Welcome back to Buyer’s Advice! This time around we’re focusing on scotch, easily the world’s favourite spirit (after Baiju, which I will do a segment on at some point)! Scotch is a tough one for this series as it’s a spirit that really follows the ideology of “the more you put in, the more you get out”, so getting a good, cheap scotch isn’t easy. That doesn’t mean it’s impossible though!
For our well known candidates, we have what I call the “unholy trinity of scotch”, Bell’s, Grant’s (not pictured) and Famous Grouse. These are all, in my opinion, terrible scotches that are somehow popular despite that.
The well known “top shelf” items would be Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, Ballantine’s and Haig Club, which by scotch standards aren’t pricey, but may be for your average consumer. So what can we replace them with that’s higher quality?
Let’s start with the good scotches that are affordable at RRP (spoiler alert, there aren’t many). The most affordable is Whyte & Mackay, being a serviceable blended scotch that’s certainly smoother than the unholy trinity and I’d say is around the quality of the “top shelf” crew, but is a fraction of the cost. The only catch is that the price varies considerably depending where you find it.
Next is Shackleton, a more niche blended Scotch that I think beats out all the well known scotches I’ve mentioned thus far and is cheaper than a fair few of the “top shelf” options. The only catch here is that it’s a bit hard to find on store shelves from my experience, though not impossible at all.
If I had to pick one scotch from this category to recommend though, that’s easy. I’ve mentioned them before, as currently it’s what’s in the Guillotine, but that would be my faithful Glen Moray. This is somehow a single malt scotch at the price point of the “top shelf” blended scotches, and honestly it’s not just serviceable, it’s straight up good. There’s no catch with this one as it’s consistently at a good price, widely available and tastes amazing for the cost!
However, there is something worth mentioning. Although not many good quality scotches are cheap, that doesn’t mean you can’t find great drams for cheap. It’s really worth looking around for deals at different stores, especially if you have something in particular in mind, as store loyalty deals can make well known, high quality bottles stupid cheap!
A couple of the best deals I found were for the Ardmore and Jura Bourbon Cask, putting both in the price range of the “top shelf” crew! Both of these scotches (especially Jura) absolutely smash the rest of these as well, so that’s a crazy deal!
As always I hope you find some good deals, drink responsibly, and have a great day!
This post’s recommended song is: “Mii Plaza (From “Mii Channel”)” – Chippy Bits
