The 21 Best Scotch Whiskies You Can Buy in 2022

Need a crowd pleaser? Here’s your go-to bottle. Popularized by the character Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation, this legendary bottle merges peat with campfire smoke. It’s aggressive and mouth-wateringly savory, like brisket on a hot summer day, and it is available in nearly every liquor store, duty free shop and self-respecting bar in America and abroad.

Region: Islay

ABV: 43%

Highland Park Distillery is based on the largest of the wild, peat-filled islands off of the northern tip of Scotland. Its brightly peated whisky sits in sherry-seasoned European oak casks and ages in the extremely mild climate of the islands, for a gentle maturation that hits its stride at 18 years. Ignore the eccentric variants and go straight for Highland Park’s classic 18-year expression. This whisky has too many awards to name, including multiple nabs of Best Spirit in the World in Spirit Journal.

Region: Highland

ABV: 43%

For many Scotch lovers, Deanston has probably been off the radar. Not anymore, thanks to its win at the 2022 International Wine & Spirits Competition. It has a hefty 46.3 percent ABV, spending time in both ex-bourbon casks and new oak barrels. The biggest shocker of its win was Deanston Virgin Oak's price, clocking in with a retail price of around $30. Despite the lack of the age statement, Deanston Virgin Oak is a single malt Scotch whisky with a price reserved for the less-than-amazing stuff.

Region: Highland

ABV: 46.3%

While Bruichladdich’s main lineup consists of unpeated Scotches, Port Charlotte is aggressively peated in a way that stinks up the room when you pour a dram. Bottled relatively young after spending 10 years in a mixture of first- and second-fill bourbon casks, and second-fill French wine casks, it’s an aggressive Scotch. And the 10 year statement is a huge upgrade from what was originally a no-age-statement offering.

Region: Islay

ABV: 50%

Caol Ila, Islay’s largest distillery, is a go-to brand for easy, entry-level Scotch from the region. (It famously produces much of the Scotch for blending in Johnnie Walker expressions.) Its 12-year-old expression has a delightful smoky-sweetness, complemented by herbs and spices that show why this distillery has been around since 1846.

Region: Islay

ABV: 43%

Named for the famous whirlpool that lies to the north of Islay and winner of The World’s Best Single Malt in 2010 by the World Whiskies Awards, Corryvreckan is intense, non-chill-filtered experience of peat and pepper aged in virgin French Limousin oak. If you’re looking for more fruitiness than spice, another fantastic Ardbeg is Uigeadail, which substitutes virgin French Limousin oak for ex-Sherry casks.

Region: Islay

ABV: 57.1%

The great-great nephew of William Mitchell, the founder of Glengyle Distillery, reopened his family’s distillery in 2004. The distillery had remained quiet since 1925, when it closed following an economic downturn, and August 2016 was the first time Glengyle’s new flagship hit shelves. Kilkerran 12 has since proved a worthy torchbearer, with light peat working off bright sherry and bourbon casks.

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 46%

Springbank was founded in 1828 by Archibald Mitchell and today is owned by Mitchell’s great-great-great-grandson, making it one of the few independent distilleries trading blows with giants like Diageo. Beginning in 2010, the distillery releases it’s 12 year expression, which blends juice aged in bourbon and sherry cask, semi-annually at cask strength. It’s well worth grabbing a bottle when they hit shelves.

Region: Campbeltown

ABV: 54.2%

The Balvenie is a great distillery. Its core lineup is diverse enough to satisfy most palates, with bottles showcasing sherry, bourbon, port, and rum, and peat week releases that crank the smoke. And while other distilleries are removing age statements to cut corners, The Balvenie has been doubling down on incredible, aged offerings like Tun 1509, which releases yearly in small quantities and should be on your wishlist. The Balvenie DoubleWood is 12-year-old whisky that’s spent nine months in ex-Oloroso sherry casks and makes for a great intro to the distillery at a fabulous price.

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43%

The Glenlivet is a name known everywhere. The Nàdurra line is named for the fact that it’s released non chill-filtered and at cask strength, or “natural.” While the rough cut Nàdurra is fantastic and the winner of Double Gold at the 2010 San Francisco World Spirits Competition, those who want a little more refinement should look no further than The Glenlivet 18.

Region: Speyside

ABV: 61.5%

Glenfarclas is one of the few remaining family owned and operated distilleries in all of Scotland. Its core line-up is packaged without fuss or frills, making them a great value (Glenfarclas 12 is great for those on a budget) and the 17 year just gets it right. Matured exclusively in ex-Oloroso sherry casks, this has big butterscotch and sherried fruit, mix with a little peat smoke for an easy-drinking, reliable Scotch.

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43%

The 14 Year Bourbon Barrel Reserve is aged for 14 years in ex-bourbon casks before being transferred to first-fill, heavily-charred American oak barrels from Louisville, bringing more wood. The 43% ABV, as opposed to their standard 40%, fixes the wateriness (or smoothness, depending on your preference) and helps tip this as our go-to Glendfiddich bottle.

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43%

Aberlour keeps things simple. Their core line-up consists of bottles of their Scotch aged 10, 16 and 18 years old, with A’bunadh representing their cask strength offering and occasional releases of 12 or 15 year old Scotch keeping things interesting. For our money, the 18 hits the sweet spot for an occasional dram.

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43%

Great Scotch? Yes. Smooth? Ridiculously? Overpriced? Definitely. The Macallan 18 Sherry is the perfect Scotch for non-Scotch drinkers. It’s difficult not to love it, but as a luxury Scotch bottle it isn’t designed to challenge you, but rather to open the door for anyone to enjoy what 18 years can do to transform whisky. It makes for a (really) nice gift, and is a showcase of what 18-year-old sherry-bombs can taste like, but the more adventurous should look elsewhere.

Region: Speyside

ABV: 43%

With few exceptions, since 1983 Glenmorangie has been the best selling single malt Scotch in the world. And for our money, the Nectar D’Or and the 18 year expressions are the best of the lot. The Nectar d’Or is Glenmorangie Original finished in Sauternes casks, a white dessert wine from Bordeaux, for an incredibly smooth and fruity Scotch at a great price. Pro tip: As of summer 2019, the Nectar D’Or swapped to a “no age statement” release. So if you see bottles with age statements (12 years), make sure to snap them up.

Region: Highland

ABV: 46%

Ledaig comes from the Tobermory distillery in the northwest corner of the Isle of Mull, just a short hop across the water from the mainland Highlands. In contrast to Tobermory single malts, Ledaig is heavily peated and made in small batches. This un-chillfiltered bottle is a standout for the price, and a better value than the distillers more expensive, and more refined, Ledaig 18.

Region: Highland

ABV: 46.3%

This yearly release is, for the price, among Talisker’s best. Of Highland’s distilleries, Talisker tends to bring high octane peat bombs, and if that’s where your heart lies I’d stick to Talisker 10, which is a fantastic, go-to bottle for entry-level smoke. But for those of us who want a bit more sherry sweetness, from the finishing months spent in Amoroso casks, this is a must.

Region: Highland

ABV: 45.8%

Oban is a port city in central Scotland, and its namesake distillery borrows a little of this and a little of that to produce an extremely well balanced Scotch that displays all the extremes of Scotland flavor. The distillery uses some of the smallest stills in Scotland, meaning that the 18 year release is a hard to find, limited-release, despite being a flagship product. This is a perfect starting point for those first wading into Scottish waters.

Region: Highland

ABV: 43%

An early distillery founded in 1826, was one of the first licensed distilleries in Scotland and a pioneer of sherry cask maturation. While sticker shock might steer you toward their more economical and no less worthy 12-year-old bottle, the extra age on this bottle — 21 years in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks — is outstanding for special occasions. Located in the far east of Scotland, near the Ardmore Distillery, come expecting whisky that’s extremely rich, sweet, and fruit, but don’t expect much peat this far from Islay.

Region: Highland

ABV: 48%

Auchentoshan is the only distillery to triple distill their Scotch, making for an extremely smooth, and a bit muted, Scotch. The three wood variation gets a bit more complexity from being aged in bourbon casks and finished in Oloroso then Pedro Ximénez casks. Expect some more fruit than the Auchentoshan 12.

Region: Lowland

ABV: 43%

For much of its history, Glenkenchie was producing the light-bodied Scotch typical of the Lowlands for use in blending. But in 1998, after changing hands to Diageo, the brand was selected to represent the Lowlands and the 12 year old expression hit shelves. This is a super easy-going Scotch, with delicate sweetness and little in the way of smoke, oak, or complexity.

Region: Lowland

ABV: 43%