[{OF}Flying_Dutchman]

Ah and in terms of taste: very personal.

I started off with just ice and give it a little time. You need some water in there (from the ice) to release the taste properly.

I don't like it "neat" (no water or ice) but for the better (generally more $) ones I put hardly any ice in at all.

Takes some experimenting (hard work I know) to find out what works for you.

I try to read up on the different brands and then try a bottle of what sounds appealing. Been playing around with Scotches for a year or so now and finally starting to figure out what I really like.

Sometimes Scotches that sound alike in terms of tasting notes can be quite different: Lagavulin and Laphroaig seem close by description but I don't like the Laprhoaig at all (too "oily" for me)

I can just keep going on this.....