From the Aberlour desk · Thread · Value pick · 2026-10-29

Aberlour 12 Double Cask: the everyday stand-in for Aberlour 14

mergedmay_publish truequality passsite_publish falseprices: 2 price claim(s) verified live

1/Fire's down to embers, last snag gone. Old mate wanders over, swirls his glass. "Orange peel and banana off this, a bit of toasted nut. What've you poured me?" Aberlour 12 Double Cask, I tell him. $105 for members at Dan's.

2/"You on the same?" he asks, nodding at mine. Nah — Aberlour 14. Jammy peaches, marzipan, a touch of polished oak, slips down sweet and creamy. "Keeping the good stuff for yerself, are ya?" He's not wrong there.

3/"Go on then, what's the 14 set ya back?" $160 this week. It usually sells around $150, and against that the 12 Double Cask sits at about 73% of the price. The 12 gives an Aberlour 14 drinker about 98% of what the 14 does, for 66% of it.

4/So what's an Aberlour 14 drinker give up stepping across to the 12 Double Cask? Mostly two years of age — both poured at 40%. The 14 stays the one for its fans, peaches and all. The 12 Double Cask? The one for every other night round the fire.

Sources

Prices at Dan Murphy's as of 2026-10-29 (29 October 2026); vintage 2026-10-29.1; bottles: Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL, Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL.
Aberlour 12 Double Cask for an Aberlour 14 drinker (share of what the Aberlour 14 gives): 98% (stand_ins.alternatives.share_of_ref)
Aberlour 12 Double Cask price as a share of the Aberlour 14's, this week: 66% (stand_ins.alternatives.share_of_price)
Aberlour 12 Double Cask price this week: $105 (price.ticket)
Aberlour 14 price this week: $160 (price.ticket)
Aberlour 12 Double Cask per standard drink: $4.75 (price.ticket / standard drinks)
a pint at the pub, per standard drink (about $13 a pint, 2 standard drinks): $6.28 (PUB_PINT)
a pint at the pub: $13 (PUB_PINT)
Aberlour 14 per standard drink: $7.24 (price.ticket / standard drinks)
Aberlour 14 usual price: $150 (price_guide.usual)
Aberlour 12 Double Cask's usual price as a share of the Aberlour 14's usual price: 73% (price_guide.usual / price_guide.usual)
Aberlour 12 Double Cask ABV: 40% (identity.abv)
Aberlour 12 Double Cask usual price: $109 (price_guide.usual)
Aberlour 12 Double Cask lowest seen: $99 (price_guide.seen_low)
Aberlour 12 Double Cask highest seen: $120 (price_guide.seen_high)
WHAT IT GIVES UP (fixed: keep its meaning; never give another reason): What an Aberlour 14 drinker gives up with the Aberlour 12 Double Cask is mostly two years of age.
THIS WEEK V USUAL (say it calmly, once): Aberlour 14 is above its usual price this week: it usually sells around $150, and against that the Aberlour 12 Double Cask is about 73% of the price.

Omissions

None recorded.

Notes for reviewer

None recorded.

Frontmatter as merged

{
 "date": "2026-10-29",
 "title": "Aberlour 12 Double Cask: the everyday stand-in for Aberlour 14",
 "angle": "value-pick",
 "shape": "thread",
 "masthead": "the-whisky-guy",
 "status": "draft",
 "may_publish": true,
 "generator": "new",
 "artefact_id": "2026-10-29-cycle/value-pick/aberlour-12-year-old-double-cask-single-malt-scotch-whisky-7-f94dc8",
 "grounded_on": "2026-10-29.1",
 "subjects": [
  "Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
  "Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL"
 ],
 "claims": [
  {
   "item": "Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
   "kind": "price",
   "value": 105,
   "basis": "member",
   "stockcode": "792092"
  },
  {
   "item": "Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky 700mL",
   "kind": "price",
   "value": 159.99,
   "basis": "list",
   "stockcode": "216948"
  }
 ],
 "score": 1300,
 "news": [
  {
   "item": "Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL",
   "trigger": "member_offer",
   "pct": 7.1,
   "member": 105,
   "list": 112.99
  }
 ],
 "seed": 517661563,
 "plan_n": 139,
 "plan_day": "Tue",
 "plan_source": "derived from the article",
 "writer": "claude -p --output-format json",
 "tries": 3,
 "passed_on_try": 3,
 "needs_a_person": false,
 "checks": {
  "required facts": true,
  "no invented reason": true,
  "Australian spelling": true,
  "machine habits": true,
  "proofread": true,
  "reluctance": true,
  "post plan": true,
  "no causal claims": true,
  "invented flavours": true,
  "swap reasons": true,
  "banned words": true,
  "length": true,
  "comparisons": true,
  "numbers traced": true,
  "like for like": true
 },
 "audience": "public",
 "written_by": "model",
 "site_publish_share": false,
 "site_share_pct": 50,
 "verified_at": "2026-10-29T10:49:29.000Z",
 "verified_by": "etl/price_verify.py",
 "verified_prices": {
  "216948": {
   "value": 159.99,
   "basis": "list"
  },
  "792092": {
   "value": 105,
   "basis": "member"
  }
 },
 "verification_note": "2 price claim(s) verified live",
 "quality_gate": "pass",
 "gated_at": "2026-10-29T10:49:29.000Z",
 "site_publish": false,
 "quality_notes": "new generator: 15 of 15 checks passed"
}

premium over CE 360° · shared scale 0% to +70% across the eleven

Aberlour 12 Year Old Double Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky

$112.99list 11-05

CE 360° $97.25 · 7.4% over · #38 of 79 in Speyside

per standard drink $5.11 · #41 of 75 in Speyside

42 pieces · observed

Aberlour 14 Year Old Scotch Whisky

$159.99list 11-05

CE 360° $144.72 · 9.5% over · #47 of 79 in Speyside

per standard drink $6.34 · #50 of 75 in Speyside

58 pieces · observed

source file: drafts/2026-10-29-n139-value-pick-aberlour-12-double-cask-the-everyday-stand-in-for-aberlour-1.md