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If you think we're about to answer any form of the question, “What whiskey is the best whiskey?”, we'll warn you now: you're going to walk away disappointed. Whiskey is a big, broad, beautifully complex galaxy of its own in the universe of spirits. Every country, every distillery, every bottling is a chance to see a different side of a simple liquor. So please don't accuse us of copping out when we say: there's no one best whiskey. Hell, there aren't 10 best whiskeys, or 25, or 97. But! We do have some favorites.
So consider this our not-at-all-comprehensive list of the whiskeys we think are worth some space on your home bar, whether that's a fancy bar cart or just a shelf in your kitchen cupboard, above the plates. These whiskeys have been selected by a panel of whiskey experts, writers, and devoted whiskey drinkers. Behind their inclusion are decades of experience and thousands (tens of thousands?) of pours.
That said, if you're a whiskey fan who's fresh to the game, it would help to have some basics down. So here's a quick 101 on whiskey:
What even is whiskey?
Whiskey is a spirit distilled from fermented grains. That’s it. Whiskey (or whisky, minus the ‘e,' if it's from Japan, Canada, or Scotland) is made from barley, corn, rye, rice, wheat, sorghum, and millet. And it's made all around the world: in Japan, Ireland, Canada, Australia, France, Taiwan, the U.S., and Scotland.
Whiskey is typically aged in wooden casks—although you can find unaged, “white” whiskeys, as well. They can be freshly-coopered barrels charred within an inch of their lives, or in decades-old sherry casks saturated with sweet, syrupy Pedro Ximinez. Whiskey can be bottled at a gentle 40 percent ABV or a cask-strength 65 percent. And there's a lot of leeway in what gets to be called a whiskey—an American “blended whiskey” could be up to 80 percent neutral grain spirit, for example. Often, though, local regulations depending on the country or region of production determine the whiskey.
Bourbon, for example, must be made in the United States with 51 percent corn and aged in charred, new oak barrels. You won't find any true bourbons in this list, but we've got you covered: these are our favorite bourbons. Scotch, obviously, is made in Scotland. A single-malt Scotch must be made at a single distillery in Scotland using malted barley and copper pot stills and aged for a minimum of three years.
But enough of whiskey school. Let's get to our favorite bottles.
Table of Contents
Best American Single Malts
Best Not-Quite-Bourbons
Best Peaty Scotches
Best Japanese Whiskies
Best Rye
Best Irish Whiskey
Best American Single Malts
"I'm just loving what the folks at Westward Distillery in Portland, Oregon are creating," raves Becky Paskin, the former editor of scotchwhisky.com. She describes the Westward American single malt as “full of passion and provenance." Then there's the rich, chocolate-y Westward stout cask single malt. Stout-cask aging is a relatively new trend in whiskey—distillers send used barrels to breweries, which age heavier beers (like imperial stouts) in the barrels, then send'em back to the distillers for more whiskey aging. Westward's version has a mash bill (basically, the whiskey's ingredient list) that, wildly enough, includes sourdough starter.
Veteran bartender Graham Files co-owns the bar Someday, also in Portland, and appreciates that Westward’s experimental releases are never gimmicky. "They play with different processes and ingredients, but it’s not different solely for the sake of being different. All Westward's spirits are crafted with real intentionality and creativity."
Located in Denver, Stranahan’s produces a bunch of bottles worth your attention: a single malt aged in new American oak; Blue Peak, an incredibly smooth expression finished using a solera process, whereby liquid is moved from the top of a pyramid of barrels down to the bottom as it ages; and our favorite, Stranahan's sherry cask-finished single malt. Whiskey writer Susan Reigler, the former president of the Bourbon Women Association, is a fan. “Its time in Oloroso sherry barrels lends some nice floral notes that sweeten up the malt a little bit.”
Best Not-Quite-Bourbons
Kentucky-based Michter's does produce a bourbon, but both Reigler and Young Kim, the beverage director at New York’s Fine & Rare, calls out the distillery's not-quite-bourbon whiskeys. “Michter's US 1 Sour Mash Whiskey is not technically a bourbon and not technically a rye, because it doesn’t have 51 percent of either,” says Riegler. It’s a really versatile, solidly delicious whiskey, good for cocktails or sipping."
Similarly, Kim’s pick, Michter’s US 1 Unblended American whiskey, is aged not in the new oak barrels that bourbon regulations require, but in previously-used, whiskey-soaked casks.
Best Peaty Scotch for Beginners
The common wisdom regarding peated Scotch—those smoky, often medicinal whiskies made with barley that's been dried over a peat-fueled fire—is that you either like them or you don’t. But if in the past you’ve been turned off by a briny, Band-Aid-scented single malt from Islay in the past, H. Joseph Ehrmann—proprietor of Elixir in San Francisco—recommends giving the peated expressions from Speyside distillery BenRiach a chance.
"As much as I like a big, classic peat bomb, I love it even more when peat is used strategically to create a whisky that is utterly balanced like a perfect cocktail," he says. While definitely present, the smoke in BenRiach’s The Smoky Twelve doesn’t overwhelm the notes of orchard fruit and baking spice.
Best Peaty Scotch for Pros
"I do love whiskies that taste like chewing on a burnt log," says Reigler, and if you’re also here for Big Peat Energy, seek out the Scotches from Islay’s Ardbeg distillery. "Ardbeg has so many expressions, and can release whiskies that are a zillion years old because of the climate. Our whiskey evaporates so quickly here," says Louisville-based Reigler.
But it’s the distiller's youngest bottling that Paskin singles out: "Ardbeg Wee Beastie is just five years old," she says, "But it’s a peaty, robust, and complex single malt that packs an abundance of flavor." More specifically, it has a smoky, salty flavor profile, with hints of dark chocolate, bacon, and toffee.
Best Japanese Whiskies
The origin of Japanese whisky dates back to 1918, when chemist Masataka Taketsuru traveled to Scotland to learn the ins and outs of whisky production. Armed with notebooks filled with notes and sketches, he went on to found Nikka, which produces a variety of single malts—like Nikka Yoichi, a favorite of Kim—that brings a Japanese artfulness and finesse to traditional Scottish distillation practices.
But Nikka Coffey Malt is a departure. Instead of using a pot still, it’s distilled on a column still invented by 19th century Irish inventor Aeneas Coffey. ("A lot of people tell me they can taste the coffee," Kim confides. "It’s awkward when I tell them it’s named after a man named Coffey.")
The rap on Coffey stills is that they lead to spirits that taste clean and neutral, like vodka, but that they rob whiskies of their character. "Nikka Coffey Malt just crushes it when it comes to dispelling preconceived notions of what a column still can do," says Ehrmann. "For Nikka to put out a malt whisky that stands up to great pot distilled malts just shows the leadership it demonstrates in Japan."
Hibiki Harmony is the non-age-statement version of Hibiki 17 and 12, which you effectively can’t find anymore thanks to the skyrocketing international demand for Japanese whisky. “Hibiki really speaks to the craftsmanship of Japanese whisky while nodding to the influence of Scotch,” says Samara B. Davis, the founder of the Black Bourbon Society.
Harmony is a blend of two single malts from Suntory distilleries—Yamazaki, which produces a whisky that’s fruity and floral, and Hakushu, whose liquid is lightly smoky and green—as well as grain whisky from the Chita distillery. “It really is harmonious,” says Kim. “Single malts can sometimes be a little harsh, but by blending in that grain whisky—which contains a lot of corn, like bourbon—you get a really smooth sipper.”
Best Rye For Those Long Winter Nights
High West Midwinter’s Night Dram, distilled in Park City, Utah, is an annual limited release that comes to life when the distiller's flagship rye is aged in port barrels. The bottling comes out every winter, and Susan Reigler is waiting with her AmEx in hand: "It is. So. Good. It’s like Christmas pudding with brandy sauce. I would walk barefoot in the cold to get a bottle of this stuff."
Best Irish Whiskey For People Who Dismiss Irish Whiskeys
"Irish whiskeys tend to have a floral, lightly fruity subtlety that’s a nice change of pace from bourbon or Scotch," says Reigler. Triple distillation is a hallmark of Irish whiskeys—as opposed to Scotch whiskies, which are typically distilled twice—and results in a spirit that’s smoother but, as some Scotch or bourbon whiskey lovers assert, less full of character.
Redbreast 15 Irish whiskey is proof that those detractors are wrong. “It’s a good entry level option for a whiskey drinker because it has body while still retaining lightness,” says Reigler.
Even though Redbreast is made with barley, it can’t be called a malt whiskey because a hefty portion of that barley is unmalted (another signature of Irish whiskeys that can be traced back to the riveting intricacies of colonial tax law, but that’s for another time). "That unmalted barley in the mash bill gives you spicy, creamy notes," explains Kim, who also appreciates Redbreast 15’s "rich and unctuous mouthfeel."
Best Whiskey From a Country You Didn’t Know Produced Whiskey
Kavalan is the first whisky to be produced in Taiwan, taking its name from the indigenous inhabitants of the northeastern part of the island. As Kim explains: "Taiwan is really hot—hotter than Kentucky in summer, so you get a complex, rich single malt with less time in the barrel." She particularly loves the sweetly nutty Kavalan Concertmaster, aged in ex-bourbon barrels and finished in port casks.
16 expert-selected bourbons worth kicking back with, from $17 up to $200.
