The weekend is over and Valentine’s Day is basically here. That means that you’re probably going to be looking for that perfect gift so that you’re not scrambling on Tuesday during your lunch break. And what better gift is there than a fine bottle of whiskey for your special someone?
None, I say. To that end, I’m going to do some of the heavy lifting for you and name 20 whiskeys that will make a great gift this Valentine’s Day.
Below, I’m calling out bottles across bourbon, rye, Irish whiskey, Scotch, and Japanese whisky categories that flat-out wow (so there’s no need for a ranking here). I’ve broken these whiskeys down by price point between $0 and $100, $100 and $250, and $250 and up to give you a chance to get everything from a casual gift to something truly magnificent for your crush or partner.
That means then that some of these bottles are going to cost a mint and be a little harder to find depending on where you are in the country. My best advice is to read through the tasting notes, find a bottle that speaks to that special person in your life, and then click that price link to see if you can get it wherever you live.
Good luck!
$0-$100 — The “Hello, Lover” Bottles
Fortuna Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 51%
Average Price: $84
The Whiskey:
This whiskey — a revival of a centuries-old dead brand — is from the new company founded by Heaven Hill’s Andrew Shapira with partners Pablo Moix and Peter Nevenglosky, based around the Rare Character Whiskey shingle. The whiskey in the bottle is rendered from six barrels of six-year-old whiskey that’s expertly batched and bottled with just a touch of local Kentucky water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Fresh orange blossom and nasturtiums mingle on the nose with honeycomb next to stewed plums with hints of clove and allspice.
Palate: The palate is luxurious with a sense of salted caramel, cherry Dr. Pepper, and sticky toffee pudding with plenty of winter spice, dark orange zest, brandy butter, and black-tea-soaked dates.
Finish: The end has a sense of plum pudding with burnt sugars and orange tobacco kissed with star anise and clove, rolled up with wild sage and cedar bark, and wrapped in old leather pouches.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This whiskey is a bourbon lover’s dream. This is the sort of bottle you buy for someone who loves quintessential bourbon but wants the best there is right now.
Lagavulin Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Offerman Charred Oak Cask Aged 11 Years
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $87
The Whisky:
This brand-new release is the third collaboration between Lagavulin and Nick Offerman. This time around, the team at Lagavulin took 11-year-old malt and finished it in heavily charred casks that used to hold bourbon and red wine. Those barrels were then batched and built around flavor notes that pair perfectly with a steak dinner.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a rich peatiness that’s tied to pecan chocolate clusters and dried cranberries with a dusting of sea salt, burnt orange zest, and fine nutmeg.
Palate: The palate dips those red tart berries in dark salted chocolate with cinnamon bark and clove buds next to espresso cream and a whisper of malty vanilla wafers with fresh honey in between.
Finish: The end has this enigmatic mix of smoked toffee, salted black licorice, and brandied cherries wrapped in cinnamon-laced tobacco and folded into an old cedar box.
Who It’s Perfect For:
Thanks to streaming, Parks & Rec lives on in all of our hearts. That combined with the fact that this is an excellent and nuanced whisky that’s built for an American palate makes this is great peated single malt to get for Valentine’s Day.
Bardstown Bourbon Company Origin Series Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished in Toasted Cherry Wood and Oak Barrels
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $69
The Whiskey:
This whiskey — from Bardstown Bourbon Company’s own Origin Series — is their classic 95/5 rye that’s aged for almost five years. Then the whiskey is finished with alternating toasted American oak and toasted cherry wood staves in the barrel. Once the whiskey is just right, it’s batched, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is classic with fresh cherry layered with nasturtiums, cinnamon sticks, and soft cedar planks just kissed with clove, nutmeg, and anise before light red peppercorns and brandy-soaked cherries dipped in salted dark chocolate kick in.
Palate: The palate follows the nose’s lead with a lush mouthfeel that’s full of spicy stewed fruits and ciders mixing with creamy vanilla and nutty bases over subtle chili pepper spiciness far in the rear of the taste.
Finish: The end pushed the woody spices toward an apple cider/choco-cherry tobacco mix with a cedar box and old leather vibe tying the whole taste together.
Who It’s Perfect For:
If you have a rye whiskey fan in your life, then this is the play. This rye is a unique and delicious bottle that works wonders in food pairings, easy sipping, and mixing into great cocktails.
Glenmorangie The Nectar d’Or Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $80
The Whisky:
This dram from Glenmorangie is a much-loved Highland malt. The juice is matured in ex-bourbon barrels for an undisclosed number of years. The whisky is then transferred to French Sauternes barrels which held sweet dessert wines where it spends two more years finishing.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: This has that classic “shortbread cut with lemon and vanilla” vibe that makes some single malts so approachable.
Palate: The sip has a buttery toffee nature that’s layered with subtle oak, mild brown spices, and more fruits tied into a creamy pudding body.
Finish: The spice then leans a little towards ginger with that buttery shortbread as it slowly fades out.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This is just good unpeated single malt. It’s classic, so easy to drink, and offers a great depth that’s iconic for a reason.
Basil Hayden Red Wine Cask Finish Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $68
The Whiskey:
Freddie Noe — Beam’s eighth-generation Master Distiller — created this expression by blending classic Basil Hayden with bourbon partially aged in California red wine casks. The resulting batch is then proofed down and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a hint of orange zest on the nose with sour mulled wine spices — star anise, cardamom, cinnamon — next to Cherry Coke and vanilla cake with white frosting.
Palate: The palate is soft yet creamy with a nutty spiced cake vibe next to zucchini bread with a dollop of butter next to tart-dried berries dipped in brandy with a hint of dark cacao in the background.
Finish: The end is pretty short (low-proofed) and finishes with a sense of old oak staves soaked in sour red wine with a dash of burnt orange and dried winter spice rounding things out.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This marries the world of California red wine with Kentucky bourbon. It’s a great match and a good gift for any hardcore red wine lover looking to get into bourbon thanks to a low ABV and easygoing demeanor.
Aberlour A’bunadh Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 56.2%
Average Price: $95
The Whisky:
A’bunadh (ah-boon-arh) means “the original” in Gaelic and the whisky in this Speyside bottle represents that idea for Aberlour. The whisky is matured in old Oloroso sherry casks exclusively. The whisky then goes into the bottle at cask strength, unfussed with.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: That sherry plumminess is evident right up top, with hints of bright orange oils, clumps of dark chocolate, honey, and nuts, and a hint of oak.
Palate: The taste shines with notes of dark, ripe cherries, prunes, more bright orange zest, dark chocolate, and a good measure of svelte vanilla.
Finish: The slow finish leaves you with a creamy mouthfeel next to bitter chocolate next to sweet cherries and plums, all of which lead towards a warming spice on the tongue at the end.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This is a great stepping stone from bold bourbon to deep and bold unpeated Scotch malt whisky. It’s big and brash on the palate but also sweet, nutty, and velvety. This is a great one.
Frank August Small Batch Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 50%
Average Price: $66
The Whiskey:
The first whiskey from Frank August is a sourced bourbon. The juice is made in Kentucky, where it’s also aged. The team at Frank August then takes roughly 10 to 15 barrels per batch and builds this bourbon painstakingly to fit their desired flavor profile. The whiskey is then lightly proofed down to 100 proof before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is pure classic bourbon with hints of salted caramel with a twinge of soft grains next to spicy cherry syrup, a whisper of sour apple, and a touch of aged oak staves soaked in mulled wine.
Palate: The palate moves on from the soft grains towards rum-soaked raisins with a warm winter spice matrix — cinnamon, ginger, clove, allspice — before a brown sugar/rock candy sweetness takes over on the mid-palate.
Finish: The finish is long and sweet with a nice dose of sharp cinnamon and soft nutmeg that leads to a supple vanilla cream with a thin line of dry cedar and tobacco spice just touched with dark cherry on the very end.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This wins doubly in that there’s some great whiskey in the bottle and the bottle itself works as a stylish decanter. That’s two gifts in one!
Johnnie Walker Green Label Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $69
The Whisky:
Johnnie Walker’s Green Label is a solidly crafted whisky that highlights Diageo’s fine stable of distilleries across Scotland. The whisky is a pure malt or blended malt, meaning that only single malt whisky is in the mix (no grain whisky). In this case, the primary whiskies are a minimum of 15 years old, from Talisker, Caol Ila, Cragganmore, and Linkwood.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Soft notes of cedar dance with hints of black pepper, vanilla pods, and bright fruit with a wisp of green grass in the background.
Palate: The palate really delivers on that soft cedar woodiness while edging towards a spice-laden tropical fruit brightness.
Finish: The finish is dialed in with hints of cedar, spice, and fruit leading toward a briny billow of smoke at the very end.
Who It’s Perfect For:
If you’re getting Scotch whisky for someone, there’s almost no doubt that they’ve at least heard of Johnnie Walker. Well, this is the best version that money can buy (until you get into the rare stuff). This is a fun and old whisky that’s also just really tasty.
Maker’s Mark Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky
ABV: 56.25%
Average Price: $35
The Whisky:
This special release from Maker’s Mark is their classic wheated bourbon turned up a few notches. The batch is made from no more than 19 barrels of whiskey. Once batched, that whiskey goes into the barrel at cask strength with no filtering, just pure whiskey-from-the-barrel vibes.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Burnt caramel candies and lush vanilla lead the nose with hints of dry straw, sour cherry pie, and spiced apple cider with a touch of eggnog lushness.
Palate: The palate has a sense of spicy caramel with a vanilla base that leads to apricot jam, southern biscuits, and a flake of salt with a soft mocha creaminess.
Finish: The end is all about the buzzy tobacco spiciness with a soft vanilla underbelly and a hint of cherry syrup.
Who It’s Perfect For:
Maker’s Mark is another brand that most bourbon drinkers will have at least heard of. This version is their apex with a deep flavor profile and accessibility almost unmatched in the bourbon game. Plus, it makes one hell of a Manhattan.
Noah’s Mill Small Batch Genuine Bourbon Whiskey
ABV: 57.15%
Average Price: $67
The Whiskey:
This is the bigger and bolder sibling of Willett’s Rowan’s Creek Bourbon. It’s the same whiskey — a no-age-statement bourbon that’s made from four to 15-year-old barrels — that’s barely proofed down with local Kentucky water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Maple syrup-covered walnuts greet you with a sense of dark dried cherries and a hint of rose water next to old leather books and holiday spices.
Palate: The taste holds onto those notes while adding in a stewed plum depth with a whisper of caramel apple and orange oils.
Finish: The vanilla and sweet oak kick in late with a rich depth and well-rounded lightness to the sip fade towards lush cherry tobacco, soft leather, and winter spice matrix tied to prunes and dates.
Who It’s Perfect For:
Willett is one of those brands that elicits a lot of “oohs” and “aahs” thanks to a prestigious shine (and exclusivity). This is one of the best Willett bottles that you can actually get. It’s also quintessential Kentucky bourbon and will show that you care about bourbon too.
$100-$250 — The “I Choo-Choo-Choose You” Bottles
Nashville Barrel Company Straight Bourbon Whiskey UPROXX Single Barrel 6 Years Old January 2023 Barrel
ABV: 59.08%
Buy Here: $119
The Whiskey:
The barrel was chosen and bottled at the tail end of 2022 on a visit to Nashville Barrel Company. The whiskey in the bottle is a 6-year-and-two-month-old bourbon from MGP of Indiana. The high rye mash bourbon (75/21/4 corn/rye/malted barley) aged for five years in Indiana before moving to Nashville for an additional 14 months of resting. The bourbon went in the bottle at cask strength straight from the barrel.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with toffee, mild leather, orchard barks, blood orange, soft sweet grains, cinnamon sticks, cherry tobacco, plum, and a whisper of old pine accented by a touch of thyme.
Palate: The taste meanders through salted caramel, dates, cinnamon bark, cardamon pods, clove buds, and soft vanilla cake before leaning slowly into a spiced warmth.
Finish: The end arrives with sweet and chewy pipe tobacco, orange bitters, rock candy, and very light yet creamy cacao lushness next to hazelnut Manner Neapolitan Wafers and dry oak.
Who It’s Perfect For:
You cannot go wrong with a barrel pick of single-barrel bourbon as a gift. Nashville Barrel Company is one of the biggest names in that game right now and UPROXX’s first barrel pick is a great place to start that single-barrel journey for any budding bourbon enthusiast.
Russell’s Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskeys 13 Years Old
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $173
The Whiskey:
Eddie Russell made this whiskey to celebrate his 40th year of distilling whiskey with his dad, Jimmy Russell. The whiskey is a collection of a minimum of 13-year-old barrels that Eddie Russell hand-picked. Those barrels were married and then bottled as-is with no proofing or filtration.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Sweet and dried fruits invite you on the nose as a touch of fresh, creamy, and dark Black Forest cake mingles with mild holiday spices, dried almonds, and a sense of rich pipe tobacco just kissed with sultanas.
Palate: That dark chocolate and cherry fruit drive the palate as a hint of charred cedar lead towards vanilla tobacco with more of that dark chocolate and a small touch of honey, orange blossom, and a whisper of dried chili flake.
Finish: That honey leads back to the warmth and spice with a thin line of cherry bark smoke lurking on the very backend with more bitter chocolate, buttery vanilla, and dark cherry all combining into chewy tobacco packed into an old pine box and wrapped up with worn leather thread.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This is one of the best bottles Wild Turkey has ever released. Getting this as a V-Day gift means that you took the time to really find something special from the bourbon sphere.
Oban Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 10 Years 2022 Special Release
ABV: 57.1%
Average Price: $128
The Whisky:
This lightly peated Highland whisky from the tiny Oban Distillery is rendered from refill and new American oak barrels. That whisky is vatted and then refilled into Amontillado-seasoned casks for a final rest before batching and bottling as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lithe sense of lemon/lime saltwater taffy and Whether’s candies wrapped in white wax paper with a hint of lime leaves and wild sage next to salted smoked lemons and tangerines with a hint of really good and cloudy extra virgin olive oil speckled with smoked sea salt and freshly cracked red peppercorns.
Palate: The palate is silken and full of layers of smoked grapes, smoked plums, and salted chili pepper candies with a fleeting sense of violet and lavender creaminess tied to a lush vanilla underbelly.
Finish: The end has a mild woody chili pepper spiciness that’s dry and leads to a limber finish with warmth, lightly caramelized malts, and smoked apricot jam with brandy cream.
Who It’s Perfect For:
You can get a regular Oban 14 or Little Bay and be set. But is that really something special to give as a Valentine’s Day gift? Not really. Oban is a special whisky and their Special Releases are stellar. Lean into it.
The Balvenie French Oak Finished in Pineau Casks Aged 16 Years
ABV: 47.6%
Average Price: $217
The Whisky:
The whisky here is a masterful blend from whisky legend David Stewart. After around 15 years of aging, the whisky is transferred to Pineau des Charentes casks (a French fortified wine) for a final maturation, which is The Balvenie’s first foray into French oak finishing. The whisky is then bottled with a touch of water but as-is otherwise.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a soft floral note next to fresh honey, green grass, pear skins, cinnamon rolls with vanilla posting, and a hint of orchard woods.
Palate: The palate has a lemon meringue pie aura with subtle hints of honey-soaked gingerbread, shortbread biscuits, rum-raisin, and orange zest with a hint of salted dark chocolate lurking in the background.
Finish: The end has a light mix of ginger candies and cinnamon-laced dark chocolate creaminess with a whisper of apple/pear tobacco.
Who It’s Perfect For:
The Balvenie makes some of the softest and deepest unpeated single malts on the shelf. This new expression is glossy Scotch whisky that will speak to the wine lover in your life.
Writers’ Tears Red Head Irish Whiskey
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $199
The Whiskey:
This is classic Irish single malt that’s triple distilled before a long aging process. The hot juice rests in Spanish Oloroso sherry butts until it’s just right. Those barrels are batched and proofed before bottling otherwise as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Burnt orange and peach skins mingle with a hint of salted dried mango next to red berry tea leaves, plum jam cut with clove, and a mild sense of brandy butter and scones.
Palate: Nutella comes through on the palate with a sense of rum-raisin, old sherry-soaked oak staves, and creamy vanilla cake.
Finish: The end leans into the brandy butter and scones with a sense of sharp orange marmalade and fresh breakfast tea cut with cream and honey.
Who It’s Perfect For:
Irish whiskey has come a long way in recent years and this bottle is a prime example of how deeply nuanced the tipple from the Emerald Isle has become. If you know anyone that loves anything Irish (or is a writer). this is the play.
$250 & Above — The “I Love You 3,000” Bottles
Talisker Forests of the Deep Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 44 Years
ABV: 54.6%
Average Price: $4,892
The Whisky:
This is one of the more unique Taliskers to hit shelves. The 40-plus-year-old whisky is made finished in casks made with staves that were charred with Scottish sea kelp and stave wood shavings. The staves are then used to finish the whiskey before it’s vatted and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a sense of classic fruit orchards with a hint of blossom next to briny smokiness from a distance that slowly fades into toasted seaweed salad tossed with roasted sesame seeds and chili oil with a fleeting sense of mild soy sauce lurking way in the background.
Palate: The taste leans into orange zest and maybe even lime leaves with a twinge of old and sweet oak before a twinge of soft rope dipped in seawater leads to a thin line of a beach campfire surrounds by grey stones and spitting rain.
Finish: A mild note of chili pepper arrives late with a mild waxiness tied to chocolate, plum, and pear with a final flourish of a fruit orchard in full bloom.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This is one of the rarest whiskies on the list with just north of 100 bottles even making it to the U.S. That means getting one of these is the ultimate gift for true love.
Pappy Van Winkle’s Family Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 15 Years Old 2022 Release
ABV: 53.5%
Average Price: $3,246
The Whiskey:
This is where the “Pappy Van Winkle” line starts in earnest. The whiskey in this expression is pulled from barrels that are at least 15 years old. Once batched, the whiskey is just touched with water to bring it down to a sturdy 107-proof.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with freshly fried sourdough fritters dusted with ground almonds, sharp cinnamon, cloves, orange zest, burnt sugars, and maple frosting with a hint of old vanilla pods next to soft figs.
Palate: The palate leans into rich toffee with a sense of minced meat pies covered in powdered sugar frosting right next to sticky toffee pudding with salted caramel, orange zest, and tons of brown wintry spice countered by a moment of sour mulled red wine cut with dark maple syrup.
Finish: The end has a soft cedar vibe that leads to vanilla and dark cherry tobacco leaves and a hint of pine next to old white moss.
Who It’s Perfect For:
Pappy is always a good way to wow a loved one on Valentine’s Day. But not all Pappy is created equal and the 15-Year from last year is one of the tastiest in a while. Getting this bottle shows that you went beyond the hype and actually found the best bottle to share.
Mortlach Midnight Malt Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged for 30 Years
ABV: 49.1%
Average Price: $4,799
The Whisky:
This is 30-year-old Mortlach from a couple of barrels that actually made it that long without drying out or becoming undrinkable — it’s kind of a miracle in that sense. The vatted whisky was finished in a trio of barrels — Bordeaux wine, Calvados, and Guatemalan rum — before bottling completely as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a lovely hint of malt dipped in honey with a touch of apple stewed with cinnamon and saffron that leads to roasted pork skin and fat cut with a sense of rosemary and singed sage before a honeyed oaked sweetness arrives again
Palate: The taste is like a creamy, apple-forward, malty lush elixir cut with hints of black pepper, burnt orange, and marzipan that leads to a sense of honey-soaked cinnamon sticks floating in apple cider.
Finish: There’s another rush of that black pepper late that leads to woody apple cores and wintry barks that eventually fade towards a mildly spiced apple-cinnamon tobacco leaf packing into an old cedar box.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This is another rarity from a true whisky connoisseur’s distillery. If you get this for the whisky lover in your life, they’ll know you went above and beyond, and I don’t just mean the price tag. I mean that in that this whisky is astoundingly delicious, rare, and greatly desired by in-the-know whisky drinkers.
Michter’s US*1 Limited Release Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 20 Years Old
ABV: 57.1%
Average Price: $7,026
The Whiskey:
Master Distiller Dan McKee personally selects these (at least) 20-year-old barrels from the Michter’s rickhouses based on… I guess just “pure excellence” would be the right phrase. The bourbon is bottled as-is — no cutting with water.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: A sense of dark cherry with deep rummy molasses, dried rose petals, old almond shells, and cedar bark mingle with a fresh pipe tobacco leaf just kissed with apple and pear essence with a hint of vanilla oils and old wintry wine spices.
Palate: The taste leans into smoldering vanilla pods with a sense of old oak staves from a dusty old cellar next to sweet cinnamon and cherry over dried sage and sharp spearmint with a clove syrup base and a dash of toasted marshmallow sweetness.
Finish: The end is full of dark cherry and woody spice with moist marzipan, burnt orange oils, and chewy fresh tobacco wrapped up in old leather and cedar bark with a hint more of that old cellar sneaking in.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This was my favorite bourbon of 2022 because, well, it’s delicious. Getting this bottle is getting the best of the best for a bourbon lover.
The Yamazaki Single Malt Japanese Whisky Spanish Oak 2022 Edition “Tsukuriwake” Selection
ABV: 48%
Average Price: $3,999
The Whisky:
This Japanese single malt is all about marrying fine Japanese whisky with Spanish oak. The whiskies are aged exclusively in oak from Northern Spain. After the flavor profile hits the exact right depth, the barrels are vatted and proofed with a dash of water for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a medley of sultanas, dates, prunes, dried cranberries, and maybe some candied grape before veering toward a big umami note that’s halfway between a sun-dried tomato and a dash of powdered mushroom.
Palate: The palate opens with a rich sticky toffee pudding with plenty of winter spices, black tea-soaked dates, and almost creamy toffee next to orange oils and a hint of dark roasted espresso beans.
Finish: The end takes on a buttery vibe as creamy dark chocolate attaches to those espresso beans and a final hint of orange sneaks in late.
Who It’s Perfect For:
This is one of the best whiskies out there, full stop. It’s rare, delicious, and has that “wow” factor. Plus, getting a bottle of rare Japanese whisky shows that you’ve gone well beyond the ordinary to find something truly extraordinary.
