If you want a bottle of 30-year-old Balvenie, it’ll cost you well over $3,000. Macallan of the same age goes for $5,000 or more, and Dalmore is about the same. Increase the age by five or 10 or 20 years and the prices rise to astronomical heights. Fifty-year-old Macallan costs around $35,000 at release, and only gets more expensive on the secondary market.

These prices are out of reach for all but the super-wealthy. But you can still get scotch with three decades of age—or more—without busting your budget. You just have to look past the malts.

You gotta go grain.

Just like its better-known siblings, single malts and blends, single grain scotch is a regulated style of scotch whisky. And there’s a LOT of it made in Scotland—much more than what the malt distilleries churn out. The thing is, single grain is rarely bottled by itself. Instead, it’s used as a blending component, the backbone of Johnnie Walker, Dewar’s, and their brethren. While there are around 140 single malt scotch producers, just a handful of distilleries make single grain whisky.

The qualifications for single grain status are simple. It must be made at one distillery using corn or wheat, as well as some amount of malted barley, whose all-important enzymes help unlock sugars in the grain. Single grain must be made on a column still, not in a pot like single malt, which leads to curiosities like Loch Lomond Distillery’s Single Grain, a 100 percent malted barley whisky that’s nevertheless classified as a single grain because it’s made on a column still. The whisky must be aged for at least three years in oak casks in, of course, Scotland.

Single grain is matured almost uniformly in ex-bourbon casks that have usually already been used once or twice. The less-active wood creates a fairly bland profile when the whisky is young, emphasizing simple sweetness from the spirit. But as it reaches older and older ages, more complex chemical reactions take place, and the flavors that develop achieve a complexity that’s utterly unlike that of single malt—and utterly delicious.

A great extra-mature single grain whisky has a structure that’s clear, clean, and even crisp: every line a bold stroke. Those second- and third-fill casks keep wood notes from dominating, even after decades of aging, so that subtle, elegant oak cuts deftly through caramelized vanilla sugar and toasted coconut. Independent bottlers, who are the primary sources of single grain scotch, sometimes re-cask the aged whisky into sherry or other finishing barrels, gilding the existing maturity with additional layers of flavor.

Single grain whisky wasn’t bottled much until this century. It has been largely overlooked, although bargain-conscious whisky connoisseurs are coming around. Even Diageo has offered an aged single grain in its annual Special Releases for years, and has bottled it as part of its Orphan Barrel series—although you can find much better prices than the ones they set. Check out some recommendations below, bearing in mind that these are almost all single casks and thus availability is limited. The same bottlers, however, usually have at least one or two single grain scotches on offer consistently, and are a good bet for future purchases.

The Best Single Grain Scotch Aged For 30 Years Or More

Claxton’s 30-Year-Old Grain Barn Batch 001 ($200)

The rare single grain whisky that doesn’t disclose its distillery of origin, perhaps because Claxton’s intends to use different sources for future batches. It’s matured in ex-bourbon casks and bottled at 48 percent ABV. It’s rich, with notes of creamy vanilla and toasted almonds.

Claxton’s 30-Year-Old Cameronbridge ($180)

Initially matured in a refill hogshead, this whisky underwent an unusual finish in ex-Islay peated single malt casks. It’s replete with rancio notes of leather, polished oak, and cola spices: a scotch for bourbon lovers.

Douglas Laing XOP 30-Year-Old North British ($428)

Bottled from a single refill hogshead that was filled in October 1991, part of this venerable bottler’s Xtra Old Particular range, which showcases the most mature and rare whiskies in its warehouses. Chairman Fred Laing’s tasting notes for a past bottling of the same age include maple syrup and toffee popcorn.

Signatory Vintage 31-Year-Old North British ($136)

Distilled on October 16, 1991, the whisky spent its entire life in a refill oloroso sherry butt, a large cask that yielded a generous 560 bottles at 56.1 percent ABV. Tasting notes are scant, but for the cask and age, I’d expect leather and spiced wood aromas with deep, rich vanilla bean.

Single Cask Nation 33-Year-Old Girvan ($255)

Described by the bottler as “more-ish,” with notes of Carvel Chocolate Crunchies, warm honey, and dehydrated papaya. It was distilled in November 1990, matured in a refill bourbon barrel, and bottled in March 2024 at a 57.1 percent ABV.

Blackadder 34-Year-Old Invergordon Statement Edition ($800)

Known for its unfiltered “raw cask” line of whiskies with bits of barrel char in the bottle, Blackadder has a reputation for selecting the boldest casks available. Expect big flavor from this well-aged single grain, which was distilled in February 1988 and bottled in February 2022.

Duncan Taylor Rare Auld 34-Year-Old Caledonian ($457)

Caledonian Distillery closed in 1988, just one year after this whisky was distilled—making it a real taste of history. It’s bottled at a sturdy 52.7 percent ABV, with flavors that tend toward tropical fruit and brown sugar.

Duncan Taylor The Octave 35-Year-Old Dumbarton ($396)

Distilled in 1987, this whisky likely matured in a refill cask for most of its life. Bottler Duncan Taylor then re-casked it into an octave—a diminutive 50-liter barrel—for a finishing period that added more robust oak notes. The cask’s small size, however, limited the number of bottles to a scant 80, making this whisky quite the rarity.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company 35-Year-Old North British ($95)

A bargain among even this class of excellent value whiskies, from one of the more adventurous independent bottlers. Matured in a refill hogshead and bottled at mild cask strength of 45.8 percent ABV, it showcases mellow oak and creamy vanilla pudding.

Douglas Laing XOP 45-Year-Old Port Dundas ($1,974)

Back in 1978, the first GPS satellite launched, Dallas debuted on CBS—and this whisky was distilled at Port Dundas, which closed in 2011. Douglas Laing bottled a single refill hogshead (and a barrel from Cameronbridge of the same age) as part of its Diamond Collection, celebrating the company’s 75th anniversary. The whisky is packaged in, appropriately, a diamond-shaped box, with a crystal decanter and glass.

The ImpEx Collection 49-Year-Old Invergordon ($614)

I defy you to find a lower price on a whisky that’s just shy of a half-century. Distilled on March 12, 1974, the 47.6 percent ABV whisky aged in a refill hogshead. The bottler’s tasting notes highlight flavors like poached pear, rosewater, chocolate, and leather.

Duncan Taylor Rare Auld 52-Year-Old Carsebridge ($730)

Made in 1970 at a distillery that closed in 1983 and matured for an incredible 52 years. It almost doesn’t matter what the whisky tastes like when it’s this old, and indeed, tasting notes are scant. But Duncan Taylor is a reputable bottler and I would trust this whisky to be enjoyable on its own merits. If you’re balking at the price, bear in mind that 50-year-old single malts cost 45 times as much—or more.

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