Ten Must-Have Whiskies that We can still buy
in Featured , WhiskyWe are almost in Christmas so what better way of celebrating with friends and family that sharing a dram or two of a great whisky that won’t empty your pockets? This is a list of the Ten Best whiskies you can buy ( in my opinion! ) for the money. In fact, I have a bottle of all of them at home.
(Photo: Markus Reinhardt / Flickr)
So let’ see the list. If money isn’t a constrain, I would also check this List of great whiskies and if definitively you don’t care about money this other one. The other 99% please keep reading with me :) #expensivestuff
1. Glendronach 15 years old
So the first of the list is a sherry monster that is around £40. You can’t get anything better for the money… unless you are thinking of a Glenfarclas 15yo… quite close.
“Great sherry dram! Love it!”
This Oloroso-matured Revival single malt whisky has already received a whopping 92 points from the highly-esteemed Serge Valentin at Whiskyfun, who compared it to Macallan Gran Reserva!
One of the best sherried whiskies I have had the pleasure of drinking. Run! Buy one!
This dram has a tawny-like color.
Nose (91): more than average. honey, nuts, citrus, leather, spices, cinnamon. Good sherry nose!
Palate (92): powerful, oily. honey, nuts, citrus, spices, leather. Maybe 40% and 15yo.
Finish (91): longer than average. honey, leather.
So based on other whiskies I have already tasted I rate this Glendronach 15 year Revival with 91 points over 100.Buy this bottle at
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2. Ardbeg 10 years old
What would be of a list of great whiskies without an Ardbeg? I personally prefer the higher strength Uigeadail but this one is a solid fail-proof single malt. I love it.
This dram has a white wine-like color.
Nose (90): more than average.
peat, citrus, motor oil, earth, pepper.
Palate (90): powerful, oily.
peat, citrus, earth, pepper, vanilla, coffee.
Finish (89): longer than average.
peat, citrus.
“Super solid peated whisky! If you like peated, have an Ardbeg”
This Islay single malt is the first non-chill filtered whisky in the Ardbeg range. Chill filtering isn't a bad thing, in fact it created real consistency of product when the whisky industry was a little more `hap-hazard` than it is today. Ardbeg Ten Years Old is whisky with none of the goodness taken out and as good as straight from the cask.
If you enjoyed this Ardbeg, you really need to have a cask strength Ardbeg that it is only slightly more expensive. A no brainer if you ask me. Buy this bottle at
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3. Springbank 15 years old
This is the only one I don’t have (yet!). It is a really nice Springbank.
This dram has a gold-like color.
Nose (88): more than average.
honey, citrus, vanilla, apples, floral.
Palate (89): smooth, powerful, oily.
honey, peat, citrus, vanilla, pepper, floral, wood.
Finish (87): longer than average.
honey, floral, smoke.
“Good Springbank but my heart belongs to the great Springbank CV.”
Distilled at Springbank distillery in Campbeltown, this single malt whisky is the return of a classic.
It is very nice, but I personally prefer the Springbank CV bottling. Buy this bottle at
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4. Amrut Fusion
Indian whisky?! Are you crazy?! Are you nuts?! Give it a try and then you can send me the money and the thank you letters ;). These guys really know how to make good whisky.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (92): strong.
honey, peat, fruits, a little nuts, spices, vanilla, raisins, cocoa.
Better nose than the standard Amrut. It is more complex and darker, like a Tim Burton film.
Palate (93): smooth, powerful, oily.
honey, peat, fruits, nuts, raisins, vanilla, wood, citrus.
Finish (92): longer than average.
honey, wood, spices, nuts.
“Woo! Serious stuff! It is so much better that the last I tried. Scots be scared!”
A really excellent mouthfeel and palate combining oak, smoke, dark fruit, mocha and high-cocoa dark chocolate. Delicious stuff.
This Amrut was the 3rd best whisky in the world in Jim Murray's Whisky Bible. Definitively something not to miss! Buy this bottle at
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5. Lagavulin 16 years old
Another peated dram. If you are not sure, just get this one. You can’t go wrong with Lagavulin. There are batches that are more sherried and others more peated but overall it is a quite enjoyable whisky. A MUST-HAVE!
This dram has a cooper-like color.
Nose (91): more than average.
peat, honey, peaches, vanilla, citrus, pepper.
Palate (92): powerful, oily.
peat, honey, citrus, vanilla, peaches, espresso.
Finish (92): longer than average.
peat, honey, peaches, spices.
“This Lagavulin is a superb Islay whisky with its amazing peat complexity. Really one of the best bang for the buck single malts out there.”
Lagavulin 16 years old is perhaps the best daily dram single malt whisky out there. You will not find anything so good for that price, as long as you like peat in your whisky.
A connoisseur's malt, and with consistently high marks from Michael Jackson.
If you have the chance, try the 12 years old expression that has been aged exclusively in bourbon barrels. Simply delicious. Buy this bottle at
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6. Balvenie 12 yers old Doublewood
If there is an affordable dram that has my heart ( and my wallet ) it is Balvenie 12yo. It is deliciously sherried with a lovely vanilla taste.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (91): more than average.
nuts, honey, citrus, toffee, biscuits.
Smells like a fino sherried matured whisky. Very nice nose.
Palate (91): powerful, oily.
honey, floral, citrus, nuts, wood, spices.
Finish (90): longer than average.
honey, nuts, wood.
“Lovely sherried whisky with a nice amount of nuts and biscuits in its nose. I have really enjoyed this one.”
During its period of maturation The Balvenie Doublewood is transferred from a traditional oak whisky cask to a first fill Spanish oak sherry cask.
Each stage lends different qualities to the resulting single malt - the traditional casks, having previously held bourbon, soften and add character, whilst the sherry wood brings depth and fullness of flavor.
This is the most basic bottle from Balvenie and still awesome!
TODO: Check if strength is 40% or 0% Buy this bottle at
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7. Aberlour A’bunadh
Good luck finding this one! As soon as Malt Maniacs awarded it a medal it fly off the shelves. Awesome whisky for a ridiculous price.
This dram has a tawny-like color.
Nose (90): more than average.
honey, citrus, raisins, wood, vanilla, cinnamon, mango.
Palate (92): powerful, oily.
honey, leather, wood, vanilla, tobacco, citrus, cocoa.
Finish (91): longer than average.
honey, tobacco, vanilla.
“As usual a pleasure. The biggest surprise with A'Bunadh is that there are no surprises. I love this whisky”
Bottled at 60.2% and heavy on the sherry, as always. This is an excellent value-for-money sherry beast!
8. Bruichladdich The Laddie 10
Subtle, lovely, delicate. Much like a lady you will also love the Laddie.
This dram has a amber-like color.
Nose (91): more than average.
peaches, peat, honey, nuts, citrus.
Palate (91): smooth, powerful, oily.
peaches, peat, vanilla, honey, tobacco, milk chocolate, wood.
Finish (90): longer than average.
peat, wood, salt, cocoa.
“Superb whisky!. Not very peated with just a touch of delicious sherry aromas. Love it!.”
Buy this bottle at
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9. Compass Box Peat Monster
Pure Peat awesomeness bottled into a 70cl bottle. I love The Peat Monster, and if you can afford the 10th anniversary edition is fantastic
This dram has a white wine-like color.
Nose (89): more than average.
peat, citrus, honey, salt, motor oil.
Palate (90): powerful, oily.
peat, earth, honey, citrus, spices, vanilla, wood, coffee.
Finish (90): longer than average.
peat, citrus.
“Superb whisky from Compass Box. This batch was created using malt from Laphroaig and Ardmore although I swear that has a touch of Ardbeg both on nose and taste. Love it”
This Peat Monster is a top-quality vatting of the peated Speysider Ardmore with some choice Islay malt: sometimes Caol Ila sometimes Laphroaig, Peat Monster is never less than excellent. Pitch-perfect balance and delicious chewy complexity.
This is the best value whisky I have ever had. Even forgeting the price it is a whisky so good that stand over whiskies ten times more expensive. If you like peated whiskies of course :)
Buy this bottle at
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10. Kilkerran WIP 5 Bourbon wood
Another crack and it is still on the way…
This dram has a fino-like color.
Nose (90): more than average.
honey, citrus, smoke, wood, vanilla, orange zest.
Palate (91): powerful, oily.
honey, peat, oranges, spices, vanilla, cinnamon, wood, coffee.
Finish (91): longer than average.
honey, spices, oranges.
“Quite good whisky with an excellent bouquet. A real bargain for £34. I am quite happy of having bought one when I could”
Miguel says…
This is my list of the 10 drams that everyone should have at hand. Now you can use your J&B to properly clean windows. :)
And as always, satisfaction guaranteed or your money back! :)
What dram would you include on the list? What would you remove? It has been really hard to reduce it to just 10 drams…