Seven Bargains To Be Had With 25 Year Old Scotch

By Richard Thomas

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. Although the recommended retail prices often remain reasonable, low or (in the case of certain Buffalo Trace offerings; $40 for W.L. 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.

Still, that is nothing compared to Scotch whisky. 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. 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.

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). 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.

Benriach 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. The expression is blended from stock aged in the usual ex-bourbon barrels, Oloroso Sherry casks, and (unusually) new oak casks. The result is a nuanced, flavorful whisky that is an excellent showcase for what the Speyside style can do.

Caol 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. Smokeheads looking for a peat bomb should look elsewhere. But those who pick up a bottle of Coal Ila 25 a rich whisky with a quite restrained smokiness. In other words, this is an Islay whisky for the enthusiast who appreciates sophistication over boldness.

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. 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. 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.

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. This particular whisky is a case in point. 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. However, it is just as admired, just as gorgeous, and The Macallan 25 Year Old Sherry Oak was priced at $2,000!

House of Hazelwood 25 Year Old ($170): When I began drawing up candidates for this list of seven, I thought “there is no way Hazelwood 25 is still available for its 2017 price.” And it’s not; it is just $25 higher. Mind you, that is for a 500ml bottle, not a 700 or 750, but still. It’s sweet, silky, delicate, demands your attention and won’t bust your budget wide open.

Tomatin 25 Year Old ($200): It’s amazing this malt isn’t more hyped than it is, because most experts agree it is a marvelous bargain. Warm and fruity, complex and pleasant, it’s everything a well-aged Speyside malt is supposed to be, and an excellent price point.

Velvet Fig 25 Year Old ($170): This is the very old version of a regular release brand from the crafty folks at Wemyss Malts. Back in the day, I was very fond of their single cask series, but their vatted malts (blends of only malt whiskies, with no grain whisky) also have their charms. This expression is created from five 1994-vintage ex-sherry hogsheads from unknown Highland and Speyside distilleries and 15 1988 ex-sherry hogsheads of unpeated Bunnahabhain. These were blended and married in 14 refill hogsheads for a further 16 months. Anyone who scoffs that blends can’t be as good as single malts needs to be handed a Glencairn of this and told to shut up.