Aberlour 14

Aberlour 14 is $160 at Dan Murphy's this week. From what we've seen it usually sells around $140, so this is the firmer end of where it tends to land rather than anything out of the ordinary. If you've bought it before, you'll recognise the figure.

The short version

Here's the useful part. The closest match to Aberlour 14 at a lower price comes from the same distillery. Aberlour 12 Double Cask is $105 for members, and to an Aberlour 14 drinker it gives about 98% of what their own bottle does. Same house, nearly all of the experience, less on the till.

What its neighbours' drinkers would pay

What would the drinkers of the bottles nearest Aberlour 14 pay for it, each starting from what they already pay for their own? Set the two directions next to each other. A Glenfiddich 18 drinker lands at about $148, which is 82% of what their own bottle costs them, marking Aberlour 14 down mostly for not coming from the Highlands and for being younger than theirs. Turn it around, and an Aberlour 14 drinker puts Glenfiddich 18 at 87% of their own, marking it down for being older than theirs and for the name on the label. Across the drinkers of the bottles nearest it, the answers run from $93 to $178. At $160, this week's price sits inside that spread.

The bottle itself

The nose is rounded and easy, no rough edges at all: jammy peaches, a hint of marzipan and vanilla, toffee and orange cake, then honey coming through with a little polished oak and some clove and cinnamon sitting in the background. The palate is sweet and creamy, if a touch short on punch — oranges again, yellow plums, summer berries, vanilla. From there the wood takes over, with clove, honeyed Darjeeling, candied ginger, a minty note and black pepper, finishing on milk chocolate and a trace of coffee beans. There are about 22 standard drinks in the bottle, which works out to $7.24 a pour at home, a little over a pint at the pub ($6.28 per standard drink).

Three stand-ins

Aberlour 12 Double Cask, $105 for members, usually around $113. Orange peel, banana, red apple and vanilla, with chocolate and barley as it opens; a thin mouthfeel but an intense one. To an Aberlour 14 drinker it gives about 98% of what the 14 does, for 66% of the price. At $4.75 a pour, it's the one that comes in under a pint.

Tamdhu 12, $98. Drier on the nose — citrus, hazelnut, a dry sherry note — then fuller and sweeter across the palate, with cinnamon and banoffee pie before a slightly tannic, oloroso-led finish. About 96% of the Aberlour 14 for an Aberlour 14 drinker, at 61% of its price, and the cheapest pour of the lot at $4.13.

Glengoyne 15, $162. All sherry-cask: vanilla, ginger, toffee, leather and sweet fruit on the nose, an oily palate with lively spice, raisins, hazelnuts and oak, cocoa powder on the finish. About 94% for an Aberlour 14 drinker, at 101% of the price — level pegging on the till, a different mood in the glass.

Who it's for

If Aberlour 14 is already your bottle, $160 is this week's price and nothing here asks you to move. If you want the same house for less, the 12 Double Cask is the one to reach for. The Glenfiddich 18 drinker who fancies a change loses little stepping across. The sherry-forward crowd has two roads: Tamdhu 12 for the drier, cheaper pour, Glengoyne 15 for the richer one at much the same spend as the Aberlour. Whichever way you lean, there's a yes in here for you.