In Honor of National Scotch Day, Here Are the 5 Best Scotch Whiskies We’ve Tasted in 2023
Each year on July 27, we celebrate National Scotch Day. We love whisky-related holidays — they’re a great excuse to enjoy a pour of some of our favorite whiskies.
Read More: Whiskey Expert Picks 6 Best Scotch Whiskies He’s Ever Tasted
Here at Whiskey Raiders, we review new whiskies daily, and among those whiskies, of course, are plenty of scotches. So, without further ado, we present the five best scotch whiskies we’ve tasted in 2023.
5 Best Scotch Whiskies We’ve Tasted in 2023
Dewar’s 19 Year Old ‘The Champions Edition’
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Blended scotch whisky brand Dewar’s teamed up with the U.S. Open Golf Championship to launch The Champions Edition in June.
This 19-year-old whisky is a blend of “up to” 40 grain and single malt whiskies aged in red wine casks from Napa Valley, marking Dewar’s first time using non-fortified wine casks during the aging process.
We greatly enjoyed this pour. At a modest 86 proof, it’s not wildly rich but still brings much more complexity to the table than an average Dewar’s expression of around this age. This whisky profiles as lightly grainy but full of red fruit notes from the wine aging, plus notes of buttercream, honey, toffee, vanilla, pepper and spice.
Dewar’s 19 Year Old “The Champions Edition” released priced at $74.99 but has since dropped to $62.99 from ReserveBar.
GlenDronach Cask Strength Batch 11
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The 11th edition of GlenDronach’s cask-strength whisky features a heavy sherry influence, aged in both Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry casks. It also has a lovely ABV of 59.8%.
This whisky delivers honey, apples, raspberries, currant, blackberry, cherry, sulfur and pepper on the nose. The palate is rich with a prickle of heat, sweet toffee and berries, with undercurrents of tobacco, black tea and nougat. The finish is a touch dry and bitter with cocoa, blackberry and currant.
The GlenDronach Cask Strength series is consistently great whisky, and batch 11 is no different. If total-sherry-bomb scotch is your thing, this will be for you.
GlenDronach Cask Strength typically retails for around $100-110 — a pretty good price for a cask-strength scotch of this quality, frankly. It can be found from select retailers, such as Total Wine.
Kirkland Signature Islay Single Malt
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Did you know Costco makes whisky? Furthermore, did you know (we won’t blame you if you’re surprised) that it’s really good? This Islay single malt is distilled by an undisclosed producer and bottled for the mega-retailer’s Kirkland Signature whisky line.
Bottled at 100 proof, this single malt delivers honey, rising bread, salty sea air, peat, ash and pepper on the nose. On the palate, this is sweet and an easy drinker, with loads of honey, apples, pears, vanilla bean, creme brulee and ashy peat. The finish is long and described by Whiskey Raiders Spirits Critic Jay West as an “ashy and peaty wonderland” full of vanilla, toffee, caramelized sugar and brine.
To date, we’ve reviewed five Kirkland Signature whiskies, and this is right up there — either our favorite or a close second behind the 24 Year Old Speyside Single Malt Sherry Cask Finish.
Kirkland Signature Islay Single Malt can be found via Costco for around $35-40 — an absolute steal for a scotch of this quality.
Talisker 15 Year
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A rare release from spirits giant Diageo, Talisker 15 Year is released once a year at cask strength.
West describes this 57.3%-ABV whisky as “vivid and full of character” on the nose, with notes of apple crisp, creme brulee, maritime air and ash. The palate sticks to the maritime theme, combining those notes with honey, praline, almond and pepper. The finish goes in a slightly different direction, incorporating more ash and introducing some earthy notes, as well as peach cobbler, which balances well with the salty, maritime profile.
In his review, West described this whisky as “incredibly delicious and masterfully concocted,” noting that it’s much more balanced than your average Talisker whisky.
Talisker 15 Year can be found starting around $140 but is fairly tricky to track down.
Talisker The Distillers Edition
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Another single malt we loved from Talisker, this is The Distillers Edition. This whisky, which debuted in 2021, is aged in American oak and ex-Amoroso Sherry casks.
On the nose, sweet and fruity aromas give way to slate, salinity, iodine and apple crisp. West described the nose in his review as a “lovely blend of fruit, peat, salinity and rich wine character.”
The palate adds to your fruity experience, with apples, pears, red berries joined by salinity and a touch of sea moss. Bottled at a relatively modest 45.8% ABV, this scotch delivers highly impressive viscosity for the proof. The finish is long and fungal, delivering briny sea air, toffee, fruits, wine and sweet butter cream.
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