There is no doubt about it––whiskey is one of the most celebrated drinks in the world. The hundreds of whiskey brands available is a proof of how much the world loves its strong buzz and smooth taste. In fact, there are specific types of whisky for a particular country. And depending on which part of the world it comes from; it is either referred to as whisky or whiskey. You can read about some basic facts about whisky––its origins and varieties, here.

However, in as much as it is a popular and great-tasting drink, some types of whiskies can be very rare and expensive. Fortunately, you can still score high-quality whiskey brands that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. The best part is, they may already one near you as you can find them at your local Aldi stores for under 20 dollars.

Award-winning Whiskey at Aldi’s

But wait…there’s more. Not only are these home brand whiskies from Aldi delicious and budget-friendly, they have been cited by various spirits and liquor analysts as the best in the world as well.

This is not surprising since Aldi is a global retail chain well-known for its affordably-priced but high quality home brand items––and their wines are no exception. For the past two years, Aldi has been reaping awards for the high-quality standards of their whisky brands.

Whiskey Competitions

This year, three of Aldi’s home-brand whiskeys received awards by the Scotch Whisky Masters, the world’s most highly contested blind tasting whisky competition, organized by industry’s top publication, The Spirits Business. The panel of judges include bartenders, liquor experts, as well as some lifestyle journalists. Factors that are taken into account by the judges are the age and price range of each drink before tasting and deciding the winners.

Aldi’s Highland Black Scotch Whisky and Islay Single Malt Scotch Whisky won gold medals in their particular categories, beating premium well-known global whiskey brands such as Chivas Brothers’ Ballantine’s 12 Year-Old Blended Whisky and the Glen Scotia 18 Year Old. Aldi’s Speyside Single Malt Scotch, on the other hand, was awarded silver in its category.

Last year, Aldi’s whiskey range was given a total of 29 medals at various international spirits competitions, including six silver medals at the highly-regarded and recently concluded International Spirits Challenge.

Aldi’s winning against famous brands is impressive considering that it is up against some of the world’s most influential and renowned liquor producers unlike Aldi who sells everything from potato chips to home cleaning products.

But are Aldi’s affordable and award-winning whiskey range really worth trying? If you’re curious to find out what all the fuss is about and why the spirits world is going gaga over them, why not head to the nearest outlet near you, grab a bottle of their award-winning whiskies and find out for yourself if they are just as good as the spirits experts say they are?