That's a really nice and helpful comparison! I just started being a whisky fan a few weeks back and already tried a handful of different low- to mid-priced ones. So far Highland Park 12 is my favorite. I definitely want to get my hands on a Ledaig 10 and your video helped me to get that last missing bit of conviction to go ahead and buy it now. In this regard, thank you!
Thanks so much for the kind words and yes Ledaig 10 is my favorite peated scotch for the money and always brings a smile to my face. Enjoy your journey!
I'm with you man, Laphroaig 10 was my first "expensive" Scotch (after trying Dewars, Johnnie Red, etc). I live in New England, and it was October, perfect Scotch weather, and that first dram knocked my socks off. Been on the journey ever since. Cheers!
This was entertaining to listen to, I first got into Scotch after a trip to Edinburgh and a Whisky tour. I had some samples of different regional drams, and then finished an Ardbeg Uigeadail which was excellent. I recently had Ledaig 10 which had also now become my favourite at this price.
Very good review! A few days ago, I tried the first-ever Talisker I ever drank. It was the Talisker 10, and I tasted some pepper, salinity, oranges, peaches. It is classy! Thanks to the whisky gods, It did not at all have the iodine and seaweed taste of phenolic Ardbeg and Laphroaig. I'd recommend trying Jura 10 or Springbank 10 first to get an idea of the taste of T10.
Good review. I just did a comparison of the two and for the price Talisker 10 clearly wins. Unfortunately, the Ledaig 10 has been hyped up and the retailers are taking advantage of it by over pricing it beyond the suggested retail price.
My introduction to scotch surprisingly was Craigellachie 13, was in love with Japanese whiskey and my local gastropub ran out of the Nikka 17 and I asked the bartender what he recommended. Then when I tried Ardbeg oh man, no looking back 🥃💨💨
My first peated scotch was laphroaig quarter cask. Back when the tube had the drawing of the little casks. It was a shock to me. But it didn’t turn me off. When the bottle was empty, I found myself missing the smoky peat flavor. So now I have tried Laph. 18, Peat monster, Caolilla 12, Talisker 10, Ardbeg 10, Lagavulin 16, HP 12, $ Benriach Curiositas, and kilkerran 12. I have the Laph. CS and Bunnahabhain Moine Bordeaux unopened. That’s it as far as heavier peated experiences go. I think that’s a pretty good variety. Enough to have a good idea of what’s out there in general concerning peated scotch. I want to try the Ledaig 10, but i haven’t spotted it anywhere around me yet, in the last 5 years. Might have to buy it online. As far as Talisker goes, it wasn’t my favorite. Something about the cold cigarette ashyness about it that didn’t hit the mark for me. I will say it did change as the bottle went down and it did improve. It’s not bad at all. Caol illa on the other hand was immediately better tasting to me but at first opening it , the nose made me recoil. It smelled really odd. A week later “that” smell mostly faded and it was much better. Overall Ardbeg , Lagavulin 16 and Laphroaig are my current preferences.
Wow very impressive list. You certainly have covered the bases. Ledaig 10 is worth hunting down as well as Ardbeg Corryvreckan. I’ve heard great things about Bunnahabhain Moine but it has eluded me.
@@Dan-hn1lx I may need to revisit that one at some point. I had a bottle couple years ago and although I appreciated it... it didn’t knock my socks off... but then again I could say the same about Couple others that now I love but Ledaig 10 has never let me down. I do have a 2010 Port Charlotte MRC:01 that I’ve yet to crack open that I’ve heard great things about.
The Talisker 10 was my first peated bottle (not that I had that many). My experience with it was so weird... When I first tried it I simply loved it... The smoke more present on the nose followed by a fruity palate really caught my attention and that time I thought "I'm always gonna have a bottle of this". But not soon later something clicked and I wasn't really enjoying it anymore, some of the notes were turning me off. Fast forward a little bit and I got a Laphroaig 10... Absolutely loved it right away... I liked how it was not subtle at all and really "in your face". I did get back to enjoying the Talisker 10 before the bottle was over but I don't think I can get over how turned off I was, probably not revisiting it. A little later a found a deal and got the Lagavulin 16... OMG... that is a nice dram, those red fruits along with the smoke are out of this world. Yesterday my Ledaig 10 bottle arrived... definitely going to pop it opened before this week is done... high hopes.
@@justwhisky tasting it now. How crazy, it actually reminds me of the Talisker 10, but better. There’s some funkiness to it that’s really interesting. And the peat although not heavy seems to be all over the place. Medicinal, bonfire, ash, you name it. And spicy. Sweet but also salty. Numbs my tongue (I’m all over the place because I’m sipping as I write). I like this a lot!
You are really on with your recommendation and scores, i expected a blowout from Ledaig... but on my journey, I've found just like you say ... oxidation ...the days pallet ... has an effect on my taste experience. Closer than i would have expected. Ledaig is THE better excellent bang for the buck here though. Lets see what Talisker has to offer in there new offerings.
Well I know that Ralfy says that the quality of the different batches and production year in general may vary greatly, so even if you enjoyed Talisker's 10 yo few years ago, it might not be anywhere near as good if you bought yourself a bottle now. I couldn't say much to that, I don't have the experience. All I can say is that I've tried both whiskies and liked them both. However, my preferance is the Talisker 10 yo. It might be more harsh, but it's a very tasty whisky with a lot of flavour. Ledaig had plenty of peat in it's flavour and it was a very smooth whisky, but for me personally it was just a little bit too boring. Definitely a whisky that I'd like to drink if offered, but I just prefer whiskies with a stronger flavour and longer finish. Didn't care much about Laphroig's 10 yo. I was honestly very dissapointed with that blind buy. Caol Ila I have yet to try. Best budget peated whisky that I tried was Bunnahabhain's Moine. A very tasty and soft whisky in my opinion. Kilchoman's whiskies too are excellent peated whiskies. Tried Loch Gorm and Machir Bay several years ago and totally loved the latter one for it's value for money. Back then it was just about the cheapest single malt in my local pub.
Thanks for sharing your scotch journey so far. I enjoy Talisker very much as well but feel it has so much more potential if they didn’t chill filter and color it. Laphroaig 10 was the whisky that opened the door for me but it’s not for everyone that’s for sure. Cheers🥃
After I posted few comments where I whined about whiskies that I found lacking flavour, I started thinking that maybe I should ask help choosing my next single malt? So I was just curious, since you obviously have more experience in whiskies in general, can you recommend some roughly 12 yo single malts that have a lot of flavour and a good fairly long finish? I know its a bit difficult to give advice based on that, but I do like peated whiskies like Talisker for example, which taste-wise has quite a lot going on. Full bodied. Delicious. Glen Garioch's Founder's Reserve certainly pleased my taste buds too. Do you think Arran's whiskies might be worth checking out? Or Aberlour? As common as it may be, I have very limited experience in Aberlour's whiskies. Or what about Caol Ila's 12 year old?
@@GG-fz7st only have Coal Illa in Compass box and indies. Recommend Ledaig 10 old bottling/ packaging Arran 10 Clynelish 14 Talisker Springbank 10 Compass box peat monster Compass Box Orchard House To name a few Hope that helps off the cuff
