We've been reading the same discussion elsewhere; after a couple of dozen tests of different single malt products I settled on the store brand at Total Wine (actually, they say it isn't a store brand, but they buy about 95% of what that company makes, so few others carry it). The Shieldag Highland variety. I recently was in a different store poking around and found a Macleod's Islay single malt that has about the same amount of smoke and peat (and they say salt); I think it's more typical for that flavor mix in the Islay, from talking to a couple of clerks about varieties.

Anyway, the complexity and less-sweet aspects of Scotch appeal to me much more than sweet cocktails (the subject of that other discussion).