Whisky
Highland Black 8 Year Old Review: Aldi's Award Winner, Examined
Aldi's Highland Black 8 Year Old costs about £15 and keeps winning blind-judged medals. The real award history, what reviewers say, and the step-up options.
Some links in this article are affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, TasteSCOT may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This never affects what we recommend — we only link to products we’d genuinely suggest.
Highland Black 8 Year Old is Aldi's ~£15 blended Scotch and the most decorated bottle on any UK discounter's shelf. In 2018 the tabloids crowned it "the best whisky in the world", which it never was — but the real story is almost as good: a blend with a genuine 8-year age statement, at a price where age statements barely exist, that keeps taking medals from blind-judging panels. Here's what it actually is, what the awards actually say, and when to spend more.
How this guide works. This is a research-based buying guide, not a personal tasting. We assess Highland Black on price and value per unit of alcohol (via our Whisky Value Calculator), blind-judged competition results, and what independent reviewers report. Prices change often; figures below were checked July 2026.
What it is
ABV: 40% · Size: 70cl · Type: Blended Scotch, 8-year age statement · Price: typically £14–16 at Aldi (checked July 2026; it was £13.99 for years, and Aldi's 2024 award announcement listed it at £15.99)
Two things make the spec sheet unusual at this price. First, it's a blended Scotch with a real age statement — under the Scotch Whisky Regulations, "8 years old" legally means every drop, malt and grain, spent at least eight years in oak in Scotland. Most sub-£20 blends carry no age statement at all, meaning three-year-old spirit is fair game. Second, the price works out around £0.53–0.57 per unit of alcohol, which keeps it at or near the top of the entire UK supermarket shelf on value.
Aldi doesn't disclose who distils or blends it — standard for own-label Scotch, where supply contracts prohibit naming names — so we won't repeat the internet's guesses as fact. What the label guarantees is real Scotch: distilled and matured in Scotland, minimum three years (here, minimum eight). The mechanics of how these bottles get made are in our supermarket whisky explainer.
The awards — what it actually won
This bottle's reputation rests on blind competition results, so it's worth being precise about them:
- Gold, Scotch Whisky Masters 2018 (run by The Spirits Business). Highland Black took gold in its blended category — coverage at the time, including Forbes, noted it earned the same medal tier as blends at three or four times its price, which is where the "best whisky in the world" headlines came from. It won its category blind; it was never judged "best in the world".
- Silver, International Spirits Challenge 2024. Aldi's own announcement (June 2024) confirmed a silver for Highland Black at £15.99, alongside golds for its Glen Marnoch Highland single malt in the same year's competition.
That's a six-year spread of medals from two of the major blind-judged competitions — a far more reliable quality signal at this price than any individual review, ours included. The wider context of Aldi's award record is in Every Aldi Whisky Reviewed.
What reviewers say
Independent tasting notes cluster tightly. Dave's Whisky Reviews found it "soft, light" with "pear, green apple, some toffee and then some toasted oak", and a short, toasted-oak finish. Reviewers at TopWhiskies went as far as saying it "gives Glenfiddich 12 a run for its money" at the price. The consistent picture across blogs and forums: a smooth, unchallenging, fruit-and-toffee blend that's easy to drink neat and excellent with ginger ale or in a Whisky Sour — with a short finish being the most common criticism. Nobody describes complexity; everybody describes value.
How it compares
Against Lidl. Lidl's equivalent-priced blend, Highland Earl (~£13), carries no age statement; Lidl's strength is elsewhere, in its Ben Bracken single malts. At the sub-£16 blend shelf, Highland Black's age statement plus medal record makes it the clear pick — the full head-to-head is in Aldi vs Lidl whisky.
Against Aldi's own range. The bottom-shelf Aldi Scotch saves you about £3 and loses the age statement and the awards — a bad trade. Above it, the Glen Marnoch single malts (~£18.50) buy you the single malt category, and Aldi's Japanese-style option, Tenjaku, costs ~£8 more for a lighter blend with a thinner evidence base. Highland Black is the value fulcrum of the whole range.
The step-up. If you like Highland Black neat and want to know what another £15 buys, the natural move is Glenfiddich 12 — the benchmark entry single malt, with the same accessible orchard-fruit character reviewers find in Highland Black but more depth and length (how it compares with Glenlivet 12). Between the two, Tamnavulin Double Cask (~£20–22) is the half-step.
Check price on AmazonVerdict
On the evidence, Highland Black 8 Year Old is the best sub-£16 bottle in any UK supermarket: a legally guaranteed 8-year-old Scotch, medalled blind in 2018 and again in 2024, at roughly the price of two cinema tickets. It won't reward long contemplation — the reviews are unanimous that the finish is short — but as an everyday pour and mixer it has no serious rival at the price. Buy it for what it is; step up to Glenfiddich 12 or a Glen Marnoch when you want more to think about.
Frequently asked questions
Is Highland Black really the best whisky in the world?
No — that was tabloid inflation. In 2018 it won a gold medal in its blended category at the Scotch Whisky Masters, a blind-judged competition where much pricier blends earned the same medal. Winning gold in a category is genuinely impressive at £14–16; it is not a "world's best" title, and no such title exists in that competition.
Who makes Highland Black for Aldi?
Aldi doesn't disclose the producer, and own-label supply contracts prevent the blender being named. What's legally guaranteed by the label: it's blended Scotch, distilled and matured in Scotland, and every component whisky is at least eight years old.
How much is Highland Black 8 Year Old?
Typically £14–16 at Aldi (checked July 2026). It sat at £13.99 for years; Aldi's June 2024 awards announcement listed it at £15.99, and it's periodically promoted below that around Burns Night and Christmas.
Is Highland Black a single malt?
No — it's a blended Scotch (a mix of malt and grain whiskies). That's how the price stays under £16 with an 8-year age statement. Aldi's single malts are the Glen Marnoch range at around £18.50; the difference is explained in single malt vs blended Scotch.
Related articles
- Every Aldi Whisky: Prices, Value & What's Worth Buying
- Ben Bracken Whisky Review (Lidl)
- Aldi's Japanese Whisky, Explained
- Best Supermarket Whisky UK 2026
- Stop Buying Blended Whisky Over £20
- Whisky Value Calculator
Newsletter
The Scottish Bite
Weekly hand-picked food & drink from across Scotland. No spam, unsubscribe any time.
TasteSCOT is an independent editorial site. We are not affiliated with any distillery, brewery, producer, or tourism body. All opinions are our own. Prices, availability, and opening hours are checked at the time of writing but may change — always verify with the retailer or venue before visiting or purchasing. If you drink, please drink responsibly.
Prefer it delivered?
Similar bottles you can get on Amazon
The own-label bottles above are in-store only. If you’d rather not make the trip, these are close in style and value — a small step up, delivered.
Tamnavulin Double Cask
Sherried Speyside — the closest match to an own-label sherry-cask single malt
Auchentoshan American Oak
Smooth, unpeated Lowland — an easy everyday pour in the supermarket price band
Glenfiddich 12 Year Old
Age-stated single malt — the safe step up if you want a known name delivered
Affiliate links — as an Amazon Associate we may earn from qualifying purchases, at no cost to you. It never changes what we recommend.
Free: The Scottish Whisky Tasting Guide
How to nose, taste and find your dram — the five regions explained, no snobbery. Sent straight to your inbox.
Free. No spam — unsubscribe from any email. You'll join the TasteSCOT list.
Tools that go with this guide
Related articles
6 min read
Aldi Whisky: Every Bottle, Prices & the Award Winner
Aldi's whisky range rated on price, value per unit and blind-judged awards — the gold-medal Highland Black 8 under £15, and the Glen Marnoch single malts under £20. Which are actually worth buying.
8 min read
Aldi vs Lidl Whisky: Which Discounter Does It Better?
Aldi and Lidl both sell whisky under £20. A direct comparison — who does single malts better, who does blends, and the bottle that wins on value.
6 min read
Aldi Japanese Whisky: What They Actually Sell (and What It Is)
Aldi's Japanese whisky is Tenjaku, a ~£23 blend — before that, the sold-out Kyasuku. What each one actually is, what reviewers say, and if it's worth it.