Best Value Scotch Single Malts in 2025
With over 150 malt distilleries now operating in Scotland, there’s a dizzying array of single malt Scotch available in the modern market. With all of that choice, it can be challenging to decide where to spend your money - which of these hundreds of bottles provide the best value?
While prices in the past couple of years have been at all-time highs as well, we’ve seen a dip in demand in the whisky market, meaning some prices are beginning to draw back. This means more value for buyers, especially on the more affordable end of the spectrum, though there are some premium options that present good value, too. We’ve picked our top 10 value Scotch single malts, and we’ll tack on a couple of high-value premium offerings at the end.
Benromach, often nicknamed ‘The Springbank of Speyside,’ is a distillery producing whisky full of flavorful character. While some of their core range bottles are bottled at a lower strength, this Cask Strength offering solves that problem: tons of character at full volume. The price is also very fair (here in the US) for a cask strength, age-stated whisky: about $70.
Some flavors you can expect: Dark fruits of cherry, raisin, and orange; spices of anise and licorice; a soft peat smoke influence, as well as savory flavors.
Our value champion from 2024 returns in the second overall spot this year, and it still provides excellent flavor for the money. This Speyside single malt is known for great balance with both ex-bourbon and ex-sherry influence, and the distillery is known for it’s slightly savory character. This is widely available for about $58.
Some flavors you can expect: Musty and savory, with fruits of grape and charred orange; spices of cardamom, clove, and cinnamon; soft oak spice and lemon zest.
Glenmorangie 14 Year Quinta Ruban
Port casks often add a sweet, chocolatey influence to a single malt - that’s the case here, with Glenmorangie’s 14 Year Old. This soft Highland whisky is layered with chocolate, dark fruits, and plenty of sweetness, and the price ($65) is great for the age statement.
Some flavors you can expect: Red fruits of raspberry, strawberry jam, and fig; chocolate syrup, Mexican cocoa; soft holiday spices like cardamom, a bit of cola.
Check out our full review of Glenmorangie 14 Year Quinta Ruban here.
The first heavily-peated whisky on our 2025 list, this Islay staple from Ardbeg is a certified classic at this point. Full of peat smoke and bright fruit flavors, sea salt and campfire smoke - this single malt epitomizes the well-known Islay Scotch style, and it’s available at a reasonable price: $60.
Some flavors you can expect: Strong peat smoke, slightly medicinal, barbecue and wood smoke; icing sugar, lemons, pepper, and vanilla.
Another entry on our value list from Ardbeg - this is their bold, 5 year age-stated Wee Beastie. It’s presented at a slightly higher strength than their standard 10 Year version, and while it has some youthful vigor, it’s cheaper with a price around $47. For a blast of raw smoky spirit, don’t look past this bottle.
Some flavors you can expect: Smoky peat, salt and pepper, cooked apples and savory orange; cinnamon spice, barbecued wood, hints of tobacco.
Check out our full review of Ardbeg 5 Year Wee Beastie here.
Back to Speyside, this time with BenRiach, the Brown-Forman owned distillery. Their core range has peated and unpeated expressions with 10 and 12 year age statements; we like the peated versions, especially this Smoky Ten. It costs about $55, and for that price, you’re getting several layers of flavor due to the triple cask maturation (ex-bourbon, virgin oak, and rum casks).
Some flavors you can expect: Soft smoke and malt, with vanilla, some oak, and bright fruits like lemon and lime. Butterscotch, cream, peaches, and coconut build over time.
A whisky well-known in the past several years for providing great value - this is Arran’s 10 Year Old single malt. It won ‘Best Value Single Malt’ in the Online Scotch Whisky Awards in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and there’s little mystery as to why - it’s packed with classic single malt flavors, always provides excellent quality, and it’s available for $70 or less.
Some flavors you can expect: Crisp and bright, fruits of peach and pineapple, orange, some vanilla; icing sugar, malty notes, floral flavors, and brown sugar.
From the remote Orkney Islands off the northern coast of Scotland, we have this lightly peated single malt from Highland Park. This whisky combines ex-bourbon casks and ex-sherry casks for a rounded, well-balanced flavor profile, and it’s available for about $57.
Some flavors you can expect: Soft peat smoke, coastal salt; dark fruits of grape, orange, and prune; light notes of vanilla, apple, and heather flowers.
Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry Oak Finish
The combination of peat smoke and sherry casks generally creates a rich, indulgent single malt. That’s the case here with Laphroaig’s 10 Year single malt, which is available with a ‘Sherry Oak Finish’ for about $85. This brings that classic medicinal Islay peat smoke, but combines it with sweet red fruits.
Some flavors you can expect: Plums, prunes, and raspberries mix with peat smoke and barbecue notes; milk chocolate, mulled wine, ash.
Check out our full review of Laphroaig 10 Year Sherry Oak Finish here.
Loch Lomond has undergone a resurgence in popularity in recent years with whisky lovers, and this 12 year example shows why: the price ($46) is one of the most reasonable in the single malt market, but you aren’t sacrificing flavor. If you take your time with this bottle, there are a lot of layers to unpack.
Some flavors you can expect: Vanilla and icing sugar, fruits of orange and raisin, malt, hints of wood smoke; cinnamon, soft oak, honey-coated figs, and dried grass.
And now, those premium options we mentioned earlier:
Opinions on Lagavulin 16 have gone up and down over the past years due to some variance in quality, but mostly due to the inflated price during the whisky boom. Good news - the price on this bottle has come back down quite a bit, and we can now pick it up for about $85, which is cheaper than any time in the past 5 years. This Islay stalwart still offers that classic balance of peaty spirit and sweet cask influence, which is one of the reasons it’s a popular gateway into whisky appreciation.
Some flavors you can expect: Dry peat smoke, slightly medicinal, salt, and perfumed oak; juicy raisin, oranges, lime, and a bit of wood smoke.
Laphroaig 10 Year Cask Strength
Laphroaig’s 10 Year Cask Strength is a batch-released product, generally with 1 or 2 batches per year. These are generally focused on bourbon cask maturation, meaning we get the full blast of medicinal Islay peat smoke from the spirit; the punchy strength makes this one of the most raw, genuine expressions of Islay whisky available on the market. This bottle is generally priced around $90.
Some flavors you can expect: Vegetal peat and wood smoke, brine, dry driftwood, and saucy barbecue; lemons and orange, ash, and earthy char.
Check out our full reviews of Laphroaig 10 Cask Strength here:
Review #20 - Laphroaig 10 Year Cask Strength Batch 11
Arran Sherry Cask 'The Bodega'
Arran single malt, from the Lochranza distillery, has presented great value in the past several year - we’ve already seen it earlier in the list, with the classic 10 Year Old. Here’s a different take on their spirit: a heavily-sherried whisky, which offers a plethora of sweet fruit flavors. It’s bottled at a punchy strength of 55.8% ABV as well, and you can find this bottle for about $85.
Some flavors you can expect: Jammy fruits of plum, starfruit, raspberry, and apple; brown sugar, ginger, and cinnamon add baking notes.
Check out our full review of Arran Sherry Cask 'The Bodega' here.
