2020 has been quite the year, and your Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Festivus celebrations are likely to look a little different than normal, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be buying whisky for your friends and family! We’ve put together an updated 2020 Gift Guide to help you find the best options at the LCBO!

WHISKY $61 AND UNDER

1. Wild Turkey 101 – a great bourbon for $38 currently on sale for $36!
2. Writer’s Tears Copper Pot – very nice Irish whiskey for $50, currently $5 off!
3. Rittenhouse Rye BiB – great straight rye for sipping or mixing, $50
4. Four Roses Single Barrel – a mainstay on this list and a great bourbon for $53
5. Knob Creek Single Barrel – another great cask strength bourbon for $60
6. Lohin McKinnon Single Malt – a highland-esque single malt from BC, $61

WHISKY $61-$80

1. Tomatin 12 – usually $66 this is $5 off and a nice gentle highland malt.
2. Highland Park 12 – $5 off the regular $70 price tag, a classic island scotch
3. Wild Turkey Rare Breed – $65 for one of the best readily available cask strength bourbons
4. Glen Garioch Founders Reserve is a non-age stated scotch that punches above its weight; $70
5. Pike Creek 15 Cab Sauv finish is a new delicious release from Corby finished in Foreign Affair barrels; $70
6. Nikka from the Barrel – probably the best Japanese whisky available at the LCBO; $70 for 500ml
7. Old Pulteney 12 – a classic coastal highland malt for $75
8. Bruichladdich Classic Laddie – delicious unpeated Islay for $75
9. Glendronach 12 – delicious sherried dram that’ll please every scotch drinker, $80
10. Glenfiddich Fire & Cane – for the whisky drinker with a sweet tooth AND a smoke tooth, $80
11. Redbreast 12 – delicious single pot still Irish, $80

WHISKY $81 – $100

1. Amrut Fusion – delicious peated Indian/Scotch blend, $84
2. West Cork 12 – a nice Irish single malt finished in Port casks, $87
3. Floki Sheep Dung reserve – because who doesn’t want to try an Icelandic whisky smoked over poop? $88
4. Laphroaig Quarter Cask – a mainstay on this list for a reason. $90
5. Bunnahabhain 12 – great Islay with minimal peat influence. $90
6. Caol Ila 12 – fantastic smoky dram from Islay for $95
7. Glenfiddich Project XX – an experimental release that’s got a ton of depth, $100
8. Ardbeg 10 – nuff said. $100
9. Tobermory 12 – a new release from Distell replacing the old 10. $100
10. Aberlour A’bunadh – $100 for cask strength oloroso-aged goodness? yes please!

WHISKY $101+

1. Talisker 10 – fantastic scotch from Skye; $110
2. Benromach Cask Strength – $129. low stock for this beauty, but the 15 has a lot available for $19 more.
3. J.P. Wiser’s 23 Cask Strength – $150 (but often found on manager’s sales around the GTA) for a cask strength blend that won best Canadian blend of the year from the Toronto Whisky Society in 2019.
4. Macallan Classic Cut – a pale comparison to the old 18 CS, but a nice sherry bomb nonetheless. $160
5. Glenmorangie Allta – $177 for a wild yeast fermented limited edition
6. Boutique-y Whisky Company Whisky Advent Calendar – an interesting mix of drams in this item, but we wouldn’t necessarily recommend it at the $200 list price. Wait for it to go on clearance for $100 after Christmas!
7. Deanston Organic Oloroso – this limited edition 2002 vintage is a great bottle for the sherry lover. $200
8. Irishman 17 Cask Strength – the hands down favourite in our recent Walsh Whiskey tasting, this is a beast of an Irish Whiskey for $215

WHISKIES TO LOOK OUT FOR:

These whiskies are rumoured to be arriving at the LCBO before the holiday season, with no or limited pricing and availability info yet, but we will be eagerly watching for these listings to materialize:

1. Highland Park Cask Strength
2. Laphroaig Cairdeas 2020
3. Lohin McKinnon Peated Bordeaux finish
4. Michter’s Toasted Barrel CS Rye

GENERAL WHISKY GIFT TIPS

1. As always, DO NOT GET THEM WHISKY STONES
2. Glencairn Glasses/Canadian Whisky Glasses are always handy to have for the whisky lover on your list.
3. Bitters and cocktail ingredients/tools, available at many shops like Cocktail Emporium
4. Whisky Books: Canadian Distilleries – the new book by Davin and Blair would be a great addition to your whisky bookshelf.
5. Hand Sanitizer, from one of the many small Canadian distilleries who have been making it during COVID!
6. LCBO Gift Cards: it’s like giving your friend a tax break, AND whisky!

Check out our previous gift guides here:

• 2019
• 2018
• 2017
• 2016