6 Spooky Spirits For Halloween (2024)

Halloween is looming, creeping up on us until the clock strikes midnight and bewitching hour officially begins. So, whether you will be out on the town, spooking trick-or-treaters, or having a quiet night in, there are plenty of chilling Halloween whiskies for you to enjoy this autumn.

Let’s take a look at some of the spooky spirits on offer…

Ardbeg 5 Year Old Wee Beastie

BUY NOW: $42

The clue is in the name of this fiery dram. The 5 year old Ardbeg spirit truly packs a punch with notes of coffee, fennel, and tree sap on the nose. Smoke, chocolate, aniseed, and savory meats explode on the palate, and the drinker is left with hints of cocoa and fudge on the finish.

Ardbeg has bestowed the title of “the rawest, smokiest Ardbeg ever” on this “monster of a dram”. Sounds to me like the perfect Halloween whisky to sip whilst watching a horror movie.

Ardbeg Wee Beastie is the newest expression to join Ardbeg’s core range thanks to its dedicated fans.

Ardbeg’s marketing team clearly doesn’t take itself too seriously, and that’s why we love the tongue-in-cheek approach to modern Ardbeg bottlings. Get your hands on Ardbeg’s spooky spirits featuring fire-breathing dragons, alien abduction, and swashbuckling pirates.

SMWS 64.139 The Devil Drinks Oloroso

BUY NOW: Not currently available at retail. Keep an eye on the whisky auctions!

The Scotch Malt Whisky Society has released a number of spooky drams for Halloween, and if you are a fan of sherried whisky then this might be the one for you.

‘The Devil Drinks Oloroso’ is a 16 Year Old Mannochmore whisky distilled in 2006. The whisky spent 13 years “in a dark abyss where casks are sent to repent” in a bourbon hogshead before a 3-year finishing period in an Oloroso hogshead.

The tasting notes on the SMWS website give you a sneak preview of the way that the flavors of “black tea and coffee crept in from behind a mound of cinnamon sticks and liquorice”. There is also mention of a “dash of holy water” – vampires: beware.

So, if you are dressing up at the Devil this year, this is the perfect Halloween whisky for you.

Mannochmore Distillery, located in Speyside, is rarely seen as a single malt. The most common bottling is the 12 Year Old from Diageo’s Flora & Fauna collection.

MANNOCHMORE BONUS: Loch Dhu 10 Year Old The Black Whisky

Perhaps the most famous Mannochmore whisky, though, is the Loch Dhu 10 Year Old The Black Whisky. Controversial due to its alleged overuse of spirit caramel, this opaque, viscous whisky has seen divisive reviews online. It is often billed as ‘the worst whisky in the world’. A marketing gimmick? Probably. And, it worked. This whisky has become a huge collector’s item.

That being said, if you feel like doing something scary this Halloween and trying a dram for yourself, we have some 10ml samples available on The Whiskey Wash Shop. Drink if you dare!

That Boutique-y Whisky Company 291 Batch #1 Rye

BUY NOW: £61.95 ($82)

This expression from That Boutique-y Whisky Company hails from Distillery 291, a Coloradan whiskey distillery nestled below Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs. The distillery was founded by Michael Myers. Not that Michael Myers. This guy seems much nicer!

Nevertheless, That Boutique-y Whisky Company saw an opportunity when bottling an 11 month old rye from Distillery 291 for its Rye Series.

The label for the whiskey features one of the most iconic horror film characters of all time – Michael Myers from Halloween (1978). Michael is standing next to Alfred Stieglitz, who took the photograph on which this label is based, and American visual artist, Man Ray.

The film-noir-inspired label, complete with Myers’ expressionless face, certainly has a feeling of the macabre about it. In a nod to the founder of Distillery 291, That Boutique-y Whisky Company has created the perfect Halloween rye whiskey.

Drinkers can expect “old fashioned cola cubes, pear drops, cherry sours, rye toast, and a touch of salt” on the nose. The palate delivers “syrupy stem ginger, cherry brandy, candied lemon peel and a slight almond nuttiness coming through. Sweet glacier cherries and a warming peppery end.”

Auchentoshan 1996 22 Year Old Particular Halloween Edition 2019

BUY NOW: Not currently available at retail. Keep an eye on the whisky auctions!

This spooky-looking bottle is filled with 22 year old Auchentoshan whisky, bottled in 2019 by Douglas Laing. The whisky was distilled on Halloween, 31st October 1996. The packaging displays lots of Halloween imagery including a pumpkin, some potion bottles, a snake, a spider, and a skull.

The whisky is light and creamy, with notes of lemongrass and sugar on the nose, and pepper and citrus on the palette with a warm and bitter finish. Bottled at 55.4%, the scotch is the perfect Halloween Whisky to keep you warm this October 31st.

This bottle is not currently available at retail. So, again, keep a weathered eye on the whisky auctions.

The Glenrothes Halloween Edition 2019

BUY NOW: £95 ($125)

In 2018 and 2019, The Glenrothes released two peated single malts for Halloween. Peated whiskies are a rarity from this Speyside distillery, so these spirits are sufficiently shocking and scary!

In fact, the scotch whisky was matured in ‘peaty casks’, which most likely means that some ex-Islay casks were used for maturation.

The 2019 Halloween Edition is presented in an opaque, ghostly-white bottle with an orange label, bottled an unlucky, 13 years old. Tasting notes include vanilla, sweet oak, peat smoke, almonds, and pears.

What Is Your Favorite Halloween Whisky?

Some have pumpkin-spiced lattes, and some drink some spooky Halloween whisky. Do you have a special spirit that you drink at Halloween? Let us know in the comments below.

However you choose to celebrate, have a Happy Halloween!