Christmas Gift Guide: nine great bottles under €100 for the whisky fan in your life

Glenallachie 15

The combination of Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso Sherry in this superb single malt from Glenallachie places it high on every whisky fan’s Christmas list. The rich dark fruits and warming vanilla of this Speyside masterpiece combine to create a whisky that is said to define a winter dram. 

Wrapped in layers of dark red fruit, cinnamon and sweet pastry aromas, it captures the skilled hand of its maker, Billy Walker, and is perfect for a fireside pour. Bottled at 46%, you’ll discover walnut oil, orange zest and dark chocolate hidden within its folds.  

Tamdhu 15

When Ian MacLeod Distillers took over Tamdhu, Moray’s great sherried whisky house roared towards success again. This 15-year-old is a terrific example of what the Speysider can achieve when given full rein. Matured entirely in oloroso sherry casks, it’s a rich and elegant single malt that captures the attention at every turn. 

Orange zest and spiced plum capture your imagination with the aroma before a dramatic burst of summer fruit on the palate leads you deep within this 46% flavour-packed whisky.  The finish delivers a series of malted layers of vanilla, cream sherry and biscuit. 

Macallan 12

Macallan is renowned for being at the top of the world’s whisky market, but the quality of its whisky is maintained at every price point. The Double Cask series was created to bring new and experienced whisky fans deeper into the collection.

The Double Cask series has four age-statement bottles: the 12-, 15-, 18-, and 30-year-old. Each is a combination of ex-bourbon and sherry casks, carrying the classic Macallan profile and marrying it with the sweet and layered texture of the two cask types.

The Macallan 12 is bottled at 40% and offers an aroma of creamy butterscotch, sweet fruits and lots of vanilla and custard. It’s a beautiful starting point on a lifelong Macallan journey.

Five Farms Irish Cream

This multi-award-winning Irish cream liquor banks its success on the produce of five family farms in Co Cork on Ireland’s south coast.

Bursting with butterscotch, coffee, fresh cream and tropical fruit flavours, this Irish whiskey-infused cream liquor (said to contain much more triple-distilled whiskey than any of its competitors) is a stunning example of the category.

Dalmore Port Wood Reserve

Rich and opulent, this 46.5% single malt from Dalmore is matured in American oak before a lengthy finish in Portuguese port pipes. These impart an exceptionally rich complexity to the Highland whisky that carries Seville oranges and dark red berries in the aroma, followed by caramel, coffee, and chestnuts on its luxurious palate. A perfect after dinner dram.  

Bowmore 15

This sherry-finished single malt is a wonderful step up in the Bowmore range. It’s matured in ex-bourbon and, for its last three years, is finished in oloroso sherry casks. Despite the sweetness the sherry delivers, it holds all of the tropical fruit, hints of saltiness and deep spice that a 15-year-old promises. 

Bottled at 43%, it has a richer and more complex mouthfeel than expected and an excellent balance of dark fruit and soft peat.

Boann Single Pot Still Madeira

Boann is a young Irish distillery, and this bottle is one of a trio of its first core range series. It’s a single pot still, not a single malt, which means that they can use a mixed mash bill rather than solely the malted barley that Scotch single malts are built on.  

This bottle is made from a mash of malted and unmalted barley and small components of oats and rye. Finished for around 12 months in a Madeira cask, it comes wrapped in a cloak of sweetness and dark fruits from this Portuguese fortified wine. Bottled at 47%.

Writer’s Tears Mizanura

This cask-strength Mizunara-finished whiskey is one of the highlights of the Writer’s Tears stable. Already a silky smooth, triple-distilled single malt and single pot still blend, it has been further enriched with a finish in this most famous Japanese oak. 

Imparting an earthy, vanilla-heavy personality to Irish whiskey, it has become extraordinarily popular among its fans. Bottled at 55%.

Westland Sherry Cask Single Malt

This Seattle-based single malt producer likes to do things differently. Single malt whiskey is a quiet cousin of the brasher Bourbon and Rye brands that typically characterise American distilling. The people behind Westland rely on a five-malt mashbill and exceptional cask finishes to elevate their pours. 

Matured in oloroso and Pedro Ximenez hogsheads and butts this release is also blended with a new-oak matured whiskey to create an extra spice that balances the sherry beautifully. It’s a terrific American whiskey diversion.