Listen, it’s perfectly okay if you scoff at spending over $500 on a bottle of booze. Beloved whisk(e)y or not. It sounds fundamentally ridiculous. But so are all things that become collectible and (thereby) unattainable. We’re all filling a void with stuff that pleases us — from travel to booze to food to shirts with box logos to mushrooms. Spend responsibly, but it’s absurd to pretend that one luxury purchase is somehow more meaningful than another.
This price point is where scotch and bourbon diverge fairly dramatically with regards to what you’re actually getting. The Scotch whisky below doesn’t cost this much because of the whiskey hype machine. The cost is (mostly) due to spending decades in tiny warehouses where very little juice actually survives. It’s rare and thereby pricey, but not artificially so. Paying nearly $1,000 for a 12 or 15-year-old bourbon from Kentucky with an MSRP of $150 just isn’t the same thing.
The ten Scotch whiskies featured below are absolutely exquisite if you’re financially able to spend almost a month’s rent on a bottle of whisky. Click on the prices to give one of these a shot (or add them to your vault).
The Glenrothes 25
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $582
The Whisky:
This whisky from The Glenrothes Soleo Collection was aged in sherry casks that held sherry made from sun-dried grapes. The juice is then built to highlight those sherry casks before it’s cut with soft mineral water and bottled in The Glenrothes iconic bulbous bottles.
Tasting Notes:
This one sneaks up on your senses with subtle nods towards mango and pineapple by way of dry cedar bark and a touch of rummy spice. The palate veers away from the fruit towards a rich and vibrant salted caramel vanilla ice cream with a crunchy waffle cone maltiness next to a flourish of dried lavender on a sunny day. The end really holds onto the floral edge as it slowly fades away through the sweetness of the caramel all the way back to the acidic notes of the pineapple.
Bottom Line:
“Well-rounded” would be an understatement. The fruitiness, floral, and sweet/savory aspects are so engaging that you’ll want to make this an everyday sipper.
Orphan Barrel Forager’s Keep
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $590
The Whisky:
This was Diageo’s first Orphan Barrel from Scotland (they usually focus on long-forgotten bourbons). The juice in this bottle is a 26-year-old single malt from the long-shuttered and now-demolished Pittyvaich distillery. So not only are you getting a super rare and old whisky, you’re getting something that we’ll never see again.
Tasting Notes:
The nose draws you in with sharp green apples nestled in loose straw in wicker baskets in a sunny orchard with a throughline of light vanilla cream. The apple and vanilla mellow out into an almost cream soda note on the palate, as a rush of orange oils and wet cedar spice things up. The end adds in a dry cedar and apple tobacco vibe with a hint of silken maltiness.
Bottom Line:
That shaggy-haired Scottish Highlander cow on the label is a great example of how this whisky will make you feel: Chilled the f*ck out. Taking a sip of this soon-to-be-gone whisky, you get a warm feeling of, “It’s all good, man…” It’s really that silky smooth.
Johnnie Walker King George V
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $600
The Whisky:
This blend from Johnnie Walker is a celebratory Blue Label variant. Part of what you’re paying for is the extinct Port Ellen distillery juice in the bottle. Another part is that all the whiskies in the blend are from distilleries that were running when King George V reigned in the U.K. between 1910 and 1936. Then, of course, there’s the bespoke flint glass decanter that has its own serial number (don’t throw it away!).
Tasting Notes:
The nose opens with a delicate dance between honeyed almonds dusted with coarse salt, dark chocolate just kissed with vanilla, and an orange-honey sweet smokiness. The taste builds on that orange-honey vibe with a touch of rose water and marzipan as the dark chocolate sharpens its bitterness and the smoke moves far into the background. The end is like pure velvet with a bright fresh rose note next to the final slow fade of smoked oranges and almonds.
Bottom Line:
This is a very delicate entry in the wide pantheon of Johnnie Walker. Given the combination of an extinct whisky in the blend and a bespoke decanter, it’s easy to see why this one costs what it does.
Talisker 25
ABV: 45.8%
Average Price: $600
The Whisky:
This whisky is a marriage of American bourbon barrels, Spanish sherry casks, and Talisker’s seaside location. The whiskies in this single malt spend a minimum of 25 years resting in old bourbon and sherry barrels a few short steps from the sea in the Isle of Skye. Talisker’s tiny warehouse feels a bit like an old pirate ship that’s seen too many sea battles and that aura is imbued into every barrel as it matures.
Tasting Notes:
This one opens with a note of wet wildflowers next to sweet beeswax candles (unlit) with hints of murky apple cider, creamy chocolate, and a whisper of briny campfire smoke. The taste really brings out the wooden beams of the Talisker warehouse with notes of sea salt next to cobwebs and wet moss that’s all counterpointed by a blossoming wisteria, orange tobacco, and a little bit more of that campfire smoke lurking in the background. The end holds onto the florals as it slowly fades away, leaving you with a wisp of smoke, a mist of sea spray, and a touch of that orange.
Bottom Line:
One of the best experiences of my professional whisky career was drinking this on the Isle of Skye while looking out over the sea. There’s not really anything that can top that when it comes to whisky moments. And that’s what this whisky is … it’s a moment that will mean something from the first sip you take.
Oban 21
ABV: 58.5%
Average Price: $600
The Whisky:
Oban remains one of the most important and quaintest distilleries in Scotland. The tiny distillery, tucked between a huge rock wall and the sea, lets this juice rest for at least 21 years in former bourbon barrels and second-fill ex-sherry barrels. The use of well-used barrels, imparts a very subtle flavor and texture into the whisky, allowing it to be bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a holiday vibe from the get-go with this dram, as ginger cookies mingle with stewed apples, plenty of eggnog spice, and creamy bourbon vanilla whipped cream on the nose. The palate amps up those spices and brings along a marzipan nuttiness next to a slight malt, ripe pear, and almost savory herbal note. A touch of salted caramel by way of saltwater taffy arrives late and the fade takes its time, leaving you with a touch of orange, fruit, caramel, and spice.
Bottom Line:
The 2018 version of this is my all-time favorite dram of whisky. I tend to drink about 1/4 of the bottle per year. If you look at it that way, $600 over four years is equal to a $150 bottle of whisky per year. That feels much more manageable … in my head, at least.
The Balvenie Single Barrel 25
ABV: 47.8%
Average Price: $700
The Whisky:
Malt Master David Stewart hand-selects these Balvenie barrels for bottling. He searches through refill ex-bourbon barrels that are 25-years-old to find one that’s exactly right according to his legendary abilities. The whisky is then touched with a drop of water to help highlight the flavors and textures Stewart is looking for.
Tasting Notes:
This draws deeply from woody holiday spices that are stored in an old cedar box that once held honey-dipped cigars. A flourish of orchard fruit arrives by way of spicy stewed pie filling and a honey tobacco sharp-yet -weet buzz that leads towards a silky — almost … calm — mouthfeel. The finish holds onto the honey as notes of vanilla husks, dried wildflowers, stewed pears, and more of that velvet honey slowly fade away.
Bottom Line:
Each single barrel release is never more than 300 bottles, making this a rare find. This really is also a chance to get into the head (and olfactory) of a true master and innovator of Scotch whisky.
Glenfiddich 30
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $768
The Whisky:
This whisky spends 30 years resting in Glenfiddich’s warehouses under the watchful eye of their team. Then Malt Master Brian Kinsman handpicks minium 30-year-old whiskies matured in former bourbon and sherry casks to build this astounding single malt.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a plummy spiced jam element on the nose that leads towards an old wooden cutting board that’s been used to cut bread for decades. That mild woodiness carries through to the palate as bright floral honey arrives with a touch of orange oils, savory figs, and soft vanilla tobacco leaves next to velvet malts. The end comes back around to that spicy plum jam and soft wood, as creamed honey arrives as a final note on the slow fade.
Bottom Line:
There are whiskies in this single malt that reach back into the 1980s. That’s an incredible amount of time for a whisky to survive without simply evaporating away. This is a special dram that somehow survived those three decades, and did so in a way that makes it taste absolutely delicious.
Highland Park 25
ABV: 45.7%
Average Price: $855
The Whisky:
This whisky from the far north of Scotland, up on the Orkney Islands, is all about intensity and time. The juices spend at least 25 years in old sherry casks, used American oak, and former bourbon casks. The barrels are painstakingly watched over for all those years and then married into this expression.
Tasting Notes:
Imagine a bright yet tart and sweet red berry crumble with hints of nutmeg and allspice, touches of brown sugar and butter clumps, and a sprinkling of crushed walnuts on the nose. Then comes a drizzle of dark chocolate sauce and a spray of vanilla cream on the palate with a lingering echo of wet peat by way of floral honey. The sweetness moves more towards a brown-butter toffee as the sip fades away through a thin line of peat next to a touch more of those walnuts and that spice.
Bottom Line:
Highland Park is a great bridge between the world of smoke and sweet when it comes to Scotland. This leans far more into the sweet with a faint reminder of smoke, which makes it very accessible (to drink, not price-wise).
Mortlach 21 Rare By Nature 2020 Release
ABV: 56.9%
Average Price: $868
The Whisky:
Mortlach is a Dufftown icon. The juices in this bottle are single malts that are small-batched and then refilled into former Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry seasoned casks for final maturation. The whisky was then bottled at cask strength, allowing you a full vision of what was in the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with a holiday cake feel with plenty of candied fruits, spices, dried fruits, and nuts next to a touch of cream soda and a line or two of rich toffee syrup. The palate builds on the holiday cake vibe with chili-infused dark chocolate next to hints of ripe cherries and plums with a light echo of dried tobacco and cedar. The end is not too long and leaves you with a silky mouthfeel and a spicy warmth.
Bottom Line:
This is a very rare and phenomenal whisky that’s only slightly marked up from its $750 MSRP. Is it worth it? Yes. This is something we might not ever see again. Plus, the stag on the packaging is pretty boss.
Glen Moray Mastery
ABV: 52.3%
Average Price: $870
The Whisky:
Master Distiller Graham Coull created this expression using five whiskies dating back to 1978. The whisky was created to celebrate Glen Moray’s 120th anniversary while reaching back into the distillery’s history. The juice was vatted and then bottled at cask strength, allowing the craft of the distillery and warehouse managers to shine through in each sip.
Tasting Notes:
This opens with warm scones with creamed butter and red berry jams next to a hint of soft, almost warm, cedar and a dusting of eggnog spices. Those spices drive the palate towards a marzipan nuttiness next to flourishes of salted caramels, floral honey, and a dash of espresso beans. The finish dries out with raisins and almonds leading back towards the red jam and a bit more of that warming spice.
Bottom Line:
There were only 1,000 bottles of this made. So, it might be hard to find in your region. Still, it’s one of those drams that are just … balanced. Everything is in its place and means something. It’s rounded and so damn easy to drink.
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