Suggestions for a starter sherried scotch?

[ramblinman]

Just starting to get into a scotch a bit. I bought a bottle of Laphraoig to have a really polarizing taste calibration whiskey in the house and to my surprise I've actually got a little taste for it since the last time I had it. Following that I bought a bottle of Islay Mist 8 year for the guys at the office since we have a project codenamed "Islay" and found myself enjoying that too (really nice for a sub $20 bottle).

I've never done much with scotch as I generally prefer bourbon and rye, drinking scotch only when someone else had picked it up or brought over a bottle., so I've had a lot of the younger Macallans and other standard fare.

I thought I'd pickup a good representation of the sherried variety to try next. Any suggestions on a good moderately priced intro to sherried scotch?

[tanstaafl2]

Glenfarclas or Aberlour will certainly give you some sherry. Not sure what you would consider "moderately priced". Aberlour 12 is around $50+ and the Glenfarclas 12 maybe about the same or a bit more if they are available. Aberlour is pretty common here but haven't really looked for the Glenfarclas 12 lately. I seem to recall rumors it might be going away. For a full sherry maturation there is Aberlour A'bunadh that is generally easy to find for probably $70-$75 or more. 

[ramblinman]

1 hour ago, tanstaafl2 said:

Glenfarclas or Aberlour will certainly give you some sherry. Not sure what you would consider "moderately priced". Aberlour 12 is around $50+ and the Glenfarclas 12 maybe about the same or a bit more if they are available. Aberlour is pretty common here but haven't really looked for the Glenfarclas 12 lately. I seem to recall rumors it might be going away. For a full sherry maturation there is Aberlour A'bunadh that is generally easy to find for probably $70-$75 or more. 

Thats the range I was figuring, something in the same neighborhood as Laphroig, didn't want to go over $100, and ideally more in the $75 range, as first bottle of a style but want to happy to pay enough to get something that represents the style well.

[jeffrey r]

Glendronach 12 is a terrific starter sherried scotch at $50.  Glenfarclas 12 is also excellent.  Glendronach 15 Revival, Aberlour 12 NCF, Aberlour A'Bunadh and Glenfarclas 105 kick it up a notch and are outstanding IMO, and each under $100.  Tomatin 18 is also heavily sherried and very nice for around $65 by me (great price for an 18 year old at 46%).  Plenty of options.

Edited March 18, 2016 by jeffrey r

[ramblinman]

Thanks for insights. I think I'll give a look for the Aberlour A'bunadh. I'll all about intensity in my food and drink so I like to try the most "extreme" ends of a style (hence Laphroig) and work my way back towards a middle ground as I explore me, and that Aberlour looks like a really good example of that for a heavily sherried scotch. 

[amg]

Yeah, the A'bunadh is a serious sherry bomb, so it will give you a good idea of the extreme. I think I slightly prefer the Aberlour 12 NCF for regular sipping.

[bdrinker]

Since you like Islay single malts, I would suggest Bunnahabhain 12, a sherried single malt at 46.3% abv and non-chill filtered. A very tasty dram. It even has a ghost of peat.