If Glengoyne 15 is your bottle, the first thing I'd want to know is whether there's something close to it for less. There is, and it comes from the same still. Glengoyne 12, at $109, gives a Glengoyne 15 drinker about 93% of what their own bottle does. Same house, a little less across the counter — that's the whole point of this piece, so let me show my working.
Start with the bottle in hand. Glengoyne reworked its core range a few years back, and the 15 arrived as part of that, matured in sherry casks. The nose is vanilla, ginger and toffee, with a note of old leather and some sweet fruit behind it. The palate runs a touch oily, with lively spice, raisins, hazelnuts and oak. The finish is medium and stays spicy to the end, with cocoa powder. It's a warm, sherried dram that doesn't ask much of you.
This week it's $130 for members at Dan Murphy's. Costed as a pour at home, that's about $5.47 a standard drink, and there are roughly 24 standard drinks in the bottle — a little under the $6.28 a standard drink of a $13 pint at the pub.
1/The Glengoyne 12 is what its fans reach for: cask strength, no chill-filtering, that clean Glengoyne maltiness, and with a drop of water it turns fragrant and fruity, cherry pits and apples. At Dan Murphy's this week it is $109.
2/Think of a good cover band playing most of the songs you came for at a fraction of the ticket. That is the Glengoyne 10 for a Glengoyne 12 drinker: about 96% of what the 12 gives, for 81% of the price.
3/The Glengoyne 10: ten years old, bottled at 40%, $88 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. Unpeated, fresh and well-rounded on the nose with malt, oak and a hint of sherry; smooth and delicate with cooking apples; a long finish turning buttery and vanilla as it dries.
4/What a Glengoyne 12 drinker gives up with the 10 is mostly some strength and two years of age. So the 12 stays the one for its fans, and the 10 is the one for every other night. This week it is $88 for members; it usually sells around $88, and we've seen it between $88 and $99.
The Glendronach 12, $110 at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $119. After a parade of Glendronachs over the years, this is the 12 that won me over: the sherry held back just enough to let the spirit speak. My favourite of them. More in this week's piece.
Hand The Glendronach 12 to drinkers of its nearest bottles and they'd pay $90 to $248 for it, each from what their own bottle costs. The closest, a Glenfarclas 15 drinker, lands at $125, 68% of their own. It's $110 this week. More in this week's piece. Where would you sit?
The Glendronach 12 is $110 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $119, so a few dollars under its regular mark as you pour one. Where it sits against the neighbours is in this week's piece.
Glenfarclas 25 opens with honey and mellowed zesty fruit, then sherry spice, stewed fruit and a wisp of tobacco, the age showing through quietly the way old things do. $370 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. One for the unhurried sipper; more in this week's piece.
Tamdhu 15 gives a Glenfarclas 25 drinker 73% of what the Glenfarclas 25 does, for 55% of the price, at $202. Molasses, orange peel on the nose, sherry and Turkish Delight on the palate, cloves and dark chocolate on a long finish. More on Glenfarclas 25 in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfarclas 15 drinker a dram of Glenfarclas 25 and they'd put down 54% of what their own bottle costs them. The nearest drinkers all land higher. I lay it out in this week's piece. Where would you sit?
Glenfarclas 25 is $370. About 24 pours in the bottle, so $15.58 a standard drink at home. That puts it 294th of 310 at Dan Murphy's by the pour. An old, sherried, honeyed thing. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Glenfarclas 25? A Glenfarclas 15 gives a Glenfarclas 25 drinker about 74% of what the 25 does, for 50% of the price, at $185. Dried fruits and toffee on the nose, then dark fruit, Christmas cake and roast oak. Pour one and see — more in this week's piece.
Both lean on honey and a bit of age. Glengoyne 21 gives a Glenfarclas 25 drinker about 93% of what the Glenfarclas 25 does, for 98% of its price. Its own price this week: $361. More on Glenfarclas 25 in this week's piece.
Glenfiddich 18 opens on oak and fresh apple wound through barley, then settles into fruit cake and Christmas pudding warmed with cinnamon, smooth and easy, a pour that suits anyone easing into a long evening. This week it's $175 at Dan Murphy's. More in this week's piece.
Fond of Glenfiddich 18? A Glenfiddich 18 drinker gets about 95% of what that bottle gives from Glengoyne 15, at 74% of the price, and it's $130 for members this week. Sherry, vanilla, a little ginger. Pour one and see. More in this week's piece on Glenfiddich 18.
Glenfiddich 18 opens on oak and fresh apple, then a smooth palate of fruit cake and cinnamon. Hand it to an Edradour 10 drinker and they'd pay 71% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down for the extra years. More on Glenfiddich 18 in this week's piece.
I noticed the apple and toffee on the Glenfiddich 18 first, then oak, barley and a warm cinnamon spice through the finish. At $175 it works out to $7.92 a pour at home, a touch over a $13 pint at the pub. More on it in this week's piece.
The Glenfiddich 18 is $175 at Dan Murphy's this week, which is right where it usually sells, so I'd call it a steady price rather than a moment to pounce. I've pulled the whole picture together in this week's piece, if you want the neighbours and the pours set out beside it.
Where does Glengoyne 15 land with its neighbours? An Edradour 10 drinker would pay 85% of what their own bottle costs for it, docking it for the extra years. One for the sherried-malt drinker. Pour the two side by side — more in this week's piece.
Glengoyne 15 is $130 this week at Dan Murphy's, about 24 standard drinks in the bottle, so a pour at home runs $5.47 a drink, 215th of 310 that way. A pint at the pub sits near $6.28 a standard drink. Pour one and see where it lands for you. More in this week's piece.
Fancy a dram tonight? Pour a Glengoyne 10 and it's soft and sweet on the nose — malt, oak, a hint of sherry — then cooking apples, and a long buttery vanilla finish that dries slow. $88 for members at Dan Murphy's, about where it usually sells. More in this week's piece.
Hand a Glencadam 15 drinker a Glengoyne 10 and they'd pay about $121 for it, roughly 76% of what their own bottle costs them. Glengoyne 10 is $88 this week, about where it usually sells. So which drinker are you? More in this week's piece.
Glengoyne 10 comes to about $3.98 a standard drink poured at home. A pint at the pub runs closer to $6.28 a standard drink. Smooth and buttery, with a note of apple. More on it in this week's piece. Pour one and see where it sits for you.
I keep half an eye on the Glengoyne 10, and this week it's $88 for members at Dan Murphy's. That's right where it usually sells, around $88, though I've seen it nudge up to $99. Where it sits today, then, is an easy yes. More on it in this week's piece.
Which is the cheaper drink? Not the cheaper bottle. Glencadam 10 costs $3 more a bottle than Aberfeldy 12. But at 46% against 40%, Glencadam is the cheaper drink: $4.21 a standard drink against $4.71. Per standard drink this week, side by side: Tomatin 12 at $3.79. Glengoyne 10 at $3.98. The Deveron 12 at $4.12. Then Glencadam, then Aberfeldy. A pint at the pub runs about $6.28 a standard drink. Every bottle here sits under it. Chasing the low bottle? Tomatin. Want the real saving per pour? Glencadam over Aberfeldy. A yes either way.
Deanston 12 opens with orange marmalade and salted caramel, honeyed shortbread on the nose, milk chocolate and a little peppery oak to close. Soft all the way. $97 for members at Dan's this week. Pour one and see where it settles. More in this week's piece.
Like Deanston 12? Dalwhinnie 15 is made for you. It hands a Deanston 12 drinker about 95% of what you already love, for 98% of the price, at $95. Pour it slow: caramelised fruits, a touch of cream, a light note of fennel. More on Deanston 12 in this week's piece.
I lined up the bottles nearest Deanston 12 and asked their drinkers what they'd pay for it. The answers ran $83 to $129. At $97 for members, it sits comfortably inside that spread. Where exactly, and what it means for you, is in this week's piece.
A pour of Deanston 12 at home comes to $3.79 a standard drink. A pint at the pub sits nearer $6.28 for the same measure, and there are about 26 pours in the bottle. More on how it tastes and who it suits in this week's piece. Which way does your week lean?
Deanston 12 is $97 for members at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $104. Marmalade and honeyed shortbread on the nose, salted caramel and milk chocolate on the palate, a peppery oak finish. One for the sweet-and-spice drinker — more on it in this week's piece.
Like Deanston 12? Glengoyne 12 gives a Deanston 12 drinker about 93% of what it does, for 92% of the price, at $89 for members. Fragrant once it opens up, cherry and apple over a clean malt. One to try if that's your corner. More on Deanston 12 in this week's piece.
Glengoyne 12 is $89 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. Cask strength, no chill-filtering. The clean Glengoyne maltiness is all there. Add a little water and it opens up. Fragrant and fruity, cherry pits and apples, a whisper of anise. More on it in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of Glengoyne 12's nearest neighbours what they'd give for it, each starting from what they pay for their own bottle: somewhere from $95 to $147. It sits under all of them at $89 for members this week. The full read on Glengoyne 12 is in this week's piece.
Glencadam 15 is back after a couple of years away, and it returns in a soft mood: floral nose, cereal and cooking apples, a whisper of white pepper, then honey, vanilla and roasted chestnuts, closing on oak and ginger. $140 for members at Dan's. More in this week's piece.
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glengoyne 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Highlands | $98.99 | observed | $98.99 | $90.92 | 8.2% | #11 of 38 | $3.98 | #8 of 36 | 40 |
| Glengoyne 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Highlands | $108.99 | observed | $93.00 | $88.36 | 5.0% | #3 of 38 | $4.59 | #14 of 36 | 74 |
| Glengoyne 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Highlands | $161.99 | observed | $161.99 | $144.19 | 11.0% | #15 of 38 | $5.47 | #19 of 36 | 73 |
| Glengoyne 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Highlands | $275.99 | observed | $275.99 | $226.77 | 17.8% | #26 of 38 | $11.62 | #30 of 36 | 51 |
| Glengoyne 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Highlands | $360.99 | observed | $360.99 | $281.50 | 22.0% | #31 of 38 | $15.20 | #33 of 36 | 60 |
| Glengoyne Cask Strength Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Highlands | $172.99 | observed | $172.99 | $128.37 | 25.8% | #35 of 38 | — | — | 0 |