What whiskey for Burns Supper?

[ForresterModern]

Sounds like something relatively common but not "generic" should meet your needs, as there will obviously be a variety of tastes among your guests. I assume you are desiring single malt rather than a blend, as I am not greatly experienced on the blendeds. My suggestion would be the generally 10-12 yr old varieties of Glenlivet, Glenmorangie, Glenfiddich, Macallan, Aberlour or Balvenie. Should you desire to venture a little further afield consider the basic offerings of Talisker, Oban, Cragganmore, Tobermory, Dalwhinnie, Glenfarclas, Auchentoshan, Glenkinchie, Highland Park, Laphroaig or Lagavulin, as these will be a little further from the "typical" popular single malts yet still likely in a similar or slightly higher price range and nearly as available as the first list. Should you desire to make it a more theme driven tasting you might consider acquiring various bottlings of one distillery in different finishes, in which case I would recommend trying the various bottlings of Glenmorangie (my personal favorite) Lasanta, Quinta Ruban, Sonnalta, and Finnealta which are all finish casked in different european wine butts (2 different varieties of sherry, port, and madeira casks), although with this idea your expenses would go up as these are more expensive bottlings, but truly special and contrasting. I doubt you would need or desire to go much further than the above list, although I know that others will chime in with their specific favorites as I am sure I have left many off the list.

Good luck, and I hope all goes well with the dinner. You are good person for hosting the event, and asking for help with your whisky choice to help make the event a memorable one for your guests.

By the way I used to frequent Garrettsville regularly as a youth, as I was raised in the nearby Warren, and we played the local high school in all the major sports events back in the day (read mid 1970's). Rural, but in a good way, and still a lovely part of the world. Nearby Ravenna, Newton Falls or Warren liquor stores should be able to flesh out your liquor needs quite well I would guess, if you local shop is not up to the task.

Have fun

Jeff