In this article, we are going to discuss the 5 best whiskeys for your home bar. If you want to check out our detailed analysis of the global whiskey market, the dawn of the American single malt, and sustainability in the American whiskey industry, head to 20 Best Whiskeys for Your Home Bar.
5. Rittenhouse Rye Whisky
Insider Monkey Score: 11
Now produced in Kentucky from extra-aged barrels stored in prime warehouse locations, Heaven Hill Distillery keeps the historic Maryland mark alive with this award-winning six-year-old, 110 proof offering. For $30 a bottle, this affordable whiskey carries a distinct, spicy flavor, and is produced in the tradition of the classic rye expressions that once dominated the American whiskey industry.
4. Monkey Shoulder Blended Scotch
Insider Monkey Score: 11
Produced by William Grant & Sons, Monkey Shoulder is a blend of three main single malt whiskies – Glenfiddich, Balvenie, and Kininvie – all from Speyside, the spiritual home of whisky. Back in 2018, the brand enlisted a truck topped with a giant shaker, called the ‘Monkey Mixer’, to drive around the 50 states with a mission to redefine Scotch’s role in the cocktail industry.
Monkey Shoulder is counted among the Best Budget Scotch Whiskies for Your Home Bar.
3. Old Forester 100
Insider Monkey Score: 12
Handpicked from select barrels, Old Forester 100 proof is a rich, complex Bourbon that honors the legacy of founder George Garvin Brown, who put his signature on every bottle. This whiskey is quite popular with bartenders and appears frequently as an ingredient in most bars’ cocktail lists.
A truly rare and distinctive occasion took place in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1870. When George Garvin Brown sealed Bourbon in a bottle for the very first time, he did so knowing it would guarantee quality and consistency for Bourbon lovers everywhere. And nearly 150 Years later, the Brown-Forman Corporation still watches over the production of every drop of Old Forester with that same care.
2. Laphroaig 10 Year Old
Insider Monkey Score: 14
Laphroaig 10 is the definitive Islay peated single malt, distilled following traditions laid over the last 200 years by passionate master distillers. Its unique flavor profile is conjured from malted barley which is first cold-smoked over peat fires, like only a handful of distilleries.
Best served neat or poured over ice, the rich flavor of Laphroaig makes it a staple choice, ideal for novices and connoisseurs alike. The Laphroaig distillery and brand are owned and operated by Beam Suntory, the American subsidiary of Japan’s Suntory Holdings.
1. Wild Turkey 101
Insider Monkey Score: 17
For over 60 years, Wild Turkey has been making 101 the same way, the right way! Aged in American white oak barrels coated in the deepest alligator char, Wild Turkey 101 has an impossible-to-miss character.
In 1980, Wild Turkey’s original owner, Austin Nichols & Co., was sold to the French spirits conglomerate Pernod Ricard for a reported $100 million. In 2009, the distillery changed hands again, when Italy’s Gruppo Campari acquired it for a staggering $575 million.
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