We are both grateful for each other's friendship, which is forever. I just want to do something nice for him, which he doesn't expect or even anticipate. He's an old-school American, a dying breed. Anything I can do to make him happy I will do; it's not about the money, but I don't want to buy him something he will not enjoy.
Laphroaig is my personal choice and was my first introduction to single malt as a boy of 14 or 15 at my dad and uncles lumber mill after work. It is decidedly a characteristic flavor, which one either loves or hates. I have had many kinds of single malts, but it is still my pallets preference. You may need to hover with a 10 or maybe a 15 year to stay under the 100 dollar mark. Perhaps even a bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask is doable, depending upon the aging. At the end of the day a friend is a friend any 10 year plus single malt may be fine and welcomed.
Laphroaig has been the only whisky to carry the Royal Warrant of the Prince of Wales (the 15-year-old is reportedly his favourite scotch whisky), which was awarded in person during a visit to the distillery in 1994