1/Royal Salute 21 sits at $210 this week. Love it? The Chivas Regal 18 gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 86% of what the Royal Salute 21 does, for 60% of the price.
2/Chivas Regal 18, $125 at Dan Murphy's. Eighteen years old, bottled at 40%. The nose: vanilla, almond slice, toffee, a little sweet oak. The palate warms slowly through malt, dark fudge, leather and raisin. A long, warm finish of oak and chocolate.
3/What a Royal Salute 21 drinker gives up with the Chivas Regal 18 is mostly the name on the label and three years of age. So: Royal Salute 21, $210, still the one for its fans. Chivas Regal 18, $125, the one for every other night.
| slot | 08-13 | 08-20 | 08-27 | 09-03 | 09-10 | 09-17 | 09-24 | 10-01 | 10-08 | 10-15 | 10-22 | 10-29 | 11-05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list / member | 114.95 m 114.00 observed | 114.95 m 114.00 observed | 114.95 m 114.00 observed | 114.95 m 114.00 observed | 114.95 observed | 135.99 observed | 124.95 observed | 113.95 observed | 124.95 observed | 124.95 observed | 124.95 observed | 124.95 observed | 124.95 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 121.11 | 124.95 | 6.78 | 113.95 | 135.99 | 22.04 | 5.6% | 1.88 | 124.95 | 92 |
| member | 120.81 | 124.95 | 7.07 | 113.95 | 135.99 | 22.04 | 5.9% | 1.96 | 124.95 | 92 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 121.11 | 45.91 | 0.67 | 0.01 | 117.4 – 124.8 |
Johnnie Walker 18, $131 at Dan Murphy's: woodsmoke off green twigs, vanilla fudge and baked apples under honey, with a catch of smoke that carries into the finish. Classical, but easy to like. Pour one and see. More on it in this week's piece.
Fancy a Johnnie Walker 18 but eyeing the price? Chivas Regal 18 gives you about 97% of what you love about it, for 95% of the price, at $125 this week. Nose of vanilla and toffee, soft oak and spice on the finish. More on Johnnie Walker 18 in this week's piece.
Who's it for? Anyone chasing woodsmoke and honeyed oats; I'd pour it gladly. Its neighbours' drinkers would pay $120 to $231 for Johnnie Walker 18, each from their own bottle. This week it's $131, inside that range. More in this week's piece.
Pour one after dinner, lamps low. Johnnie Walker 18 works out at $5.93 a standard drink, just under a pub pint's $6.28 a standard drink. Woodsmoke off green twigs, honey over baked apples, a catch of smoke into the finish. More in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21, $210 at Dan Murphy's, and it drinks its age: orchard fruit in masses, a hint of passion fruit, oak gone soft and round, a banana note with a drop of water. Thick and chewy, a nut on the finish. One for the patient sipper. More in this week's piece. Fancy a dram?
Friday night, cupboard open, deciding what to pour. Chivas Regal 18, $125, gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 86% of the whisky for 60% of the price. Vanilla, almond, toffee. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21 is $210 this week. Hand it to a Chivas Regal 25 drinker and they'd pay $502 for it, 78% of what their own bottle sets them back. Across the nearer drinkers the figure runs from $107 to $502. Where it all settles is in this week's piece.
A pour of Royal Salute 21 lands 274th of 310 at Dan Murphy's per standard drink: at $210 for about 22 pours, that's $9.51 a glass at home, a touch over a pub pint's $6.28 a drink. One for the lover of rounded orchard fruit. More in this week's piece.
I kept coming back to the orchard fruit on Royal Salute 21. Masses of it, a hint of passion fruit, then a drop of water lets a banana note up. Thick and chewy, a little nut on the finish. $210 at Dan's. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Royal Salute 21? Johnnie Walker 18 gives you about 91% of what it does, for 85% of the price. That's $179. Woodsmoke, honey, baked apples. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Hand Royal Salute 21 to a Chivas Regal 18 drinker and they'd pay about $99 for it, close to 79% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down mostly for the name on the label. More on where Royal Salute 21 sits with its neighbours in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21 runs about 22 standard drinks a bottle, so a pour at home is $9.51. A pint at the pub sits near $6.28 a standard drink. The 21 lands above that; Chivas 18 slips under at $5.66. What's a fair price for a pour in your own glass? More in this week's piece.
Like Royal Salute 21? Chivas Regal 18 gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 85% of it, for 60% of the price, at $125. Vanilla, almond slice and toffee on the nose. Malt, dark fudge and raisin, then a warm, long finish. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21, $210: orchard fruit, a hint of passion fruit, oak rounded and supple. If that's your pour, the Chivas Regal 18 gives you about 85% of what it does, for 60% of the price.
Chivas Regal 25 is a $646 blend this week — the house's flagship, priced for the cabinet.
Twenty-one dollars dearer than a week ago: that's where Chivas Regal 18 has landed. The shelf reads $136 today. Seven days back it was $114.95, and no member offer bridges the two.
Here is the odd thing about Johnnie Walker 18. The critics and the drinkers see it differently. On how the critics rate it, it sits in the top 21% of the whiskies at Dan Murphy's. On how broadly everyday drinkers like it, it lands in the bottom 7%. Same bottle, two verdicts. So which one is yours?
Royal Salute 21 is $210 at Dan Murphy's this week. That is the number to carry to the counter.
Royal Salute 21 is $210 at Dan Murphy's this week. A pour works out at about $9.51 a standard drink, and there are about 22 standard drinks in the bottle; a pint at the pub runs about $6.28 for the same measure, so this one sits a touch above the pub pour per glass.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $159.99 | $120.01 | +39.98 |
| 2 | Chivas Regal XV 15 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $88.99 | $116.78 | -27.79 |
| 3 | Glenfiddich 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $139.99 | $116.37 | +23.62 |
| 4 | Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $105.00 | $114.21 | -9.21 |
| 5 | Tamdhu 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $98.00 | $113.85 | -15.85 |
| 6 | Tamdhu 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $201.99 | $112.62 | +89.37 |
| 7 | The Glenlivet 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $184.99 | $112.57 | +72.42 |
| 8 | Chivas Regal Charles LeClerc 16YO 700mL | $99.99 | $112.39 | -12.40 |
| 9 | Royal Salute 21 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $259.99 | $111.93 | +148.06 |
| 10 | Chivas Regal 25 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | $645.99 | $111.20 | +534.79 |