If Tamdhu 12 is your bottle, the fair question is whether anything standing near it is worth reaching for, and what you would give up to do it. The short answer is The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, which gives a Tamdhu 12 drinker about 92% of what their own bottle does, for 83% of its price — honey, almonds and a spicy sherry that land close to home without asking as much of you.
Tamdhu 12 itself is matured in oloroso casks, and it drinks that way. The nose is on the dry side, with citrus and hazelnut over a dry sherry; the palate fills out and sweetens into cinnamon and banoffee pie; and the medium finish carries jaffa oranges, hot chocolate and a touch of tannic oak. If three words hold it, they are oloroso, banoffee and jaffa.
This week Tamdhu 12 is $126 at Dan Murphy's. Worked back to the pour, that is about $5.31 a standard drink across roughly twenty-four in the bottle, which sits a little under the $6.28 you would pay per standard drink for a pint at the pub.
1/What are we paying for in a Tamdhu 12? Price its features the way Dan Murphy's prices everything else, and age is the biggest part: 38% of a going rate of $159. This week it is $126, about 21% under that.
2/What makes up that $159? Age is 38%, the name on the label 21%, sherry and dried fruit 17%, strength 14%. The oloroso casks show in the glass: dry sherry and hazelnut on the nose, cinnamon and banoffee pie on a rich palate.
3/And what does a Tamdhu 12 drinker value? Age again at 38%, but sherry and dried fruit weighs heavier for them, 26% against the going rate's 17%, and being a single malt counts for 22%. Same features, weighted differently.
4/Want to spend more? Aberlour 14 is $140 this week and gives a Tamdhu 12 drinker about 92% of what the Tamdhu does. At home that is $6.34 a standard drink against Tamdhu's $5.31; a pub pint runs about $6.28. Tamdhu sits under the pint, Aberlour just over. Both a yes.
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.
Bunnahabhain 12, $99 for members at Dan Murphy's. The nose is all sea salt and tangerines. The palate turns oily and warm: vanilla, sultanas, hazelnuts, a wisp of woodsmoke. Salt and drying smoke on the finish. More on it in this week's piece.
Bunnahabhain 12 and its nearest neighbour, Tamdhu 12, both lean on sherry casks. Hand a Tamdhu 12 drinker a Bunnahabhain 12 and they'd put it at 72% of what their own bottle costs. Plenty to like either way. More on the Bunnahabhain 12 in this week's piece.
I poured the Bunnahabhain 12 and there it was: sea salt, a little tangerine, smoke drifting off at the end. At $99 that's $3.87 a standard drink, about 26 to the bottle. A pint runs about $6.28 a standard drink; a quieter pour at home. More in this week's piece.
Glenfarclas 15: Christmas cake in a glass. Dried fruit, toffee, a hint of leather, warming spice. Full-bodied and smooth, non-chill filtered. This week it's $185 at Dan Murphy's. The whole story's in this week's piece.
If you love Glenfarclas 15, I'd happily pour you a Tamdhu 12. At $126 it's about 68% of the Glenfarclas price, and for a Glenfarclas 15 drinker it gives you about 88% of what you already enjoy, with citrus, hazelnut and dry sherry. More on Glenfarclas 15 in this week's piece.
Hand a Tamdhu 12 drinker a Glenfarclas 15 and they'd pay about $87 for it, 69% of what their own bottle costs them. The sherry and dried fruit sit close enough to home. Who it suits: a sherried-malt drinker. More in this week's piece on the Glenfarclas 15.
Glenfarclas 15, all dried fruit and Christmas cake, is $7.28 a standard drink poured at home — the kind of pour you sit with rather than rush. This week's piece has the rest.
Like Glenfarclas 15? Aberlour 14 pours jammy peaches, marzipan and vanilla, then slips into milk chocolate and a whisper of coffee. For a Glenfarclas 15 drinker it gives about 88% of the ride at 76% of the price, $140 for members. More in this week's piece.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, $105 at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $100. Floral and honeyed on the nose, then silky sherry, nutmeg and dried fruit, with a hint of orange drying out the long finish. Robust and elegant at once. More on it in this week's piece.
Handed The Balvenie DoubleWood 12, a Tamdhu 12 drinker would pay 73% of what their own bottle costs for it — close enough that the two sit as near neighbours rather than strangers. A fair hearing, then. Where would you land on it? The full read is in this week's piece.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 is $105 at Dan Murphy's this week, and from what I've seen it usually sells around $100. Honeyed, with sherry spice and a long orange finish. So this week sits a touch above the usual, a fair guide for where it lands. More on it in this week's piece.
Jammy peaches and marzipan on the nose, polished oak behind. The palate turns creamy: oranges, yellow plums, summer berries, then clove and black pepper. It closes on milk chocolate. Aberlour 14 is $140 for members at Dan Murphy's. Pour one this week; the piece has the rest.
Like Aberlour 14? The Aberlour 12 Double Cask gives an Aberlour 14 drinker about 98% of what it does for 81% of the price, at $113 this week, all orange peel, red apple and a little chocolate as it opens. More on the Aberlour 14 in this week's piece.
A Glenfarclas 15 drinker, handed the Aberlour 14, would pay 64% of what their own bottle costs — marked down mostly for the lighter strength. That's the nearest neighbour's answer. More on where Aberlour 14 sits in this week's piece.
Poured one after dinner and noticed how rounded it sits, no rough edges. Aberlour 14 comes to $6.34 a standard drink, about 22 pours in the bottle. That's a shade over a $13 pint at the pub (around $6.28). One for a slow evening at home. More in this week's piece.
Aberlour 14 sat in front of me this week at $140 for members at Dan Murphy's, and from everything I've seen it usually sells around $140, so take this as a steady guide rather than any sort of surprise. More on where it lands, and who it suits, in this week's piece.
Dry citrus and hazelnut on the nose, then fuller sherry, cinnamon and banoffee; jaffa oranges and hot chocolate to finish. That's Tamdhu 12. For an Aberlour 14 drinker it gives about 91% of the Aberlour 14, at 90% of the price, $126. More on Aberlour 14 this week.
Orange peel, banana and red apple opening up with a little chocolate — that's the Aberlour 12 Double Cask, and if you love Tamdhu 12 it gives you about 93% of what you're after for 90% of the price, around $113. More on Tamdhu 12 in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfarclas 15 drinker a dram of Tamdhu 12 and I reckon they'd pay 64% of what their own bottle sets them back. Coming off all that deep sherry and dried fruit, Tamdhu's drier, more citrus-led sherry reads a touch lighter to them. More on it in this week's piece.
I keep coming back to sherried malts, and Tamdhu 12 sits among them at $5.31 a pour at home, about 24 to the bottle. A pint at the pub runs around $6.28 a standard drink. More on Tamdhu 12 in this week's piece.
Aberlour 12 Double Cask, sweet and simple with power. Orange peel, banana and toasted nuts on the nose. The palate thin but intense, all orange, chocolate and oak. Cooked apple on a medium-short finish. $105 for members at Dan Murphy's. More in this week's piece.
Like the Aberlour 12 Double Cask? Pour a Tamdhu 12: dry and citrusy, hazelnut and sherry, then cinnamon and banoffee. It gives an Aberlour 12 Double Cask drinker about 97% of the whisky, for 93% of the price, $98 for members. More in this week's piece.
Hand a Glengoyne 15 drinker the Aberlour 12 Double Cask — orange and chocolate — and they'd pay 86% of what their own bottle runs, marking it down for sitting in Speyside, not the Highlands. It usually sells around $109, $105 this week. Fancy it at that in this week's piece?
I worked it out over the weekend: at $105 the Aberlour 12 Double Cask comes to about $4.75 a standard drink across the roughly 22 in the bottle, while a pint at the pub sits closer to $6.28 a drink. A quiet pour at home, then. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamdhu 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $125.99 | observed | $98.00 | $90.93 | 7.2% | #37 of 79 | $5.31 | #42 of 75 | 60 |
| Tamdhu 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | Speyside | $201.99 | observed | $201.99 | $170.63 | 15.5% | #68 of 79 | $7.95 | #58 of 75 | 46 |
| Tamdhu Single Malt Cigar Malt Whisky | Speyside | $289.99 | observed | $289.99 | $187.53 | 35.3% | #78 of 79 | $9.19 | #60 of 75 | 2 |