How to buy a good Single malt Scotch

There are a great many single malts to choose from these days. Purchasing wisely so that you will enjoy every drop can be fun.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 
    

   Research and resources.
   
   Certainly you can walk into any liquor store and there will be a selection of scotch, even several Single Malts. Glenfiddich and Glenlevit are very popular in liquor stores and have been for years. You won't go wrong with those choices but what if you have many more choices and want to try something more. (MacAllan. Always MacAllan. Never go wrong with MacAllan...)
   
   One place to start is the doyen of Scotch, recently passed Michael Jackson. Not the Rock Star. He has enough vices in his life, drinking scotch is probably too much of a man's drink for him anyways. And not the host of talk radio. No, this other gentleman (the second one I mentioned is a gentleman, the first seems to be something else) wrote about the elixir of life, Usquebaugh.
   
   The last edition (the fifth) of his tome Complete Guide to Single Malt Scotch is worthy of any scotch aficionados library. Over 400 pages on scotch and 1000 single malts.
   
   But this tome is not alone. You can get magazines on the subject, The Malt Advocate http://www.maltadvocate.com/, and Whisky Magazine http://www.whiskymag.com/ can both be used for resources.
   
   There are also scotch societies to join. (But you may want to have purchased a few of the blessed elixir first)
   Scotch Malt Whisky Society http://www.smws.com?
   Classic Malts http://www.malts.com/
   Single Malt Whisky Association http://www.smwsa.com/
   
   Reading about taste though doesn't impart taste.

2. There are some strong flavor profiles in scotch. You might remember iodine as one of them. Probably a flavor profile that would make you wonder why you would want to drink scotch.
   
   But to really put in perspective there are the smokies and the others. 2 profiles.
   
   I may have simplified that. Let me expand.
   
   There are 2 profiles.
   
   The smokies are Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, Talisker. The first three come from Islay and Talsiker from Skye. You can see a theme there, they are islands. That sea air has an effect on the whisky as it sits in the cask maturing and you taste it in the product. Not everyone like the flavor. Most don't, but if you do, then you have opened yourself up to the very best of the whiskies. (My opinion I like 'em.)
   
   Then there are all the others. Fruity, Flowery, Peaty, Nutty. There are many flavors, but all more subtle then the strong smoke flavor from the above. And Talisker, from an the island that Drambuie comes to us from also, has a different profile of smokiness than the three from Islay.
   
   The Classic Malts has a Flavour profile chart here:
   
   http://www.malts.com/en-us/learnaboutwhisky/TheFlavourMap.htm

3. 
    

   Research and Flavor Profiles leaves us with Cask or Not. Choosing a Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch is not for the uninitiated. So don't do it.
   
   Blenders insist that mixing all the single malts is good to. But that is another article. Here you want to learn about getting a great single malt. If you get a cask strength, you will be wanting to add water, so that the flavor deepens. But you don't want to try this early in your whisky experience. Besides the costs go up for cask strength.

4. Getting the booze...
   
   You have done some research, you have decided on some flavor profiles, you probably have a budget (the allowance from your significant other to spend on this frivolity. They'll just never understand...)
   
   You get to the store. You may get lucky and have a great selection, and a knowledgeable clerk, but you may not.
   
   The more expensive a scotch is, does not mean that it is a better scotch. (That is the way with most things.) So how are you going to go about actually making that selection now. Remember step 1. That research had tasting notes.
   
   If you want something light, it may have steered you to a GlenFarclas, or a Glenmorangie. Your taste ay let you venture to the smokies (yes, another convert) or you may want to try one of the many Speyside, or a selection being pushed by one of the big retailers (The Classic Malts are classic because Diageo tells us they are so.)
   
   If it is your first time trying a single malt, Glenfiddich or Glenlivet, The MacAllan. The big names are a great way to start. Oban, Dalwhinnie, Balvenie, Bowmore are great others to try.
   
   I can't name all the single malts, nor steer you to one better than another. But Slainte. Enjoy your journey!