What was your 1st Islay Whisky?

Laphroaig 10 year old and a few days later Smokehead. I almost stopped drinking Islay whiskies because of the last one. It is terrible.

I remember my first Laphroaig 10 a few years ago. It is amazing how one's taste buds adjust with time and experience. Non-Cask Strength Laphroaig 10 has a few bashers, I've noticed, but I still find it very everyday drinkable. I especially love how my open bottles of it just seem to get sweeter and sweeter the longer they are open. In its own flavour zone, I would describe it as mellow. It does lose smoke from the nose in the early months of bottle open though.

Lagavulin 16 - fell in love immediately, and it's still my favorite whisky. Still have an ambivalent relationship with Laphraoig 10 - sometimes I really like it, but other times it is too "industrial" tasting (maybe it depends on what I eat beforehand). Haven't tried Ardbeg yet.

Mine was actually Lagavulin 12... and it was the first single malt I ever had I believe as well. It was intense... I didn't like it at first... but I pretended to. Pretend long enough and eventually it becomes true. :)

A few months later I had a Talisker.

@RedmondBarry

I feel similar, I am always apprehensive of the Laphroaig 10 just before whenever I have it because it can be a bit bracing. Bit its good after aclimatising to that first sip. And I had another taste of Lagavulin 16 the other day and it was mind blowing (I don't have it that often, its my 'victory scotch', ie for finishing exams etc)

Lagavulin 16. It was also, like many other here it seems, my first single malt and the one that started my descent in the wonderful world of whisky.

Which reminds me, I should get a new bottle of this, pronto!

Bormore 12, followed by Bowmore 15 and Bowmore 18, then the Bruichladdich 12. You can see I took it slow on the peat...

Laphroaig 10.hooked instantly.was even the first scotch as I was a real Irish lover.soon after the first day of tasting an islay,I got a caol ila.then the ardbeg ugiedail,then the bunnahaban 12...etc.can't drink enough of islay gems!

And I remembered this morning that I had my first Islay before I started taking notes on this whole whisky thing. Laphroig 10 was actually my first.

Lagavulin DE, not sure what year it was but I bought it at Duty Free on my first Snowboarding holiday in 1997. Amazing taste that started a bit of a love affair of peaty malts. Went on to Laphroaig and the 16YO Lagavulin when the first bottle ran dry and got stuck there for many years. I've been trying to get out of my comfort zone over the last 5 years or so with some success but keep coming back for more.

Ardbeg 10 and it has been a constant companion.

@A'bunadhman, Ooops... My wife has just reminded me that the excellent Scottish Restaurant was, in fact, called 'The Clansman'. She remembers it for different reasons than me, namely their Game Pie & their wonderful Hot Rock Seafood Selection. She fondly recalls how the Maitre d' would for 'birthyday girls' play a small old fashioned clockwork mechanism (happy birthday to you) inside a pint glass: At table, it was very effective and certainly something the ladies fondly remember.

Glenlivet 12 year old

Laph quarter cask - also my first single malt. As outstanding now as it was then. A surprising number of people quote Islays as being their first experience of single malts. All or nothing I guess.

My very first Islayer was a Bowmore 8, during a poker night (I won, by the way! "peat brings good luck", I thought - I was wrong...). Then came a Caol Ila 12: nothing has ever been the same, since then. I clearly remember the enthusiastic surprise in recognizing sweetness and smokiness in the same dram...

Laphroig 10 year old. Overwhelming and confusing at first. It was nothing like any of the Irish whiskeys I had tasted. Within a couple of sips it was true love. Learning about the processes involved in its making was a window into a whole new world for me.

My first Islay was Highland Park 18, followed by Laphroaig 18 about thirty minutes later... WOW! I've since gravitated toward Laphroaig QC and Lagavulin 16 expressions and pour a dram or two of Ardbeg and Jura when I get that wild hair. It was the nose that sank it's hook in me and the finish that reeled me in.

First was a Bunnahabhain 12, which honestly didn't do much for me - a little too subtle, perhaps, compared with other whiskeys I'd tried. After a little while I moved on to Caol Ila 12, and the smokier flavor of this was much more to my taste. Still holding back on the Laphroaig/Lagavulin/Ardbeg trio until I can try in a local establishment.

@misslauren, "in for a drink, in for a bottle": soon, I think, will be your experience of the Holy Trinity. And, of course, there are scores of separate bottlings from those three.

My friend's description of Laphroaig 10 piqued my interest, and to me still sets the bar for the peat monsters.

culinaryspirits.wordpress.com/2010/08/…

I have tasted Talisker, Caol Ila and they are fantastic, but that first taste of Laphroaig still has its hook set in my mouth.

The first, and still best in my limited 'career' in this hobby, was Lagavulin 16...the "oh my" dram of my first formal tasting event. It had been preceded by Oban 14 and Talisker 10 during that evening and the Lagavulin is still at or near the top of the list of whiskies that I have tried.

Mine was a lagavulin 16, like many folks here. I've actually not replaced that first bottle for a few reasons, I want to work around different offerings first and I want a more mature and experienced palate to return to it so I can see if it still remains my favourite. I suspect it will still rank up there.

Laphroaig Quarter Cask. Exactly one year ago. Since then, I have tried the Laphroaig 10 year, Bowmore 12, Ardbeg 10, of the Islay variety. My favourite is the Laphroaig Quarter Cask, matter of fact now my favourite whisky of all. It has, for me, just the right amount of balance. Most other whiskies, I can only drink 2 or 3 drams, but the Quarter Cask - I can just keep going. Even the higher alcohol content at 48% is not apparent in the taste. And I don't add water or ice. I absolutely love this Quarter Cask! Fortunately, it is the Laphroaig most readily available here in Vancouver. Cheers, Carl

My Islay acutally brought my taste to where it is now. Whiskey was always my preferred drink, but pior to my friend Pat introducing me to smsw I didn't know much. He poured me a glass of Talisker 10 and I was hooked on the peat. From there I got my first Islay, Ardbeg Uigeadail. I loved it even more then the Talisker. Now I have started focusing on drinking and collecting the whiskies of Islay. The only 2 distilleries I'm yet to try are Bowmore and Kilchoman but I'm closing in on them.

In about an hour, Laphroaig QC :)

@UserRemoved my first was a Lagavulin 16 followed closely by Laphroaig 10. Then it was on to Ardbeg 10. I'd been a bourbon and an Irish drinker all my life but I took to the peat right away and the Islay's openned the door to all the Scotches. I may be a snob but I really do like the single malts compared to the blends I'm just not "sophisticated" enough to know why that is! Mind you I still like my Irish and my bourbons and ryes!

Lagavulin 16 baby!

My first was Laphroaig 18. HATED it!!! After Macallan 12 and 18, some Chivas and Glenfiddich, the Laphroaig was a real shocker. After struggling through the first few sips, I began to get some of the underlying flavors beyond peat and smoke. Then moved into Ardbeg Uigeadail and Alligator, Talisker and Lagavulin. Absolutely in love with the Lagavulin. A bit sweeter and smoother than other Islays, and is my "special occasion" Islay. I find that the Laphroaig Quarter Cask has a tremendous depth and complexity of flavors. It is much more than a peat/smoke blast.

Caol Ila - 12 years. Well, I wouldn't be honest if I said I loved it right from the start, but after a while I began to like the experience in that one too.

Bowmore Legend. Unfortunately.