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2026-11-03 20:21:42 UTC

6 Award-Winning 18 Year Old Scotch Whiskies Under $180
Credit: Glenmorangie
An 18-year age statement is something of a milestone in Scotch whisky, which makes these bottles a popular choice for gifts and celebrations. Many aged whisky lovers also look to 18-year-olds for punchy oak influence, which extended time in the cask can help develop.
But, with the brilliance of 18 year old Scotch whisky also comes the expense. So, if you are going to spend a lot of money on a bottle of whisky, which one should you choose?
I picked out six 18-year-old Scotches that won medals between 2024 and 2026 and typically sell for under $180 in the US and £130 in the UK. Their awards include medals from the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, the International Spirits Challenge and the World Whiskies Awards.
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So, let’s take a look. Let us know which one you would pick up.
Chivas Regal 18 Year Old
Price: $75 / £68
Award: Double Platinum, ASCOT Awards 2026; 1st Place, Best Blended Scotch Whisky 18 Year Old (89.5 points), International Whisky Competition 2025; Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2026; Gold, International Spirits Challenge 2026
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It is no secret that we love Chivas Regal 18 Year Old. For the price, I honestly think it is one of the best value 18 year old whiskies in Scotch, even for a blend.
Chivas Regal 18 was created in 1997 by Colin Scott, who was the brand’s Master Blender at the time. It is a blend of more than 20 malt and grain whiskies, each aged for at least 18 years, with Strathisla single malt from Speyside at its heart. The whiskies mature mainly in American oak, with some sherry cask influence.
On the nose, you might find dried fruits, buttery toffee, dark chocolate and spice. The palate brings chocolate and floral notes with a little gentle smoke, followed by a long, warm finish. Chivas says the whisky develops more than 85 flavor notes.
In our coverage of the San Francisco results, we picked it out as arguably the best bottle in the Chivas range for flavor against price.
Johnnie Walker 18 Year Old
Price: $110 / £80
Award: Gold (9), The Whiskey Wash Awards 2025; Double Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2024
Johnnie Walker 18 was previously sold as Platinum Label before the brand renamed it in 2017. It is a blend of up to 18 different whiskies from distilleries including Glen Elgin, Cardhu and Blair Athol. Johnnie Walker doesn’t give details of the casks, though they are believed to be a mix of European and American oak.
Johnnie Walker’s official tasting notes include stewed fruit, malty cereal, citrus, almonds, vanilla and tangerine, along with some smoke.
Its Gold comes from our own Whiskey Wash Awards, but the blend also picked up a Double Gold at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition in 2024. Reviewing it for our 2025 awards, Pete “Jeff Whisky” Jeffery wrote that “this 18 Year Old release stands up and shows it is not a premium blend to be overlooked.”
CRN57 18 Year Old
Price: $88 / £70
Award: Double Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2026
CRN57 is a range of blended malts from Gordon & MacPhail, the family-owned firm behind The Cairn Distillery, which opened in 2022 near Grantown-on-Spey. The name refers to the distillery’s location at 57 degrees north. The 18 Year Old is made from single malts drawn from across Scotland out of Gordon & MacPhail’s vast stocks, and The Cairn presents the range as a hint of the flavors its own whisky may offer in years to come.
You can expect raspberry and strawberry on the nose, followed by milk chocolate, dried banana, blueberries, and lime on the palate. The finish is citrusy with a touch of spice. A fruity wonder, and a nice sneak peek into what The Cairn is doing.
Alongside its Double Gold, it scored 89 points from Whisky Advocate
Wonderful value for money considering the sheer quality of Gordon & Macphail’s cask reserves, for me.
Glenmorangie The Infinita 18 Years Old
Price: $142 / £100
Award: Double Gold and Best Distillers’ Single Malt Scotch 13 to 19 Years, New York World Spirits Competition 2025; Double Gold, San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2026; Gold (95 points), New York International Spirits Competition 2026
The Infinita is Glenmorangie’s long-standing 18 Year Old with a new name and packaging, which the distillery introduced in late 2023. The name refers to Glenmorangie’s idea of flavor as an endless landscape. The whisky is aged mainly in ex-bourbon casks, with a portion finished in Oloroso sherry casks.
Tasting notes include honey, caramelized orange, jasmine, lemon blossom, and figs. On the palate, there’s orange marmalade and a polished texture, with a light trail of smoke on the finish.
Alongside the medals above, it also won Silver at the World Whiskies Awards 2026 and the International Spirits Challenge 2026.
It is a beautiful bottle to boot, and a great expression of Glenmorangie’s honeyed, fruity profile.
Glen Scotia 18 Years Old
Price: $139 / £100
Award: Silver, 13 to 20 Years, World Whiskies Awards 2026; Spirit Silver (91 points), International Wine & Spirits Competition 2026
Glen Scotia is one of the few working distilleries in Campbeltown, and the 18 Year Old sits at the older end of its core range. The whisky spends 17 years in refill bourbon casks and refill American oak hogsheads, which are then vatted together and finished for 12 months in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks.
Look for salted caramel, honey, toffee and floral notes, along with pineapple, apricot, sultanas and spice. There is also that typical hint of Campbeltown salinity.
It’s the only Campbeltown whisky on this list, so it’s a good pick if you want to try something from Scotland’s smallest whisky region. I have a lot of time for Glen Scotia.
Highland Park 18 Year Old
Price: $170 / £128
Award: Platinum (96 points), San Francisco World Spirits Competition 2024; Silver, Islands (Non-Islay) 13 to 20 Years, World Whiskies Awards 2026
Highland Park is based in Kirkwall on Orkney. The distillery uses peat from Orkney, which contains a lot of heather, and matures the 18 Year Old in a high proportion of first-fill sherry-seasoned European and American oak casks.
On the palate, you might find cherries, dark chocolate, toffee and marzipan, with the classic Highland Park heather honey and aromatic peat smoke.
The whisky has a long record of praise, and Highland Park notes that American spirits critic F. Paul Pacult has named it the Best Spirit in the World on more than one occasion. At around $177, it’s the most expensive bottle on this list, and it’s the only peated one.
It won’t hit you in the face with peat, though. It is a gentle, floral peat that elevates the sweeter notes in the whisky.
Which 18-Year-Old Should You Pick Up?
If you want the most affordable option, Chivas Regal 18 is the cheapest bottle here at around $75 (£68), and it has picked up medals at several competitions this year. Johnnie Walker 18 Year Old is another great value blended pick.
CRN57 18 is worth a look if you’re curious about The Cairn, while Glenmorangie The Infinita and Glen Scotia 18 are good choices for single malt drinkers. If you enjoy a little smoke, Highland Park 18 is the only peated whisky on the list. If I were to pick just one single malt to buy, Infinita would be my pick.
Have you tried any of these, and which 18-year-old Scotch would you choose as a gift? Let us know in the comments.
Read the full article at 6 Award-Winning 18 Year Old Scotch Whiskies Under $180
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2026-10-31 08:38:50 UTC

Blade and Bow 30-Year-Old Cask Strength Bourbon Debuts
Credit: Blade & Bow
Blade and Bow has unveiled 30-Year-Old Cask Strength Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, the second expression in its 30-Year-Old collection. The 1,200-bottle release will roll out in select markets from November 2026, alongside the return of the original 30-Year-Old Limited Release. The new bourbon comes at its natural barrel strength of 164.2 proof (82.1% ABV), with no water added.
It uses the same liquid as the 30-Year-Old Limited Release, which debuted in 2025. Blade and Bow bottled that expression in 2023 and brought it down to 109 proof.
The whiskey went into barrels in spring 1993. It spent most of its maturation in the rickhouses of Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, Kentucky.
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Nicole Austin, Diageo’s director of American whiskey liquid development, picked 42 barrels from an original 96 to create the blend.
“What I find so compelling about the 30-Year-Old collection is that these aren’t two different whiskeys,” said Austin. “They’re the exact same blend, presented in two distinct ways.”
She added: “The Limited Release reflects the balance I was looking to achieve when we first developed the liquid, while Cask Strength allows enthusiasts to experience it in its undiluted form and explore that balance for themselves.”
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The official notes from the brand describe a nose of citrus oils, dark berries, baking spice, fig, molasses and old oak. The palate offers roasted nuts, ginger, dark sugar and blackcurrant with “a cool menthol lift.”
Each bottle comes in a custom leather box. The suggested retail price is $2,500 (£1,866 / ₹238,000) per 750ml bottle.
Stitzel-Weller Distillery will be the first place to buy it. It will offer 25 bottles by reservation only, with bookings opening on November 16. More bottles will follow in periodic drops through the holiday season, and the brand will keep some stock for later.
Today (October 30), 30 bottles of the returning Limited Release go on sale at the distillery. Select markets will get it after that.
Visitors can taste both expressions at the distillery’s Garden & Gun Club. Options include tasting experiences with keepsake glassware and 1oz pours.
Diageo introduced the Blade and Bow brand in 2015. The name represents the two parts of a skeleton key, the blade shaft and the ornate bow. The brand links this to the Five Keys of Bourbon: Grain, Yeast, Fermentation, Distillation and Aging.
Stitzel-Weller opened on Derby Day in 1935. The distillery operated until distilling stopped in 1992.
Read the full article at Blade and Bow 30-Year-Old Cask Strength Bourbon Debuts
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2026-10-31 08:00:05 UTC

Orphan Barrel’s New Whiskey Hypes Up Avengers: Doomsday
Credit: Orphan Barrel
Diageo-owned Orphan Barrel has unveiled Latverian Cask, a 20-year-old American Light Whiskey inspired by Marvel Studios’ upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday. The one-time release goes on sale across the US on November 1, 2026, ahead of the film’s release on December 18.
The expression is the first American Light Whiskey in the Orphan Barrel portfolio. Its name comes from Latveria, the fictional nation ruled by Doctor Doom in the film.
Latverian Cask will be sold at select retailers nationwide, online through TheBar.com, and at the Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Shively, Kentucky. It carries a suggested retail price of $200 (£150 / ₹17,600).
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Marvel artist Rod Reis created an original illustration for the label. One in six bottles will also carry a holographic label treatment.
“There’s so much to pull from visually with Doctor Doom and Latveria,” said Reis. “I wanted everything to work together as one image at first, but then reward people who spend some time looking at it and start noticing those smaller references.”
Producers distilled the whiskey in Indiana from a predominantly corn mashbill. Most barrels matured in Kentucky, and the rest aged in Indiana. For at least 20 years, the liquid aged mainly in previously used bourbon and rye barrels. Multiuse barrels that once held batch Light Whiskey and other American whiskey also played a role.
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According to the brand, used oak gave the whiskey depth and richness. Uncharred barrels helped preserve the softer character of Light Whiskey.
US regulations define Light Whiskey as spirit distilled above 160 proof and below 190 proof, then stored in used or uncharred new oak.
“Part of what makes working on Orphan Barrel so exciting is coming across whiskies that have developed in ways you might not expect,” said Andrew Mackay, master blender US whiskey at Diageo. “When we discovered this 20-Year-Old Light Whiskey, what stood out was how much character it had developed over two decades while still retaining the softer profile that defines the category.”
“At this age, you’re working with something finite that simply can’t be recreated once it’s gone,” he added.
Latverian Cask is bottled at 46% ABV (92 proof). Tasting notes include caramel and vanilla on the nose, with butterscotch, honey, orange peel, and oak on the palate, with a finish of vanilla and dried fruits.
Read the full article at Orphan Barrel’s New Whiskey Hypes Up Avengers: Doomsday
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2026-10-31 06:40:44 UTC

Indian Malt Whisky Association and Scotch Whisky Association Sign Cooperation Pact
Credit: the Indian Malt Whisky Association
The Indian Malt Whisky Association (IMWA) and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) have signed a cooperation agreement at The Imperial Hotel in New Delhi, witnessed by Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney. The deal was signed by Major General (Dr) Rajesh Chopra, AVSM (Retd), director general of the IMWA, and Ian Duddy, international director of the SWA.
The agreement establishes a framework for collaboration through the sharing of information, knowledge, and industry practices. It focuses on sustainability, the protection and promotion of each category, and engagement on regulatory matters of mutual interest. It also covers legal protection, product authenticity, intellectual property infringements, and the promotion of responsible consumption.
“This agreement marks an important milestone in the evolution of India’s malt whisky industry and its engagement with established global whisky traditions,” said Chopra. “Our partnership with the Scotch Whisky Association creates an opportunity to exchange expertise, strengthen product authenticity and promote responsible, sustainable industry practices.”
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He added: “By working together on shared priorities, we can build greater trust in our respective categories while supporting the long-term growth and international recognition of Indian malt whisky.”
The signing follows the entry into force of the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), commonly known as the Free Trade Agreement. The CETA came into effect on 15 July 2026, marking a significant milestone in UK–India economic ties.
Under the deal, India will cut tariffs on Scotch from 150% to 75%, with another drop to 40% after 10 years. The reduction opens fresh avenues for bilateral trade between the two markets.
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India remains a key growth market for Scotch. Exports to India were worth £286 million (US$380.6m) in 2025.
The IMWA was formed to safeguard and advance India’s malt whisky sector. The association was founded on 8 July 2024 and officially launched on 20 March 2025, with members including Amrut Distilleries, John Distilleries, Radico Khaitan, Piccadilly Agro, Diageo India, and Alcobrew.
Those producers carry considerable weight within the category. Collectively, the association’s current members account for more than 75% of malt whisky production revenue across the country.
Earlier in 2026, the body took further steps to protect provenance. The IMWA introduced a new certification hologram to identify Indian single malts that meet the required standards.
The pact brings together two distinctive whisky traditions and reflects a shared commitment to protecting product integrity as bilateral trade continues to evolve.
Read the full article at Indian Malt Whisky Association and Scotch Whisky Association Sign Cooperation Pact
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2026-10-30 06:22:09 UTC

Milam & Greene Rounds Out 2026 Wildlife Collection With Texas Bourbon
Milam & Greene Whiskey has released Wildlife Desert Marigold, a seven-year-and-eight-month-old bourbon distilled and aged entirely at its Blanco, Texas, distillery. The expression is the final release in the brand’s 2026 Wildlife Collection and is limited to just 288 bottles drawn from three barrels.
The bourbon marks a departure from Milam & Greene’s signature approach of blending whiskeys distilled in both Texas and Kentucky. Instead, Desert Marigold showcases the brand’s own Texas pot-distilled bourbon.
Named for the golden wildflower native to western Texas, the release celebrates the resilience of the state’s natural landscape. The flower thrives in rocky soil, extreme heat and drought, while providing nectar and pollen for pollinators.
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The expression continues the Wildlife Collection’s focus on Texas nature. It also extends the brand’s concept of “Texification”, its term for the way the state’s intense heat and dramatic shifts in temperature and humidity transform whiskey as it matures.
Desert Marigold was distilled from a mashbill of 70% corn, 22% malted rye and 8% malted barley. The whiskey draws from three barrels filled in December 2018 and January 2019.
Each barrel matured in Independent Stave casks with medium toast and a No. 3 char on the south side of Rickhouse No. 1. The maturation period included an especially warm September before harvest, which helped build the bourbon’s oak character and sweetness.
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The whiskey was harvested on 5 October 2026 and bottled the following day at 124.2 proof (62.1% ABV).
According to the official notes from the brand, the mahogany-colored bourbon offers aromas of cinnamon rolls, butterscotch, maple syrup and spiced apple cider. The palate features caramel, crème brûlée, almond and cocoa, with a finish of lingering maple sweetness and cooling mint.
“We created Desert Marigold to show what our Texas-distilled bourbon can become when we let the Hill Country climate shape it over time,” said Rikk Munroe, master whiskey maker at Milam & Greene. “We typically bring together whiskeys from different places to create our blends, but these three barrels gave us an opportunity to tell a distinctly Texas story. Like the flower, this bourbon has developed its character in demanding conditions.”
The bourbon is available online through the Milam & Greene website and Flaviar, as well as in person at the brand’s tasting room in Blanco, Texas. It carries a suggested retail price of $149.99 (£112).
Read the full article at Milam & Greene Rounds Out 2026 Wildlife Collection With Texas Bourbon
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