Scotch, the king of liquors, it feels like. Originating in Scotland, scotch now has an international community associated with it, all with the shared interest of enjoying scotch in its many forms. There is lots of nuance when it comes to this distilled beverage, but we decided to put together a list that details some of the best scotch brands you should try this year.
From cheap to most expensive, 24/7 Wall Street compiled this list using editorial discretion (and personal experience, plus some crowdsourced recommendations from Reddit’s r/Scotch subreddit. While this is all subjective, we tried to rank these from most approachable to maybe something for more refined scotch palettes, but it isn’t a hard structure—anyone can appreciate any of the scotches on our list. Also, we tried to pick options that most liquor stores would carry. Let’s get started.
7. Monkey Shoulder
William Grant & Sons owns both the Monkey Shoulder and Glenfiddich brands.
- Manufacturer: William Grant & Sons
- Location: River Fiddish
- Notable releases: Monkey Shoulder Blended Malt Scotch Whisky
The Ideal Mixer
The brand advertises itself as the perfect scotch for mixing.
Monkey Shoulder was invented with a single purpose in mind: to be the perfect mixer. It even says so on their website. As far as we’re concerned, they’ve accomplished that goal splendidly. As a blended whisky, this brand is super approachable and relatively inexpensive when compared to other scotches.
6. Glenmorangie
LVMH owns many popular liquor and luxury brands, including this one.
- Manufacturer: LVMH
- Location: Tain, Ross-shire
- Notable releases: Original 10-Year
A Perfect Introduction
Glenmorangie is a great single-malt that almost anyone can start out with.
Glenmorangie is the ideal starting place for someone who is interested in just starting to dip their toe into the whisky. It’s really approachable and has the benefit of being a single malt and not a blend, which is generally considered “better” or “higher quality.”
5. Glenfiddich
Glenfiddich is one of the best-selling scotch brands in the world.
- Manufacturer: William Grant & Sons
- Location: Dufftown, Moray
- Notable releases: 12-Year, Signature Series (4 bottles)
A Bestseller for a Reason
In the United States, Glenfiddich is the second-best-selling scotch.
A single malt from the same distillers as Monkey Shoulder, Glenfiddich is one of the most well-known brands around the world and has been a massive hit for decades. Despite being a well-aged single malt, the approachable price means this whisky is perfect for anyone looking for something versatile for sipping and more.
4. Glenlivet
Glenlivet is owned by Pernod Ricard, a large liquor company that owns brands like Jameson and Absolut.
- Manufacturer: Chivas Brothers – Pernod Ricard
- Location: Ballindalloch, Moray
- Notable releases: Glenlivet 12-Year, Caribbean Reserve
A Speyside Scotch
A “Speyside scotch” just means a scotch that was made near the River Spey.
Behind Glenfiddich, Glenlivet is the second-highest-selling single malt scotch in the world. It’s known as a Speyside scotch, which means it was distilled in a similar geography as a Highlands scotch but with a slightly different, yet notable, flavor profile due to the nearby River Spey. It’s the highest-selling scotch in the United States.
3. Laphroaig
Laphroaig was recently bought by Beam, which is the same brand that makes Suntory.
- Manufacturer: Beam Suntory
- Location: Port Ellen, Islay
- Notable releases: 10-Year, 15-Year
A Perfectly Peaty Classic
Peat from peat bogs is used to add a smoky flavor to scotch.
For our first peated pick on the list, we went with Laphroaig. When a scotch is said to be “peaty,” this means that it was distilled with malted barley that was dried out using “peat” moss (literally, thick moss from a nearby bog) fires. Peated scotch is known for its smokiness, and Laphroaig’s location near the coast means it also has a certain brinyness to it.
2. Lagavulin
Islay is an island in Scotland where many notable scotch brands operate.
- Manufacturer: Diageo
- Location: Islay
- Notable releases: 16-Year
Iconic Islay
The peat from Islay is regarded as particularly complex and briny, giving these brands a unique flavor.
Often considered the rival to Laphroaig, Lagavulin is a fantastic scotch that is well-regarded around the world. Heck, even Parks and Rec’s Ron Swanson picked it as his favorite scotch. Its 16-Year bottle is probably its most well-known, and it does fetch a higher price than most of the options we’ve listed so far. Like Laphroaig, this is a single-malt peated scotch.
1. (The) Macallan
Macallan is one of the most famous and expensive scotch brands available to the average consumer.
- Manufacturer: Edrington Group
- Location: Easter Elchies, Craigellachie, Moray
- Notable releases: Sherry Oak & Double Oak, 12-Year, 18-Year
Expensive, Attentive, Perfect
Macallan is stringent in every aspect of its process, even having its own Master of Wood to source and age the wood properly.
There’s a reason that The Macallan (usually shortened to just “Macallan”) is regarded as the most famous luxury scotch brand in the world. The brand literally has someone on staff whose job is literally just to source wood for the fires (their title is the Master of Wood, which is so cool). There are specialty bottles and releases, most of which are great. The 12-Year and 18-Year editions from both the Double Oak and Sherry Oak barrels are the most standard, however.
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