1/Climbing the Craigellachie range, three rungs this week: the 13 at $111, the 19 at $376, the 23 at $780. Same distillery, the same pineapple thread running through all three. The question each step asks is simple: what does the extra get you, and what does the younger bottle still give the older one's drinker?
2/Step up to the 19 and you pay $265 more for six more years. The fruit slims down, turns crisp and a touch toasted, the pineapple now dried with sweet chocolate underneath. Going up, the 19 gives a 13 drinker about 91% of what the 13 does, and what's different is mostly those six years. Coming back down, the 13 gives a 19 drinker about 86% of what the 19 does, for 30% of the price. Closer than the gap in years suggests.
3/Step up again to the 23 and it's $404 more for four more years. Here the taste shifts further: added spice, dried fruits, a touch of peat smoke, maple and wax. Going up, the 23 gives a 19 drinker about 94% of what the 19 does, mostly those four years. Coming back down, the 19 gives a 23 drinker about 93% of what the 23 does, for 48% of the price. Two bottles sitting very close together.
4/So, a yes for each. The 13 if it's already your pour, under a pint at the pub per standard drink and tropical right through. The 19 when those six years are the point. The 23 when you want the spice and smoke the extra years bring. Three versions of one distillery, nearer to each other than their prices are. More is not always better.
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