The 24 Best Whiskies to Buy Now

As well-respected as Maker’s Mark is, it kind of flies under the radar when people are talking about their favorite Kentucky bourbon. The fact of the matter is it’s one of the best American whiskeys, made from a mash bill that uses wheat instead of rye as the flavoring grain, giving it a sweeter, mellower profile without the typical spice that defines many bourbons (which is a great flavor profile as well). The cask strength version of Maker’s is truly excellent, with a strong but not aggressive proof ranging between 108 and 114 and prominent flavors of vanilla and caramel. This whiskey is the basis for all other Maker’s expressions, so it’s a very good place to start, or finish, your whiskey journey.

To buy: $60, totalwine.com

Old Forester makes really dependable and affordable bourbon, and is a go-to for many bartenders. There are also some higher-end bottles available. Of course, there’s the annual Birthday Bourbon release, for which people line up outside of liquor stores to get a bottle. But the 1920 Prohibition Style is also a great option, a higher proof (115) bourbon that was created as a throwback to the era when Old Forester was still allowed to distill whiskey even when it was illegal virtually everywhere else. This was for “medicinal” purposes, and after entering the barrel at 100 proof and a few years of angel’s share, according to the brand the bourbon would have been bottled at about 115 proof. This is a flavorful and assertive bourbon, great for making an Old Fashioned or just sipping on its own.

To buy: $60, wine.com

Four Roses is a storied Kentucky distillery that makes a series of affordable and delicious bourbons. Right in the midrange is the Small Batch release, a great whiskey to sip or mix with. Four Roses is unique in that the distillery makes ten different recipes using two mash bills and five yeast strains, all of which are blended into the flagship bourbon. The Small Batch, however, uses just four recipes, and is aged a bit longer, a minimum of six to seven years. Combine all this with a higher 45% ABV, and this classic bourbon is definitely one of the best you can find.

To buy: $65, wine.com

RELATED: The World's Lesser-Known Whiskey-Producing Regions You Need to Know About

There is so much rye whiskey to choose from these days as this category has grown over the years and drinkers have rediscovered it as a key cocktail component. Michter’s regular rye whiskey is good, but the barrel strength version, also a single barrel release, brings flavor and texture to the whiskey that goes well beyond. The proof usually varies between about 107 and 112 depending on the barrel, so there’s heat here but it’s not so intense that it overpowers the inherent spice, vanilla, and citrus flavors of this whiskey. The latest barrel-strength release, just out this month and the first national and international release since 2019, clocks in at 110.3 proof. Go ahead and make a Manhattan with this, you’ll be very happy with the results.

To buy: $344, caskers.com

Penderyn's new 15-year single malt was just released to the market and is already making waves. Filled in cask in 2005 and bottled in 2020, the single malt Welsh whiskey just scored a 95 rating from Whiskey Advocate. The spirit spent its entire life in Buffalo Trace Bourbon barrels, picking up notes of soft honey, vanilla, and pears, as well as spices and oaky notes. Only 114 bottles are available and they can be found online and in stores in CA, NE, MN, AK, TN, WA, DC, DE, MD, and IL.

To buy: $170, Petitecellars.com

Heaven Hill is responsible for so much good whiskey, from the humble Evan Williams to the coveted Parker’s Heritage Collection. One of the key bourbons distilled by this Kentucky institution is Elijah Craig, a favorite of many whiskey fans. A few years ago, the 12-year-old age statement was removed from the bottle, and now the distillery says it’s a blend of whiskey between eight and 12 years old. But the quality of the bourbon really hasn’t been affected at all by the inclusion of some younger liquid in the mix. In fact, some might even argue that this brightens the flavor a bit.

To buy: $33, wine.com

If you are a fan of Wild Turkey (and if you like bourbon this should be a given), but have never tried a bottle from the Russell’s Reserve lineup, do yourself a favor and check this one out. It’s an older bourbon compared to regular Wild Turkey with a few more years spent in the barrel, but it’s bottled at a lower 90 proof (at least compared to the 101 expression). The resulting whiskey is rich, sweet, and slightly tannic, but not overly oaky with prominent notes of caramel, stone fruit, and vanilla. A bottle like this could be priced much higher, but thankfully Wild Turkey is able to keep this in the midrange allowing greater access to an incredible whiskey.

To buy: $34, wine.com

This whiskey, made at the Jim Beam distillery, was introduced to the world by iconic master distiller Booker Noe back in the late ‘80s. Booker’s is named after Noe, and is a barrel-proof, uncut bourbon, filtered only to remove any barrel char. It’s usually released in four batches per year, each with a different name and slightly different flavor profile. The consistency lies in its age, usually between six and seven years old, and its proof which ranges between 125 and 130. This is a bold, unabashed bourbon, with all of the signature Beam corn and nut notes balanced by sweet and spice. The first release of 2021 is called Donohoe’s Batch, named after Mike Donohoe, a friend of Noe’s and sales manager at Beam who helped him with the inception of the brand. This batch is bottled at 127.3 proof and is six years, seven months, and seven days old.

To buy: $100, drizly.com

Buffalo Trace is another distillery known for its deep bench of bourbon brands, from the flagship eponymous whiskey to its annual Antique Collection that commands exorbitant prices on the secondary market. Eagle Rare is a bourbon originally created at Seagram’s in the ‘70s, before being acquired by Buffalo Trace about a decade later. This standout bottle is a ten-year-old bourbon made with a low-rye mash bill, so expect less spice and more plum, caramel, and vanilla notes. At ten years old, there’s deeper oak on the palate, but it doesn’t tip the balance towards tannic. If you get a chance to try the Antique Collection 17-year-old version, count yourself lucky, but this bottle will do just fine.

To buy: $73, flaviar.com

The GlenDronach is finally starting to become more familiar to American drinkers, and deservedly so. It’s not that the distillery is new (on the contrary, it’s been around since the 1820s), and serious whisky drinkers have been fans for years. But it’s now owned by Brown-Forman (owner of Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve), and has been getting a bigger push here in the States. The latest release is a really excellent single cask series available for the first time in the US. Master blender Rachel Barrie chose casks distilled in 1993, 1994, 2005 and 2008, with the whiskey aged in Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks and port pipes. These vintages are non-chill filtered, no color is added, and bottled at cask strength, really offering different snapshots of how age and maturation affects The GlenDronach’s distillate.

To buy: $120 - $600, drizly.com

Another sherry cask-focused Scottish distillery that is always worth checking out when a new bottle hits shelves (a frequent occurrence) is The Macallan. This Speyside distillery matures nearly all of its whiskey in American or Spanish oak sherry-seasoned casks, or sometimes in both as is the case with the Double Cask series. The range kicked off with a 12-year-old whisky, joined by 15 and 18-year-old expressions last summer. The 18-year-old is the most expensive, and the best of the bunch. But this is about flavor, not price. This whisky is spicy, jammy, citrusy, and full of vanilla, a really high-caliber example of the power of careful distillation and maturation.

To buy: $400, drizly.com

Do you like peated single malt whisky? If the answer is a resounding yes (and let’s face it, most people either really like it or really don’t), you are surely a Laphroaig fan. This Islay distillery makes some of the best peated whisky, with intense flavors of smoke, fruit, and even a bit of salinity in every bottle. The 2020 edition of this quarter-century-old single malt brings all of these flavors to the forefront along with some sweet cherry and spice, at a strong but manageable cask strength of 49.8%. The whisky was aged in second-fill European oak Oloroso sherry casks and American white oak bourbon barrels before being blended together, with no chill filtration before bottling. Sip this one slowly and savor it.

To buy: $518, wine.com

There are plenty of ultra-aged expressions from The Balvenie, which sits right next door to the larger Glenfiddich in the heart of Speyside, and many of these are delicious. But the core expression in the range is one of the best, the 12-year-old DoubleWood. The name comes from the fact that the whisky spends 12 years in ex-bourbon barrels before being transferred to sherry butts for an additional nine months. Secondary maturation, or finishing, is commonplace these days, but when malt master David Stewart MBE started doing this in the early ‘80s, it was a bit of a novelty. Look for vanilla and spice notes, followed by ripe fruit and citrus flavors.

To buy: $75, wine.com

This cask-strength single malt from Aberlour is something of a collector’s item. It’s released in batches, the current of which is number 69 (70 will be released later this spring). This whisky has no age statement, but it’s a blend of different barrels, some young and some older. The ABV hovers around 60%, and it’s non-chill filtered with no color added. This is a sherry bomb of a whisky, which makes sense given that it’s matured entirely in Oloroso sherry casks. Despite its high proof, A’bunadh, which means “the original” in Gaelic, is an approachable and easily sippable whisky, although don’t be afraid to add a few drops of water to bring the proof down to your own taste.

To buy: $95, caskers.com

The Midleton distillery just outside of Cork, Ireland makes some of the most popular and best Irish whiskeys out there, with blends and single pot still expressions from brands like Jameson and Powers. Midleton Very Rare is also made there, an annual blend that is specially curated by the master distiller. The most recent edition was created by new master distiller Kevin O’Gorman, and contains pot still and grain whiskey that was aged between 15 and 36 years in bourbon barrels. It’s a really unique whiskey that is quite unlike most Irish whiskey you’ve likely tasted, with the signature fruitiness of the malt augmented by prominent spice, caramel, and brown sugar flavors. This whiskey will be available here in the US starting in May.

To buy: $220, midletonveryrare.com

Irish single pot still means that the whiskey is made from a mash bill of malted and unmalted barley, and distilled at one distillery in a pot still. This is sort of the backbone of the Irish whiskey industry, and Redbreast is arguably one of the best in the category. It’s a prime example of how this type of whiskey can shine when distilled and matured with care, in this case for 12 years in a combination of bourbon and sherry casks. The sherry influence is strong here, and is the perfect complement to the vanilla and citrus notes picked up from its time spent in American oak.

To buy: $78, wine.com

Powers is another Irish whiskey brand produced at Midleton, with a range of whiskeys that vary from blend to single pot still. And while this whiskey shares important traits with Redbreast--it is also aged for 12 years, distilled at Midleton, and aged in bourbon and sherry oak casks--the two whiskeys have very different flavor profiles and mouthfeels. This is proof that all the steps, from distillation to maturation to blending of barrels, really shape the character of a whiskey despite it coming from the same source. In John’s Lane, named after the Dublin distillery it was once made at, look for big notes of honey, vanilla, dried fruit, and chocolate on the palate.

To buy: $90, wine.com

Yes, age statement bottles from Japanese whisky powerhouse Suntory are hard to come by and extremely expensive these days, but they are still some of the best Japanese whiskies out there. Hakushu is located high up in the forest in the Japanese Alps, where its gently smoky, bright, and citrusy single malt whisky is distilled and aged. While it’s also used as a component in Suntory blends, and the core 12-year-old expression is excellent, the 18-year-old is whisky at the top of its game. The peat is present but mellow here, with big pear, vanilla, and even some hints of incense rounding out the palate. If you’re in the mood to splurge, hunt this bottle down and enjoy.

To buy: $500, drizly.com

The name of this Japanese whisky from Nikka, from the other major player in the Japanese whisky game, can create confusion for some at first glance. It has nothing to do with your favorite caffeinated beverage. Instead it was named after Aeneas Coffey, who invented a continuous still that remains in use by many distilleries today. Nikka makes a Coffey Malt whisky as well. The difference is that the mash bill for Coffey Grain is mostly corn which, along with the type of still used here, makes this a creamy, sweet, grain-forward Japanese whisky that really appeals to fans of bourbon. Try this side by side with the malt expression to really see the difference.

To buy: $85, drizly.com

Yes, the distillery and blending facility for WhistlePig is located in bucolic Vermont, but this aged rye whiskey (now in its second edition) was made at Hiram Walker in Canada so this technically counts as whisky from our northern neighbor. And it’s one of the best Canadian whiskies out there, made from a mash bill of 79% rye, 15% malted rye and 6% malted barley - hence the “double malt” in the name. This is very different from other whiskeys produced by WhistlePig, with a fruitier and more floral palate than usual. Each bottle comes with a glass stopper designed by Simon Pearce, which also created a set of hand-blown Shoreham Whiskey Glasses named after the town that is home to the WhistlePig farm and designed specifically with this whiskey in mind.

To buy: $500, whistlepigwhiskey.com

RELATED: Canadian Whisky Is Ready for the Spotlight

The whisky scene in India is thriving, with great bottles coming out of distilleries like Paul John and Amrut. The same can be said for Rampur, which counts this excellent offering among its lineup of this distillery which has been around for about three-quarters of a century. This is a single malt aged in American oak bourbon barrels and European oak sherry casks, and bottled at 90 proof without chill filtration. There is no age statement here, and that’s just fine as this light and fruity sipper has a young but very complex palate. And don’t be afraid to mix up a highball with this whisky either.

To buy: $70, thewhiskyexchange.com

Starward combines the best of Australian whisky and wine with its Nova single malt release. This NAS whisky is double distilled using native barley, and matured in Melbourne for three years in a variety of red wine barrels (some of which the brand says are still wet when the whisky is dumped inside)--shiraz, cabernet, and pinot noir. The palate is redolent with spice and ripe fruit, with a bit of vanilla and caramel to round it all out. According to the brand, the wine barrels are not charred or toasted before being filled with whisky, and they are used for full maturation instead of a secondary finishing period, so the influence of wine on this whisky is marked and happens to work very well.

To buy: $56, wine.com

There’s some great American single malt whiskey being made in the Pacific Northwest, with a good example being Westland in Seattle. The fifth edition of the distillery’s Garryana series, part of the Outpost Range, is named after the type of oak (native to the Pacific NW) used to make some of the barrels used for maturation. Pale malt and peated distillate were blended together and aged in both Garryana oak (36%, the highest percentage in all of these releases thus far), and ex-bourbon barrels (64%). This is truly an exploration of terroir as part of maturation, and the resulting whiskey is full of pepper, butterscotch, cherry, and creme brulee notes. Also, Westland has continued its April (Fool’s?) tradition with the announcement of a whiskey auction to benefit restaurant and hospitality worker charity Big Table.

To buy: $160, wine.com

This is the latest release in Lux Row’s limited-edition Blood Oath series of whiskey, created by master distiller John Rempe back in 2014. Three bourbons with corn, rye, and barley mash bills were selected for Pact 7, two aged for eight years and one aged for 14 years. One of the eight-year-old whiskeys was finished in sauternes wine barrels, bringing some notes of summer stone fruit, brown sugar, and cinnamon to the palate. These flavors work well with the vanilla and spice that comes from this blend of bourbons that are aged just a bit more than your average bottle on the shelf.

To buy: $100, luxrowdistillers.com