Scotch Whiskey

What is a good high-mid to low-high quality Scotch? What to look for in a scotch? Anyone have a favorite?

top tier

Everyone has different taste. I like bruichladdich.

Yeah I understand, I'm just trying to find a starting point

Balvenie 12 Doublewood or 15 yr
Highland Park 12
Arbelour Abunadh
Honorable mention for Monkey Shoulder, it's fairly cheap but tastes better than a lot of whiskies that cost two or three times its price.

Don't spend more than $60 or so, even if money isn't a problem. There's no reason to waste a couple hundred dollars on an outstanding bottle when you don't know where your own personal tastes lie.

Not a scotch, but Penderyn is some top tier bad tooth curing whisky.

solid mid to mid high tier:
balvenie caribbean cask is excellent
glenfiddich 15 year is solid
tomatin 18 year is good
aberlour 16 year is great

for bottles on the cheaper side (low-mid tier but great to have around)
aberfeldy
dalmore
glengoyne
glenfiddich
balvenie

the "i had a rough day" bottle winner: monkey shoulder or dewars for super rough days

Springbank 10
Balvenie doublewood (mentioned already)
Bruichladdie (mentioned already)
Highland Park (mentioned already)
Hakushu 12 (japanese, but it's basically scotch, and not laughably expensive)

if you've never had any scotch before, pick up a bottle of Glenmorangie 10 and a bottle of Black Label

both are good and not too expensive and give you a basic idea of unpeated and moderately peated scotch, respectively.

Glendronach 15 has been my favourite. But it's getting a little expensive sometimes.
Others that are pretty good are Aberlour A'bunadh, Lagavulin 16 and Ardbeg 10/Uigeadail.

Don't listen to faggots who recommend 40% chill filtered whisky packed with caramel coloring, shit like Dalmore outside of their older vintages and independent bottlings suck outside the 44% Cigar Malt.

Glendronach 12
Old Pulteney 12
Bruichladdich Classic or Laddie 10
Glenfarclas 12
Tomatin 14 Portwood

All of these are great beginner to intermediate single malts and all will expand your palate horizon.

What are good recommendations for some who like most blended scotches but no single malts outside macallan

>Blendfags

Lagavulin 16

Aberlour or Glendronach

Laphroaig 10

I find all of Aberlours stuff to be remarkably good for the price - even the 10 at £22 a bottle is perfectly palatable. Once you get in to the 12, 16, and A'Bundah they are extremely good quality.

Personally I really like the Islay stuff, Ardbeg 10 is my go to and Laphroaig Quarter Cask is really nice too. Will need to pick up a bottle of the 10 to compare them side by side but I am pretty sure I prefer the QC. As mentioned previously, Lagavulin 16 is very good but personally I prefer Ardbeg.

Highland Park 12 seems to cover all bases pretty well - a little smoke, lots of flavour, and cheap.

I'm so elitist I prefer a 4 year single malt to a blended 12. ((((Ballantinesz))))

For me, it's Laphroaig.

That stuff is great, just make sure you don't buy the Select stuff. Bought it once as it was on offer and it was total shit. Easy to drink loads of if that is your thing but almost no taste at all.

That's because any Islay under 43% is automatic shit, it just needs that extra ethanol to be tasty.

The regular Laphroaig 10 is 40%...

and colored, and chill-filtered..
Pic related is the better islay

Couldn't agree more. But the regular Laphroaig 10 is still pretty good I think. Quarter cask is a lot better and it isn't chill filtered. Not sure about coloured, probably is

No love for this?

Grants if fucking horrid

Where do you live that Hakushu 12, or any Japanese whisky, isn't ludicrously expensive?
Even the Nikka blends here in Georgia are $60 a bottle.