Okay, these are challenging times for all of us. Collectively, we can help each other out.
You’re all out there buying whisky and looking for the good values. And I know you are finding them. How about sharing them with us?
What do you think is a good value? And by value, I mean a good whisky at a good price. It doesn’t have to be young or really low in price. For example, I think that Talisker 18 year old has been a good value whisky over the years.
Give us your thoughts on this. And don’t limit this to scotch. All whiskies (and whiskeys) are fair game.
Balvenie 10 FR comes to mind immediately at ~$40… also Glemo 10 at the same price point
Laphroaig 10yr which can be found in CA for around $35
Jim Beam Black is always a good buy.
Thomas H. Handy is not just a great rye, it’s a great whiskey that easily compares to the $100+ bottles of American Whiskey out there
Black Bottle @ $25, Ardbeg Ten @ $57, and I second the Glenmorangie 10
In NYC, you can get Ardbeg 10 for $47, which for me is one of the best all-around values out there.
Highland Park 12 for $36 here in NYC is a pretty good deal as well.
I just finishe a half of gallon of old grandad bonded. 30 bucks, one of the best deals out there. Also, virginia gentleman 8o proof.
Benchmark Bourbon – $10.99
Old Bardstown 80-pf Bourbon – $11.49
Evan Williams Bourbon – $12.49/Liter
Tamdhu 10-yr Single Malt – $20.99
The Singleton of Glendullan 12-yr Single Malt – $44.99
HP 12, Tali 10/18, Bowmore 12 (growing on me) are all great buys in Ontario
Eagle Rare 10yo bourbon at around $25 is a good value for me.
Lots of great suggestions here (and interesting to see so many bourbons and ryes crop up, totally agree w/r/t Glenmorangie 10), but I have to respectfully disagree with Joe re: The Singleton.
The Singleton is probably the most unremarkable scotch I’ve ever had. And you can get TONS of good stuff for ~$45. As I said, here in NYC you can get an Ardbeg 10 for only $2 more . . .
I figure this is also as good a time as any to pimp out a little project we have at Whisky Party – 40 Whiskies Under $40. For budgetary and liver reasons we’ve only gotten through 6 so far, but we keep adding more every week or two.
http://whiskyparty.net/?tag=40-under-40
A colleague of mine recently discovered The Spirit Journal’s list of bargain spirits. Some notables that made the list are the Bowmore “Darkest” and the Canadian Club Classic 12 Year. Unfortunately the CC 10 year, which in my opinion is far superior to the 12 (and only costs $20 or so), didn’t make the list. You can find his original post here:
http://www.aspiringgentleman.com/etcetera/whisky-bargains-from-spirit-journal/
I won’t tell all.. last time I told Brown-Forman (and all my friends) about Old Forester being the best deal for Bourbon out there, they raised the price about 70%..
So.. here is what I think:
Elijah Craig 12YO & Very Old Barton best Bourbon Values.
Single Malt values:
Aberlour, Glen Garioch 10yo.
Blends:
William Lawsons (not in the US)
100 Pipers, Grand Macnish, 888
Canadian: 40 Creek is the best.. but
Canadian Club & Crown Royal have some nice ones at good prices too.
If anyone wants to see the prices and what is available in Ohio… URL is:
http://www.com.ohio.gov/liqr/rpts/dolc.liquor.pricelist.txt
Have pity on us.
One more. It’s not available state-side (to my knowledge, John can correct me if I am wrong), but I bought a full liter of Glenkinchie 10 for $30 at a duty-free in the Caribbean.
It’s become my go-to scotch when I have large groups at my house and in the past three months I’ve finished about 75% of that liter.
Tasting notes will be up on my site in a day or two, but if you’ve never had it, it’s got some nice overtones of grass and pears. Very light, summer scotch. I can see why they sell it in the islands.
In PA, Laphroaig 10 Cask Strenth and Glenlivet Nadurra both sell for about $60. I think those are great bang per buck values.
Lots of ‘em… These are some of my “preferred” offerings when I’m feeling cheapish…
Black Bottle @ $18-$25
Bowmore Legend @ $25
Highland Park 12 @ ~$40 (always have on hand because it’s good, not just budget)
Yamazaki 12 @ low-$40 is a must.
Laphroaig 10 and/or Ardbeg 10 when they are on sale in the low/mid-$40 range are a steal!
Lagavulin 16 on sale @ $49.99 for the last few months – I’m 3 bottles in at that price!
Longrow CV @ $55-$60
Talisker Distillers – tastes like a $100+ bottle for low $60-ish
The Islay Collection from The Whisky Exchange – 200cl bottoles of Caol Ila 12 & 18, Lagavulin 12 CS & 16, and Port Ellen 6th or 7th – ~ $100 (plus shipping of course)
NEVER – I REPEAT NEVER – buy Drumguish… >yuck< Anybody want my bottle?
Compass Box’s Oak Cross, Asyla and The Peat Monster are excellent values all in the mid $40′s. Also C.B. Hedonism at $80.
Highland Park 15 and 18 will not dissappoint.
Both Bushmills Black Bush and 16 are very tasty.
Crown Royal Cask No. 16 and Forty Creek are not your typical Canadian.
Jim Beam Black, Makers Mark and Pappy Van Winkle 15 are all American.
El Tesoro and Partida tequilas are first class and use estate grown agaves.
Laphroaig 10 year old, 55.7%. GET IT WHILE IT’S STILL A KNOWN QUANTITY/QUALITY= IT MAY BECOME A SHAPE-SHIFTER SHORTLY.
diluted: Talisker 10 & 18 year olds, both 45.8%. Longrow CV, 46.%
Harvey
Heaven Hill 6yo BiB, since the 10yo is no longer available.
Lombard Teanich 12 yo and Glenmorangie 10 ‘Original’, both in the high $30′s.
Buffalo Trace bourbon for $24
Sazerac Rye for $27
Warehouse Liquors in NYC, at Broadway and Astor Place has the Bowmore 18 for $60, and the old Longmorn 15 for $40.
Some of my inexpensive, but favourite whiskies:
Jura Superstition
Yamazaki 12
Highland Park 12
Balvenie 12 Doublewood
Ardbeg 10
Oh… and add the Dalmore 12 on there. An excellent dram at a quite reasonably price.
Some great values; Aberlour 10, an excellent flavour profile and quite simply worth twice the price.
The Battlehill line from Duncan Taylor; all around C$68/US$60 for Auchentoshan, Ben Nevis, Miltonduff and Imperial, all 8 or 9 years old, very good, NO off notes, and interesting.
Coopers Choice, they have some seriously good whisky for great prices; if their single malts were Official Bottlings they would be twice the price. And as a bonus they bottle very few of the readily available malts so you can find Aultmore, Clynelish, Mortlach etcetera for ‘cheap as chips pricing’.
If you’re really watching your pennies then take a look at Isle of Syke blend and the Black Grouse; both are VERY good. I think in some US markets the Isle of Skye is only $26…..at that price you can even afford to pour it on your cornflakes……
Rittenhouse 100 Rye from Heaven Hill. No better bang for the buck.
Best value for scotch is without a doubt the Laphriag 10, for American whiskey (of which I am not too much of en expert), I would second the remark about Ritenhouse Rye 100.
A bit further up on the price scale, my vote goes for the new Bowmore 15 Darkest.
Islay OB: Caol Ila CS; Ardbeg 10 (the only good value Ardie left); Laphroaig 10, QC or CS
Islay IB: Cadenhead’s Classic Islay; Cadenhead’s 1848 Islay Malt (you have to try this one!); The Ileach CS; JWWW Classic of Islay
Scotch Highland: Glenfarclas 15 and 105 (if you like ‘em young)
Irish: Black Bush, Redbreast
USA: Elijah Craig 12
Clynelish from the early 1980s.
Laphroaig from the late 1990s.
Bowmore from the mid-1990s.
All marvellous and usually either too ‘low profile’ or too young to fetch high prices at the indies’.
Finlaggan Old Reserve at Trader Joe’s in California is $17.99. I’m still surprised it is this cheap!!!
Ah, I miss the Dalmore 12 …..
Good value is like appreciating whiskies, quite subjective.
For me, to be a good value whisky is should cost (generally) less than $10 per year.
In the category of whiskies below $100 and readily available:
Lagavulin 16, Talisker 10, Glenfiddich 15 YO Solera, Bowmore 12, Longrow C.V.
In the older whiskies, most Clynelish and Ardmore from the 1970s offer a value good value for their price (less than $200 for a 30+ years old whisky) and if we look at older whiskies, the Glen Grant and Strahisla from the 1960s are excellent products which present a good value compared to most notorious brands.
A few suggestions at cask strength. For me it’s about quality not quantity for the money. Usually a bit dearer than the standard strength bottlings but a real blast for your money. Plus you can add water to knock them down to the equivalent of a litre of the standard bottlings if you choose (and if you have good water!)
Aberlour A’bunadh – Sherry Casks (Each batch I’ve tried has been great and the variations just add to the fun.)
Glenlivet Nadurra 16yo – American Oak – (A big dram compared to the standard 12 and 18.)
Glenmorangie Astar – Ozark American Oak (A world apart from the standard bottlings and finishes and a real eye-opener if they are your only previous experience of this distillery.)
Laphroaig Cask Strength 10yo – Peat + American Oak (As Harvey says, this is moving to a batch release bottling. But like the Aberlour I don’t expect this to hurt the quality and will probably just add to the interest for us to compare batches.)
Ardbeg Uigeadail – Peat + American Oak + Sherry Butts (This is distillery manager Mickey Heads’ favourite from their range and one of my all time favourites too).
Nice postings, guys. I’m going down through your recommendations, and there’s a lot of good ones in there. If I made my own list, a lot of what you mentioned would be on my list too! Plus, there’s a few you have mentioned that I would have completely overlooked. (Serge, I particularly like your “era” recommendations.) Well done!
And, as you have shown, a great value doesn’t always have to be a really low price, as long as the quality is high.
I really think your postings will help others reading this with their future whisky purchases. If you’re reading this and wondering where to start, you’ll notice that several whiskies have been mentioned multiple times. There’s a reason for that.
How about some more recommendations?
Miyagikyo 10yo
Hakushu 12yo
Nikka from the Barrel
Glendronach 15yo
Laphroaig 18yo
Yoichi 10yo
Hibiky 12yo & 17yo
Nikka Taketsuru 17yo & 21yo
Yamazaki 18yo
Redbreast 12yo
Busmills 10yo & 16yo
Balvenie Signature 12yo & Single Barrel 15yo
Isle of Jura 10yo & 16yo
Glenfiddich 15yo Solera
Caol Ila Cask Strength
Lagavulin 12yo Special Release
Aberlour a’bunadh
Ardbeg 10yo & Uigeadail
Auchentoshan Classic
Glen Garioch 8yo
Benriach 16yo
Benromach Origins
Blanton’s Original
Elmer T. Lee
Cragganmore 12yo
Edradour 10yo Unchillfiltered
…
I’d second Douglas and Alexandre and add the following:
Glenfarclas 102, 12, 17
Talisker 10
Highland Park 18
Aberfeldy 12
Glenrothes Select Reserve
Glen Garioch 8
Old Pulteney 12
Scapa 14
and Longmorn 15 (where did you go?)
Also, the cask strengths, as expressed above, a great value ounce for ounce, if only I added more water!!!
I also find all of the mcclelands single malt selections to be a great value, especially the islay, I ran across a half a gallon for 26 bucks recently.
I could mention more regular bottlings but I would like to emphasize also the exceptional quality and reasonable price of somes vintage japanese whiskies such as :
Yoichi 1987, 1988…
Miyagikyo 1988…
Karuizawa 1981,1977,1972,1971…
Yamazaki 1986,1990,1993
and some of the Hanyu 2000,1990,1986,1985
Talking about indie bottlings, Gordon & MacPhail has fantastic old Strathisla (25-30-40-50yo and 1960s-70s) has well as the Macallan Speymalt starting 1999 and the ones from the 1960s-70s and the Longmorn from the 1960s and beginning 70s, same for Smith Glenlivet and the Linkwood. And of course the very old Glen Grant from the 1950s-60s !
Precious old casks can also be found from Signatory Vintage and Douglas Laing from various distilleries, Berry Bros or Duncan Taylor…
Should I also mention John Glaser’s Compass Box Whiskies such as Asyla and Peat Monster ?
The obvious answer is cask strength whiskies. Every dram of water you add is making your whiskey go further.
There are some very surprising young whiskies that taste more mature (and have little to no ‘green’ flavor.)
Ardbeg 10 year old
Aberlour 10 year old
Talisker 10 year old
The Glenlivet Nadurra is excellent, a 16 year old cask strength with wonderful flavor.
Clynellish is another favorite of mine that is quite reasonable for a 14 year old.
Any Rosebank is lovely. I have not had a bad bottle, ever.
One of my personal favorites of late is a blend, Black Bottle 10 year old which is very reasonable and just a sheer pleasure to drink, if you enjoy smoky whiskey.
Haig & Haig Pinch, at 15 years is also a good buy. Lovely blend that reminds me of a good Campbelltown.
I see prices/ages all day long. In my shop one line that stands out among many is the Tomatin 12yr and 18yr. They are aggresively priced.
John, after the few whiskies I could try, I believe more and more in something that’s not too far from a vintage effect indeed. Depending on various factors, most unknown (production tweaking, malting, weather, cut, wood policy, manager, mouser
) some distilleries seem to have had their ‘best’ eras at a certain point, sometimes very recently, which is good news I think.
Now, one may also think that that ‘effect’ came from large very good lots of casks that were bought at a certain time by some independent/brokers (25, 50 or more consecutive casks), these casks being then sparingly resold, either directly or to smaller independents (and so on).
My tuppence.
Second the Rittenhouse, Elijah Craig 12, Old Grand-dad BiB, Beam Black, Black Bottle, Redbreast, and the Heaven Hill 6 YO BiB (but I wish we’d all shut up about that one).
I’d add one Chuck C. led me to: J.T.S. Brown BiB; as he put it, the best $12 bottle of bourbon you’ll ever buy. Very nice, if hard to find.
I’ll have a “Best bourbons you may not have heard of” in an upcoming issue of Malt Advocate. The research has been a lot of fun.
I don’t see it here, and maybe it’s not a cool whisky to point out, but Johnnie Walker Black is $19.99 at my local big box liquor store, and I find it quite drinkable. Enjoyable, even.
Jeff H, I cut my teeth on JW Black. And I still enjoy it.
Lew, I’m still holding on to my Heaven Hill 10 yr. BIB which I believe cost me all of 11 or 12 bucks! Ditto the Ancient Ancient Age 10 yr. bottle which was sitting right next to it. But that was a few years ago…
Jonathan, and that Tomatin 18 is really a nice whisky too!
Alexandre, sadly all of us here in the U.S. don’t get the opportunity to buy those rare vintage Japanese bottles.
John, I guess many Americans do travel to Europe and Japan or have some friends there who can help them to get samples or bottles of those magnificient malts.
Of course you have a wider selection of bourbon and rye in USA, but also sometimes very special editions, such as the Oban 18yo. It would be interesting to see what you don’t get and what we can’t get !
I would like to echo, that all of the hh bonds are excellent, as well as the bartons.
When you are talking hard times whiskeys, I think of whiskeys under $30. I like Graham Gordon’s Black Bottle, Clontarf Irish Whiskey, Buffalo Trace Bourbon, and Canadian Club Sherry Cask (a highly underrated Canadian whisky). I think these are all great finds for under $30.
Aberlour A’bunadh $47
Macallan 12 $35
Glenffich 15 $37
Elijiah Craig 12 $20
1792 Ridgemont Reserve $22
Wild Turkey Rare Breed $32
Highland Park 12 $38
Well those are the prices out here at Total Wine in AZ
Sean, good call on the 1792, forgot that one, and Tom, ditto on the Barton. Hope that Sazerac gets them some wider (louder!) distribution.
For sure–and I’ve been saying this for many years–the biggest bang for the buck is American whiskey. The prices aren’t exactly fire sales, like many were a decade ago. And yes, the American whiskey companies have taken a page from the Scots handbook and now know how to sell ultra-premium product and very high prices. But there are still some very good values, as many of you have shown with the examples you posted up here.
This reminds me of the Malt Maniacs Bang for the Buck category (http://www.maltmaniacs.org/ADHD/bfyb.html). For me, I would say Buffalo Trace is a great buy for great bourbon. Blended scotch the Famous Grouse offers rich flavor at a price that is hard to beat. In single malts, I think Highland Park 12 is a stand-out in its price/age range.
Pretty heavy on the whisky here, not so much on the whiskey. So my own two cents:
Old Grand-Dad 100 http://preview.tinyurl.com/lgveqy
Powers Gold Label
http://preview.tinyurl.com/d92kdl
And, I admit it: Canadian Club Reserve 10 y.o., which runs about $15 here in Oregon.
Laphroaig Quarter Cask
The BenRiach 10 Curiositas
Glenfiddich 15
Speyburn 10 (darn good for a $30 whisky)
Edradour 10
Tullibardine 1993
Old Pulteney 12
The Glenrothes 1985 (a little spendy, but stunning among its peers)
Oh, Frane, good call on the Powers! That’s my shot whiskey at Irish bars now, can’t beat it. And I’ve been preaching the OGD101 gospel for about five years now: might be the best bourbon deal on the market (and it’s rye-heavy enough to get you through a Rittenhouse drought, too).
Yeah, Powers is underappreciated. I love the pot still character in it. A great drop. And if you can find the 12 year old in your travels, by it! Delicious!
I just picked up a bottle of Ardbeg Nam Beist for $65 – quite a deal there!!!
Gosh, Kevin, and you only picked up “a bottle”????
So many great suggestions!
For good value it is hard to go past Old Pulteney 12 and Highland Park 12 – both around $60 in Australia. For something a little more interesting there is a wide variety of Bruichladdichs in that price bracket too. Oh, and I must not forget Ardmore Traditional Cask!
But for true value you cannot beat cask strength. Laphroaig 10yo CS and Aberlour a’bunadh are good buys.
Two-bit: last one they had… They are getting more on Tuesday – I will be going back!
lately, i’ve been enjoying the famous grouse MALT series (12 yr- $35, 18 yr- $55)… and just opened a 30 yr that i had sent from london. very nice.
also, the G&M macphail’s collection bottlings in the lower ages (8 yr) are excellent values ($30-35).
Joe, and there are three new 8 yr. old G&Ms out there: HP, Tamdhu and Glenrothes. All pretty decent for 8 year olds.
Although its becoming harder to find, Ancient Ancient Age is a tremendous bargain for a ten year old bourbon, less than $15 in Kentucky.
Pepcycle, yeah, a great value, but ONLY available in KY, and pretty much nowhere else. A good reason to go to KY.
Sorry Lew and others–was REALLY disapointed in the Ridgemont 1792…
The Rittenhouse is certainly popular with you lot, but my $26 goes to Sazerac 6 yr – at least when I can find it. My local shops can’t seem to keep it in stock.
Most of the Scotch responses have been for single malts, but two fantastic values in blended Scotch are Grants Family Reserve and Ballantines Finest. Both available in Arkansas for less than $20 in 1.75L size. Both are absolutely first class. At a higher price, The Famous Grouse has to be on my short, short list. In the single malt category, Balvenie 12 Double Wood is terrific, and in bourbons, Maker’s Mark.
The Aberlour 10 year at #35.99 CDN is a great price and so is Glenfiddich 15 yr $ 54.99 lovely drop in my opinion.
You can never go wrong with Teachers Highland Cream at 18.95
Dalmore Cigar Malt (while it lasts?), Bowmore 12 and Old Pulteney 12 can all be found in the $36-$43 range on a regular basis. Three wonderful options to have on the whisky shelf.
I am hoarding Cigar Malt.
For my money, the most consistently best buy I have found is the Arran Malt 10yo — great everyday single malt.
Best blend buy continues to be Famous Grouse (there is a reason it remains the most popular blended scotch in Scotland).
Beyond that, I agree with many of the suggestions – Dalmore Cigar Malt, Glenmorangie 10, Ardbeg 10, etc. However, was surprised (and pleased as that means I don’t have to drink it) to see Old Pulteney and Antiquary on some lists … the former tasted sour while the latter was simply too underwhelming for words (to paraphrase Churchill, “A modest scotch with a lot to be modest about!”
I’m blessed to live in Maryland, where I can buy a special bottling of Highland Park 15yr single cask 55.1% apv. for only $69.99 it’s unfiltered with sediment on the bottom of the bottle. They have their own little label on it saying Distilled in 1991, bottled in 2006, cask no.3701.
Anyway, they have cases of it and I’m the only one who buys it. It’s rich and dark.
John,
Those are the 3 bottlings I’m talking about. I was at a G&M tasting here in Boston a few weeks ago. A lot of attendees took home the Tamdhu (not to my liking, tho). I took a couple each of HP and ‘Rothes.
Oh, I’d have to agree with the others on Rittenhouse 100.
Cragganmore 12
Highland Park 12
JW Black Label – this is my “everyday china”
JW Green Label – this “vatted malt” is always a crowd pleaser
Linkwood – always a flask in my golf bag
WL Weller Sp Reserve
Old Forester
E Williams SB
of course, the best value dram is the one that someone has given to you!
agree with Pepcycle on the Triple A!
Hello there folks.I have been a collecter and drinker of Scotch for more years than I care to remember,and in my opinion there is no bad Whisky,only some are better than others.There is one-again in my estimation-that stands aloof from the rest and that is Edradour.Distilled by three men in the hills above Pitlochery.It produces only 12 casks a week,and is the smallest distillery in Scotland.A truly sensationl 10 year old single malt.
Regards George Frederick.