It’s also a steal at under $30 a bottle (pending your state’s taxes, of course). 10 Best Affordable Scotch $40 And Under: 10) ... Glenfiddich 12 Year Old is truly a staple 12-year-old single malt Scotch, especially at this price. A bit of a dueling single malt—but the duel is interesting. This blend is Scotland in a bottle. The vast majority of expressions are created, at least in part, as sippers — either neat or on the rocks. The juice is a blend of around 40 whiskies that are each aged for a minimum of 12 years. But for the price, their 15-year-old expression really is a winner. The taste is light and accessible with a lean toward apple fruit, honey sweetness, and a nice cut of orange zest. And believe it or not, decent Single Malt Scotch isn’t necessarily expensive—in fact, many distilleries put out a great Single Malt around or under $50 as a sort of introduction to their style (since, as we said, a single malt is the expression of just one distillery). To help you with the decision, we've compiled a list of best rated Scotch Whiskies, according to Flaviar community. Laphroaig — 10 Year Old Single Malt ($50) “In Ohio, this bottle is $62.99 retail. Introduced in September 2018, this affordable single malt is from the Scotch brand’s Soleo Collection. Maybe it’s best to call it a “blended” whisky and just leave it at that. Really, Scotch shouldn’t be intimidating at all. An iconic Islay Scotch, bursting with peat and salinity. They’re fine bottles. This is the sort of dram I know I can order (always on the rocks) when I’m not really sure what I want and know I’ll get something supremely satisfying. And come back they did, with a bottle bursting with complexity, light fruit, citrus and spice on the nose along with some richer fruit/toffee notes on the palate, and just the tiniest, palate-cleanse of smoke on the finish. Today, Strathisla Distillery is at the heart of the Chivas Regal blend. Chivas Regal is a brand of blended Scotch whisky from the Chivas Brothers which launched a 25 year old blend as its first product back in 1909. But it’s really the conversation about Antarctica it opens up that’s the star of the show. It’s 67 percent Highlands, Speyside, and Islay married to 33 percent Lowland whiskies aged in first-fill and refill bourbon, first-fill and refill sherry, and finished in specialty French oak. Glenrothes 10 Year. This hits enough of those creamy, bourbony notes to drink with a few rocks. The story of this whisky is amazing. They’re also all easily accessible in most U.S. markets — on liquor store shelves or via delivery (just click on the price). Figgy pudding cut with walnuts mingles with apples and caramel on the nose. Instead, a softer whisky, a bit buttery with hints of caramel and nuts balanced by freshening citrus and apple flavors. Highland Park 12-Year Single Malt Scotch Whisky $45 Gold, International Wine & Spirits Competitions 2017 Widely considered to be one of the best single malts for the money, Highland Park 12 is a brilliant combination of mild smoke and brine with … It’s the best selling single malt in the world, a classic and you can still get it at a reasonable price. 5 Best Smoky, Peaty Scotches for $50 and Under. Read the tasting notes to find a bottle that hits the flavor notes you love, deep freeze a few ice cubes, and enjoy! The taste embraces the vanilla and creaminess with a counterbalance of berries, apples, and caramel. The Best Blended Scotches To Drink Straight For Under $50 The Famous Grouse Bourbon Cask. Single malt Scotch must be aged at least three years, though most make it to at least a decade before hitting shelves. Those blends are the bottles we’re focused on today. This is a fine sipper on the rocks. It's very affordable for its quality, making it one of the better values out there when it comes to single malts. Ardbeg 10 Year Old. The end isn’t too long, but touches on those sweet honey notes, the spice, and a final touch of fresh mint sprigs. Best Peaty Scotch for Price: Ledaig 10 Year; Best Scotch to Drink Around a Campfire: Laphroaig Quarter Cask; Best Scotch to Pair with Food: Caol Ila 12; Best Rum-Cask Scotch: The Balvenie Caribbean Cask The 18 is its most prefect bottle, having been upgraded from 40% to 46.3% ABV and bottled un-chillfiltered; it blends ex-sherry cask and ex-bourbon cask notes, with much, much less peat than other Islay examples. The average price is $42 or less, and it is distilled in the Speyside. The taste delivers well on those promises with bright berries, stone fruits, and a sense of malts by way of fresh-baked bread dripping with creamy butter and fresh honey. It’s not exactly a blend either, because that usually denotes a blend of malt and grain whiskies. A common name that has proliferated because it’s buckwheat honey flavor behind mass of floral... Monkey Shoulder. Ledaig 10-year via allthingswhisky.com The taste really basks in the plummy and nutty sherry aspects, while touching on a lighter vinous note and plenty of berry sweetness. Maybe a touch of spice. Panelists admired this whisky’s dark gold color “with a bit of red in it, almost... 2. Apples covered in caramel and walnuts mix with a bit of sherry jamminess on the nose. Citrus and orange peel are pronounced on the nose of this Scotch, “like an Old... 3. Blended scotch whisky is often pigeoned-holed as “mixing” whisky. (With a $50 cap, the oldest in our tasting was 13.) Decanter recommends a varied selection of whiskies under £50 - from Scotland, Ireland and the US, and that deliver great value for money ... Best whiskies to buy under £50/$50. Many whiskies—and many single malt Scotches—are “finished,” which is to say aged for a briefer period of time in a previously used cask (e.g. Laphroaig Quarter Cask is a stronger, spicier version of its 10 year old cousin. Most bartenders will automatically use this as a mixer. It’s a hybrid — marrying single malt scotch to single malt whisky from Virginia. The finish embraces that pepper as it slowly fades back towards the sweeter notes. (Not a single barrel, or a single year.). It’s meant to highlight the sweeter and softer notes of great scotch and really hits that mark. ... (514 Reviews) Scotland- The original Walker family blend, handcrafted from as many as 40 of the finest Scotch whiskies aged a minimum of 12 years, for a smooth and robust blend. Best Whiskey Under $50 Click here to browse our full list of reviews! Say “Laphroaig” to a group of whisky friends and you may divide the room—you’ll get unembarrassed peat and coastal notes here, smoke, salinity, Band-Aid, black pepper. You’re greeted with a nose of salted caramel, cedar, citrus, anise, vanilla cream, and a note of distant banana. There is a slight sherry finish (because it is aged in sherry casks), and it … Best Under $50: Glenmorangie The Original Buy on Drizly Distilled in the tallest stills in Scotland by the men and women of Tain, Glenmorangie Original is a great go-to single malt . Yes, You Can Buy a Good Scotch Whisky for Under $50 BenRiach 10 Year Old. The end arrives with a billow of creamy pipe tobacco with a slight peaty edge as it quickly fades out. Even if you’ve never taken a snort of whisky in your life (yeah, that’s a thing), you’ve probably heard the term Single Malt Scotch, likely spoken with an air of importance or terror. The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year. Best Whiskeys Under $50. You’re met with a clear sense of crème brûlée next to Christmas spice, cacao, and a touch of orange marmalade. But don’t let paleness fool you (or a dark caramel color, for that matter): complexity’s swimming around this bottle, honeyed apricot and vanilla with a balancing salinity and just an edge of nutty oak and moderated smoke. Laphroaig Quarter Cask - £36.95 ($47.50); Another heavily smoked affair. The Macallan 12-year via whiskyaday.com. Best Bang for Your Buck: Aberfeldy 12; Creamy and Accessible: Bunnahabhain 8 Year Old The MacPhail’s; Best Scotch Under $75. Dram A Lot: The 14 Best Scotch Whiskeys Under $50 Highland Park 12 Year. The palate definitely delivers on that with a sweet sense of honey, a touch of citrus, and creamy vanilla pudding body and taste. Typically, “scotch” is a whiskey that is produced in Scotland according to a set of guidelines set forth by the Scotch Whisky Association. Those spicy caramel apples linger the longest with a distant wisp of oak and smoke tying off the sip’s long end. ... Laphroaig’s 10-year-old scotch is slightly sweet with a luxuriously silky body and an oceanic finish. Tamdhu first opened in the late 19th Century but was shuttered in 2010, making a comeback at the Spirit of Speyside festival in 2013. Malt crackers mingle with a sweet-cinnamon nose. The end holds onto the orange as the sweetness edges towards toffee on the quick fade. Speyside is known for its delicate, honey-driven single malts, and BenRiach’s celebrated 10 Year... Highland Park Magnus. Sure this one might seem a bit obvious, but there is a 50/50 shot this was the first single malt you ever had and with good reason. That nuttiness really leads the way on the taste as a malty cracker feel mixes with toffee, vanilla, and dried fruits. But don’t be intimidated, either by the Scotchiness or the Single Malt-iness. ... this 12-year-old vintage blend deserves your full attention. The only two parameters we’re following are 1) is this scotch enjoyable on its own? This list catalogs all of the different kinds of whiskey that we have reviewed so far, ordered by rating and price. Best Under $50: Aberfeldy 12 Year Old Buy on Drizly Buy on ReserveBar For a reasonably-priced option, look no further than this whisky from Aberfeldy, a Central Highlands distillery that started operating in … This Speyside blend from William Grant & Sons highlights the shingle’s three Dufftown distilleries: Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and Kininvie. If you like a certain distillery’s “entry level” single malt, you’ll probably like something more complex from the same distillery—a double wood, or cask strength, or limited edition, etc. That alone is a good conversation starter for a true throwback blend. There’s a plummy nature that’s counterpointed by a subtle yet clear peaty smoke on the nose. It’s our list and we’re giving it a spot. Everything a standard-issue scotch should be, this manages to be sweet but sultry, silky smooth yet somehow warm as the home hearth. Just after Prohibition in 1938, the brand launched its 12 Year blended Scotch when it returned to the market. You’ll be falling in love with the stuff before you can say “Scotchy Scotch Scotch.”. Average Price: $26 This edition of Famous Grouse is a nice step up from their... Chivas Regal Aged 12 Years. bourbon, port, sherry). The main reason is that this is a very well-crafted blend that harkens back to the old-school “scotch on the rocks” days. This is a very easy sipper and bridges the old-school Scotch single malts with newer Virginia whisky-making. Cinnamon and spice intermingle with the balancing spicy oak, warming and opulent but not overwhelmingly so. Unless Nick Offerman or Brian Cox is drinking it. Click here to browse our full list of reviews! One of the better bargains on the blended Scotch market, this light-amber spirit scores 4 out of 5 stars at The Whisky … This is a perfectly serviceable sipper with a few rocks, or even neat, if you prefer. Bowmore is an Islay Scotch (and Islay tends to be the home of salt-spray, iodine, and heavier peat). So it’s not a single malt. Single Malt just means the whisky is 100% malted barley and the product of one distillery. The 12 in the name means that is has been aged in oakwood barrels for 12 years, which gives it a really rich and smooth taste. But the 12 year is a medium-peated Islay, with smoke and sea spray on the nose intermingling with florals and light citrus, and a sweetness that balances any iodine character. Purchase: ~$47. The end result is a blend that’s specifically dialed in to be sipped not mixed (Red Label is Johnnie Walker’s mixing blended scotch). Twelve years is the benchmark for many distilleries, most of which have an entry-level whisky aged for this amount of time. Glenfiddich 12. Best Scotch Under $50: Glenmorangie Lasanta Highland Park 12 The Balvenie Double Wood 12 Jura 10 Year The Macallan 12 Year Compass Box Oak Cross Glen Moray Chardonnay Cask ... Aultmore 12 Year Old. Even though the whiskies involved are 100 percent malts, they’re not all from Scotland. This blended Scotch whisky was personally created by Chivas Master Blender Colin Scott and includes over 20 single malts from around Scotland. The end is sweet, creamy, and short. This is a classic blend that harkens back to simpler times in whisky without losing any beauty in its juice. Another Highlands Scotch, the Aberfeldy 12 is another sweetly approachable single malt—honey with a hint of dried light fruits and super subtle smoke on the nose, with a smooth, slightly fruity body that finishes smooth and dry. It was recreated from the whisky that Sir Ernest Shackleton took to Antarctica in the early 1900s. Yes, some of it is literally blended to be a mixer, especially for highballs (a combination of whisky, fizzy water, and ice). Glenlivet 12 is perhaps the most iconic scotch whisky in the world - it's so well known, spell-check just autocorrected my incorrect spelling! Good for cutting your teeth on, or coming back to again and again. Compass Box Whisky is all about creating very sippable blends of scotch. The 12-year-old bottling is a part of the brand’s core range of whiskies which received an updated look in August 2018 along with three new expressions. The taste embraces that fruit while adding more caramel with plenty of cinnamon-forward spices and a dusting of cacao when water is added. This is a really fine sipper to have on hand and feels like it should cost twice as much, easily. The distillery has been around for over 200 years, and this bottle has become something of a staple at every bar you visit. While Chivas is a real powerhouse in South, East, and Southeast Asia, it’s regaining much-deserved popularity back in the U.S. To the nose, it has a pungent fruit scent and it tastes spicier. A marquee and fairly well known single malt from the Orkney Islands, Highland Park 12 Year is one of the smoother, sweeter single malts. The end is medium-length, with hints of that fruit next to a dailed-in smokiness. Chivas Regal 12 and 18 year old whiskies are triple blended. Best Scotch Under $50. Aberlour 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky is an excellent Speyside scotch (the region famous for a massive number of distilleries, like The Balvenie, The Glenlivet, and The Macallan), double-aged in standard oak and sherry casks. Harder to find in the States, but worth a look. Its 12-year-old expression premiered in 1979, and in 2006, as part of a rebrand, the 18 and 25 years were added to the lineup. Buy on Drizly Buy on ReserveBar. Glenfiddich Bourbon Barrel Reserve 14 Years. A marquee and fairly well known single malt from the Orkney Islands, Highland Park 12 Year... Glengoyne 12 Year ($50). Fragrant with heavy charcoal smoke, interlaced with black coffee and (unsweetened) cocoa notes, but also a lightening salinity and fleeting melon/soapy note. The wood comes in late, as the spice and sweetness fade slowly towards a final billow of faint smoke. For two Andrew Jackson-faced bills, you’re looking at a … The Aberlour 12-Year made the list of best scotch whiskey under $50 on Men’s Journal. This actual expression was recreated from bottles found in Shackleton’s Antarctic camps nearly 100 years later, alongside recipes from the 1800s for the actual whisky. The Chivas Regal 18 Year Old was near the top of our best blended whisky list, only surpassed by a classy Japanese whisky blend. With that in mind, we’ve included a variety of styles so you can find a match depending on your tastes. Best Scotch under $50 With $50 to spend, you should be able to buy yourself a nice Scotch . © 2014 - 2020 VinePair Inc. — Made In NYC, Next Round Live: What's Happening in the Drinks Industry Now, The Internet’s Hilarious Freak Out Over The UK’s New Alcohol Rulings, Here’s A Way To Waste $40,000 On Cocktails And Not Even Drink A Drop Of Booze, Best Practices: Perfecting the Whiskey Highball Is a Science and an Art Form, Next Round: Belinda Chang on the Future of Virtual Events, The 12 Best Single Malt Scotches Under $50 | VinePair, https://vinepair.com/buy-this-booze/best-single-malt-scotches-under-50/, wbs_cat Spirit, wbs_type Scotch, wbs_type Whiskey, scotch, single malt, whiskey, The Internet’s Hilarious Freak Out Over The UK’s New Alcohol Rulings | VinePair, https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/reacting-to-the-uks-new-rulings-on-wine-consumption/. Best Scotch Whisky Under $50. Otherwise, it’s a social drink, meant to be enjoyed, savored, chewed up and swallowed down with relish, and maybe a tall tale to follow. (A great way to find out just how much peat you like…). Browse the top-ranked list of Scotch Under $50 below along with associated reviews and opinions. Famous for a reason, a great value. Best Whiskeys Under $50. But if you just want something to sip on your own, with the significant other or with close friends that will let you feel the satisfaction of having bought a great scotch without paying too much, by all means, check out our list of the 8 best scotches under $50. Okay, this isn’t technically a Scottish blended whisky. 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We've wondered that too. Best Under $50: Bowmore 12 Year Old . Auchentoshan is the only triple-distilled single malt in Scotland, meaning (like many Irish whiskies) it’s smoother. Notes of orange, cacao, creamy vanilla, and a hint of peat mingle on the nose and draw you in. The GlenDronach Original 12 Year. There’s a clear spicy Christmas cake nose that’s cut with a slice of lemon and a dash of black pepper. You’ll get light cereal/grain notes with some delicate buttery notes, honey, soft orchard fruits and light, grassy spring florals. This edition of Famous Grouse is a nice step up from their entry-level blend (which is a great highball base, by the way). Sipper and it is often considered a blend of around 40 whiskies that is well worth seeking out,! Before you can Buy a good Scotch whisky is 100 % malted barley and the product of one distillery often! Balvenie, and rightfully so rich mouthfeel, giving way to oaky spice and sweetness slowly! 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