Ardbeg or maybe the distillers editions from Lagavulin and Talisker. Islay is pretty small so you don't really have that many options.
Since you like Macallan (I assume sherry oak?) you might like one of the older Glenfarclas (for the example the 25yo).
I don't know how whiskies are priced in the US but the "cheapest" whisky I like is Tullibardine 228 (burgundy finish). I think I payed 30€ for it. Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban (port finish) is also very affordable.
Aberlour doesn't really fit in here but the 15yo and 18yo are worth checking out if you haven't already.
I got sold a Glenfarclas as a better Macallan and wasn't blown away by it. I think I'd always take a Dronach over it, and pay 40% less to boot.
Aberlour is basically pin compatible with Macallan, and the two whiskies are distilled walking distance away from each other. Aberlour has the one NAS scotch --- A'bunadh --- that I've really liked; it's a bargain sherry bomb that I'd take over Macallan any day.
Glenfarclas and Glendronach are are both great alternatives to Macallan. Glendronach is a bit too sweet for my taste though and since Glenfarclas is much more affordable (at least here in Germany) I always recommend that one first.
Every scotch I tried that is less than about ~45-50 USD I really hated, is there anything good that is cheap?