Tee Off With These Whiskey Selections

Aged a minimum of 4 years and bottled at 80 proof, the Evan Williams Green is a 'value bourbon' and a good buy (rarely over $10 for 750ml). A must have for batching cocktails, punches or simply an everyday bourbon. Want more bang in your glass go Black or White Label.

Green Label is similar to the black-labeled Old No. 7, but this Jack Daniel's bottling gets its whiskey from the first floor of the warehouse. It's a slightly different bottling as a result. This has limited availability in the US and overseas so it may command a higher price for those seeking rare bottles.

An Oa (pronounced an oh) is a peated Islay single malt comprised of whiskies that were aged in several types of casks of including Pedro Ximenez, virgin oak, and ex-bourbon. These whiskies were then married together in a large French oak vat in Ardbeg's Gathering Room. The whisky is named for the Mull of Oa located on the Oa peninsula. This is the most southwesterly point of Islay. This Ardbeg release marks the first permanent addition to their portfolio in close to ten years. Bottled at 46.6% ABV, this is non chill-filtered. Released September 2017.

Bushmills 10 Year is the youngest single malt expression for the brand. It is triple distilled in copper pot stills and is aged in a combination of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. (SRP $49.99)

Perhaps because Springbank Distillery is family owned rather than being in the hands of a large corporation, they can be a bit more experimental. This distillery employs three different recipes and ergo three different names of single malts: Hazelburn, Longrow, and Springbank. They vary in the number of times they are distilled and the different levels of peat for their malts. Springbank is distilled 2 1/2 times and is lightly peated.

Made by Heaven Hill Distillery, this Henry McKenna bottling is a Bottled-In-Bond Kentucky Straight Bourbon. Aged 10 years, this release is also a single barrel release with each bottle bearing both the bottling date and the barrel number. Single barrel whiskeys are unique bottlings so your mileage may vary, but you'll generally be sipping a rye-drinker's bourbon. Big, bold, spicy and a great choice for an Old Fashioned--go easy on the sugar, amp up the bitters a bit and garnish with a single orange peel.

When it comes to wheated bourbons, this is the one that started them all... Well, William Larue Weller (the bourbon's namesake) is the one that started it. When you talk Pappy, Maker's Mark or Rebel Yell you have to thank Mr. Weller for having the foresight to swap out the rye for wheat. Special Reserve is the 'entry' bottling to the Weller line and a must have for anyone wanting to learn more about bourbon and its different variations. Note: Can't find Pappy? Drink this, the Weller 12 year or the Weller Antique.

Arriving in the US in early 2014, the Green Spot is a single pot still whiskey produced at the Midleton Distillery and made exclusively for Mitchell & Sons. These wine merchants would buy casks of pot still whiskey and age in ex-sherry casks. These days, sherry casks only amount for 25% of the barrels with the remainder being ex-bourbon. The name is derived from the dab of paint used to identify the barrels by age, which in the Green Spot's case, is 7-8 years.

Johnnie Walker Green Label is the only blended malt whisky in the Johnnie Walker core portfolio unlike the others which are blended whiskies incorporating grain whiskies in those blends. Included in the Green Label blend are single malts from Skye (Talisker), Islay (Caol Ila), and Speyside (Cragganmore and Linkwood). Each of these single malt whiskies were aged a minimum of 15 years. While the Green Label was discontinued for a short time in 2012, it did return permanently to the portfolio in 2016 due to popular demand. (SRP $64.99 for 750ml)

Far from a shrinking violet, Laphroaig 10 Year is loud and proud, get used to it. They have managed to produce a whisky showcasing the sights and aromas of the island. The peat, burned to dry the malt, is abundantly clear as is the seaweed found lapping the shores just steps from the distillery. That sweet salty sea air found on Islay is woven throughout their whiskies. NOTE: This is sold at 40% abv or 43% abv depending on your market.