Way late to the party here, but just to make my two cents:
LOVE the Macallans. 18 was ridiculously good, but too far out of my budget most days. The 15 Fine Oak is amazing.
Balvenie: I really have a liking to the 15 and DblWood.
Others I've enjoyed thoroughly:
Dalwhinnie - very honey aroma to it. light in color. to me, a very springtime scotch. also very minimal note of smoke/peat in the background.
Glenmorangie Nectar D'Or - honey, again. i swear i got a very subtle note of something my mind thinks of as flower pollen...this was a good thing. and vanilla. (it's been a while, but that's vaguely what i remember of it)
Glenkinchie - alcohol-forward, honey, small smoke/peat. needs a cube to relax and lessen the alcohol burn. not great, tolerable.
Laphroaig - peaty/smoke-heavy! great, once you acquire the taste for it.
Lagavulin - PEAT! campfire, more PEAT! again, acquired taste.
re: Laphroaig vs. Lagavulin -
There has long been a religious war of sorts between fans of Lagavulin vs. Laphroaig, though the discussion is much like the Coke versus Pepsi debate -most people couldn't tell the difference between the two in a blind taste test. As a result either can be considered to be a definitive Islay malt. For example Michael Jackon gives Lagavulin higher points, while Jim Murray gives a slight edge to Laphroaig.
That being said The Lagavulin IS excellent - garnering 99 points from the Beverage Tasting institute, 97 points from Wine Spectator and 95 points from Michael Jackson. This is a whisky to work your way up to. The peat can overwhelm the average palate, and the finish is smoky and sustained. It's been said so much, it's almost a cliche - Lagavulin is an acquired taste, people either love it or hate it.
I typically give my Scotch a sip neat to determine if I want to add a cube or not. I don't like the typical results I taste when adding more than one cube, though, or adding any water. I like to have that cube open up different flavors throughout my perception of the Scotch and enjoy how they change throughout the melt.
Again, just my pair of Lincolns. YMMV.