1/What are you paying for in a Chivas Regal 18? Price its age, strength, name and style like the rest of the whisky at Dan Murphy's and you land near $147. It's $125 this week, about 15% under that going rate for its features.
2/That $147 is mostly age, 60%, with sherry and dried fruit adding 21%. The name on the label is about 10%, strength about 7%. The sherry and dried fruit show up as raisin and dark fudge, before the oak and chocolate.
3/Its own drinker weights the same features differently: age is about 74% of what they look for, sherry and dried fruit about 24%. Where the going rate spreads across name and strength too, the drinker's eye stays on the years in the cask and the fruit.
4/Dewar's 18 is $131, and a Chivas 18 drinker gets about 95% of this one in it. More is not always better. Per standard drink they're close, $5.66 to $5.53. Chivas is the yes for age and dried fruit; Dewar's the yes for a lighter, floral, honeyed pour. Pour one.
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