Let’s talk whisky fudge! As Christmas approaches you may be looking for a gift for the whisky lovers in your life. If said whisky lover also happens to have a sweet tooth, then look no further. There is a wide variety of whisky fudge on the market, containing drams from a range of distilleries in different regions.
So, in the interest of helping you get your Christmas shopping done, let’s take a look at some of the best whisky fudge on the market.
All of this whisky fudge is available from Gardiners of Scotland. The company uses real whisky in the creation of the whisky fudge, the only such company that we could fine. This post is not sponsored by Gardiners, we just needed an excuse to buy a huge amount of fudge for Christmas.
The Famous Grouse Whisky Fudge 150g – £3.99
The Famous Grouse is one of the world’s best-known blended Scotch whisky brands. Owned by Edrington, the same company that owns The Macallan, The Famous Grouse claims to have been “Scotland’s favourite whisky for over 40 years”.
If you have a taste for The Famous Grouse and a sweet tooth to rival it, this Famous Grouse whisky fudge comes in at £3.99 for 150g. The whisky fudge is well-balanced, much like Famous Grouse’s malty blend.
As well as being cost-effective, it is also the strongest whisky fudge on this list, containing 2% Famous Grouse blended Scotch whisky.
The story of the brand dates back to 1800, when Joseph Brown purchased a grocery shop in Perth Scotland. He later moved premises to 22 Atholl Street, which is the historic home of The Famous Grouse.
Joseph’s daughter, Margaret, took over the business in 1824 and eventually handed the rain to her husband, Matthew Gloag, in 1835. The business flourished, and even won a contract to supply food and wine for Queen Victoria & Prince Albert’s visit to Perth in 1842.
The Famous Grouse brand was established in 1897 by Matthew Gloag III. Over 120 years later, The Famous Grouse brand has expanded to include a number of expressions including The Black Grouse, The Famous Grouse Smoky Black, and The Famous Grouse Mellow Gold.
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Glengoyne Whisky Fudge 150g – £3.99
Glengoyne distillery is (just about) located in the Highlands. Casks that are filled at the distillery are transported just across a street to mature in Glengoyne’s warehouses. The warehouses themselves, despite being mere metres away from the distillery, are located in the Lowlands. Glengoyne is Highlands distilled and Lowland matured.
The profile of Glengoyne’s most popular whiskies is sherried, fruity, and slightly spiced.
If you are a fan of Glengoyne’s profile, you can buy a 150g box of Glengoyne whisky fudge for £3.99 and indulge this Christmas.
There has been a distillery on site at Glengoyne since 1833. Initially, the distillery was known by the name Burnfoot. In 1876, after acquisition by the Lang Bros, the name was changed to Glen Guin, meaning ‘Glen of the Wild Geese’. This was later anglicised to Glengoyne in 1905.
In the last 20 years, since the distillery was purchased by Ian Macleod, Glengoyne has gone from strength to strength and is now established as a single malt with age statements between 10 and 21 years old in its core range.
Tobermory Whisky Fudge 150g – £3.99
The Isle of Mull in Scotland’s Inner Hebrides is home to just one distillery: Tobermory. Tobermory has a had a difficult history, but the stills became active again in 2018 and the distillery now produces three brands: Tobermory, Ledaig, and Tobermory Gin.
This Tobermory Whisky Fudge does not contain any Ledaig, and is perfect for those who aren’t superfans of peated whisky. Tobermory whisky features citrus and warm spice with a salty note that comes from the sea air surrounding the distillery.
If you would like a salty but sweet taste of the Hebrides this Christmas, this Tobermory Whisky Fudge comes in at £3.99 for a 150g carton.
Tobermory is located in the colourful town of the same name, and was initially founded as Ledaig in 1798. The distillery has a very chequered history involving multiple closures and bankruptcy filings. However, in 2013 the distillery was purchased by Distell and underwent a major refurbishment. In 2007, a peated Tobermory brand named Ledaig was launched as an homage to the original distillery.
Edradour Whisky Fudge 150g – £3.99
Edradour is a picturesque distillery located in Pitlochry, just south of the Cairngorms National Park. The small distillery prides itself on using traditional whisky-making methods, including a replica of an old Morton’s refrigerator to cool the wort. The resulting single malt is rich and fruity with hints of fruit cake.
Warm and spiced Edradour whisky fudge sounds like the perfect addition to any Christmas stocking. You can purchase a 150g box for £3.99.
Edradour distillery was formally established in 1837, although it is possible that distilling had been happening around the site since 1825. The distillery remained in the hands of the Mackintosh family until 1933 when it was sold to William Whiteley, a famous blending house. Whiteley hired Mafia boss Frank Costello as his US sales representative, a controversial move that did help to establish a market in the US.
In 1982, the distillery was sold to Pernod Ricard who subsequently opened the distillery up to visitors. Edradour first appeared as a single malt in 1986. The distillery was sold to independent bottler Signatory Vintage in 2002. The complex is now home to a warehousing and bottling facility for Signatory Vintage, as well as a tasting room.
Glenfarclas Whisky Fudge 150g – £3.99
Glenfarclas distillery is one of the only remaining family-run distilleries in Scotland. Nestled in the heart of Speyside, Glenfarclas is proud of its use of traditional distilling methods. These include heating the stills by direct fire, which produces a rich and complex spirit with notes of nutmeg and Christmas cake from sherry cask maturation.
This Glenfarclas whisky fudge is the perfect gift for any sherried whisky lover with a sweet tooth. You can pick up a 150g box for £3.99.
Glenfarclas distillery is currently owned by the fifth generation of the Grant family. The original owner of Glenfarclas was Robert Hay, who took out a distilling license in 1844. Hay died in 1865, and the distillery was sold to his neighbour, John Grant.
In 1968, still under Grant ownership, the distillery became the first to release a cask-strength single malt with the release of Glenfarclas 105. The 1970s saw distillery expansion and the opening of a visitors centre.
In recent years, Glenfarclas has been expanding its core range as well as releasing some limited edition expressions such as the Family Casks and the Family Collector Series. The Glenfarclas Warehouse Editions have also seen a huge boost in popularity.
Benromach Whisky Fudge 150g – £3.99
Benromach is a small but mighty distillery in Speyside and is owned by Gordon & Macphail. The small stills produce both peated and unpeated malts through double distillation.
The smooth and sweet character of Benromach said to be produced by the small stills, is recognisable in this Benromach Whisky Fudge, which you can buy for £3.99.
Benromach was built in 1898 in Forres, near to Elgin, and saw sporadic production throughout most of the 20th century, changing hands many times. The distillery was subsequently mothballed again in 1983 and purchased from United Distillers by Gordon & Macphail in 1993.
Following another closure, the distillery was reopened in 1998 by (then) Prince Charles. Since then, Benromach has been making its way onto the single malt scene with a wide range of age statements in its core releases.
Bunnahabhain Whisky Fudge 170g – £3.99
Bunnahabhain distillery is located on Islay, and features the recognisable block lettering on the side of the distillery that many have come to associate with whisky distilleries on Islay. Whisky from Bunnahabhain is traditionally light and only around 20% of the malt produced is heavily peated. The distillery also offers a sherry cask-matured Islay single malt.
The lightly peated Bunnahabhain whisky comes through in the flavour of this sweet and smoky whisky fudge. You can purchase a 170g box for £3.99.
Bunnahabhain distillery was built in 1881 on the northeast coast of Islay by William Robertson. In 1887, Bunnahabhain and Glenrothes merged to form Highland Distillers (now Edrington). For much of its history, Bunnahabhain whisky was used as an important component for blends such as Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark.
After a period of prosperity in the 1960s, the distillery was mothballed in 1982 and then reopened two years later. Its single malts were released under the tagline ‘the unpronounceable malt’.
Today, Bunnahabhain is owned by Distell, and production levels have increased. In 2019 work began to upgrade the distillery and a new visitors centre was opened in 2021.
Southern Comfort Whiskey Fudge 170g – £4.10
Moving away from Scotland for a moment and over the Atlantic to the USA, we have Southern Comfort Whiskey Fudge.
Southern Comfort is a sweet whiskey liqueur that was created in 1874 by M.W. Heron. It offers easy drinking for those who enjoy whiskey but would like to take some of the sharpness away. This Southern Comfort Whiskey Fudge, then, promises to be smooth and sweet, just like the liqueur. You can buy a 170g box for £4.10.
Southern Comfort was originally named “Cuffs and Buttons” with the name change coming as popularity soared. The founder, M.W. Heron died in mid-1920, just months after Prohibition ground his business to a halt. However, the brand was later revived.
The spirit later became a fixture of post-war American households, thanks to a Southern Comfort Party Book containing recipes for whiskey lovers and hosts.
Today, Southern Comfort is a globally recognised brand. The core range has been expanded to include Southern Comfort Black and Southern Comfort 100 Proof.
Tomatin Whisky Fudge 200g – £5.50
Tomatin distillery is located near the border between the highlands and speyside. It is well-known for its intense and fruity spirits, elevated by maturation in first-fill casks (ex-bourbon and ex-sherry).
Some of the flavours in Tomatin whisky include cinnamon, dried fruits, and bread and butter pudding. The flavours work perfectly with this Tomatin Whisky Fudge, which you can buy for £5.50 (200g box).
Tomatin distillery was founded in 1897 but only ran until 1906 when it was closed. It reopened three years later in 1909. Over the course of the 20th century, the number of stills at Tomatin steadily increased until the 23rd still was installed in 1973.
However, the distillery went into liquidation in the 1980s due to an economic downturn forcing Tomatin to run at low capacity. The distillery was saved in 1986 by Takara Shuzo Co. and Okara Co., Japanese distillers.
The stills were reduced to 12 and the distillery currently produces around 2 million litres per annum. Tomatin has been releasing an increasing number of single malts, and its 36 year old was recently named Best in Show at the World Spirits Competition 2023.
Arran Whisky Fudge 250g – £5.50
Arran distillery is one of the only remaining distilleries on the Isle of Arran. Sourcing its water from Loch Na Davie, Arran makes whisky with distinct citrus and cereal notes as well as a peated expression.
This Arran whisky fudge is the perfect home for the notes of apple and cream that can be found in Arran whisky. You can purchase a 250g carton for £5.50.
Arran began producing whisky in 1995, making it a relatively modern distillery. It is located on the north coast of the Isle of Arran and receives around 60,000 visitors per year. Arran is well-known for its cask ownership programme, allowing the public to buy casks of new-make whisky in order to raise capital for the distillery.
The distillery was expanded in 2017 and is now home to two tasting rooms, a tasting bar, a visitors centre, and a blending room.
Old Pulteney Whisky Fudge 250g – £7.80
The last whisky fudge on this list contains whisky distilled at Pulteney. Pulteney distillery is located just south of John O’Groats in the town of Wick and is one of the most northerly distilleries on the mainland (8 Doors, North Point, and Wolfburn are further north).
Whisky produced under the Old Pulteney brand is typically sweet, fruity, and salty thanks to the sea air. This whisky fudge is sweet and tangy with hints of toffee, and a 250g tin can be bought for £7.80.
The Pulteney distillery was built in 1826 by James Henderson. In 1925 it became part of Distiller Company Limited, but only operated for five more years before it closed in 1930. In 1955 the distillery was acquired by Hiram Walker & Sons and reopened before being remodelled between 1958 and 1959.
The late 1990s and early 2000s saw much innovation for Pulteney, and the Old Pulteney brand was introduced as a 12 year old in 1997. Subsequently, a 17 year old, a 21 year old, a 30 year old, and a 40 year old followed. Today, Pulteney distillery produces around 900,000 litres of whisky per year.
A Brief History of Fudge
Fudge first appeared in the United States in the late 19th century, originally gaining popularity in women’s colleges such as Vassar College in Poughkeepsie where girls traded recipes and sold fudge on campus.
In the 1880s, specialist fudge shops began to open across the US, and soon the confection was popular around the world, particularly amongst tourists and holidaymakers. People were also able to make their own fudge due to the accessibility of the ingredients and the ease of the recipe.
Today, there is a wide variety of fudges, with many different areas of the US and UK creating their own take on fudge. For example, rum and raisin and clotted cream fudge are popular in the UK. The southern US has a taste for penuche, a fudge made from brown sugar.
