Answers.Body: <p><a href="https://www.glenmorangie.com/en-int" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Glenmorangie</a> is a 10-year highland single-malt scotch that outperforms its price point (currently $36 at Total Wine), in my opinion.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Chris Steele
Answers.Body: <p>I'll start by saying that what I'm suggesting isn't technically a scotch recommendation, but it is a good tip for whisky, rye, and similar spirits.</p>
  
  <p>One of the more underrated genres of whiskey is "Bottled in Bond" type whiskey, bourbon, and rye. I've found that many of these spirits provide excellent value for the money.</p>
  
  <p>For example:</p>
  
  <ul>
  <li>Old Forester </li>
  <li>Heaven Hill</li>
  <li>Very Old Barton</li>
  <li>Rittenhouse Rye</li>
  </ul>
  
  <p>You can read more about what Bottled in Bond means, and its history, at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottled_in_bond" rel="nofollow" title="Wikipedia&#39;s Bottled in Bond Page">Wikipedia's Bottled In Bond page</a>.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: nyarasha
Answers.Body: <p>I drink my Scotch neat -- too peaty/smokey and I gotta use an ice cube. Johnnie Walker Black is my go-to (~$74/1.75L at Costco in WA state).</p>
  
  <p>Picked up some Kirkland Signature 16-year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky this evening (~$62/750mL in WA state) and it is very nice. :)</p>
  
  <p>The Balvenie Doublewood is probably my favorite, but it ain't cheap -- and they don't have it at Costco. :P</p>
  
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Answers.Text: The current Costco varieties are far, far better than their price point.  If you like bourbon, pick up their $25 bottle.  I think it's from the Knob Creek distillery, but mixed to a different proof... very good for the price.
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Answers.UserDisplayName: joshg253
Answers.Body: <p>Not a very fair question.  Not all scotches are equal in flavor profile so comparing Lagavulin to glenlivet at any price is meaningless! </p>
  
  <p>Also, taste is personal.  I cannot convince some folks that Lagavulin is worth drinking but to me it is man's greatest creation!</p>
  
  <p>That said I was very disappointed in balvenie tun 1509 (don't recall the batch).  For the price it was very 1-dimensional.  At a similar price point I'd say Highland Park 30 yr was exquisite.  </p>
  
  <p>On the affordable end Auchentoshan 12 was so bad I poured some down the sink.  But again, that is a matter of personal taste.</p>
  
  <p>An example of cost, age, and quality correlating is Glenlivet 12 --> 18 yr.  The taste is almost identical but the 18yr is much smoother and a little more complex.</p>
  
  <p>An example of NO correlation at all is Glenfiddich 12 --> 15 --> 18.  The reason they do not correlate is that the flavors are unrelated.  12yr is fruity (apples, pears, etc), 15 is like honey mead, 18 tastes like smoked oak.  I love the 18yr at ~90$ USD, compared to the 12 at 40$ USD but I would not say the 12 yr is "worse".  They don't compare.</p>
  
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Answers.UserDisplayName: ggcg
Answers.Body: <p><a href="https://www.thebalvenie.com/our-whisky-range/view/doublewood-12" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Balvenie Doublewood</a> is CHEAP and harsh, unless you get the 17 year but still harsh. If you want a REAL Single Malt Scotch that is not many 100's or 1000's of dollars try the Balvenie 21 Year Portwood.  It is NOT harsh, it is 96 proof, smoothest stuff I have ever had!!! It is a lot more than the Doublewood though, about $150 for 750ml but if you can at least try it once!!!  I wanna try the 25 year but it's too much $ even for me and I am a Single Malt Scotch connoisseur! It costs around $500 I believe. Or hell go for the 40 year at $4000 per 750ml!  They even made a very limited few bottles of 50 year aged but they cost around $63,000 per 750ml!    </p>
  
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Answers.Text: This absolutely does not chime with my experience. In the UK, Balvenie is a moderately-priced scotch at about £35 a bottle. And if you look up reviews on whiskey sites, it's often praised for its smoothness, an opinion with which I concur.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Bob Tway
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Tim
Answers.Body: <p>It depends if you like the smokier/peatier whiskies such as Talisker, or prefer the smoother whiskies. I find the former generally overpriced but that's me. A good example of the latter is Auchentoshan 12 year old. Easy drinking (is that a bad thing?),  with no overpowering flavour but flavoursome all around and smooth bite (an oxymoron?)  at the end. I saw this for $65 on a Canadian website so I believe it fits into your Aberlour category. </p>
  
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Answers.Text: I liked the Auchentoshan 12... a bit hot, but had a quick vanilla note at the end.  And I think I got it relatively cheaply as a special import at Total Wine (not exactly sure what the deal was, but it was bottled differently and packaged as a part of a series from different distileries).
Answers.UserDisplayName: Chris Steele
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Answers.UserDisplayName: Beerhunter
Body: <p>I've been testing out different Scotches for the last few years and usually find a pretty strong correlation between price point and quality. When I pay more the Scotch almost always offers a better drinking experience up to a point. </p>
  
  <p>That said, recently I bought an <strong>Aberlour 12</strong> at about 65 cdn and found it to be very similar in character to a <strong>Dalmore 12</strong> which I bought for a much higher price a few months ago. For that reason I'm characterizing the Aberlour as a high value Scotch. It's priced reasonably and is a bit better of a Scotch than it's price point would suggest.</p>
  
  <p>So I wonder what examples of Scotches people would recommend that are superior than their price point would suggest.</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-04-29T13:34:03.557Z
Comments.Text: That is true for most spirits IMO, unless it is hype driving up the price or it is vodka.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Wayne In Yak
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-05-01T14:11:05.903Z
Comments.Text: The cost is related to effort, rarity, supply and demand. And the quality is almost entirely opinion based - there are some cheap 8yr old whiskies I prefer to some 20yr olds, but other folks disagree. Flagged for closure as opinion based
Comments.UserDisplayName: Rory Alsop
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Comments.CreationDate: 2016-05-02T20:35:14.567Z
Comments.Text: Thanks. I agree that this question is opinion based. I surfaced it because this stack community seems to be pretty casual and thought it might turn up some good ideas.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Cdn_Dev
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-06-10T13:45:30.893Z
Comments.Text: Unfortunately, as well as being opinion based, this question may also be slightly hard to answer _in terms of pricing_ due to regional distribution costs. Often I feel I pay a premium for Scotch simply due to lack of availability. This might skew any possible correlation between cost and quality.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Phil D.
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2016-11-13T12:23:31.563Z
Comments.Text: Very opinion based: Laphroaig 10 Years
Comments.UserDisplayName: shallowThought
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-06-15T16:23:21.327Z
Comments.Text: People swear absolutely that this is true for wine, whisky, whatever their beverage of choice. Time and time again when it's actually tested blind, price has no correlation whatsoever with user preference once the rotgut at the very low end is removed. This is true for everyone except those who are professionally trained to an extremely high level (e.g. master sommeliers), presumably since it is impossible to effectively blind them in a test.
Comments.UserDisplayName: David
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-06-15T19:46:34.630Z
Comments.Text: I don't think you can equivocate wine and whisky here. Wine is a completely different animal. Where Scotch throws people off, I think, is that a very good 12 can be much better than a bad 18, and a lower price. The reason for this is that most people are very bad judges of good whisky, but it doesn't mean there is no correlation between price/quality. When comparing Scotches, though, you probably need to compare *within* age categories to control for price.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Cdn_Dev
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Comments.CreationDate: 2019-08-30T19:33:31.147Z
Comments.Text: I don’t want to post an answer as it is my opinion only but go for small distilleries, Benriach, Benromach, Bruichladdich (for peat) all offer excellent whisky at various price points. I know you can probably import these as it maybe hard to find in Canada. There are lots of others, ardbeg 10 maybe an obvious example too depending on the price you pay for it.
Comments.UserDisplayName: n34_panda
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2019-11-22T13:06:26.790Z
Comments.Text: I flagged this as opinion based - some people will never see value in paying a lot for a bottle so will always favour cheaper bottles s some people retain loyalty to brands and some people guess. The price point varies so much depending on the individuals perception of value too. For example I bought a bottle worth £125 from a shop and sold it to a private collector a week later for £1500. That means the bottle value to me was £125 and it was considered one of the best malts in the world so to someone else it was far more valuable. At my price it would be considered undervalued.
Comments.UserDisplayName: n34_panda
Tags: <scotch><price><quality>
Title: Examples of high value Scotches
UserDisplayName: Cdn_Dev
ThreadText: # Examples of high value Scotches
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2016-04-28)
  
  I've been testing out different Scotches for the last few years and usually find a pretty strong correlation between price point and quality. When I pay more the Scotch almost always offers a better drinking experience up to a point.
  
  That said, recently I bought an **Aberlour 12** at about 65 cdn and found it to be very similar in character to a **Dalmore 12** which I bought for a much higher price a few months ago. For that reason I'm characterizing the Aberlour as a high value Scotch. It's priced reasonably and is a bit better of a Scotch than it's price point would suggest.
  
  So I wonder what examples of Scotches people would recommend that are superior than their price point would suggest.
  
  **Tags:** scotch, price, quality
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: That is true for most spirits IMO, unless it is hype driving up the price or it is vodka.  
  > **username_2**: The cost is related to effort, rarity, supply and demand. And the quality is almost entirely opinion based - there are some cheap 8yr old whiskies I prefer to some 20yr olds, but other folks disagree. Flagged for closure as opinion based  
  > **username_0**: Thanks. I agree that this question is opinion based. I surfaced it because this stack community seems to be pretty casual and thought it might turn up some good ideas.  
  > **username_3**: Unfortunately, as well as being opinion based, this question may also be slightly hard to answer _in terms of pricing_ due to regional distribution costs. Often I feel I pay a premium for Scotch simply due to lack of availability. This might skew any possible correlation between cost and quality.  
  > **username_4**: Very opinion based: Laphroaig 10 Years  
  > **username_5**: People swear absolutely that this is true for wine, whisky, whatever their beverage of choice. username_11e and time again when it's actually tested blind, price has no correlation whatsoever with user preference once the rotgut at the very low end is removed. This is true for everyone except those who are professionally trained to an extremely high level (e.g. master sommeliers), presumably since it is impossible to effectively blind them in a test.  
  > **username_0**: I don't think you can equivocate wine and whisky here. Wine is a completely different animal. Where Scotch throws people off, I think, is that a very good 12 can be much better than a bad 18, and a lower price. The reason for this is that most people are very bad judges of good whisky, but it doesn't mean there is no correlation between price/quality. When comparing Scotches, though, you probably need to compare *within* age categories to control for price.  
  > **username_6**: I don’t want to post an answer as it is my opinion only but go for small distilleries, Benriach, Benromach, Bruichladdich (for peat) all offer excellent whisky at various price points. I know you can probably import these as it maybe hard to find in Canada. There are lots of others, ardbeg 10 maybe an obvious example too depending on the price you pay for it.  
  > **username_6**: I flagged this as opinion based - some people will never see value in paying a lot for a bottle so will always favour cheaper bottles s some people retain loyalty to brands and some people guess. The price point varies so much depending on the individuals perception of value too. For example I bought a bottle worth £125 from a shop and sold it to a private collector a week later for £1500. That means the bottle value to me was £125 and it was considered one of the best malts in the world so to someone else it was far more valuable. At my price it would be considered undervalued.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 6 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_7 on 2016-05-24. Score: 4 | Accepted answer
  
  [Glenmorangie](https://www.glenmorangie.com/en-int) is a 10-year highland single-malt scotch that outperforms its price point (currently $36 at Total Wine), in my opinion.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_13 on 2016-05-10. Score: 6
  
  It depends if you like the smokier/peatier whiskies such as Talisker, or prefer the smoother whiskies. I find the former generally overpriced but that's me. A good example of the latter is Auchentoshan 12 year old. Easy drinking (is that a bad thing?), with no overpowering flavour but flavoursome all around and smooth bite (an oxymoron?) at the end. I saw this for $65 on a Canadian website so I believe it fits into your Aberlour category.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_7**: I liked the Auchentoshan 12... a bit hot, but had a quick vanilla note at the end.  And I think I got it relatively cheaply as a special import at Total Wine (not exactly sure what the deal was, but it was bottled differently and packaged as a part of a series from different distileries).  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_8 on 2016-04-29. Score: 4
  
  I'll start by saying that what I'm suggesting isn't technically a scotch recommendation, but it is a good tip for whisky, rye, and similar spirits.
  
  One of the more underrated genres of whiskey is "Bottled in Bond" type whiskey, bourbon, and rye. I've found that many of these spirits provide excellent value for the money.
  
  For example:
  
  * Old Forester
  * Heaven Hill
  * Very Old Barton
  * Rittenhouse Rye
  
  You can read more about what Bottled in Bond means, and its history, at [Wikipedia's Bottled In Bond page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottled_in_bond "Wikipedia's Bottled in Bond Page").
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_9 on 2016-05-03. Score: 2
  
  I drink my Scotch neat -- too peaty/smokey and I gotta use an ice cube. Johnnie Walker Black is my go-to (~$74/1.75L at Costco in WA state).
  
  Picked up some Kirkland Signature 16-year Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky this evening (~$62/750mL in WA state) and it is very nice. :)
  
  The Balvenie Doublewood is probably my favorite, but it ain't cheap -- and they don't have it at Costco. :P
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_7**: The current Costco varieties are far, far better than their price point.  If you like bourbon, pick up their $25 bottle.  I think it's from the Knob Creek distillery, but mixed to a different proof... very good for the price.  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_10 on 2018-05-26. Score: 1
  
  Not a very fair question. Not all scotches are equal in flavor profile so comparing Lagavulin to glenlivet at any price is meaningless!
  
  Also, taste is personal. I cannot convince some folks that Lagavulin is worth drinking but to me it is man's greatest creation!
  
  That said I was very disappointed in balvenie tun 1509 (don't recall the batch). For the price it was very 1-dimensional. At a similar price point I'd say Highland Park 30 yr was exquisite.
  
  On the affordable end Auchentoshan 12 was so bad I poured some down the sink. But again, that is a matter of personal taste.
  
  An example of cost, age, and quality correlating is Glenlivet 12 --> 18 yr. The taste is almost identical but the 18yr is much smoother and a little more complex.
  
  An example of NO correlation at all is Glenfiddich 12 --> 15 --> 18. The reason they do not correlate is that the flavors are unrelated. 12yr is fruity (apples, pears, etc), 15 is like honey mead, 18 tastes like smoked oak. I love the 18yr at ~90$ USD, compared to the 12 at 40$ USD but I would not say the 12 yr is "worse". They don't compare.
  
  
  ---
  
  ### Answer by username_11 on 2016-11-04. Score: 1
  
  [Balvenie Doublewood](https://www.thebalvenie.com/our-whisky-range/view/doublewood-12) is CHEAP and harsh, unless you get the 17 year but still harsh. If you want a REAL Single Malt Scotch that is not many 100's or 1000's of dollars try the Balvenie 21 Year Portwood. It is NOT harsh, it is 96 proof, smoothest stuff I have ever had!!! It is a lot more than the Doublewood though, about $150 for 750ml but if you can at least try it once!!! I wanna try the 25 year but it's too much $ even for me and I am a Single Malt Scotch connoisseur! It costs around $500 I believe. Or hell go for the 40 year at $4000 per 750ml! They even made a very limited few bottles of 50 year aged but they cost around $63,000 per 750ml!
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_12**: This absolutely does not chime with my experience. In the UK, Balvenie is a moderately-priced scotch at about £35 a bottle. And if you look up reviews on whiskey sites, it's often praised for its smoothness, an opinion with which I concur.  
  
  ---
  
  