Here is the odd thing about The Glen Grant 10. On the critics' rating it lands in the bottom 4% of the whiskies at Dan Murphy's. On how broadly drinkers like it, it lands in the top 18%. Same bottle, two very different readings. The scorers and the people doing the drinking are not looking at the same thing.
Taste it and you can see why the drinkers are so warm on it. The first impression is a light, floral lift, fresh as cut hay in the sun. The Glen Grant 10 is light for a Speysider, with honeyed vanilla and lively fruit underneath, a hint of marshmallow, then a soft, dry finish that doesn't outstay. It's clean and straightforward, the kind of introductory malt that's easy to say yes to.
This week it's $66 at Dan Murphy's — a plain everyday price. Set it beside its stand-ins below and draw your own line.
1/What are you paying for in a bottle of The Glen Grant 10? Price its features the way the rest of the range at Dan Murphy's is priced, and you land near $96. This week the bottle is $66. That is about 31% under the going rate for what it is.
2/That $96 breaks down by feature. Its age is the biggest part at 51%. The name on the label is 21%. Being a single malt is 16%, and strength 12%. Most of what you pay for sits in the ten years, not the pour.
3/The going rate can't see the glass. The Glen Grant 10 is strongest in green tea, with orchard fruit, malt and citrus behind it. Light and floral, honeyed vanilla, a touch of hay. None of the features that set the price put a number on any of that.
4/Want to spend more? Glen Moray 12 is $79 this week and gives a Glen Grant 10 drinker about 98% of what this bottle does. That is $3.58 a standard drink, under the $6.28 a $13 pint runs. More is not always more. Both say yes; the $66 says it clearest.
A mate keeps his Glen Moray 15 on the bench for Fridays. Hand him The Glen Grant 10 and he'd put it at 88% of what his own bottle costs him — a fair swap, near enough, from the drinker standing closest. Where would yours land? More on The Glen Grant 10 in this week's piece.
The Glenlivet 12 keeps it light: lily, pineapple, and a thick cream that beds the airy flavours down, with a little white pepper once you add water. $76 at Dan Murphy's. The full tasting is in this week's piece.
Like The Glenlivet 12? The Singleton of Dufftown 12 is $69. For anyone on The Glenlivet 12, it does about 99% of what that bottle does, at 91% of the price. Soft, faintly fruity, an easy evening pour. The full write-up on The Glenlivet 12 is in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of the bottles closest to The Glenlivet 12 what they'd pay for it, each starting from their own, and you get a spread: $68 at the low end, $117 at the top. This week it's $76, sitting comfortably inside that. The whole of it is in this week's piece.
The Glenlivet 12 is $76 this week, about 22 pours in the bottle, so $3.44 a standard drink at home. That sits 109th of 310 at Dan Murphy's per pour. A pint at the pub is about $6.28 a drink. A light, floral Speyside to sip slowly. More in this week's piece.
The Glenlivet 12 is $76 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $79, so the price has quietly sat down for one. Where that leaves it is your call to make. The full read on The Glenlivet 12 is in this week's piece.
Like The Glenlivet 12? The Glen Grant 10 gives you about 98% of what it does, for 87% of the price. This week it's $66. Honeyed vanilla, a little marshmallow and hay, a soft dry finish. More on The Glenlivet 12 in this week's piece. Fancy a side-by-side?
The Glen Grant 10, $70 for members at Dan's. Light, floral, fresh. Honeyed vanilla and lively fruit, with a whisper of marshmallow and hay. The finish turns soft and dry. A clean malt to start on. It usually sells around $76. More on The Glen Grant 10 in this week's piece.
Hand The Glen Grant 10 to someone who drinks Aberfeldy 12 and they'd put it at 89% of what their own bottle costs, easing it down for being a Speysider rather than a Highlander. Light, floral and an easy introduction either way. More on it in this week's piece.
I keep half an eye on The Glen Grant 10, and this week it's $70 for members at Dan Murphy's. It usually sells around $76, and I've seen it wander between $70 and $81, so nothing too dramatic. More on this light, floral little Speysider in this week's piece.
I've set two Speysiders side by side this week. The Glen Grant 10, $70 for members, is the lighter one: floral and fresh, honeyed vanilla with a touch of marshmallow and hay, and a soft dry finish I'd happily pour a newcomer. The Glenlivet 12, $79, carries more: lily, orchid and pineapple, with a creaminess that beds those flowers down where the Glen Grant lets them drift, and a drop of water brings mandarin, rose petal and white pepper. The two come to $149 at Dan Murphy's for members, against $154 at their usual prices, and $187 for the same pair at Liquorland this week.
Pour the Glen Moray 12 and the nose turns sweet: honey, icing sugar, toffee bonbons, orange peel. The palate runs medium, soft oak under barley sugar, nectarine and lychee. Vanilla sees it out. Glen Moray 12, $71 for members at Dan Murphy's. More on it in this week's piece.
Like your Glen Moray 12? The Glen Grant 10 gives a Glen Moray 12 drinker about 99% of what it does, for 99% of the price, at $70 for members: honeyed vanilla, a hint of marshmallow, a soft dry finish. More on the Glen Moray 12 in this week's piece.
What would the drinkers of the bottles nearest Glen Moray 12 pay for it? Somewhere between $68 and $94, each starting from what they pay for their own. At $71 for members it sits inside that range. More on it in this week's piece.
Three of these bottles come in around the same size: about 22 standard drinks each. On that count, Glen Moray 12 works out at $3.21 a pour poured at home, while a pint at the pub sits nearer $6.28 a standard drink. More on Glen Moray 12 in this week's piece.
Friday evening, nothing to prove, and the Glen Moray 12 comes out. Honey, a little toffee, orange peel, soft oak. Easy for anyone easing into single malt. It's $71 for members at Dan Murphy's this week, and usually sells around $75. More on it in this week's piece.
A clean introduction to Speyside, and an easy one to embrace: light and floral, with honeyed vanilla, a whisper of marshmallow and hay, then a soft, dry finish. The Glen Grant 10, $70 for members this week. More on it in this week's piece.
Pour The Glen Grant 10 and it opens light and floral: honeyed vanilla, a whisper of marshmallow and hay. An Aberfeldy 12 drinker would pay 90% of their own bottle for it, marking it down mainly for not being a Highlander. More in this week's piece on The Glen Grant 10.
The Glen Grant 10 is $70 for members at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $81. Light and floral for a Speysider, honeyed and fresh. An easy, uncomplicated malt for anyone new to Scotch. Pour one and see how you find it — more in this week's piece.
Orchid and pineapple, then a thick creaminess that beds those flighty flavours down: that's The Glenlivet 12, $79, and with a drop of water it opens to mandarin and rose petal. At $3.56 a pour it sits under a pint at the pub. Beside it, The Glen Grant 10, $70, light and floral and fresh, honeyed vanilla with a hint of marshmallow and hay, a soft dry finish, an easy clean malt to start on. The two run to $149 at Dan Murphy's for members this week, $160 at their usual prices, and $187 for the same pair at Liquorland.
Kettle's on, the dishes can wait, and this is what's in the glass. Glen Moray 12 pours honey and icing sugar, then soft oak and a dab of lychee, finishing on vanilla. Honeyed, easy, bourbon-cask stuff. Glen Moray 12, $71 for members. More in this week's piece.
Like Glen Moray 12? The Glen Grant 10 gives its drinker about 99% of the same pleasure, for 99% of the price. $70 for members. Honeyed vanilla, a touch of marshmallow, a soft dry finish. One for the drinker after an easy, clean malt. Keen? More in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of the bottles nearest Glen Moray 12 what they'd pay for it, each starting from their own glass, and the answers land between $75 and $103. At $71 for members, that's a happy place to be sitting, and it's where this week's piece picks up the thread.
Glen Moray 12 comes to about $3.21 a standard drink at home, with roughly 22 of them in the bottle. A pint at the pub sits closer to $6.28 for the same measure. Pour one at your own pace and have a look at this week's piece on the Glen Moray 12 for the rest of it.
I noticed Glen Moray 12 sitting at $71 for members at Dan's this week, where it usually sells around $79, and for a honey-and-orange-peel dram that's been quietly steady, that's the number I'd keep in mind. More on it in this week's piece — what would you pour it against?
A pour of Glen Moray 18 at home is about $6.29. Near enough a $13 pint, split the usual two ways. It's warm and soft, no bombast: melon, apricot, a little dried hay, apple pie with the ice cream melting in. $164 a bottle. More in this week's piece.
If you came for this week's Glen Moray 18 and wondered where else to look, The Glen Grant 15 at $149 gives a Glen Moray 18 drinker about 95% of what the 18 pours, for 91% of its price. Shortbread, coffee, a touch of vanilla. The rest sits in this week's piece.
Hand Glen Moray 18 to the drinker standing nearest it, a Dalwhinnie 15 regular, and they'd happily pay 88% of what their own bottle costs them, while across the nearby drinkers the figure runs all the way from $84 up to $322. The full reckoning is in this week's piece.
Poured one last night after the kids were down. Glen Moray 18 runs $164, about 26 standard drinks in the bottle, so $6.29 a pour at home. A pint at the pub sits right alongside that, around $6.28 a drink. More on where the 18 lands in this week's piece.
Melon and apricot, soft and rounded. A touch of dried hay, then peppery fruit and malt underneath. Glen Moray 18 is $164 at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $164. More on it in this week's piece.
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLEN GRANT 18 YEARS | Speyside | $213.99 | observed | $213.99 | $194.23 | 9.2% | #46 of 79 | $9.01 | #59 of 75 | 3 |
| The Glen Grant 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $65.99 | observed | $80.99 | $77.40 | 4.4% | #30 of 79 | $2.99 | #16 of 75 | 40 |
| The Glen Grant 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $148.99 | observed | $148.99 | $134.73 | 9.6% | #48 of 79 | $5.40 | #43 of 75 | 18 |
| The Glen Grant Arboralis Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $76.99 | observed | $70.99 | $69.61 | 1.9% | #14 of 79 | $3.03 | #17 of 75 | 3 |