The Latest Scotch Whisky Releases From Costco Offer Incredible Values

The latest Scotch whisky releases from Costco are among the best Scotch whisky values in America. The company is among North America's largest retailers of Scotch whisky. Its Kirkland Signature brand of Blended Scotch and Single Malt Scotch Whisky ranks among the top retailer specific Scotch whisky brands by volume in the US. Here is the latest update on Costco's 2024 Scotch whisky core range additions.

In its 2024 fiscal year, Costco sold around seven billion dollars of alcoholic beverages. The company does not disclose the exact amount.

About half of those sales were wine; the balance was roughly divided between spirits and beer.

Costco and Total Wine & More battle for supremacy as the largest retailers of alcoholic beverages in the United States. In 2023, Total Wine was the largest retailer of wines and spirits, followed by Costco, although Costco was probably the largest retailer of alcoholic beverages if you include beer sales.

As of June 2024, the chain had 891 stores, 614 of which are in the US. Roughly one-third of the US stores across 33 states sell spirits, and approximately two-thirds sell wine and beer. It does not sell any spirits in the 17 "control" states.

Like many other retailers, Costco has its own proprietary brand: Kirkland Signature. The brand is named after the city of Kirkland, Washington, which is the location of Costco's head office. Kirkland Signature has 30 wine SKUs and 20 spirit SKUs. It's estimated that Costco does approximately $300 million in sales across those 50 SKUs.

Currently, there are five Scotch whisky expressions in the Kirkland Signature Range: a just-released 16 YO Highland Single Malt expression, a Lowland Single Malt, NAS, and a 17 YO Speyside Single Malt Single Malt Scotch whisky that is being discontinued but is still available at some stores. There is also a 3 YO and a 12 YO blended Scotch whisky.

Independent bottler Alexander Murray sources the Kirkland Signature Scotch whiskies. With a name like Alexander Murray, you would imagine a historic Scottish bottler tucked away in a back street of Edinburgh or a hamlet in the Highlands.

Alexander Murray, however, is based in Calabasas, California. It was founded in 2004 by Scottish expatriate Steve Lipp. The company sources and bottles Scotch whisky for several retailers, including Trader Joe's and Total Wines & More.

Consumers and sometimes even critics have incessantly speculated about the sourcing of Costco's Kirkland Signature whiskies. Alexander Murray does not disclose where the whisky is sourced except to indicate broad geographic designations like Speyside or Islay.

According to Alexander Murray, the 3 YO blended Scotch whisky expression is 20% malt whisky, and the 12 YO is 25% malt whisky. By comparison, most Scotch whisky blends are between 10% to 15% malt whisky and the balance grain whisky.

Each of the blended whisky age statements is drawn from a particular set of distilleries and may change from year to year. Although Alexander Murray's blenders strive to maintain a consistent aroma and taste profile, there are often subtle differences in each batch of releases.

The same is true of the single malt Scotch whisky expressions. According to Chris Cusiter, Alexander Murray's CEO, each age statement is drawn from a single distillery. However, other age statements from the same region are typically drawn from a different distillery.

According to Cusiter, sourcing enough aged single malts to meet Costco's needs is becoming increasingly harder. That's the primary reason why Costco no longer stocks some of the older single malt expressions that it used to offer.

Below are tasting notes on the current core range of Costco's Kirkland Signature Scotch whiskies.

Kirkland Signature, Blended Scotch Whisky, Alexander Murray & Co Ltd, 40% ABV, 1.75 lt.

The whisky is honey-sweet on the nose and palate, with floral aromas and notes of caramel, cooked cereal, and a hint of smoke accompanied by fruit notes of apple, orange zest, and apricot. It is slightly oily, with a discernible palate weight and a mouth-coating quality.

This is a good, blended Scotch whisky. At $25, it is exceptionally well-priced and can be used straight up, over ice, or in cocktails.

Kirkland Signature, Blended Scotch Whisky, 12 YO, Alexander Murray & Co, 40% ABV, 1.75 lt.

This is a very complex whisky. On the nose and palate are notes of brown sugar, some dried fruit notes, in particular a hint of prune, along with notes of vanilla, some cinnamon spice, a bit of ginger, and a hint of smoke.

The whisky is smooth on the palate, with an oily, mouth-coating consistency and a noticeable mouth weight.

This is an excellent blended Scotch whisky. It's very smooth, extremely drinkable, and an average retail price of around $40, an exceptional value for a 12 YO blended Scotch.

It would certainly rank in the top 10% of blended whiskies. It's a robust, full-bodied whisky offering a degree of layered complexity typically missing in low-cost blends. For the price, it's outstanding!

Kirkland Signature, Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Sherry Cask Finish, 16 YO, Alexander Murray & Co, 46% ABV, 750 ml.

The whisky is finished for a minimum of 6 months in Oloroso Sherry casks. Sherry cask finished whiskies have proven to be enormously popular with Costco's customers and have become a signature feature of its single malt Scotch whisky bottlings. The Sherry cask finish also differentiates it from the distillery's regular bottlings.

It's a light gold/rich amber in color. On the nose the Sherry influence is unmistakable with aromas of golden raisins, and ripe orchard and stone fruits, and a distinctive sherry sweetness.

It's smooth on the palate with a noticeable viscosity and a pronounced mouth weights featuring dried orchard and stone fruits along with a slight herbal, anise/licorice and cooked cereal notes and just a hint of prune.

The finish is long and sweet, featuring a nuanced layered complexity with lingering dried fruit notes and just a touch of a slightly, herbal bitter note on the end.

This is a great whisky. At an average price of between $50 and $60, it's also a great value compared to other comparably priced Sherry Cask finished whiskies.

Kirkland Signature, Lowland Single Malt Scotch Whisky, NAS, 46% ABV, 750 ml.

There aren't a lot of Lowland whisky distilleries, so you might have an easier time tracking down the source of this bottling.

This is another Sherry Cask-finished single malt from Kirkland Signature. It's floral on the nose with orchard fruit notes of dried apple, honeycomb notes, and a distinctive cooked cereal aroma.

It's surprisingly viscous on the palate, featuring dried apple and apricot notes, hints of licorice, caramel and vanilla and spice notes of cinnamon and pepper and a touch of ginger.

The finish is long with a lingering honey sweetness and spicy notes.

This is a lighter whisky than its Speyside cousin. Typical of its Lowland style it is smooth and elegant and would make an excellent aperitif, especially served on the rocks.

Kirkland Signature, Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky, Sherry Cask Finish, 17 YO, Alexander Murray & Co, 46% ABV, 750 ml.

This expression is being discontinued, but you may still be able to find it in some stores.

The color is dark gold. The whisky has the typical Speyside fruit-forward expression. It offers aromas of brown sugar and tropical fruits, especially pineapple. The nine months of Sherry cask finishing add the dried fruit sweetness of raisin and fig to complement the orchard and tropical fruit notes typically found in Speyside single malts.

The whisky is smooth and creamy, with a noticeable mouth-coating palate weight. It features apple and pineapple, the sherry-contributed flavors of golden raisin and figs, a touch of prune, caramel/butterscotch, and some cooked cereal notes.

The finish is long, with a lingering dried fruit sweetness and a bold, woody note on the end.

Think you can figure out where the whiskies were sourced? My guess for the Lowland expression would be Loch Lomond. Although the Sherry cask finishing does a good job of disguising the ultimate source.

Ultimately, it doesn't matter, although figuring out the source is fun and a topic of endless debate. What matters is whether you like that style. If you do, the latest Scotch whisky releases from Costco offer incredible values, perhaps among America's best Scotch whisky buys.

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