Scotch

[darren]

I want to buy a recently decent bottle of scotch for a pal. What do you recommend?

[Jason]

There's either Speyside or Islay, and it depends very much on personal taste. For a real flavour of the Highlands, many say you can't go far wrong with a bottle of Talisker, distilled in the tiny village of Talisker on the Isle of Skye. It's peaty, aromatic and warming.

[Vendetta]

A decent guidebook to malts, as there is such a choice. I wouldn't recommend Talisker to anyone who didn't like it (er) as it's so distinctive. I prefer a Lowland malt like Rosebank or Glengoyne, or Highland Park (from Orkney).

[chaperon2005]

Oban is very good.