With most of 2024 in the books and the holiday/ Christmas season our doorstep, one of our most frequent requests is helping pick out that unique bottle of whisky for the whisky lover in your life. So here we have complied a few handy tips that might help make the whole gift buying experience smoother and more stress-free, or at least nudge you in the right directions. 

Tip #1 - Do you know their preferences?

Knowing what they previously liked , or their favourite whisky of all time is a massive advantage as whiskies can have a wide palate even if you can learn if they like peated or non peated is their style of whisky will help narrow down selections. 

 Tip #2 -   Age isn't necessarily better!

Some whiskies have ages such as 10 year old and 15 year old for example, if a whisky doesn't have a age stated on it doesn't automatically make it a inferior whisky, the craftsmanship of spirit is the key, yes the age in barrel can alter the flavours but its all a choice to where the distillers vision of the flavour palate has been achieved. 

Tip #3 - Blended is not a sin against whisky

Blended whisky is often viewed as inferior or less desirable, as a common myth is its of poorer quality than single malt, which is a outright lie. In fact it takes just as much skill to blend malts as crafting single malts, its all about creating the perfect balance in flavour and enjoyment. Some blended whiskies tend to be a little smoother and easy drinking than single malts. 

Tip #4 - Budgeting is good, but price doesn't reflect quality.

Setting yourself a budget is a smart idea but looking at bottles the price may influence you to thinking its quality is poorer than a higher priced selection, not true. Prices tend to be set on availability and rarity of bottle such as if it is limited number of bottles so don't feel missing out on quality based on budget.

Cover image Created Canva AI Image Generator