Good scotch isn’t cheap. We know that. But how much do you really need to spend? Well, that depends on what you’re looking for. Expensive whiskey — scotch or not — is often about finding the special oak cask finishes, old age statements, and unique blends that you simply won’t get to taste otherwise. It’s about buying and drinking something truly special. And sure, it’s also a little bit about showing off that you really know what the good stuff is (and can get it).
Still, not all Scotch whisky is created equal, and it’s not all worth the price of entry. This is why we feel duty-bound to share 10 bottles that are worth the price tag. These are the bottles that truly transcend. They’re rare but they’re also… just f*cking delicious. Frankly, that combination is paramount when selecting a Scotch whisky at this price point.
While all of these bottles are great whiskies, I did rank them. I’d argue that 10 through six are all bangers but a bit more niche. The top five are all that perfect mix of fleeting and delectable that they transcend beyond any price-tag-based hesitation. Find the one that speaks to you and hit that price link to see if you can find it in your area. Let’s dive in!
- The 50 Best Scotch Whiskies Of 2022, Ranked
- The Best Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whiskies Under $100, Ranked
- The Absolute Best Scotch Whisky Between $60-$70, Ranked
- Single Malt Whiskeys From Around The World, Blind Tasted And Ranked
- We Blind Tasted Single Malt Whiskies From All Over The World To Find A Champion
10. Lindores Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky MCDXCIV
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $300
The Whisky:
This Lowlands whisky is all about tradition and patience in a nearly-thousand-year-old abbey setting. The wash is made from Kingdom of Fife barley with an extra-long fermentation period. After distillation, the juice is loaded into ex-bourbon barrels, ex-wine barriques (casks from Bordeaux), and sherry butts. Those barrels are batched and blended before proofing and bottling as-is without filtration or coloring.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A pile of grilled tropical fruits greets you on the nose with pineapple and mango being the most distinct alongside wintry spices, a touch of vanilla, old leather gloves, and a hint of sweet oak.
Palate: The taste largely follows that path and layers in fresher orchard fruits, some dried-out dates, more dark spice, and a touch of dry vanilla tobacco.
Finish: The end is a distillation of the sugars from the tropical fruits with a line of spicy malts tying it all together.
Bottom Line:
This is a real whisky nerd whisky. This is the bottle you break out when you have some hardcore whisky fans over who you can regal with stories of rare Lowland whisky, speculate about old abbey monks, and go deep on finishing barrels. Oh yeah, the whisky is tasty and unique too, which is sure to spark more conversation.
9. Teaninich Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 17 Years
ABV: 55.9%
Average Price: $329
The Whisky:
Teaninich is one of the rarest drops from the Diageo distilleries. There is the Flora and Fauna edition and this 2016 limited edition. The rest of the whisky goes into Johnnie Walker. This drop was comprised of malt aged in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry and then bottled at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is very Highland on the nose of orange marmalade on butter wheat toast bespeckled with pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, and maybe a sunflower seed or two next to vanilla candies wrapped in white wax paper and a touch of canned brown bread.
Palate: The palate has an apple cider vibe with hints of that brown bread sweetness leading towards the syrup from a can of peaches, eggnog spices, and a hint of cedar.
Finish: The finish is soft and slow and leans into the peaches as the spice gently fades towards apple-cider-soaked cinnamon sticks and allspice berries.
Bottom Line:
If you can find this, you’re going to be in for a treat. It’s really one of those brands that you’ll wish had so many more expressions on the shelf.
8. Cardhu Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 16 Years 2022 Special Release
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $353
The Whisky:
This Speyside unpeated malt was aged in refill and re-charred American oak bourbon barrels for 16 years. That whisky was then refilled into Jamaican pot still rum-seasoned casks for a final rest before vatting and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a definite sense of aura of funky rumminess with a hint of barrel char and grilled tropical fruits with plenty of brown spices — clove, allspice, nutmeg — surrounded by creamy lemon meringue pie, mango lassi, and freshly washed sheets flapping in the summer breeze (it’s wildly engaging and kind of weird but I love it).
Palate: The palate has a rummy butterscotch syrup mood with spiced rum cocktails cut with banana bread, walnuts, and brown butter with a hint of brandy-soaked oak staves.
Finish: The end has a light black pepperiness with more of that rummy barrel funk and soft and sweet (not acidic) tropical fruit.
Bottom Line:
This had a clean and deep flavor profile. The sweetness was tied to a lot of great fruit and spice with a classic maltiness. In the end, this is a pretty easy-going sipper that’s sure to please.
7. Ledaig Aged 18 Years Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46.3%
Average Price: $310
The Whisky:
Hailing from the Tobermory Distillery on Mull, this brand is all about the peat. The whisky was made to mimic the hardcore peated whiskies of the 1700s that were made in the Inner Hebrides. That heavily peated barley is mixed with local spring water for fermentation. Finally, the whisky spends 18 years in used oak before a finishing spell in Oloroso sherry casks.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This opens with a nose full of smoked apple and pear chips with a woody underbelly next to dates and prunes swimming in dark spices and honey with a touch of sweet cherrywood.
Palate: The palate leans into the spice with a mix of ground ginger, allspice, clove, nutmeg, and maybe some mace as fatty pork belly smokiness adds some serious depth and creaminess.
Finish: The finish has a malty chocolate vibe that leads to more smoky fat, woody spice, and dark leather fruit on the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is one of those whiskies that if you know, you know. And if you know, you know how great it is. If not, it’s time to grab a bottle and dig in.
6. Octomore 13.3 Edition Aged 5 Years Super Heavily Peated Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 61.1%
Average Price: $346
The Whisky:
This new limited edition Octomore from Bruichladdich is all about Islay. The whisky is made from heavily peated malts grown on the island (most malts are shipping in from the mainland) back in 2015. In 2016, the whisky was distilled right by the sea at Bruichladdich and then loaded into first-fill, ex-American whiskey casks and second-fill European oak casks from the Rivesaltes region of France and the Ribera del Duero region of Spain. After five years, the casks were vatted and then bottled completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is a subtle mix of salted caramel with sweet caramel malts, apricot jam, gingerbread, and a touch of nasturtium with a whisper of smoked apples and pears before the ashen peat starts sneaking in with a sense of a BBQ pork rib rack smothered in BBQ sauce.
Palate: The palate opens with smoked brown sugar next to rich marzipan with a hint of Almond Joy next to Kiwi boot wax, orange marmalade, dried roses, lemon pepper, and a hint of oyster liquor.
Finish: The end has a caramel maltiness that’s just kissed with sea salt and potpourri cut with mild dark spices and more of that marzipan, finishing on a light fruit soda vibe.
Bottom Line:
This is the whisky for the peat-seeking whisky nerds out there. That said, this is a nuanced and subtle peated malt that has so much more than just “smoke” or “ashiness” on the palate. If you can get past that (or if you love it), you’ll be treated to a truly deep and fun whisky experience. And if the peat is too much, try it with a large ice cube. It’ll calm down the harsher edges of the ash and sea brine while amping up the creaminess of the nuttiness, orange, and caramel.
5. Compass Box Delos Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 49%
Average Price: $317
The Whisky:
This brand-new release from Compass Box came off the bottling lines in December of 2022 and is hitting shelves right now. The blend in the bottle is a mix of single malts from the Imperial Distillery, Miltondu Distillery, and Glen Elgin Distillery with a single grain whisky from Cameronbridge Distillery.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a stewed pear with a deep sense of orchards in the sun next to bright pineapple, burnt orange, and a lush sense of vanilla buttercream.
Palate: Tart berries lead to macadamia nut cookies with a hint of floral honey, oolong tea, and savory guava with a touch of honeyed malt.
Finish: That honeyed malt drives the finish with a creamy nuttiness and a touch of spiced and creamy chai.
Bottom Line:
This is a stellar blended whisky. It’s so easygoing and luxurious. Again, I get that it’s spendy, but you’re not going to see this blend like this again until next year so act now.
4. MaltyVerse First Edition 30-Year-Old Single Cask Whisky
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $399
The Whisky:
The first-ever whisky released as a comic book — and available in the U.S. right now — is way more than just a gimmick. The whisky in this bottle is a super-rare 30-year-old whisky from the now-shuttered Cambus Distillery in Scotland. That means that you’re never seeing this whisky again. The actual juice was aged for three decades in first-fill ex-sherry butts (huge 500-liter barrels) and then bottled in 2021 with a touch of proofing water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The opens with a dried fruit salad brimming with brandy-soaked dried cherries with a hint of tartness to them, rum-soaked raisins, stewed plums, Earl Grey-soaked dates, and some prunes swimming in cinnamon syrup spiked with cloves, allspice, and star anise next to a hint of oakiness by way of an old dirt cellar floor.
Palate: The palate leans into the dried fruit while layering in mulled wine spices with a sour yet sweet edge next to a hint of minced meat pie next to Christmas nut cake with plenty of fatty nuts and a hint of fig pudding.
Finish: The end opens with a hint of red peppercorn spice next to dried vanilla pods, a twinge of date pits, and a whisper of huckleberry tobacco leaves.
Bottom Line:
Comic book tie-in aside, this is a superb pour of whisky that would stand up to any whisky pro’s palate and give them a new thrill.
3. Glenfiddich Grand Cru Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 23 Years
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $359
The Whisky:
It’s all in the name of this yearly special release from Glenfiddich. The whisky in the bottle matures for over 23 years in both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks before it’s vatted and then filled into French Cuvée casks that held Champagne. That whisky is then cut down to proof and bottled just in time for the holiday season.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This is straight-up classic malt on the nose with stewed apples and pears with a slight tartness and floral impression over a buttery brioche with a hint of maple woodiness.
Palate: The palate is lush and supple with a vanilla foundation and layers of pear candy, old toffees, creamed honey, and orchard wood with a sweet side.
Finish: The end has a pear and apple skin ambiance that leads to barks, cores, and stems with soft floral honey and a tiny bit of proofing water.
Bottom Line:
If you looked up Scotch whisky (unpeated) in the dictionary, this bottle might be there as the prime example of the style. It’s delicious and deeply flavored for the experts while still being 100% accessible, even to a new whisky drinker. It’s a wonderful balancing act and something that you can go back to again and again.
2. Compass Box Ultramarine Blended Scotch Whisky
ABV: 51%
Average Price: $350
The Whisky:
This new whisky from Compass Box is part of the Extinct Blends Quartet they’ve been releasing. The blend is about 50% malt whiskies from Caol Ila and Glendullan distilleries and grain whiskies from Cameronbridge and Girvan distilleries and 50% malt and grain whiskies from seven other lots from all over Scotland. The end result is bottled as-is without coloring, filtration, or proofing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a light sense of briny fruitiness on the nose with a sweet toffee candied malt, light pine varnish, and a hint of smoked pear and apple woods.
Palate: The palate has a nuttiness that leans toward smoked pecans and marzipan with a light feel of minced meat pies cut with dark spices and just a whisper of vanilla that leads back to mild earthy peatiness with a whisper of smoked brisket fat.
Finish: The end is all about stewed plums with a rum-raisin and winter spice feel.
Bottom Line:
Compass Box is always ready with something big and enticing, and this whisky hits every high mark the blending house is known for.
1. Ardbeg Traigh Bhan Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky 19 Years Old
ABV: 46.2%
Average Price: $360
The Whisky:
This is Ardbeg’s yearly release of special batches of 19-year-old peaty malt. The whisky is Ardbeg’s signature, heavily peated whisky that’s bottled during a “haar.” That’s a thick and briny foggy morning on Islay, which imparts that x-factor into the whisky before it goes into the bottle.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A soft smokiness comes from smoldering lime leaves that lead to a hint of sour cream bespeckled with fennel seeds and wrapped up in cold-smoked salmon with a hint of pine resin and black tea in the background of the nose.
Palate: The palate has this soft and sweet hint of grilled pineapple that works the taste toward salted dark chocolate fudge, orange zest, and dried lavender with a whisper of wet granite and sea-soaked charcoal.
Finish: The end has a slight sweet ash vibe that’s more fruity than peaty with a sense of seawater-soaked wood smoldering away and roasting some marshmallows.
Bottom Line:
Ardbeg hit a pinnacle with their 19-year Traigh Bhan yearly limited release. It’s a masterpiece of peated audaciousness and one of the best peated malts from Islay, full stop.
