Can You Really Get the World’s Best Scotch for $40?

Are we in an affordable whisk(e)y revolution? Recent awards from major spirits competitions have honored bourbons and Scotches that won’t break the bank and are downright wallet-friendly and easily available.

Loch Lomond is a Highland distillery that racked up numerous awards at the 2023 San Francisco World Spirits Competition (SFWSC) and has now earned the top score of any Scotch at the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC) in 2024. Per The Scotsman, these are whiskies that are “created using the distillery’s signature straight neck stills alongside the more traditional swan neck versions, before being aged in a trio of different casks. All come are American oak and include bourbon, refill and re-charred. The whisky is then bottled at 46% and non-chill filtered.”

These are rich, complex spirits of full of fruit notes with minimal peat smoke and, as the newspaper concurs, “certainly one of the best value whiskies in the world.” Price on ReserveBar for the core 12-year-old single malt, which produced a 98/100 score at the IWSC? $33. The 12-year Inchmurrin release (another IWSC winner)? About 10 bucks more at The Whisky Exchange.

Meanwhile, the Singapore World Spirits Competition — which is part of the Tasting Alliance spirits competitions that also include the aforementioned SFWSC and the New York World Spirits Competition — just awarded 1792 Full Proof the Best in Show for bourbons. That one might be more expected: The juice had previously earned a World Whisky of the Year in 2020 from Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible. According to the brand, this 1792 release undergoes a “distinct” filtering process, forgoing chill filtration and passing only through a plate and frame filter. It’s also bottled at its original 125 barrel entry proof, and according to a quick Google search, I can grab for roughly $42-$50 nearby.

And what about the aforementioned San Francisco awards, which usually get treated as the highest honor for a spirits brand? If you take a look at this year’s platinum winners — spirits that have earned Double Gold honors three years in a row — you’ll find plenty of sub-$50 (or even sub-$40) bottles, including Bearface, Blue Note, FEW Bottled in Bond Bourbon, Naked Malt Blended Scotch and, yes, Loch Lomond.

Inexpensive or modestly-priced bottles winning major awards isn’t new, but the sheer number of recent award-winners that come in at a decent two-digit price point suggests that you don’t have to have expensive taste to sip a great whiskey (that said, there are plenty of expensive whiskeys worth the extra cost).