A Wiser Retirement®

316. The Best Whiskeys to Gift in 2025

• Wiser Wealth Management • Episode 316

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Whiskey gifting is an art and in 2025, it’s easier (and tastier) than ever to give the perfect bottle. On this special non-financial episode of the A Wiser Retirement® Podcast, host Casey Smith sits down with whiskey enthusiast Robert Swarthout to talk all things bourbon, barrel picks, and what makes this year’s selections so special. Prices are moderating, access is improving, and distillers are getting creative making 2025 a standout year for whiskey lovers.

Related Podcast Episodes: 

Ep 256: The Best Whiskeys to Gift in 2024

Ep 193: The Best Whiskeys to Gift in 2023

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Why 2025 Is A Better Gifting Year

SPEAKER_04

Don't be the person in 2025 gifting bad whiskey. Stay tuned to WeiserWelt's 2025 whiskey gifting episode with Robert Swarthout. Welcome to the Wiser Retirement Podcast. Are you curious about what best whiskeys to be gift in 2025? I'm here with my good friend Robert Swarthout to talk nothing finance today, 100% whiskey. If you want to hear finance stuff, uh go uh listen to last week's or next week's.

SPEAKER_02

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_04

Uh each year, this is our third time doing this. It's one of our most heavy downloaded um episodes within the first seven days. We have about we have like 6,000 downloads over a month or so. Right. But uh, but this episode always gets instant downloads right away. Um I don't know, maybe our listeners are a bunch of drunks.

SPEAKER_02

I don't I don't know. Probably not. They just have good taste.

SPEAKER_04

They just have good taste, yes. I'll go with that. Yeah. Uh so yeah, so let's let's kind of dive right into this. Uh, we have a little shorter list this year because we differ. Yeah, well, you know, we did the same format twice. We thought we switched it up a little bit this year. Yep. Um, so what makes 2025 a great gifting year versus other years in whiskey?

SPEAKER_02

Yep. Well, you know, like we said, we've done this the previous two years, and you know, we were dealing with inflation and other reasons. Um, but whiskey prices for the last five or 10 years have just been going up and up and up and up. I think the exciting news this year is prices have moderated a little bit. Um, prices have moderated, and access is becoming a little bit easier to get some of these bottles. Um, so that that's the exciting news this year. I think you know, there's great things every year to choose from, but at the end of the day, having access to more things at maybe more reasonable prices or not as a nosebleed of prices um is um good news.

SPEAKER_04

So having just coming off uh a college tour with my daughter through Kentucky.

SPEAKER_02

Yep.

SPEAKER_04

Uh there was no bourbon drink during that, during that uh visit.

SPEAKER_02

Sound like a bad visit.

SPEAKER_04

It's a bad visit, yes. Um I I'm assuming that the really tariffs don't affect anything whiskey related.

Tariffs, Demand, And Price Moderation

SPEAKER_02

Um for the American whiskey, no. Um, but what has affected the um the distillers in America is when they were exporting it, there has been less countries buying American product because the whole tariff spats that we've been in for six months at this point, right? Um, but that that is part of the decline. Um, and just generally, I think um people are pulling back into maybe they don't feel great about the economy or different things. They they're buying cheaper things. So maybe they're maybe they're going from a pricier bottle to a cheaper bottle, or they're going from a bottle to a beer or something like that, is my understanding of how the market has kind of shifted over the last year.

SPEAKER_04

Interesting. So, what are what are um distilleries doing to to combat this with their promotions?

SPEAKER_02

Just promotions, and they're not necessarily running sales because you don't necessarily see that on liquor. In some states, I think they say even illegal. Um, but uh you just generally just moderating the prices and you know not jumping the prices up. You you are seeing them also now that they have extra stock that's not selling, they might be doing finishing in different ways you wouldn't see seen before. So, you know, like an example here in front of me is this um barge town where they finished it with silver oak barrels. So they're combining the the wine world with a Cabernet from California with the um you know the their their bourbon from Bargetown. And you know, I I'm a big silver oak guy too. That's one of my favorite wines. And when you drink this whiskey, if you like sit and think about it, you can totally pull the flavor out. Um, like when I drink silver oak, I can taste a coconut flavor. That's that's what I remember from it each time. Um, and I can definitely taste a little bit of coconut, which is very foreign for a whiskey.

SPEAKER_04

What does that have to do with the wine?

SPEAKER_02

Um, but it but for whatever reason, that's what the flavor I get out of their wine. Maybe my brain is miswired. Okay.

SPEAKER_04

When you're drinking, I see what you're saying now.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's uh it's kind of fun to kind of see that. So they they they're doing different things. They've done a um one also with whistle pig. Um, so they kind of do it across different distilleries, but they obviously have a lot of um barrels and um their barrels are required to be new. Um, but you can finish um a bourbon or American whiskey in a um uh you know barrel of whatever.

SPEAKER_04

So what are some of the emerging trends that you're seeing for and then what we should we be paying attention to when selecting gifts this year?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. So we kind of started already talking about it a little bit, but the different cask finishes. So you're seeing, you know, this wine here, this um fiddler. So this is for all the Atlanta folks listening. This is ASW. So this is our hometown distillery here, uh or one of them. Um and they have done a product here where they finished this in French cognac cask, and they also have one in Madeira casks. So this bottle shop up in um uh I guess Roswell or Marietta, actually Marietta, um, at Spray Berries. So this is a bottle pick of theirs. Um, I've just gravitated towards more bottle picks the last couple years. Um, it's something different, you know, and it's likely either you need to run if you love something, you probably need to run back and buy it again because it's probably not gonna be there very long. Right. They might get maybe 200 um bottles out of a barrel. So again, it's not gonna not gonna last long.

SPEAKER_04

And it's typically a single barrel, so it's which makes it better for gifting because it's now it's a unique bottle.

SPEAKER_02

It absolutely gives it some personality and you maybe a little bit of a talking point. So with this one, um, you know, I had some cigars the other night with some friends, and um, this is a great um one to go along with the the cigars that we found. Um, but yes, this is a single barrel. This is a barrel in this case, 760. It was seven years and seven months old. It was finished in that cognac for another year. So um kind of fun. With the higher proof, this is 120 proof.

Finishing Trends And Unique Casks

SPEAKER_04

So where there's some key attributes that that wouldn't you would say makes um a good whiskey gift from just a solid bottle to drink? So someone might have their go-to whiskey. Yep, you don't want to buy them another bottle of their favorite risk.

SPEAKER_02

Like buying them some more socks.

unknown

Right.

SPEAKER_02

Like don't need to do that.

SPEAKER_04

So so what what how how do you how do you know how to do this when you don't maybe know the person that well?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. You know, if you don't know them that well, I would just say it's just like, you know, buying a store pick, I said, and then you can talk a little bit about you have a conversation around it, like versus just you know, you're not gonna go buy a handle of Jack Daniels off the shelf, you could buy it any place that you go to. Correct. So just you know, just with any gift, give it some thought. Um, and just have you maybe want to have a conversation or be able to sit down with somebody that I think is a great conversation starter potentially as well.

SPEAKER_04

Maybe going to the bottle shop and say, Do you have any unique bottles for gift?

SPEAKER_02

And then have a conversation with them. You correct. Yeah. And that can lead different ways. You know, depending on who you're talking at the counter, it could be the owner or just an employee, and they may lead totally different paths as well. But you know, they may try to lead you down a path where you're gonna maybe spend more money than you want. So you have to pull that back a little bit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04

Um, or sometimes you don't get access to these bottles until you bought a minimum from them.

SPEAKER_02

Correct, absolutely. And more bottle shops are moving toward that model where it's like they keep track of it in a rewards program and then they give it the tail end of the year Q4 here when a lot of whiskey is released.

SPEAKER_04

Um well, what happened to me last season is like I just went and got two bottles of Woodford and somehow that qualified me to be in their program. To be in their program. And I'm past this sheet in front of me. And it's like, you can buy Blantons, you can buy all these different ones. Ones I couldn't find in the store, like like this this bottle shop kind of stinks. I don't I don't see anything that I even recognize from Robert's house because in my head, it all goes back to Robert's Robert's house.

SPEAKER_02

Fair enough.

SPEAKER_04

And and um then all of a sudden I buy two bottles of Woodford and and then I get uh because I figured that's a pretty good generic uh gift. You know, it was double baked, you know, it was a higher end one, right? Yep. And and all of a sudden I get this piece of paper put in front of me. He's like, you can buy these bottles right here now. And I was like, Well, that's what I really came for. But I had to buy the other two bottles to get to those bottles. Now look like a complete um, you know, like I have an alcohol problem. I'm walking out with like like 10 bottles of whiskey to be gifting to everybody.

SPEAKER_02

So some people may know this, but bottle shops um and liquor stores in particular, to get these more allocated bottles, they have to buy other product from the distillers, whether it's the Woodford, normal Woodford, yeah, or they have to buy some random vodka that they're selling, they have to buy a lot of that other stuff to get a small amount of these allocated bottles. So that's why they for what everyone's looking for what everyone's looking for, right? So everyone, you know, the the bottle socks bottle shop in some sense is stuck in the middle trying to peddle this other stuff that maybe no one wants to get the few bottles that everyone does want.

SPEAKER_04

That that's that's a very insightful. That makes sense.

Store Picks, Single Barrels, And Scarcity

SPEAKER_02

But I guess jump back to your question, you know, when I'm trying to find a gift or to for somebody, it's um maybe the avenue of what's something I can give them, not necessarily have to spend a lot of money, or you can, but um, that's something that they wouldn't buy for themselves or they wouldn't think to get for themselves that you think that they would enjoy. So it's no different than getting a bottle of wine, um, I would say. But um just you know, whiskey is my thing. So that's sure I think about. So and if I truly don't want to think about it, I just go pick my favorite whiskey um and then go buy a bottle of that and then go give it to them.

SPEAKER_04

So right.

SPEAKER_02

Yep. I guess that's even less thought in some sense.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah, but well, you're an expert at this. So I'm I'm assuming a lot of our listeners are not.

SPEAKER_02

Uh expert in air quotes.

SPEAKER_01

So before we get back into the episode, have you ever wondered why annuities keep coming up as a recommended investment? While they're often pitched as a way to reduce risk and secure your future, annuities frequently benefit the salesperson more than the investor. Download our free guide, buyer beware, why do they keep trying to sell you that annuity at wiserinvestor.com forward slash guides. Now let's get back to the episode.

SPEAKER_04

So if you're picking three whiskeys to gift this year, what would it be and why?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so we're doing a different route this year. So we had done the whole price bracket thing in years past. Um this time it kind of kept them roughly around the same price, but just you know, things that are newer to the market that may or may not be as easily available depending on where you're going. Um, but the first one we'll talk about is Jack Daniels, the 10-year, not normal Jack Daniels. Um, everyone knows that one, right? Has whatever feelings about it. But um this Jack Daniels 10-year product, I think um MSRP is 70 to 90. There's a good chance you're gonna pay a little bit more than that, um, just because it's likely to be in their glass case or something behind a counter um if you're to find it anywhere.

SPEAKER_04

You said Jack Daniels, and I went, oh, that's kind of generic. It's like here's a here, here's a Ford escort.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Here's a Ford escape. For the app for the normal Jack Daniels, absolutely. Yeah. Um, so they're doing a 10, 12, and 13 year, I believe. Okay. Um, and so it's a aging of their current thing with a slightly different mash bill.

SPEAKER_04

Did they bottle it differently?

SPEAKER_02

Um, they age it longer. Well, the normal jack stuff is not even um age stamped, so you don't know. So it's probably less than four years old.

SPEAKER_04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um the I have had a single barrel of there so it was aged longer, but it would not age stamped, so you don't really know. My guess is between six and eight years. It actually starts to change flavor and it's actually good. Yeah. Um, not at the proofed down version, but more of a barrel proof. That's my preference. Sure. Um, but yeah, the the tenure, I mean it's a different shape bottle, so it doesn't look like the this the same bottle that you maybe recognize as Jack Daniels, but um, it's I think of something you know that would make people tilt their head, they're curious, so it may make them think a little bit, and you know, again, you can you know read up on it a little bit and talk about it.

SPEAKER_04

So yeah, okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um, the second bottle is uh, and I have an example of it. I don't have this year's release with me, but um Old Forester's birthday bourbon. Um, so again, this is MSRP 880 to 100. You're probably gonna pay 150 to 200, admittedly, if you're gonna go find it in the store. Um, but it is a um bottle that um has a very different shape. So it's flat, you know, for those that are listening on the podcast can't see it, is very much a squatty flat bottle um with a skinny neck on it. Um and you know, it's it's a every year's different, but um it's a always a great, great um birthday bourbon with the proof. The proof on this one is I want to say 105.

unknown

Woo!

How To Choose A Thoughtful Whiskey Gift

SPEAKER_02

So yeah, but this one is aged well. This release from I think last year or the year before was age 11 years. So it's gonna have an age stamp on it. And um, but this is a an allocated bottle. So this isn't probably the least least easiest to find on our list. Okay. Um but um this is a first if you're giving a gift to somebody that knows bourbon and you give them this gift, they they will know that you spent some effort getting it. Um, there is no doubt. It's or you just got really lucky and you can just let them know it was hard to find.

SPEAKER_03

You paid a ton of money for it on the internet. Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_02

And there's definitely those websites. Um uh I have a buddy that will go unnamed, so but he seems to spend all of his time when he's not um flying airplanes um um on bourbon websites. Um but anytime I I'm curious about uh what a bottle's like, I'll just ask him. And like he he's turning into an encyclopedia um of um access to bourbon. So yeah that's um that's that one. So our next one is the third bottle on our list is the Smoke Wagon private label. So Smoke Wagon is out of Las Vegas. Um a little bit different here. Um this one again, it's being a private label bourbon. It's likely to be foolproof. Um I have a bottle shop that I will visit from time to time on the south side of Atlanta down in um Locust Grove or in Jackson. There's two different places for it. And they do a barrel pick there. These bottles are phenomenal. Um, it's higher proof at like 126, I believe. So you can put on ice or however you like to drink your bourbon. But um, you know, it's uh it's a fun bottle. Um those bottles, all the smoke wagon stuff has the glass that is the brown glass um that has a pretty packaging. And it's some good packaging, yeah. So they've thought about it. And packaging is a fun thing. I mean, like, you know, we talked about the squatty thing for the birthday bourbon, or we don't necessarily have it on a list of target.

SPEAKER_04

The fiddler looks like a wine bottle.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, the fiddler looks like a wine bottle. And the um uh the the one over the closest to you, the blue run, has got the butterfly. We've talked about this one in years past, other versions of it. Yep. Um, but just you know, again, you know, it's it's something that is different, um, different visually, great flavor, and it's um something fun to give us a gift.

SPEAKER_04

So these were the higher proof ones for more the the 90 easier to drink proof, maybe people who um maybe drink occasionally but don't yeah, you know, what what would you recommend for?

CTA: Annuities Guide Break

SPEAKER_02

I mean, there's there's no reason why you can't buy a high-proof bottle. Um, it's like buying concentrate of anything else. You just dilute it. You just dilute it. That's all they're doing when they sell tea at 90 proof. They just added water to it. That is all that they've done to it. Interesting. They've added their special water to it. Um, but it is a um, you know, it's like buying concentrate. Um, and so what's interesting about it is it may some of these higher proof ones obviously have more ethanol. You'll definitely get that when you smell it or drink it. Um, but you drop a little bit of water into it, and it it doesn't necessarily have to like sit for very long in like the flavor can totally change, good or bad. Generally, it it opens it up, I think is what most people will say. So you gotta actually get other flavors that you couldn't have tasted with the higher ethanol um content in it. Or you just you know, you can swirl it in the glass and let the ethanol kind of um say vaporize out a little bit and um kind of get out of the way. So but um yeah, so you know, as we start to think about kind of where things are going in bourbon over the next three to five years, um you know, American single malts have started to pop up in more places. So single malt, you know, more of a scotch thing. Yeah. Um I I'm not a single malt fan personally, but you're starting to see it um come up at places I would have never expected. So I'm a big whistle pig guy. Um whistlepig has released a single malt. I'm like, okay. Um they have they have been rye in bourbon 100%, and all of a sudden they throw this single malt in. I think that maybe they're trying to appeal to the the American brands are trying to appeal to that foreign drinker of a scotch. Yeah. Um, is maybe where that's going. But I I would imagine that trend continues.

SPEAKER_04

With that thing to do with tariffs and the import of the foreign maybe the foreign bottles, maybe, and maybe they they see it as an opportunity to offer something at a cheaper price. Potentially, but like way on the front of that by the time you roll something out right now.

Top Three Whiskey Gifts For 2025

SPEAKER_02

Right, I'm gonna say because tariffs are relatively a short thing. I mean, we've had them for not even nine months, seven months, right? True. Um, or even if they were to like April the first when Trump's tariffs went crazy, like like maybe they were buying barrels still. I I don't think the logistics work out. Yeah, I I think they were working on this before that. So um just whether it worked in their favor or not, I don't know. But um and I guess the second point on kind of the what's gonna happen over the next um three to five years is I think prices will continue to stabilize and maybe decrease in some places because they have gotten to nosebleed levels for stuff that don't in my opinion does not constitute nosebleed level quality. Um so y you know, if you know, pre-COVID, um, you know, you could go to the store and buy a really good bottle for like fifty to eighty bucks.

SPEAKER_04

I remember when Weller was twenty-five dollars.

SPEAKER_02

Right. Absolutely. And like you you get these internet groups that like you know, people to kind of stir up a bunch of interest or something. That that'll happen no matter what. But like you know, a fifty to eighty dollar bottle before, I mean, that's easily eighty to hundred and twenty now. Um maybe more. Yeah. Um and some of these upstart distilleries that were maybe just budding ideas five or six years ago have now built a brand. And now, you know, like I think Blue Run's a great example. I mean, like their um bottles are easily over a hundred dollars now, and like right, even potentially over two hundred in some cases. So you have to really want it at um prey those prices, I think.

SPEAKER_04

So is it the distillery that's getting that premium or is it just getting marked up even more in the stores? I I think it's both. Okay.

SPEAKER_02

Um I think the distillers are definitely charging more. And granted, you know, wages are up and everything that parts of running a business, but I don't most businesses don't have costs that have been up fifty percent and then things tacked on top of that, um for the retailers. So um and I think as we continue to see the glut of the amount of bourbon on the market, there's brands all over the place. Um I think we'll see some contraction in the number of brands um over the next three to five years, which also means that the product out there they'll be able to plethora a product, and I think that will help put um be a uh you know push down prices somehow. So and uh I think the third point there in the next three to five years is just access. I mean, as again, as there becomes a glut, um, there's less buyers out there, um, you'll potentially be able to get the allocated things a little bit easier, um, assuming they kind of keep releasing them, which they the the the allocated ones are their like top of the line or their highest price point. Those those will persist to be out there and maybe the the middle grade version of whatever that may kind of get the squeeze or something like that.

SPEAKER_04

So okay. Well, there you have it, folks. Your top three gifts for 2025, whiskey gifts for 2025, Jack Daniels tenure, the old Forester birthday bourbon 2025. You're gonna have to uh do some Christmas hunting for that one.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, and then you know, most of the listeners will be here in the landing area. We have uh some good bottle shops. Um, it helps that we're not in ABC state, so there's a it helps access, but spending money at your local store definitely gets you on the radar and maybe helps that case.

SPEAKER_04

So and then the smoke wagon private barrel bourbon all within uh this hundred dollar range that we're uh that we're thinking about. So that's that's great. Thanks for doing this, Robert. And uh thanks, guys. If you have any questions, you can uh always uh comment or uh shoot us emails and we'll be happy to answer them uh if you get stuck uh or want to know if a whiskey's a good whiskey. Yeah. Um just give me your email, Robert.

SPEAKER_02

I don't know if I can help him at all. Robert at T ToncryptoCapital.com.

SPEAKER_04

Send all your uh whiskey questions there and uh maybe maybe Robert get a 10% commission on help helping you source uh the most rare bottle ever. Right. Yeah. All right, have a great holiday season. We'll see you guys next time.

SPEAKER_00

Thanks for listening to a wiser retirement podcast. We hope you enjoyed today's episode. Make sure to subscribe wherever you're listening. That way you don't miss any new episodes. We'd also appreciate if you could leave a rating and review. If you have any questions about anything that was discussed today, head to wiserinvestor.com and reach out. This podcast is strictly for informational purposes only and is not to be considered as investment advice or solicitation to buy or sell any financial products, securities, digital assets, or any other investment vehicles or a basis to make any financial decisions. Wiser Wealth Management Incorporated is a registered investor advisor with the SEC. The host and or guest may personally own securities, digital assets, or other investment vehicles mentioned on this podcast. Neither the host nor guest of the show are compensated for their participation, and no referral fees are paid to or received by any host or guest for clients, listeners, or similar interests. Investments involve risk, and unless otherwise stated are not guaranteed. Be sure to first consult with a qualified financial advisor, tax professional, insurance professional, andor legal professional before implementing any strategy discussed herein. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.