Once you reach over $100 for a bottle of Scotch whisky, you’ve arrived at the beginning of the truly good stuff. Sorry, but that’s the reality as we’re still pretty far from the coveted 20-year-old bracket in this category. Still, this is where things start to get special — so there’s a ton to adore about Scotch whisky priced between $100 and $125 per bottle.
Below, I’m calling out 12 Scotch whiskies that all freaking rule and cost just under $125. The throughline here is simple — these are all whiskies that you should know, buy, and try. I’ve included unpeated and peated malts, great blends, and one-offs that are exemplars of their respective whiskey regions. Essentially, if you try every whisky on this list, you’ll be giving yourself an advanced course in whisky knowledge and palate expansion.
This being Uproxx, these whiskies are ranked. Some of them just hit a little bit deeper than others. No matter what, you cannot miss when sampling any bottle listed below. So read through my tasting notes, find what speaks to you, and then hit those price links to snag yourself a bottle.
Let’s dive in!
- The Best Scotch Whiskies Of 2023, Ranked
- The Absolute Best Whiskeys To Chase Down This October
- The Best Whiskeys Of 2023, According To The John Barleycorn Awards
- Every Bottle Of Johnnie Walker Scotch Whisky, Power Ranked For 2023
- One Of The World’s Biggest Whiskey Influencers Shares His Favorite Pours Of 2023
12. Johnnie Walker Aged 18 Years Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $104
The Whisky:
This blend used to be called Johnnie Walker Platinum, which was also aged 18 years. You might still see some of those bottles on shelves where scotch sells slowly. This is the same whisky and comprises 18 whiskies (single grain and single malt) all of which are a minimum of 18 years old. The primary distilleries in the bottle are Blair Athol, Cardhu, Glen Elgin, and Auchroisk.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Apple chips and toffee mingle with ripe berries, old leather, and supple malts with a hint of dark brown spice mingle on the nose.
Palate: The palate is a mix of salted caramel next to marzipan and vanilla pudding with a touch of canned tangerine.
Finish: The end is sweet with a line of dark chocolate cut with dried chili flakes with an ever so slight smoked edge.
Bottom Line:
This is a great high-end version of Johnnie Walker. This is a succinct pour of whisky that delivers more creamy desserts and fruit than bold smokiness. That makes this a nice sipper over some rocks after a big meal. Likewise, you can make a great cocktail with this one if you’re looking for spice and fruit in the mix.
11. Bowmore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky “Darkfest” Aged 15 Years
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $124
The Whisky:
This bottle from Islay’s Bowmore is a 15-year-old whisky that’s a blend of American and European oak. For the first 12 years, this whisky rests in ex-bourbon barrels. For the last three years, the whisky was transferred to Oloroso sherry casks. The whisky is then finished with local spring water, bringing it down to a very approachable 86-proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a dash of chocolate malts next to rum-raisin, meaty dates, and sourdough bread crusts with a hint of butter and fig jam.
Palate: The palate has a woody vibe that’s part cedar box and part orchard wood smoking chips next to prune, dried cherry tobacco, salted pear chips, and a hint of smoked cinnamon.
Finish: The end boils down some plums and figs into a hazelnut spiced cake with a touch of oatmeal cookie, walnut, sultanas, and nutmeg leading to cinnamon-apple tobacco packed into that old cedar box.
Bottom Line:
This is where Bowmore starts to shine. The mix of old bourbon and sherry casks works wonders with the very faintly peated Islay malt. There’s a gentleness to this pour that’s enticing and draws you back again and again, especially if you’re making whiskey-forward cocktails.
10. Laphroaig Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Càirdeas Warehouse 1
ABV: 52.2%
Average Price: $104
The Whisky:
2023’s Càirdeas release celebrates the Friends of Laphroaig and how they keep the brand going. The whisky in the bottle is made from Laphroaig’s high-phenol peated malt right next to the sea on Islay. The hot spirit was then filled in first-fill limited edition single barrel Maker’s Mark bourbon barrels. The barrels were then stored in the famed four-story Warehouse 1 right next to the crashing sea until they were just right and then bottled as-is after vatting.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a huge note of smoked grainy malts next to an un-opened box of Band-Aids, peppery smoked brisket with plenty of smoked fat, and smoked sea salt counterpointed by vanilla sheet cake with a honey icing and dusted with cinnamon and nutmeg.
Palate: The palate opens with burnt yet buttery toffee next to white wildflowers, dried fennel, and rich and creamy honey smoothness and sweetness.
Finish: The end gets a little woody with a fatty smoked peppery vibe next to more toffee and a dash of seawater-washed granite.
Bottom Line:
This is a divisive whisky. You’re either going to fall in love with it from the jump or need a lot of coaxing to get your palate adapted. The seawater, green herbs, and creamy floral honey are wonderful but you have to get past big medicinal notes to get there.
It all works, in the end — trust me.
9. Highland Park 15 Years Old Viking Heart Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 44%
Average Price: $119
The Whisky:
Highland Park’s Master Whisky Maker Gordon Motion hand-picked sherry-seasoned American oak barrels of single malt to create this new expression. The whisky is then decanted/bottled in a throwback ceramic bottle from Wade Ceramics, which has been making bottles like this since the early 1800s.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Even though this is a peated whisky, the nose is all about bright notes of orange and lemon oils with a deep vanilla sauce vibe, a touch of dried heather, and old sticks of cider-soaked cinnamon.
Palate: The palate lets the smoke sneak in via grilled pineapple that turns towards smoked plums, soft and moist Christmas cake with plenty of dried fruits, and a sense of cinnamon-flecked tobacco leaves that have just been singed around the edges.
Finish: The peat sneaks in late via an almost sea salt element that lets the orange oils, vanilla, and cinnamon tobacco all mellow towards a silky finish.
The Bottom Line:
This is the peated malt that you pour for bourbon lovers. The smokiness is bold but it’s tied to familiar notes of caramel, spice, and tobacco that help this feel like a distant cousin to something deeply familiar. Pour it neat and then play with this one. It’ll be a lot of fun (and may get you hooked on smoky whisky).
8. Aberfeldy Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 16 Years Old
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $104
The Whisky:
Aberfeldy is at the heart of Dewar’s blend. The whisky here is a classic Highland whisky aged in American oak and finished in sherry casks. That whisky is then cut down to proof with water from Pitilie Burn, a bubbling stream with gold deposits next to the distillery.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Aberfeldy is renowned for its honeyed nature and this shines through on the nose with hints of clove-studded oranges, a touch of that sherried wood, and soft notes of heather, tobacco, and baking spice.
Palate: The palate holds onto the wet sherry wood while going full holiday cake with spices, nuts, dried and candied fruits, and a sweet maltiness.
Finish: The end reveals a mild note of bitter dark chocolate next to the honey and spices as it slowly fades through brandied cherries dipped in dark chocolate and layered into rich tobacco leaves.
Bottom Line:
This is just a nice sipping whisky. Sometimes that’s enough, folks.
7. Glenmorangie A Tale Of The Forest Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $119
The Whisky:
This expression from Glenmorangie’s mad scientist Master Distiller Dr. Bill Lumsden is a total departure. Dr. Bill kilned the barley (the drying process during malting) with a very old-school method using local botanicals from the Highlands. The kiln was accented with a bushel of juniper berries, birch bark, and heather flowers which layered their flavor notes into the malted barley that was used to ferment the juice that eventually was distilled, aged, and bottled in the Highlands.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This lives up to its name from the jump with a nose full of dank pine resin, fresh juniper, and dry coriander with a hint of malted rye cakes and the faintest whisper of wet campfire smoke.
Palate: The palate leans into bitter burnt orange rinds with a sense of clove buds and chinotto leaves next to oolong tea leaves cut with eucalyptus and a kiss of old oak.
Finish: That old oak and tea vibe drives the finish toward a hint of spiced malt cakes and a drop of fresh honey cut with wild sage and Scotch broom flowers with a fleeting sense of that dank pine from the nose reappearing briefly.
Bottom Line:
This is a wildly unique bottle of whisky that stuns. It’s so deep and funky but still delivers this old-school nostalgic vibe that transports you to the Highlands of Scotland on a sunny day. This is some beautiful juice that deserves your time with drops of water and re-tastings. You’ll be rewarded with a vibrant and ever-changing profile of great whisky where you feel the distiller beckoning you deeper and deeper into the forest to find more.
6. Ardbeg Corryvreckan Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $109
The Whisky:
This whisky is named after the world’s second-largest ocean whirlpool, called Corryvreckan. The whisky in the bottle is Ardbeg Ten blended with single malt that’s been aged exclusively in new French Limousin casks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a softness on the nose that leans into dark yet slightly tart berries under layers of sharp spice, wet brown sugar, and plenty of sea salt.
Palate: The palate ups the saltiness as yellow Scotch Broom flowers mingle with creamy dark chocolate, dashes of freshly cracked black pepper, and a light hint of citrus oil.
Finish: The finish is soft and creamy thanks to that dark chocolate with mild spice cut by more sea salt and a hint of ground mushroom powder with a mossy edge.
Bottom Line:
This is a boldly peated whisky that leans into earthiness above ash or medicinal vibes. The overall feel of this whisky is a gentle stroll through a mossy forest with a sense of the sea just beyond the tree line. It’s magically gentle and inviting.
5. Springbank Aged 10 Years Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $104
The Whisky:
This is the gateway to Springbank, one of the world’s most elite distilleries. The single malt is aged in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks with a 60/40 split respectively in the final blend. That blend of barrels is just kissed with iconic Campbeltown spring water and then bottled as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is smooth as can be with a nose full of bourbon vanilla, dark plums, soft toffee, and a hint of wet forest floor countering a spicy and honeyed maltiness with a hint of sagebrush.
Palate: The taste feels like an orchard in the summer full of fruit — tart, ripe, sweet, overripe — next to big notes of ground black pepper, apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks, freshly ground nutmeg, and plenty of cloves.
Finish: The finish is subtle and sweet with a good dose of salted caramel next to a whiff of dried peat with a hint of wet straw.
Bottom Line:
This is another gently sweet and inviting peated malt. There’s a clear earthiness that’s accented by deep notes of dark fruit and creamy vanilla/caramel. It’s bourbon adjacent, making this a killer prospect for bringing American whiskey drinkers over to the peated side of Scotland.
4. Kilchoman 2023 Limited Edition 100% Islay Single Farm Single Malt
ABV: $104
Average Price: 50%
The Whisky:
Kilchoman is the whisky lover’s distillery on Islay. The small family-run operation just dropped their beloved 100% Islay release. The whisky is made from barley grown on Islay (from a single farm) that’s then malted at Kilchoman with their own peat from a few steps down the road. That peated malt is then long fermented and distilled before resting in ex-bourbon casks until just right. This year’s batch yielded 13,000 bottles.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Canned brown bread and walnut loaf pop on the nose with nutmeg, clove, and plenty of fresh butter next to orange rinds, pear brandy, and a whisper of smoked sea salt over some almost floral honey.
Palate: Deep and creamy bourbon vanilla greets you on the palate with a sense of smoked toffee rolled in smoked raisins and dipping in dusty brown winter spices before that honey makes a creamy and lightly savory comeback.
Finish: Smoked lavender and freshly toasted sourdough pop at the end with more salted butter with a twinge of smokiness from an old wood-burning stove in a brick and clay kitchen from yesteryear as that lush vanilla rounds out the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is another whisky that’s just delicious. It’s so deep and varied while offering this clear sense of home and nostalgic comfort. It balances savory, creamy, and sweet with a great sense of sharp spice and soft lushness perfectly. Sip it slow and enjoy the ride.
3. The GlenDronach Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Cask Strength Batch no. 12
ABV: 58.2%
Average Price: $104
The Whisky:
Last year’s batch from Dr. Rachel Barrie at The GlenDronach is all about long aging. The whisky is left to mellow in Pedro Ximénez and Oloroso sherry casks from Andalucía, Spain. The age statement is on the bottle, but the blends tend to lean over a decade. The final mix is then bottled at cask strength to really highlight that Spanish oak.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Scoops of decadent dark chocolate powder draw you in with a hint of espresso cream, burnt orange, and marzipan with a moist sticky toffee pudding vibe next to a faint whisper of dried rose.
Palate: The palate is lush with a roasted and rich espresso bean vibe with salted dark chocolate, chinotto orange, and more rich and moist marzipan with a dash of ginger candy dipped in clove and allspice tea.
Finish: There’s a rich vanilla underbelly that smooths everything out on the end with a sense of rum raisin and faint bourbon cherry tobacco layered with soft cedar and mocha lattes.
Bottom Line:
This is nostalgia in a glass. It goes hard on the holiday vibes while delivering a deep and dark profile that goes beyond the ordinary and into the spectacular. That’s especially true if you’re coming from a rich and creamy bourbon background/palate.
2. Talisker Single Malt Scotch Whisky “The Wild Explorador” Special Release 2023
ABV: 59.7%
Average Price: $124
The Whisky:
2023’s Talisker Special Release is a unique version of the iconic whisky from Skye. Classic Talisker was finished in a trio of port casks — Ruby, White, and Tawny — before small batching and then bottling 100% as-is at cask strength. The throughline was to lean into the flavor notes of Portuguese “explorers” from the last centuries.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens has a classic Talisker with deep smoked pear and softly minerally campfire smoke next to moments of oyster liqueur before moving toward brandy-soaked prunes and mulled wine with plenty of molasses, cinnamon, and anise over a creamy sense of dark chocolate oranges.
Palate: The taste leans into that creaminess with a lush palate full of blended dates, figs, and prunes with smoke sea salt, smoldering spice barks, and the embers of an orchard bark fire on a cold and rainy day next to the sea.
Finish: The end amps up the smoke in a way that’s like restoking a campfire with fresh apple and pear logs and nutshells and then tossing on a bunch of spice barks for good measure as the sea crashes mere feet away and you settle into a big slice of mincemeat pie.
Bottom Line:
This is a divine one-off of Talisker that takes the seaside gentle malt to new heights. Every single moment of this whisky is firing on all cylinders with a deep sense of clarity and beauty. Sip this one slowly and dive deep. It’ll repay you in gorgeous nuance.
1. The Dalmore Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 14 Years
ABV: 43.8%
Average Price: $114
The Whisky:
This Highland single malt is a classic malted whisky from The Dalmore that spends 14 years mellowing. Then The Dalmore’s Master Whisky Maker Gregg Glass hand-selects specific barrels for vatting and re-barreling in very rare Pedro Ximénez casks from the House of Gonzalez Byass in Spain. Once Glass deems those barrels just right, they’re vatted, proofed, and bottled exclusively for the U.S. market.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a sense of subtle citrus — almost bitter orange and lemon — next to salted black licorice, caramel malted ice cream, toffee candies, and marzipan cake covered with poppy seeds and vanilla wafers.
Palate: The palate is pure sticky toffee pudding fresh out of the oven with a little bit of orange zest and flaked salt next to black-tea-soaked dates, sweet cinnamon, fresh nutmeg, rum-soaked caramel sauce, and a dollop of brandy butter with a twist of dark chocolate nibs.
Finish: The end leans into the dates and marzipan with a touch of spiced fig jam and prunes dipped in creamy yet very dark salted chocolate.
Bottom Line:
This whisky feels quintessential from the first sip to the last. It stands alone as a deep and beautiful sipper that hints at comfort and nostalgia without fully giving in to it. This is the best sipper at this price point with the most nuance and depth.
