Best Budget Single Malt Scotch Whiskies

Announced in July 2018, Mortlach 12 Year "The Wee Witchie" is one of three new core whiskies for Mortlach replacing Rare Old, Special Strength, 18 Year and 25 Year which were introduced in 2014. Morlach is known for producing meaty, sulphury whiskies with its distillation process in a method called "The Way". They boast a 2.81 times distillation process invented in 1896 using a variety of shapes and sizes of pot stills which is far too difficult to explain here. This single malt aged in ex-sherry and ex-bourbon casks and is bottled at 43.4% ABV.

Pulteney Distillery is located in the far north of the Scottish mainland in a town called Wick, an area rich in maritime history, once known for its herring fisheries. The distillery has long been known as The Maritime Malt due to the proximity of its dunnage warehouses to the North Sea. Old Pulteney 12 Year is a single malt matured entirely in American oak ex-bourbon barrels, mostly second-fill. This 12 year-old bottling is part of the brand's core range of whiskies which received an updated look in August 2018 along with three new expressions.

This is the flagship peated whisky by Kilchoman, named for a beach on its Islay home. It is matured in both bourbon and ex-sherry barrels, and carries a 50 PPM peat level. It is bottled at 46% ABV.

Aberlour Distillery was founded in 1879 by James Fleming. This 12 year-old bottling is a core single malt in the brand's portfolio. It's aged in a combination of American oak ex bourbon barrels and ex sherry casks.

Highland Park is renowned for the peat they use and for their exclusive use of ex-Sherry casks. The climate on the Orkney Islands is quite windy and sea swept creating a dismal environment for trees. As such, the Orcadian peat bogs have more heather, grass, and plants than those on Islay. Highland Park 12 which was first released in 1979 uses about 20% 1st-fill sherry casks. Note: Highland Park added the moniker of Viking Honour to its 12 year expression in 2017. As of 2024, the brand has dropped that name and updated its packaging with heather-flecked labels.

Bruichladdich The Classic Laddie is the Islay distillery's flagship single malt. It is unpeated and made from 100% Scottish barley with some barley sourced from Islay. As for the exact recipe of the whisky, this changes from batch to batch with the brand using different barley types from various Scottish farms. Furthermore, various barrel types are used to mature the whisky and this too will vary with each batch with ex-sherry, ex-bourbon, and ex-wine casks among them. That said, since 2016 the brand has a recipe code on each bottle. You can view their website to have your recipe revealed. Bottled at 50% ABV without chill-filtration or added color.

Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban increased its age statement from 12 to 14 Years in summer 2019. The initial maturation remains the same with the first 10 years spent in ex-bourbon casks. But the whisky is finished for four rather than two years in former ruby port casks. Quinta Ruban is non-chill filtered and bottled at 46% ABV. The packaging has been updated from a black label to a green label.

The Ardbeg 10 Year is the flagship bottling for the distillery. The peat level is on the higher end of the scale at 55 parts per million or ppm. It's aged a minimum of 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels and is bottled without chill-filtration at 92 proof.

Laphroaig 10 Year is the flagship bottling from the Islay distillery. The peated single malt is aged for a minimum of 10 years in ex-bourbon barrels, many sourced from Maker's Mark in Kentucky. Laphroaig is one of only a handful of distilleries in Scotland with its own malting floor used in part of its production. Using a peat kiln built in 1840, the malted barley is cold-smoked for 10-12 hours. Then it's fully dried using hot air. NOTE: Sold at 40% ABV or 43% ABV depending on your market.

This is a new addition to the brand's permanent line. Officially known as the 14 Year Old Bourbon Barrel Reserve, it's aged for a full 14 years in typical ex-bourbon casks used in the Scotch industry. It's then transferred to be finished in new heavily-charred American oak barrels from Louisville's prominent Kelvin Cooperage, with the intention of imparting more of those deep bourbon qualities into a single malt.