Scotch,
Love it! I am working my way through a bottle of Buchanan’s now. Do you have a favorite label to suggest?
My favorite scotch is Glenkinchie, there are better scotches out there but it’s the one hits my pleasure centers the best, it’s also VERY aromatic. Of course everybody worships at the altar of Talisker, and with good reason, but there’s plenty of great ones out there, Laphroaig, Balvenie, Dalwhinnie, Bunnahabain. You could go bankrupt trying to try them all. And of course the best part about Scotch, to me, is that they all taste very different straight than they do with water, so really every scotch you buy is two different scotches. Usually when I’m drinking scotch I pour two fingers, drink about half, then bring it up a bit more with water (just a splash if it’s not distillers strength, back up to two fingers if it is), that way I get to have “both” scotches.
My favorite is 12 y/o Glenlivet (my Scots-American buddy, though, loves Glen Morangie). I have also been told that REAL Scots Scotch drinkers prefer 12 y/o to 18 or higher because the complexities and flavors age-out though they do become smoother.