The World’s Best Scotch—According To One Of New York’s Top Whisky Experts

Yakitori and smoky scotch, a timeless pairing.

Photo illustration: Brad Japhe

As the general manager and beverage director for Kooth Hospitality, Louis Andia oversees one of the most impressive whisky libraries in all of Manhattan. He doesn’t just pour the juice in question, he helps curate it, personally.

Under his purview is Kono, the top-rated yakitori counter in the country–according to North America’s 50 Best Restaurants. Behind its back wall it hides a reservation-only Japanese inspired HiFi listening lounge called Beatbox. Next door is Yamada, a Michelin star kaiseki that recently collaborated with Suntory Global Spirits on a limited menu in which dishes were prepared with the company’s premiere portfolio of whiskies. On the opposite end of a block-long promenade is the Bar at Nakaji, where Andia has amassed one of the largest commercial collections of rare Japanese malts anyone on earth.

Thanks to these venues – occupying a nondescript arcade between Elizabeth Street and Bowery – this small section of the Lower East Side exists as a food and beverage destination to compete favorably against any other in Manhattan. Andia is instrumental in that success. He didn’t just happen into that success. The longtime F+B vet has spent decades developing a passion for hospitality…And whisky, of course. Which is to say, if you’re a fan of the category, you ought to take his bottle recommendations seriously.

So, we asked him to name his all-time favorite whiskies–ones that you can currently find on shelves, anyway. There’s vintage Japanes stuff he offers at Beatbox, by comparison, that you’d never see anywhere else. But we were somewhat surprised that his preferred pick for everyday drinking was a scotch (don’t worry, he has a pair of Japanese whiskies to share as well).

“Laphroaig Cairdeas is my favorite for its sweeter tones: coconut, fuller oak influence and subtle notes of nori [dried Japanese seaweed],” says Andia, of the Islay single malt expression pronounced, ‘CAR-chuss.’ “At the end of the night, a piece of dark chocolate or sea salt caramel alongside Cairdeas is my ideal way to wind down. It’s the whisky equivalent of – or perfectly paired with – a torpedo cigar.”

The legendary 211-year-old scotch-maker didn’t introduce Cairdeas until 2008. Its release was meant to coincide with the Fèis Ìle whiskey festival, held annually at the end of May. It evolves each year, with subsequent releases featuring some unique finishing component. They’ve ranged in ABV from 50.5% to last year’s Cask Strength offering–the sturdiest yet, clocking in at 59.6%. You can still find that one online for $100 a bottle.

When it comes to spirit that’s not nearly as affordable, Andia has a couple of added expressions to throw into the mix. And that’s where the allocated Japanese liquids come into the conversation. Thankfully for our collective wallets, his first go-to is Yamazaki Peated Malt Spanish Oak, a non-age-stated release that’s still attainable at under $300.

“Europe and Japan in one glass,” Andia explains of the 86-proof offering. “Aged in Spanish oak Oloroso sherry casks, it lends a deep, European wood influence to the Japanese spirit. The notes of dark mocha and almonds, layered with gentle hints of smoke, is better than any dessert I know.”

If you’re not concerned with breaking the bank, however, Andia implores you to get your hands on Nikka Taketsuru Pure Malt 25. Just like the Yamazaki, this one is bottled at 86-proof. Unlike its competitior, however, this one is a blended malt as opposed to a single malt. In this case, a combination of whiskies collected from Nikka’s two historic distilleries: Miyagikyo and Yoichi. It actually took home the prize for “Best Japanese Blended Malt” at the 2019 World Whiskies Awards and can be yours today for around $2800 a bottle.

“It has one of the most enjoyable noses of any whisky I’ve sampled,” Andia says. “On the palate, you get the vibrant, ripe fruit character of Miyagikyo, alongside a peat-and-oak combination that creates Yoichi’s signature charcoal smoke note. If you haven’t guessed already, I love smoke and peat. When I was a kid, my dad would smoke cigars and sip whisky after dinner.”

Nowadays his guests can enjoy smoke and whisky with dinner when they belly up to Kono’s 16-course yakitori extravaganza. It turns out a pour of peated malts–whether from Japan or Scotland–are equally suited to enhancing the flavors of the city’s finest charcoal-sizzled chicken.