Every December, a great many British adults buy a bottle of whisky they have never tasted, for someone whose preferences they have only guessed at, using nothing but the label and the price tag. It is a minor miracle that Christmas survives it.
So this guide starts with the person, not the bottle. Find the one who sounds like your recipient and the picks underneath are bottles we have reviewed and scored, with the price you should expect to pay in the UK and a plain warning about who should skip them. Fourteen bottles, from £26 to a proper splurge.
The short answer
Short of time? These eight cover most people. Tap a name to jump to the full pick.
Best overallThe Balvenie 12 DoubleWood83£48↓
Best under £30Buffalo Trace78£26↓
Best for non-whisky drinkersGlengoyne 1279£38↓
Best for sherry loversGlenDronach 1282£50↓
Best IrishRedbreast 1283£57↓
Best bourbonAngel’s Envy80£51↓
Best JapaneseNikka Coffey Grain79£57↓
Best splurgeGlenfarclas 2184£200↓Or work from your budget:
How we choose
A good gift is not necessarily the best whisky I have ever tasted. It is the one least likely to disappoint someone else. That is why you will find a lot of soft, sweet, unpeated bottles below and not a single cask-strength smoke bomb. Every bottle has a full write-up in our reviews, with a score out of 100, and every price is an approximate UK retail price for a 70 cl bottle, which will wobble depending on where you shop.
When you cannot read them: the safe bets
The boss. The in-laws. A neighbour you only know by their bins. For these you want a bottle nobody dislikes, which means a soft single malt and a dependable bourbon. Pick one and go home.
The Balvenie 12 DoubleWood
- Caskable score 83/100
- About £48
- 40% ABV
- Speyside
If I had to buy one bottle for a stranger, this is it. Soft, honeyed, with a touch of sherry and no smoke or bite to scare the horses. Our review calls it an excellent gift and one of the nicest everyday malts I have tried.
Skip it if they want smoke or a lot of bite.
Buffalo Trace
- Caskable score 78/100
- About £26
- 45% ABV
- Bourbon
A dependable bourbon at a sensible price, and a good base for cocktails. It will not shock anyone, which is rather the point of a gift.
Skip it if they want something unusual.
For someone who says they do not like whisky
Usually they have met one smoky or harsh whisky at the wrong moment and drawn the wrong conclusion. What they probably dislike is peat smoke or raw spirit, so the fix is soft, sweet and unpeated. If you want to be clever about it, tuck our whisky for beginners guide in with the bottle.
Glengoyne 12
- Caskable score 79/100
- About £38
- 43% ABV
- Highland
Smooth, sweet and unpeated, with a hint of sherry: the profile that wins over people who swear they do not like whisky. Our review calls it a very good gift.
Skip it if they want smoke or a lot of power.
Bushmills Black Bush
- Caskable score 78/100
- About £28
- 40% ABV
- Irish blend
Smooth, sweet and sherried, and our review calls it a great gift. A very easy way to look generous without spending much.
Skip it if they would prefer something lighter. The Original is gentler.
For the sherry and sweet-things person
Christmas cake, sticky toffee pudding, dried fruit: if that is them, look for whisky matured in sherry casks, which gives that rich, sweet character. Our guide to cask types explains why. The Balvenie above has a touch of sherry; this is the full-fat version. For a much bigger gift in the same style, see the Glenfarclas 21 at the end.
GlenDronach 12
- Caskable score 82/100
- About £50
- 43% ABV
- Highland
Sweet, rich and sherried, and noticeably richer than the usual entry-level malts. A very good gift for anyone who likes that style.
Skip it if they prefer light or smoky whisky.
For the Irish whiskey fan
Irish whiskey is generally softer and rounder than Scotch. If they already like it, buy up from Jameson. The styles worth knowing are blended and malt Irish whiskey on one side, and single pot still, made from malted and unmalted barley, on the other. If they are new to it, our beginner’s guide to Irish whiskey explains what you are getting into.
Teeling Small Batch
- Caskable score 80/100
- About £38
- 46% ABV
- Irish blend
Irish whiskey finished in rum casks, at a healthy 46%. It suits people who like Irish whiskey and want something a little more interesting than the standard bottle.
Green Spot
- Caskable score 80/100
- About £46
- 40% ABV
- Single pot still
Pot still Irish whiskey, a style that tastes properly different from the usual suspects. Also a smart present for anyone who finds Scotch too smoky or too sharp.
Redbreast 12
- Caskable score 83/100
- About £57
- 40% ABV
- Single pot still
Rich, creamy Irish whiskey with sherry notes, for people who want to go beyond Jameson. It scores 83, level with the Balvenie, and our review rates it a good gift.
For the bourbon drinker
Bourbon is the easy one to get right, because even the cheaper bottles are decent. Look for sweetness and a bit of spice, and avoid anything with a novelty bottle. Our bourbon guide has the lay of the land, and Kentucky is where most of it is made. The Buffalo Trace in the safe bets is a fine choice too, and if they like a cocktail, give them a bottle for an old fashioned.
Four Roses Small Batch
- Caskable score 79/100
- About £33
- 45% ABV
- Bourbon
Soft, fruity bourbon with more going on than Maker’s Mark, and good both neat and in cocktails.
Skip it if they want something big and bold. Look at something higher-proof.
Angel’s Envy
- Caskable score 80/100
- About £51
- 43.3% ABV
- Bourbon
Smooth, sweet, fruity bourbon with a port-cask finish. Our review calls it a great gift.
Skip it if they want spice and power. Other bottles do more.
For the curious one: Japanese whisky
Japanese whisky has a reputation for being dear and hard to find, which makes a sensibly priced bottle feel like a find. The soft, clean style suits a Japanese highball, and our beginner’s guide to Japanese whisky covers who makes what. More on the country at Japan.
Suntory Toki
- Caskable score 77/100
- About £30
- 43% ABV
- Japanese blend
An easy Japanese whisky that is especially good in a highball, and a gentle introduction for someone who has never tried the style.
Skip it if they want depth and complexity. Look at Yamazaki or Hakushu.
Nikka Coffey Grain
- Caskable score 79/100
- About £57
- 45% ABV
- Japanese grain
Soft, sweet grain whisky for the curious, and handy in a highball.
Skip it if they want complexity or smoke.
The big birthday: when you want to make a point
Two bottles for when you want the gift remembered. Older and rarer does not automatically mean better, as our guide to age statements explains, so spend this much only if you know the recipient will notice. Prices swing a lot between retailers at this level, so shop around, and think about a proper glass to go with it (see whisky glasses explained).
Yamazaki 12
- Caskable score 80/100
- About £140 (varies widely)
- 43% ABV
- Japanese single malt
The famous one. It is for people who want the Japanese style at its best known and who can afford it.
Skip it if the budget is tight. There are cheaper ways into Japanese whisky, as the section above shows.
Glenfarclas 21
- Caskable score 84/100
- About £200 (varies widely)
- 43% ABV
- Speyside
The highest score in this guide. It is for sherry fans who want an older, smoother dram and for anyone marking a special occasion.
Skip it if the budget is tight. The 12 or 15 offers a lot of the same style for less.
A word on smoke
Smoky whisky divides people more than any other kind. Some adore it; others think it tastes like a house fire in a hospital. Unless you know for certain that the recipient loves peat, do not take the risk. If you must, Lagavulin 16 from Lagavulin (about £78, 70/100 from us) is the one everybody has heard of. Our beginner’s guide to Islay whisky will tell you what you are letting them in for.
Before you buy
Order early. Retailers publish their last Christmas delivery dates and they vary, so check before you commit, and give yourself some slack. Mid-December is already pushing it.
Expect an age check. UK retailers will ask the buyer to confirm they are over 18, and many want an adult to accept the delivery. Do not send a surprise bottle to an address where nobody will be in.
Read the label. It tells you more than the box. Our guide to reading a whisky label explains what the numbers and the wording actually mean.
Not sure? Go soft. The Balvenie, the Glengoyne and the Bushmills Black Bush are all very hard to dislike.
What not to buy
- The gift set with free glasses, by default. Sometimes it is a bargain. Often you are paying for a cardboard box and two glasses you would not use. Do the sums first.
- Whisky by age alone. A bigger number does not mean it suits the person. We wrote a whole piece on why age is not the whole story.
- Cask strength for the lemonade crowd. If they add ginger ale, a 60% monster is wasted. Our guide to cask strength whisky explains why it is not for everybody.
- Something you cannot return. Keep the receipt, or at least know the retailer’s policy on sealed bottles.
Little extras that make it a gift
- A pair of glasses, if the recipient does not already own any. Our guide to whisky glasses explains what is worth buying.
- A recipe card. An old fashioned for the bourbon, a Japanese highball for the Japanese bottles, a hot toddy for a cold night.
- A storage tip. Upright, cool and out of direct sunlight. Our guide to storing whisky has the details.
More Christmas whisky
Christmas whisky gifts: quick answers
How much should I spend on a whisky gift?
For most people, £30 to £50 is the sweet spot: properly good whisky that looks like you tried. Under £30 still buys good bottles, such as Buffalo Trace. Above £50 you are paying for age, rarity and character, which is only worth it if you know the recipient will notice.
Is single malt a better gift than blended whisky?
Not automatically. Plenty of blends are excellent, and some single malts are dull. A single malt just tends to look more serious in the box. Our guide to blended Scotch explains what blends do well.
What do I buy for someone who says they hate whisky?
Start soft, sweet and unpeated. Glengoyne 12 and Bushmills Black Bush are the safest bets in this guide. Failing that, give them ginger ale and a good bottle and let them find their own way.
Are whisky advent calendars a good gift?
Yes, if the recipient likes variety and a bit of ritual. You pay more per measure than you would for a bottle, but you get 24 or 25 different drams. Our advent calendar guide has the best of them.
