1/Same distillery, three years apart: Glenfiddich's 15 against its 18. Both are sitting at the bottom of their own recent tickets this Thursday. $125 for the 15, $170 for the 18, plain shelf at Dan Murphy's, no member deal on either.
2/Buy the two together and it's $294.80 today. What's interesting isn't the total — it's that both legs hit their own floor in the same week. That doesn't line up often, and it's a short window, so read it as timing rather than a verdict.
3/The jump to the 18 is $45. That's about the usual gap between these two, so the older bottle isn't unusually dear right now, nor a steal. You're paying roughly its normal age premium, just from a lower base.
4/So it's the plain question with the markup stripped out: are Glenfiddich's extra three years worth $45 to you today, or does the 15 already do the job? Both Dan Murphy's this week. Tell me where you'd stop.
| 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 | 135.99 observed | 124.90 observed | 124.90 observed | 124.90 observed | 135.99 observed | 139.99 observed | 139.99 observed | 139.99 observed | 139.99 observed | 139.99 observed | 139.99 observed | 139.99 observed | 139.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 135.89 | 139.99 | 6.43 | 124.90 | 139.99 | 15.09 | 4.7% | 1.78 | 139.99 | 100 |
| member | 135.89 | 139.99 | 6.43 | 124.90 | 139.99 | 15.09 | 4.7% | 1.78 | 139.99 | 100 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 135.89 | 41.40 | -1.27 | -0.22 | 132.4 – 139.4 |
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 usually sells around $170. This week it's $160 at Dan Murphy's. In the glass: Christmas cake, jaffa oranges, old leather. Full and smooth, a long finish, a last hint of smoke. Want to know who else it suits? That's in this week's piece.
The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, poured after a long Tuesday: sherry, Christmas cake, old leather, a wisp of smoke. Want that without the full $160? The Macallan 12 Double Cask, $137, gives a Sherry Oak drinker 98% of it for 86% of the price. Fair swap? More in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfiddich 15 drinker The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 and they'd pay 68% of what their own bottle costs, a generous nod from a neighbour and reason enough to pour one yourself. The rest of the story waits in this week's piece on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12.
Christmas cake and Jaffa oranges, a little old leather, then a last hint of smoke: The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is one to pour slowly of an evening. This week it is $160 at Dan Murphy's; it usually sells around $170. More on where that price sits in this week's piece.
The odd part: The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, at $105, hands a The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 drinker about 87% of what their own bottle gives, for 66% of its price. Honey, almonds, a touch of nutmeg. The rest of the story on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 is in this week's piece.
Like The Macallan Sherry Oak 12? Glenfiddich 15 gives you about 74% of what it does, for 87% of the price, at $140. Cooked plums and stewed rhubarb on the nose, then hedgerow fruit and a little grip on the palate. More on The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 in this week's piece.
Glenfiddich 18 opens on oak and fresh apple wound through barley, then settles into fruit cake and Christmas pudding warmed with cinnamon, smooth and easy, a pour that suits anyone easing into a long evening. This week it's $175 at Dan Murphy's. More in this week's piece.
Fond of Glenfiddich 18? A Glenfiddich 18 drinker gets about 95% of what that bottle gives from Glengoyne 15, at 74% of the price, and it's $130 for members this week. Sherry, vanilla, a little ginger. Pour one and see. More in this week's piece on Glenfiddich 18.
Glenfiddich 18 opens on oak and fresh apple, then a smooth palate of fruit cake and cinnamon. Hand it to an Edradour 10 drinker and they'd pay 71% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down for the extra years. More on Glenfiddich 18 in this week's piece.
I noticed the apple and toffee on the Glenfiddich 18 first, then oak, barley and a warm cinnamon spice through the finish. At $175 it works out to $7.92 a pour at home, a touch over a $13 pint at the pub. More on it in this week's piece.
The Glenfiddich 18 is $175 at Dan Murphy's this week, which is right where it usually sells, so I'd call it a steady price rather than a moment to pounce. I've pulled the whole picture together in this week's piece, if you want the neighbours and the pours set out beside it.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, $105 at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $100. Floral and honeyed on the nose, then silky sherry, nutmeg and dried fruit, with a hint of orange drying out the long finish. Robust and elegant at once. More on it in this week's piece.
Some bottles are adored by a small circle. Aberlour 14 is the one a whole room gets along with — the dram you can pour for almost anyone and watch them settle in. Let me show you what I mean, because the numbers say it plainly.
Here is the short answer before the long one: the bottle most like The Macallan Sherry Oak 12, for less money, comes from the same still house. The Macallan 12 Double Cask, at $137, gives a Sherry Oak 12 drinker about 98% of what their own bottle does. Same family, same warmth, a little less at the counter.
If Glenfiddich 18 is your pour and you fancy spending a little less, the nearest answer wears the same name. Glenfiddich 15, at $140, gives a Glenfiddich 18 drinker about 96% of what their own bottle does. Same distillery, three fewer years, and very little left behind.
Pour The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 on a slow evening and you get the Speyside house style in full. Floral first, then honey, oak and almonds on the nose. The palate is silky: spicy sherry, nutmeg, dried fruit. The finish runs quite long, a hint of orange under drying spices. Twelve years in ex-bourbon casks, nine months finished in Spanish oak oloroso sherry. Elegant, and robust with it.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL | $159.99 | $135.31 | +24.68 |
| 2 | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $99.95 | $135.12 | -35.17 |
| 3 | Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $105.00 | $131.58 | -26.58 |
| 4 | Tamdhu 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $98.00 | $128.91 | -30.91 |
| 5 | GLENFIDDICH 12YO SHERRY CASK FINISH 700ML | $136.99 | $128.48 | +8.51 |
| 6 | The Macallan Sherry Oak 12 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $169.99 | $128.37 | +41.62 |
| 7 | The Macallan Double Cask 15 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $377.99 | $127.32 | +250.67 |
| 8 | The Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $136.99 | $127.18 | +9.81 |
| 9 | Tamdhu 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $201.99 | $125.07 | +76.92 |
| 10 | Mortlach The Wee Witchie 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL | $158.66 | $124.58 | +34.08 |