5 Underrated Whiskies From Countries You Didn’t Know Made Whisky

The whisky world has a Scotland problem. Not that Scotch isn’t worth the attention, but the obsession with it has left a lot of genuinely great bottles from unexpected corners of the globe sitting under-appreciated on shelves.

Every bottle on this list comes from a different country, many of which you probably haven’t tasted whisky from.

5. Kyrö Peat Smoke Whisky – Finland

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Finland’s Kyrö Peat Smoke Whisky is a 100% malted rye smoked with freshwater peat, which already puts it in a category of one. Kyrö Distillery Company smokes the malt in a barn (a barn), double distills it, then matures the spirit in a rotating mix of new American oak, ex-bourbon and Kyrö Malt ex-bourbon casks depending on the batch. At 47.2% ABV, it has enough backbone to carry the smoke without letting it bully everything else. The peat here reads differently than its Scottish cousins; it’s earthier, wetter, almost like a forest floor after rain rather than a bonfire on a beach. Underneath that, the rye character comes through as a kind of grainy, slightly herbal sharpness, with the oak lending just enough vanilla to keep things from going too austere. It’s available in the $30 to $60 range, which makes it one of the more interesting value propositions in the peated whisky space right now.

4. Morris Rutherglen Single Malt Whisky – Australia

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Australia has been making wine in Rutherglen for over 150 years, and Morris Rutherglen Australian Single Malt Whisky leans hard into that heritage. Copper and Grain Distilling Co. produces this 44% ABV expression from 100% malted barley, aging it at least three years in oak before finishing it in ex-wine barrels, and the result is something that tastes like it was designed to convert wine drinkers into whisky people. There’s a jammy, almost port-like richness on the nose that gives way to something more biscuity and structured on the palate, with dried fig and a faint nuttiness threading through to a finish that lingers longer than you’d expect at this ABV. Imported by Hotaling & Co. and priced in the $30 to $60 range, this is the kind of bottle that earns a second pour without requiring any explanation.

3. Rozelieures Subtil Single Malt Whisky – France

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France makes whisky. Good whisky. The fact that this still surprises people is a marketing failure, not a quality one. Rozelieures Subtil Single Malt Whisky comes out of Lorraine, where the distillery matures its unpeated spirit in a combination of ex-bourbon, Cognac and new oak casks before bottling at 40% ABV. The Cognac cask influence is the thing that sets this apart; it pushes the spirit toward dried apricot and white peach territory, with a soft, almost creamy mid-palate that feels more like a dessert wine than a grain spirit. It’s lighter than the other entries on this list, and at 40% it won’t knock you sideways, but the complexity packed into that relatively modest proof is quietly impressive.

2. Eastmoor Single Estate Whisky Signature Malt – Netherlands

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The Netherlands is not a country that comes up in whisky conversations, but Kalkwijck Distillers in Vroomshoop is making a case for itself with Eastmoor Dutch Single Estate Whisky Signature Malt. The “single estate” designation is literal: the barley is grown on the distillery’s own farm, which gives this bottle a farm-to-glass provenance that most craft producers only gesture at. After 15 years of limited batch releases, this is Kalkwijck’s first proper core range expression, and it arrives at 43% ABV with a price tag of around $45. The nose has a honeyed, almost meadow-like quality, with something faintly waxy underneath that recalls fresh-cut hay. On the palate it’s more assertive than the nose suggests, with toasted cereal and a light green-herb note that keeps the sweetness in check. The finish is clean and medium-length, and the whole package feels like a distillery that has spent 15 years figuring out exactly what it wants to say.

1. Scapegrace Vanguard – New Zealand

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New Zealand single malt whisky aged in virgin French oak is not a sentence most people have had occasion to say, but Scapegrace Vanguard makes a compelling argument that they should start. Scapegrace Distillery sits in Central Otago, a region better known for pinot noir than pot stills, and the Vanguard is built from New Zealand Laureate barley matured for three years in those French oak casks before bottling at 46% ABV. The oak influence here is substantial but not oppressive; it pushes toward dark cherry, toasted coconut and a kind of dried-flower bitterness on the finish that feels almost like a Campari echo, faint but unmistakable. The barley itself comes through as a clean, slightly sweet grain note that anchors the more exotic wood-driven flavors and keeps the whole thing from tipping into novelty territory. At around $49.95, this is the bottle on this list most likely to genuinely surprise someone who thinks they already know what whisky can be.

Five countries, five bottles, five good reasons to look past the usual suspects next time you’re standing in front of a whisky shelf. The world is making excellent whisky in places that rarely get credit for it, and at these prices, there’s no excuse not to find out for yourself.