A mate texts from the bottle shop: the Glencadam 15 is in again, is it worth it. It had gone quiet for a couple of years while the distillery waited on stock the right age. Now it's back, and the honest answer runs a little sideways.
Here it is up front. For a Glencadam 15 drinker, the Glengoyne 12 lands at about 94% of what their own bottle gives them, and it does it for 64% of the price. Same person, same tastes, most of the pleasure, well under the outlay.
First, the bottle itself. The nose is delicate and floral, with cereal, cooking apples and a flick of white pepper. The palate leads with honey, then vanilla, more of that cereal, roasted chestnuts and nutmeg. It finishes medium-length on oak and ginger. Gentle, autumnal, easy to sit with.
| 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 | · | · | · | 159.99 observed | 159.99 observed | 159.99 observed | 159.99 observed | 159.99 m 140.00 observed | 159.99 m 140.00 observed | 159.99 m 140.00 observed | 159.99 m 140.00 observed | 159.99 m 140.00 observed | 159.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 159.99 | 159.99 | 0.00 | 159.99 | 159.99 | 0.00 | 0.0% | 0.00 | 159.99 | 100 |
| member | 150.00 | 150.00 | 10.54 | 140.00 | 159.99 | 19.99 | 7.0% | 3.33 | 159.99 | 100 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 159.99 | 0.00 | null | null | 160.0 – 160.0 |
Glengoyne 15 leans sherry: vanilla, ginger and toffee on the nose, a note of worn leather. The palate turns oily, raisins and hazelnuts over oak, then a spicy finish dusted with cocoa. $130 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. Pour one and see. More in this week's piece.
Where does Glengoyne 15 land with its neighbours? An Edradour 10 drinker would pay 85% of what their own bottle costs for it, docking it for the extra years. One for the sherried-malt drinker. Pour the two side by side — more in this week's piece.
Glengoyne 15 is $130 this week at Dan Murphy's, about 24 standard drinks in the bottle, so a pour at home runs $5.47 a drink, 215th of 310 that way. A pint at the pub sits near $6.28 a standard drink. Pour one and see where it lands for you. More in this week's piece.
Two bottles at $95, and the gap between them is $0, yet the glass tells a different story: at 46% against 43%, Glencadam 10 is the cheaper drink at $3.74 a standard drink against Dalwhinnie 15's $3.99. Per standard drink this week: Deanston 12 $3.79, Glencadam 15 $5.51, both sitting with those two under a pub pint's $6.28. Fettercairn 18 is well above that, at $13.85. Four quiet pours for any night, and the 18 for when you want to linger.
The Glenlivet 18 keeps that familiar mix of fruit and flowers, now more concentrated: dried heather, tinned pineapple, windfall apples, cedar and nutmeg, liquorous and tongue-clinging over custard tart. Curtains drawn, winter settling in. $250, more in this week's piece.
Friday night, the 18 feels too good to open on a whim. The Glenlivet 15 steps in: perfumed oak, apple and pear, a little white pepper. For anyone on The Glenlivet 18, it gives about 95% of the 18 at 50% of the price, $125 for members. More in this week's piece.
Dried flowers, tinned pineapple, the curtains drawn for winter. Pour The Glenlivet 18 for a Glencadam 15 drinker and they'd pay 82% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down for being lighter in strength. More on The Glenlivet 18 in this week's piece.
Glencadam 15 stands in nicely for The Glenlivet 18, giving that drinker about 84% of what it pours for 56% of the price, at $140 for members; the delicate floral nose, cooking apples and white pepper make the case quietly, and this week's piece has the fuller account.
Glengoyne 12 is a cut above the 10: clean, malty, no chill-filtering. A splash of water and it opens up, fragrant with cherry pits and apples, a whisper of anise and almond. The pour for when you want a bit more. $89 for members at Dan Murphy's. More in this week's piece.
Glengoyne 12's nearest neighbours start from what they pay for their own bottle, and from there they'd give $95 to $155 for this one. At $89 for members it sits just under where they'd land. The full read on Glengoyne 12 is in this week's piece.
Same money, this week. Glencadam 10 and Dalwhinnie 15: $0 between them a bottle. But 46% against 43% tips it — the Glencadam is the cheaper drink, $3.74 a standard drink against $4.00. Per standard drink: Glencadam 10, $95 — $3.74 Deanston 12, $97 — $3.79 Dalwhinnie 15, $95 — $4.00 Tomatin 12, $98 — $4.13 Glencadam 15, $140 — $5.51 A pint at the pub is about $6.28 a drink. All five sit under it, poured at home. The Dalwhinnie's still there for that honeyed, chunky middle: caramelised fruit, a little cream, a nightcap you sip slow.
Glass out after dinner, kitchen quiet: Glencadam 15 is back after a couple of years away, $140 for members at Dan Murphy's, about $5.51 a pour at home against $6.28 for a pint. Delicate and floral, then honey and roasted chestnuts, oak and ginger. More in this week's piece.
Clean malt, then cherry pits and apple once the water goes in: that's Glengoyne 12. For a Glencadam 15 drinker it gives about 94% of the glass, at 64% of the price, $89 for members. More on Glencadam 15 in this week's piece.
What would the drinkers of the bottles nearest Glencadam 15 pay for a bottle of it? Somewhere between $86 and $148, each starting from what they already pay for their own. At $140 for members it sits inside that range. The full working is in this week's piece.
What I keep coming back to with Glencadam 15: $5.51 a standard drink at home, about 25 pours to the bottle. A pint at the pub's about $6.28 a drink. If you like a delicate, honeyed malt, pour one and settle in with this week's piece.
Glencadam 15 is $140 for members at Dan Murphy's this week, right around the $140 it usually sells, and it suits anyone after a gentle, honeyed malt with a touch of pepper and ginger to close. Pour one and see. The rest is in this week's piece.
Like Glencadam 15? Deanston 12 gets you about 93% of the way there, for 69% of the price. It's $97 for members. Orange marmalade, honeyed shortbread, a touch of ginger and vanilla. Pour one and see. More on Glencadam 15 in this week's piece.
I keep coming back to the price on this one. Dalwhinnie 15 is $95, and for a Glencadam 15 drinker it gives about 92% of what the Glencadam does, for 68% of that price. Caramelised fruits, a little cream, a touch of fennel. More on the Glencadam 15 in this week's piece.
If Glengoyne 15 is your bottle, the first thing I'd want to know is whether there's something close to it for less. There is, and it comes from the same still. Glengoyne 12, at $109, gives a Glengoyne 15 drinker about 93% of what their own bottle does. Same house, a little less across the counter — that's the whole point of this piece, so let me show my working.
If The Glenlivet 18 is your bottle, here is the question worth asking: what sits nearest to it for less money? The answer comes from the same distillery. The Glenlivet 15, $125 for members, gives a Glenlivet 18 drinker about 95% of what their own bottle does. Same house, half the outlay, nearly all the whisky.
Glengoyne 12 is $89 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. That's the number to hold onto. Everything that follows is about how far that $89 reaches.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glengoyne 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $93.00 | $142.97 | -49.97 |
| 2 | Clynelish 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $109.00 | $139.61 | -30.61 |
| 3 | Glencadam 10 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $106.99 | $139.29 | -32.30 |
| 4 | Glengoyne 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $161.99 | $138.93 | +23.06 |
| 5 | Dalwhinnie 15 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $94.95 | $138.04 | -43.09 |
| 6 | Aberfeldy 12YO Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $103.99 | $137.41 | -33.42 |
| 7 | Tomatin 12YO Single Malt Whisky 700mL | $97.99 | $135.58 | -37.59 |
| 8 | Deanston 12YO Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $111.99 | $134.83 | -22.84 |
| 9 | Glengoyne 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $98.99 | $132.90 | -33.91 |
| 10 | The Deveron 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $90.99 | $131.95 | -40.96 |