1/An easy yes is a bottle sitting under what the drinkers nearest it would pay. Little to weigh up. Three bourbons this month, and you could happily hand any one of them to someone who usually reaches past it.
2/Old Virginia 6, $52 for members at Dan Murphy's. Six years old at 40%. Caramel and vanilla on the nose, well-rounded with gentle oak and a medium vanilla finish. Drinkers of the nearest bottles would pay $54, each starting from what they pay for their own.
3/Jim Beam Black Extra-Aged, $52 for members at Dan Murphy's. Seven years old at 40%. Richer than the White: caramel, toffee, a little oak spice and vanilla, smooth through a long caramel finish. Drinkers of the nearest bottles would pay $55.
4/Old Virginia 12, $81 at Dan Murphy's. Twelve years in new oak at 43%. Vanilla, caramel and dried fruit, rich and full-bodied through a long oak-and-vanilla finish. About $3.41 a standard drink at home, against $6.28 at the pub. Drinkers of the nearest would pay $90.
I had Eagle Rare 10 pegged as a 10-year-old, but it drinks like bourbon in its mid teens. Maple and toffee up front, then firm mint and dried fruit, finishing long and spicy with cinnamon and oak. One for anyone who likes it bold. $90 for members. More in this week's piece.
At $81, Old Virginia 12 hands an Eagle Rare 10 drinker about 95% of what the Eagle Rare 10 gives, for 90% of its price, with vanilla, caramel and dried fruit running through it. Worth a pour while you read this week's piece on Eagle Rare 10?
Hand a 1792 Small Batch drinker an Eagle Rare 10 and they'd pay 87% of what their own bottle costs, with the dried fruit and dry oak doing the pulling. The full read on Eagle Rare 10 is in this week's piece. Pour one and see where you land.
I kept coming back to the oak on the Eagle Rare 10. Firm, leathery, one for drinkers who like their bourbon bold. At home that's $3.62 a pour; a pint at the pub is $6.28 a drink. Which sits better with you? More on it in this week's piece.
Eagle Rare 10 is $90 for members at Dan Murphy's this week, a touch under the $94 it usually sells for. At home that's about $3.62 a standard pour, under a pint at the pub for what drinks like a mid-teens bourbon. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Eagle Rare 10? The 1792 Small Batch gives one of its drinkers about 93% of what the Eagle Rare 10 does, for 92% of the price, $83 for members. Toasted walnuts and a warm, gentle spice, one for the bold-bourbon drinker. More in this week's piece. Which would you pour?
Which is the cheaper drink? 1792 Small Batch costs $2 more a bottle than Old Virginia 12, but at 46.9% against 43% it's the cheaper drink: $2.99 a standard drink against $3.41. Per standard drink: • 1792 Small Batch — $2.99, toasted walnuts and a warm, lovely spice • Old Virginia 12 — $3.41, vanilla, caramel, gentle oak • Eagle Rare 10 — $3.62, bold and minty with plenty of oak All three come in under a pint at the pub ($6.28). Take your pick.
Well-aged bourbon runs through all three, and Eagle Rare 10 wears it boldest: ten on the label, mid-teens in the glass, maple and toffee giving way to firm mint and dry resinous oak. One for oak lovers. Eagle Rare 10, $90 for members. More in this week's piece.
Pour yourself an Eagle Rare 10, and Old Virginia 12 gets you about 95% of the way there — caramel, vanilla, a touch of dried fruit — for 90% of the price, at $81. If the Eagle Rare's your usual pour, there's more on it in this week's piece.
Hand a 1792 Small Batch drinker an Eagle Rare 10 and they'd pay 89% of what their own bottle costs, about $74 against the $83 they'd spend on their own. Close enough you might wonder which way you'd lean yourself. More on the Eagle Rare 10 in this week's piece.
Eagle Rare 10 works out to $3.62 a standard drink poured at home, with about 25 in the bottle. A pint at the pub sits closer to $6.28 for the same measure. The fuller look at Eagle Rare 10 is in this week's piece.
Eagle Rare 10 is $90 for members at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $99. A big bourbon: maple and toffee give way to firm mint, polished leather and dry oak, with a long, spicy finish. Pour one and see what you make of it. More in this week's piece.
Like Eagle Rare 10? 1792 Small Batch, $83 for members, gives an Eagle Rare 10 drinker about 93% of what the Eagle Rare 10 does, for 92% of the price, with toasted walnuts, pecans and a spice that's just lovely. More on Eagle Rare 10 in this week's piece.
A price guide for Eagle Rare 10 and the three bourbons nearest it: what each usually sells around, the range we've seen, and what a pour costs this week. Eagle Rare 10 usually sells around $99. It is a big, oak-driven bourbon, sweet with maple and toffee at first, then firm mint and dry resinous oak — one for drinkers who like it bold.
What does Eagle Rare 10 usually cost, and is this week any different? This is a quick price guide: what Eagle Rare 10 and the two bourbons closest to it usually sell for, the range we've seen, and what a standard drink works out to this week. The numbers are in the table below, read against this week's prices.
What are you paying for in a bottle of Old Virginia 6? Price its age, strength and style the way the rest of Dan Murphy's whisky is priced, and the going rate comes to $63. This week it's $52 for members, about 18% under that rate for its features.
310 bottles at Dan Murphy's can be priced per standard drink this week. Cheapest first: Grant's Triple Wood 1 litre at $1.99 a standard drink; the median is $4.16; Dalmore 21 Malt is the highest at $42.68. 235 of the 310 come in under a pint at the pub, which works out at $6.28 a standard drink.
At $90 for members, Eagle Rare 10 sits above what the drinkers of the bottles nearest it would pay. It's priced for its fans: it fits them, and it pinches everyone else. That's the short answer. The rest of this is the working.
305 bottles at Dan Murphy's can be priced per standard drink this week. Cheapest first: McAllister 1 litre at $2.00 a standard drink; the median is $4.03; Dalmore 21 Malt is the highest at $42.68. 228 of the 305 come in under a pint at the pub, which works out at $6.28 a standard drink.
If Eagle Rare 10 is your bottle, the question this week is a short one: at $90 for members, is it still priced for you? For you, yes; for the next drinker along, not quite. Eagle Rare 10 sits above what the drinkers of the bottles nearest it would pay. It's priced for its fans: it fits them, and pinches everyone else.
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old Virginia 12 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey | Kentucky | $80.99 | observed | $80.99 | $70.69 | 12.7% | #36 of 44 | $3.33 | #24 of 39 | 20 |
| Old Virginia 6 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey | Kentucky | $60.99 | observed | $52.00 | $51.29 | 1.4% | #10 of 44 | $2.76 | #12 of 39 | 4 |