5 Affordable Whiskies 2023
With Christmas just around the corner, what better time to look at 5 enjoyable whiskies that won’t break the bank?
When I talk about affordable whiskies, I’m looking at whiskies that are readily available in most countries, perfectly enjoyable to drink neat, but are reasonably priced enough that you’re not going to be upset when Uncle Garry starts mixing it with coke.
Last year, my affordable whisky price limit was $75. This year it’s $80, because we all know inflation sucks.
Spey River Bourbon Cask Finish
I’m going to start with the budget whisky out of this budget whisky list, and for that you just can’t go past Spey River Bourbon Cask Finish. Their whole range is great bang for buck whisky and the bourbon cask finish is no different.
This is single malt Speyside whisky aged in American oak casks and finished in first fill bourbon barrels. It’s a non age statement whisky, 40% ABV, and while it’s not displayed on the bottle, you can expect that this is chil filtered and has colour added.
It has malty cereal notes, cooked fruit, vanilla, almonds oak. Very much what you would expect from a bourbon cask.
It doesn’t have a particularly long finish, so you’re probably not going to spend a lot of time trying to savour the flavour, but at $65, that’s not really what you’ve paid for. If you’re drinking it neat, it’s more of a session dram for when you’re paying more attention to the conversation. Otherwise it’s just a good all rounder.
Glenfiddich 12yo
I had to include a classic, well known single malt scotch, it’s the Glenfiddich 12yo. This is one of the best selling single malts in the world and has been this Speyside distillery’s flagship bottling for over half a century.
The 12yo is a marrying of whisky from bourbon and Oloroso sherry casks and is bottled at 40%. It is chillfiltered and does have colour added, but that’s because this is a whisky designed for wide usage, which is why I have it in this list.
The flavours you get here are soft sweet fruity notes like honey dew and pear, a bit of butterscotch and subtle oak. Which makes it enjoyable for single malt drinkers, while not too offensive for people who aren’t used to scotch. It can be refreshing on ice, and the oak does carry through a little with cocktails.
It’s pretty widely available and in Australia you can pick it up for around $75 to $80.
Glendalough Double Barrel
Irish Whiskey is making a comeback, so while scotch prices rise with their popularity, you can pick up some pretty good Irish tiples from newish or recovering whisky labels for good prices.
Glendalough is a relatively new Irish distillery, crafting gin and Irish Whiskey since 2011. I’ve enjoyed quite a few of their releases, one of which being the Double Barrel.
This is a non age statement whisky. They call it single grain which is an Irish term for whisky, but that grain is 100% malted barley, so in essence it is a single malt. It has been aged in bourbon casks and finished in Oloroso sherry casks. It’s bottled at 42%, non chill filtered, but there is speculation that they add colour for consistency.
There’s an element of Christmas to the palate of this whisky, with notes of cherries, coco, butterschotch, honey, nutmeg, vanilla. It also has a pretty enjoyable oily mouthfeel.
The only real drawback on this whisky is a bit of a short finish, but when it retails here for $65 to $75 you can look past that.
Suntory Whisky Toki
Japanese whisky is doing really well these days, and a lot of their single malts, once affordable, have now won awards and moved out of the price range of the average whisky drinker. I remember picking up Hakushu 12yo for $90 at one stage, whereas it now sells for over $400.
But there are still enjoyable, affordable Japanese whiskies out there. The Suntory Whisky Toki is a blended whisky made from Suntory’s three distilleries, Yamazaki, Hakushu and Chita.
It’s a non age statement, bottled at 43%, there’s not a whole lot of information about chil filtering or colour being added, but with the light straw colour of the whisky, I’d be very surprised if there is colour added there.
It is a blend in the Scottish sense in that it includes grain whisky from the Chita distillery, but that doesn’t really detract from the flavour. There’s honey, orchard fruits, green apple, vanilla and even a hint of peppermint.
It’s an interesting, easy drinking whisky when served neat, but would also still shine in a whisky highball and similar cocktails. And retailing at $80 in Australia, it is a much more attainable Japanese whisky.
Smokehead
I didn’t want to finish this list without something peaty. Smokehead whisky is an independent bottling of Islay peated whisky. The bottle is very gimmicky looking, with the marketing clearly targeted at younger scotch drinkers, but the whisky within is a solid drop.
The spirit comes from an “undisclosed” distillery in the south of Islay, that Scottish region known for producing very salty, medicinal tasting, smoky whisky. There’s not a lot of information on the bottle, so what we know is this is a non age statnement single malt, bottled at 43%. They don’t even disclose the barrels used.
I’d say there is some fortified wine casks used though as amongst the idonine smoke, there are sweet sherry notes, some toffee and salt, all bold yet rather well balanced for an entry level dram.
For peat lovers, this is quite enjoyable neat, though I will say it gets a little flat on ice, so skip that and add it to cocktails for an interesting smoke layer in there.
I’ve spoken before about how peat needs to be done right and I just don’t trust cheap peated whisky. That’s why this one is a bit more than my $80 cutoff, retailing at $83, but I feel justified adding it here because there are almost always specials and promotions bring this just under $80.