It might feel like a hell of an ask to pay around $150 for a single bottle of whiskey. But if you want to play in the major leagues of Scotch whisky, you will have to have a heavy wallet. While we’re inching toward the coveted 20-year-old bottles, we’re still pretty deep in the 15- to 18-year-old single malts and special blends — translation: smack dab in the thick of it all.
So what’s the best Scotch whisky to buy before you reach $150?
Well, that depends on what you want. Scotch isn’t a monolith and when you’re talking about half of a car payment for a single bottle, you’ll want to come with a little knowledge locked and loaded before you buy. Below, I’m going to call out 10 Scotch whiskies that all fall into the $125-$150 price bracket and are certainly worth that price tag. There are peat monsters and unpeated subtle sippers with single malts and blends in the mix. That means there will be something for you too.
Read the tasting notes, find the sweet spots, and hit those price links to join the party. Let’s dive in!
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10. Octomore Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky Super Heavily Peated 14.1 Edition Aged 5 Years
ABV: 59.6%
Average Price: $135
The Whisky:
The 14.1 Edition of Ocotmore is made with 100% Scottish-grown Concerto barley that was heavily peated during the malting process. The barley was fermented and distilled in 2017 and left in the barrel to age — in ex-bourbon casks — next to the sea on Islay until 2023 when it was batched and bottled 100% as-is.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a bold sense of fresh rubber bicycle tires that are hard to get past. Eventually, the sip reveals coconut cake, rich vanilla, soft buttery toffee, roasted almonds, and salted caramel all smoked next to a seaweed-fed fire as whispers of slow-smoked pork butt.
Palate: Smoked lemons preserved in salt open the palate toward vanilla buttercream cut with toffee and stewed pear, cinnamon bark, and clove before soft smoldering charcoal and burnt honeycombs veer the palate toward dark chocolate-covered espresso beans, floral honey, and eggnog spice.
Finish: That creamy eggnog spiciness mounts on the finish with saltwater-soaked applewood charcoal, nasturtiums, and a deep sense of old earthy peat that’s part black soil, part dry smoldering seaweed, and part smoked fatty pork meat with a light sense of red berries lurking underneath.
Bottom Line:
This is a birth-by-fire pour of whisky. The peatiness of this one is astronomically high, making this a very love-it-or-hate-it whisky right out of the gate.
I have to really be in the right mood to enjoy this one. Other whisky drinkers will line up for hours to score a bottle. Re-read those tasting notes and see where you land before standing in line. Or try this one at a good whisky bar and go from there.
9. The Macallan Classic Cut Single Malt Scotch Whisky (2023 Edition)
ABV: 52.5%
Average Price: $129
The Whisky:
The 2023 expression from The Macallan is made from ex-bourbon from the U.S. and ex-sherry barrels from Spain that were seasoned in Spain for The Macallan, especially for this release. That whisky is then vatted and barely proofed down before bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose opens with a dose of apple candy next to sharp and fresh ginger with hints of floral honey before the bourbon vanilla arrives with notes of barrel spice, old oak, and sweet touches of tobacco rolled with old leather from a library armchair.
Palate: The palate turns that ginger into gingerbread with plenty of cinnamon and brown sugar next to a dash of orange oils that lead to more of that rich tobacco, now spiced with winter barks, before hitting a creamy note of vanilla buttercream.
Finish: The finish layers the vanilla and gingerbread over stewed plums and a whisper of spicy/malty tobacco leaves.
Bottom Line:
This is a great entry point to really good unpeated malt. It’s approachable but comes with a deep and succinct flavor profile. I’d argue that it makes a great cocktail at its core, but you can totally sip this one all day and be pretty happy about it. That’s especially true if you’re looking for a sipper that doesn’t feel like homework.
8. Benriach Speyside Single Malt Whisky The Sixteen Triple Cask Matured
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $132
The Whisky:
This new Benriach is all about the barrel blend. The 16-year-old single malt was aged in ex-bourbon, ex-sherry, and new oak casks. Those barrels were vatted, proofed with local water, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Classic Speyside apple orchards with plenty of herbal honey mingles with fresh ginger and dried apricot on the nose.
Palate: That apple turns into spiced apple pie filling on the palate as the honey leans toward nuttiness with a touch of candied orange.
Finish: Honeyed malts with a twist of burnt orange dance with grassy spice and soft and creamy nutty chocolate.
Bottom Line:
This is a great option for anyone looking for a fruit-forward malt that feels deep but sips easy. Pour this over a rock or into your favorite whiskey-forward cocktail and you’ll be for a treat.
7. The Singleton Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 14 Years “The Silken Gown” Special Release 2023
ABV: 55%
Average Price: $147
The Whisky:
The Singleton is a great gateway unpeated malt. It’s purposefully built to be subtle and welcoming, especially true of their 2023 Special Edition. This release takes the malt and finishes it in Chardonnay de Bourgogne French Oak casks until they’re just right. Once small batched, the whisky is bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is buttery and lush with a sense of fresh sweet apples and overripe pears next to salted toffee rolled in almonds and just kissed with cinnamon and nutmeg before this whisper of yellow melon skins arrives.
Palate: The butteriness takes on a fresh and almost sour note (in a great way) before soft oak arrives with more subtle winter spices, soft sultanas soaked in pear brandy, and a touch of caramel cut with candied citrus.
Finish: The end softens toward more toffee and butter as the wood leans sweet and softly spiced with hints of plums, apricots, and stewed pears with a whisp of saffron.
Bottom Line:
This unpeated malt runs deep. It’s so buttery and fruity that it almost feels like distilled Chardonnay by way of Highland malt. Then it goes beyond that with a nice spice and soft savoriness that makes The Singleton so beloved. Again, pour this over a rock or into a cocktail and have a great time with it.
6. Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 18 Years
ABV: 46%
Average Price: $138
The Whisky:
Old Pulteney is a renowned Highland single malt. The unpeated whisky is aged in second-fill ex-bourbon casks for 18 years before being re-barreled into first-fill ex-Oloroso sherry casks for a final maturation. Finally, the whisky is vatted, proofed down, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Bright notes of floral honey greet your nose as yellow pears, orange blossoms, and tart apples mingle with a thin line of vanilla cream, winter spice, and chocolate-covered raisins.
Palate: The palate leans into the chocolate while the taste gets slightly bitter like an espresso bean before a minced meat pie drops in with sweetness and meaty dried fruit with a good dusting of brown spices.
Finish: The end has a nice hit of orange zest that leads to a holiday cake with tons of dried and candied fruits and a good measure of wintry spices.
Bottom Line:
This is another malt that goes beyond the ordinary. There’s this depth that’s so nostalgic for winter holidays that it transports you to those times with solid dessert vibes throughout, making it a nice year-round sipper.
4. Aberlour Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 16 Years Old
ABV: 40%
Average Price: $144
The Whisky:
This small Speyside distillery has been producing quality whisky for over 200 years. This expression is aged 16 years in both ex-bourbon and ex-Olorosso sherry casks. It’s then married and proofed with soft Speyside water from the Highlands and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: There’s a matrix of dried dark fruits next to powdery dark spices with hints of walnuts and dried florals that draw you in on the nose.
Palate: The taste delivers on those notes while adding a deep plummy jam cut with clove and slightly sweet wood.
Finish: The end really holds onto that jammy fruit and spice as it slowly fades across your senses, leaving a velvet buttercream texture in your mouth.
Bottom Line:
This is another brilliant sipper. There’s so much to enjoy here from the spiced fruit to nuttiness and floral vibes that you can’t help but fall a little in love with this one.
4. Compass Box Hedonism Blended Grain Scotch Whisky 2024 Limited Annual Release
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $139
The Whisky:
2024’s Hedonism is here and it’s as bold as ever. The whisky is a blend of grain whiskies from all over Scotland. The lion’s share of the juice comes from the famed Cameronbridge Distillery (renowned for its grain whiskies) with support from Girvan and Port Dundas distilleries.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose feels like arriving at a bakery just as the pain au chocolat comes out of the oven with all that brown butteriness and salted chocolate goodness filling the air next to creamy caramel, rich fresh vanilla pods, and clove buds.
Palate: The caramel and vanilla get super creamy on the palate as touches of clove and cinnamon drive the taste toward soft floral honey and tiramisu.
Finish: A whisper of orange oil arrives late with more clove and cinnamon before the butteriness from the nose comes back with plenty of honey, a dash of coffee powder, and soft cacao.
Bottom Line:
This blended whisky feels so much bigger than a simple blended Scotch. There’s so much going on and it all adds up to something great on the glass. Overall, this is a spice-forward sipper that rocks over some ice and shines in a cocktail. If you want some serious spice in your glass, look no further.
3. Mortlach Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 16 Years
ABV: 43.4%
Average Price: $139
The Whisky:
This tiny and iconic Dufftown distillery is the whisky aficionado’s distillery. The whisky in this bottle is distilled almost three times (2.81 times to be exact) through various types of pot stills. The juice is then aged for 16 years in sherry casks before it’s, vatted, proofed, and bottled.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: You’re met with a bowl full of stewed plums with anise, clove, and cinnamon in the mix, next to a slight sense of dry moss on the nose.
Palate: The taste has a faint vanilla edge next to velvety honey, sharp spice, old leather-bound books, and a touch of bruised apricot.
Finish: The end is very long, holds onto the spice and fruit, and leaves you with a sense of creamy vanilla honey.
Bottom Line:
This is succinct and approachable at first but then goes deeper into this earthy vibe that feels like a roll down a Scottish hill on a summer’s day.
2. Oban Single Malt Scotch Whisky Aged 11 Years “The Soul of Calypso” Special Release 2023
ABV: 58%
Average Price: $139
The Whisky:
Oban is another tiny distillery that’s doing some of the best work in peated malts right now. Their 2023 Special Release is made with classic Oban that’s finished in Caribbean Pot Still rum casks until just right. Once those barrels are batched, the whisky is bottled 100% as-is at cask strength.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: The nose is like sitting on an old dock next to an inky dark sea as someone makes fresh saltwater taffy in the distance and someone else brews up mulled pear cider (perry) with plenty of winter spice and a touch of butter depth cut with candied orange and lemon before this whisper of a fruit basket wrapped in golden cellophane arrives.
Palate: The palate opens with a luxurious sense of brandy-soaked mangos and grilled pineapple before hitting on the creaminess of the saltwater taffy (like the bright neon yellow stuff) next to old oak staves layered with mildly spiced tobacco.
Finish: The end lets that oak tobacco spice peak before smoothing out with more salted tropical fruit chewiness that’s just kissed with smoldering orchard barks that have been soaked in seawater with a twinge of old leather in there somewhere.
Bottom Line:
This is a fantastic pour of whisky. It’s savory, sweet, and luxurious. You can sip this neat all day and then still want more the next day.
1. Aberfeldy Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 18 Years Finished in Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Casks Napa Valley Limited Edition
ABV: 43%
Average Price: $129
The Whisky:
This whisky was made with Aberfeldy’s iconic and very honey-forward 17-year-old Highland unpeated malt. That whisky was then re-casked into old Cabernet Sauv casks from Napa Valley for an additional 15 months of aging. Finally, those barrels were vatted and the whisky was proofed for bottling.
Tasting Notes:
Nose: Floral honey drives the nose toward cranberry sauce with a hint of spice oak layered with caramel apples and toffee candies rolled in dark chocolate.
Palate: Those caramel apples lead on the palate with a lush vanilla foundation next to bitter orange marmalade, apple pie filling, and a cup of regular drip coffee.
Finish: The honey arrives on the finish with a honeycomb earthiness before fresh and very sweet raspberry drives the taste back toward old oak with a hint of mince pies and mulled wine sneaking in at the very end.
Bottom Line:
This is a great food pairing whisky, especially if you’re already into dark and fun red wines. The vibe is very unpeated malty/fruity/lush but goes deeper with dank oak and soft winter nostalgia. And while this is a great slow sipper on its own, make a Manhattan with this one — it’ll rule.