A Guide to gifting Whisky

There is an extremely common topic that we get asked about alot and that I get asked alot by my friends.. How can I pick the right Whisky to gift to someone. This is an extremely personalised experience and there is no rights or wrongs, but to get the best results.. Here’s our guide.

The first thing to establish, is your budget. We have a large range of clientele at Whisky Discovery and every single clients budgets vary. What’s expensive to some, is not to others. When gifting Whisky, we find it’s always best to have a few/multiple people chip in so that you can afford something really extraordinary, as Whisky can be a gift of a lifetime.

Once you understand your budget, it’s important to note where the giftee is at with their Whisky Journey. Some people are very new and are just discovering their love for Whisky, some are very experienced and some may just be “collectors” of whisky and other spirits. Understanding where your giftee is in this spectrum, can greatly help steer you to the right bottle to gift.

So now that you have a budget and a general idea of where the giftee is, it’s time to pick a bottle and there are now more options. The questions that often come up are - Do you pick an aged whisky? One with a nice presentation box? One that will be a great investment long term? One that is an amazing whisky to drink? So many things to think about… Lets start with the different types of Giftee’s based on their Whisky journey.

A newer Whisky lover:
We highly recommend something aged within the key distillery brands that often appeal to new drinkers. Quite often, this is within the Japanese range as the Japanese whisky’s can be very easy to drink and appeal to people early in their whisky journey. The Japanese range also tends to hold it’s value very well and in alot of cases, increase in value.

The core range & Limited Edition versions of key Japanese Whisky's are always a great gift for new Whisky lovers and collectors

A more experienced Whisky lover:
We highly recommend vintage and more interesting bottlings are suitable for more experienced Whisky lovers. People that are further into their Whisky journey and possibly “enthusiasts” tend to care less about presentation and more about the liquid and history behind the bottle. Alot of vintage Whisky has incredibly history and stories as well as ratings that are indicative of a special whisky. Age (Time in the barrel) and year (Of Initial Distillation) can also be a really cool factor and talking point.

We find that gifting a Whisky that was distilled in the year that the giftee was born, has always been a popular and well received and a well thought of gift. Gifting a liquid that was distilled potentially before the giftee was born also has an incredible “wow” factor, to know that you are drinking a liquid that is old that you are can be quite mind boggling to the giftee. We have a wide range of bottles that cover a large number of years as well as bottles that were distilled before World War 2, which is an incredible capsule into history.

Bottles that have specified Distillation Years generally provide a talking point and “wow” factor, especially the older years

There are so many other factors that can be considered as well, but we find that if you have these basic factors considered, then you will be much better placed to find that perfect gift. Ultimately however, the more you know about the individual, the easier it will be to find the right bottle for them. However, if you don’t happen to know a great deal about their Whisky preferences and journey, there is a still a safe way to select the best option possible.

That all said, we are here and happy to assist you with any advice that you may need in selecting the right bottle to gift. Please reach out through the contact form and we will aim to reply within 24 hours. Happy gifting!