Drinking Tour of the Five Scotch Regions

Good choices. Obviously there are more malts that fit into your criteria than you can for into one tasting.

I don't think you can really go wrong with anything on Islay, though I must say I can't get a bottle of Ardbeg for that price.

If the budget allows, I would substitute A'Bunadh for the 12 year old, upgrade to Springbank 12 cask strength, and get a Bladnoch for your lowland. But you'd need to order the Bladnoch from master of malt or whisky exchange early as it takes about a week to get to Florida in my experience.

In recommending the 2 upgrades, I'm going on the assumption that the price difference between here and FL is the same for each malt as it is for the Ardbeg (about 40%).

I find the Glenkinchie quite average. Perhaps upgrade it to a Auchentoshan Valinch. It's just about the same price but reviews about 10 points higher. It's cask strength so you'll likely want to add a bit of water.

@AKGcandlefish Great tour I've not had Glenkinchie 12yr old or any other year, however all of the Auchentoshan's that I have had so far in my non expert opinion were not good. Thanks for sharing your tour choices. :)

I would sub out the Glenkinchie 12 with the Auchentoshan 12 or the Valinch. I would echo the comment about substituting the Aberlour 12 for a batch of the Abunad'h if budget permits (i.e. the $$$ you'll probably save in switching out the Glenkinchie for a 'Toshan can go to the Abunad'h).

Enjoy the evening and let us know your final choices and the reactions!!

If I were doing it according to your general design my choices would be: Springbank 12 Cask Strength, Auchentoshan Valinch, Aberlour 10 or 18, any Old Pulteney, and Laphroaig 10 Cask Strengh. My list reflects my preference for stronger flavours and Cask Strength. Personally I consider the whole Scotch regions thing to be marketing BS. The variation within regions is great, and the only reason people are always saying things like, "This Bunnahabhain really doesn't taste much like Islay to me." is because the categories were artificial to begin with. Specific remarks: 1) a good bottle of Springbank 10 can be fine, but I like the 12 CS a good bit better, 2) I've had an OK/pretty good Glenkinchie 12 recently, but I had one from a batch from maybe 2 years ago which was absolutely horrible- one of the very worst malts I have ever tasted. A good Auchentoshan is a better bet. Valinch is very nice. My second choice would be the 12 yo. Don't go near the Classic, if 90% of connosr members are to be believed, 3) personally I like Aberlour 10 yo much better than the 12 yo, and even better than the 16 yo. The 18 is usually great also. Yes, I know, no Aberlour 10 in the USA; it would have to come from UK/Europe or Canada. A'bunadh is generally the best of the Aberlour offerings, but it is certainly as removed from a common Speyside taste profile as you can get, 4) Clynelish is quite representative of The Highlands, but I much prefer any Old Pulteney to most Clynelishes (which separates me from a lot of people), plus my bottle of Clynelish 14 is diminished by a bitter finish; 5) Ardbeg Ten is great, and I like it very much, but batch variation can be substantial (consult @Nock); Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength is pure archetypal high test high peat/high smoke Islay. Quarter Cask would be great too, except that its sweetness is not as representative of the high peat/high smoke Islay style, as is Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength.

About regions: Glengoyne and Dalwhinnie ("Highlands") might as well pass as "Lowlands"; unpeated Islay is about like "Highlands"; and, for me Aberlour A'bunadh lives in its own region.

@Victor Awesome advice as always, however I had to disagree in only one area and that is.... Auchentoshan. I feel bad because I've tried many different bottles of Auchentoshan over different times and just can't seem to get a good experience with anything from them. Sorry @Victor and @Markjedi1. :)

@PMessinger, you can't like even the Valinch? Options are severely limited for "Lowlands" whiskies from which to choose...you would not ever want to even take the risk of drinking that Glenkinchie 12 yo that I had about 18 months ago...

I heartily agree with Victor's initial recommendations with one exception. For the Speysider I'd go with Glenfarclas 105 over any of the Aberlours.

@Victor Oh I should have thought to quantify that the Valinch is one of the expressions that I have not tried. I'm not sure I can get Valinch in Michigan but I should have stated that was one I didn't have. Sorry for the oversight. :)

@AKGcandlefish were you intentionally leaving out the "Island" region? Or were you putting Islay in the "Island" category (because typically it is not). That would include: Highland Park, Talisker, Jura, Arran, Scapa, and Tobermory.

While it is fun to do the "Scotch Regions" I have to agree with @Victor that I find it more about marketing then anything indicating a flavor expectation. I would much rather give my casual whisky friends "representative" malts of distinct flavor profile (Peaty, Sherried, Maritime, Light, and a "Glen") Those are my five go to categories. Within that I like to have something fruity, something older, and something cask strength.

Now that I've said all that I do actually like your proposed line up.
And I agree with many of the proposed changes.

My only real advice is to focus on bottles you know and can describe to your friends. You telling the story of a bottle is much more memorable to your friends. People connect to story.

Thank you all for your wonderful input!

A couple of specific notes:

Some of the bottles recommended by several of you (e.g. Springbank 12 CS and the Valinch) are no where to be found in Central Florida, at least not that I can track down. A'bunadh is one of my all-time favorite whiskies, but I tend to agree with @Victor that it isn't particularly representative of what one tends to expect from a Speyside. Worth a reconsider though.

@Victor, I love Old Pulteney 12, but I've never had Clynelish 14 and wanted to try something new myself. I haven't had the OP 17 or 21 yet and am eager to try them, but either of those would blow my budget for the tasting.

@Nock, as I understand it, the Scotch Whisky Association does not recognize the islands as a formal region, and omitting it allows me to do the tasting for a few bucks less! I agree with both you and @Victor that it is mostly about marketing, but since these folks are scotch novices, I thought introducing them to the regions would be appropriate.

Thanks again to all for sharing your feedback though. Great thoughts to consider!

A little update for those interested. I stuck with the Springbank 10 and Clynelish 14, but I went in new directions for the other three.

I took the suggestion of the Auchentoshan 12 for my Lowland.

For my Islay, I decided to go a little unconventional with the Laphroaig Triple Wood.

And since all of my other selections have sherry finishes, I decided on the Balvenie 12-year-old Single Barrel for my Speyside. Figured I needed at least one pure bourbon-barreled whisky in there.

Should be fun!

@AKGcandlefish great choices. I have a bottle of the Balvenie 12 Single Barrel and it is very nice. Looking forward to hearing how the tasting went.