However, it is just as admired, just as gorgeous, and The Macallan 25 Year Old Sherry Oak was priced at $2,000! Despite also being drawn entirely from Sherry cask-aged stock and also being a Speyside whisky, no one would claim this Glenfarclas is a clone of its Macallan counterpart. This particular whisky is a case in point. Glenfarclas 25 Year Old ($175): It has practically become one of our mantras here at The Whiskey Reviewer that if you like The Macallan, buy The Glenfarclas. If you also know that this malt comes from whiskies aged a quarter-century in two different Sherry cask types, Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso, then that fact becomes simply amazing. Keeping that in mind, it’s truly surprising that the crown of that range, their 25 Year Old, is fetching less than $300 a bottle. GlenAllachie 25 Year Old ($260): GlenAllachie isn’t an old (built in 1967) or large distillery, but it is much admired in malt-head circles, and the launch of its core range in 2018 was hotly anticipated. In other words, this is an Islay whisky for the enthusiast who appreciates sophistication over boldness. But those who pick up a bottle of Coal Ila 25 a rich whisky with a quite restrained smokiness. Smokeheads looking for a peat bomb should look elsewhere. The result is a nuanced, flavorful whisky that is an excellent showcase for what the Speyside style can do.Ĭaol Ila 25 Year Old ($255): It’s often said that the peatiness in a malt diminishes with age, and that is certainly the case here. The expression is blended from stock aged in the usual ex-bourbon barrels, Oloroso Sherry casks, and (unusually) new oak casks. All seven of these bargains are priced in the range of what most of us would consider a splurge, such as a birthday present (either to one’s self or to a special someone), and all of them are at the quarter-century mark.īenriach 25 Year Old ($250): My initial introduction to BenRiach 25 came at the hands of Stewart Buchanan, the former distillery manager there, and I’ve been a fan of the expression ever since. That said, there are still some bargains to be had at that coveted 25 year mark, the point at which Scotch whisky is most often said to be truly old (15 to 20 years is merely middle-aged).

There also isn’t as much as a gap between the official price and what retailers charge for Scotch whiskies: if the market will bear a bottle priced at $500, that is what the company suggests retailers charge for it. As we described in our September feature on the most expensive Scotch whiskies, there are five offerings from The Macallan with a market value above $100,000. Still, that is nothing compared to Scotch whisky. Weller 12 Year Old?) absurdly low, the market value for buying most premium, limited edition bottles on demand is always a three or four digit number nowadays. Although the recommended retail prices often remain reasonable, low or (in the case of certain Buffalo Trace offerings $40 for W.L. An often heard complain from American whiskey enthusiasts is that their good stuff keeps getting scarcer and pricier, and that complaint isn’t without justification.

Macallan whiskey 25 price