Boozist

5 Unique Whiskeys That You Should Try Right Now

Unique Whiskeys - legent, ardbeg, and new riff bottles

It’s hard to know which of the 100s of new spirits are worth buying. We picked five unique whiskeys that you won’t regret trying.

About 100 new whiskeys have come to market in each of the last few years. Standing in one of several whiskey aisles, while fun, has become overwhelming. With limited money in WhistlePiggy bank and countless unique whiskeys from which to choose, no one wants to pick the wrong bottle.

Even American whiskey – the former refuge of the cost-conscious drinker – has been booming in the middle and upper tier offerings. 35% of American whiskeys on the market cost over $50 for a 750ml bottle, and 55% cost over $40. The pressure is certainly on when it comes to experimenting wisely.

Unique Whiskeys

We’ve selected five unique whiskeys to help you navigate the flood of new products. They’re tried and true – at least for us. They each offer something interesting, even if just a slight twist on a beloved bottle.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie

If you’re looking for the next great peat bomb, Ardbeg is your new bestie. Wee Beastie might just be the smokiest whisky in their flight, and that’s saying a lot. Ardbeg put the 5 Year front and center on this big, bold spirit rather than hiding behind a no-age-statement label, and it goes a long way to show that young scotch doesn’t mean bad scotch. It takes a special person to love Ardbeg Wee Beastie, but those who do will likely always keep a bottle on hand.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie – $48

unique whiskey ardbeg wee beastie

New Riff Winter Whiskey

unique whiskey new riff winter whiskey

Experimentation is in New Riff’s DNA, with their Whiskey Club playing host to many exciting options and the recent Maltster iterations receiving high praise. Winter Whiskey leverages their team’s brewing background to make a bourbon with raw oats, malted oats, pale ale malt, and chocolate malt. New Riff Winter whiskey is like an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie that remains distinctly bourbon rather than turning too sweet.

New Riff Winter Whiskey – $50

10th Street Peated Single Malt

Scotch meets sunshine in this unique whiskey that combines the elegance of California with the tradition of Scotland. It’s made from 100% Scottish malted barley and has a beautiful burst of smoke right upfront, but it’s not overwhelming, nor does it take over the rest of the spirit. If you run for the highlands every time you hear peat, 10th Street Peated Single Malt is the perfect place to dip your toes into the Scottish-style water of life.

10th Street Peated Single Malt – $65

Legent Bourbon

Unique whiskey legent bourbon

Legent was born from a partnership that arose when Suntory purchased Beam in 2014. Jim Beam’s master distiller, Fred Noe, took a four-year-old straight bourbon and finished it in sherry and red wine casks. The spirits then moved into the skilled hands Suntory’s Mater Blender, Shinji Fukuyo. His artful blending of the re-aged spirits and additional straight bourbon created a truly unique whiskey. Legent takes sandpaper to any hint of impurity but maintains an inexplicable complexity for such an easy-to-drink whiskey.

Legent Bourbon – $36

Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Irish whiskey isn’t known for being peated, but it was common practice before coal became widely available. Teeling is carving out a nice niche making unique whiskey in Ireland, and this is only the second release from their Dublin distillery. Teeling Blackpitts is a deliciously bold and in-your-face spirit atop a category typically vaunted for using triple-distillation to rein things in.

Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt – $75

Teeling Blackpitts Peated Single Malt Bottle

Bonus Pick: O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Rye Whiskey

Novelty abounds in whiskey, but this whiskey aged on a floating rickhouse floats well above the nonsense. While the whiskey is proudly sourced from MGP, the real magic comes from aging on a barge moored on a Mississippi riverbank in Kentucky. The constant motion and swings in temperature create a dynamic environment in which to age. At only three years old, O.H. Ingram Stright Rye Whiskey could easily be mistaken for a spirit twice that age. This is a questionable option to include because it’s only currently available in Tennessee, but it’s a unique whiskey worth watching.

O.H. Ingram River Aged Straight Rye Whiskey – $73