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.
Eagle Rare 10 wears a 10-year-old label, but it drinks like a bourbon well into its mid teens. It's a big one. Sweet maple syrup and toffee open the glass, then firm mint and dried fruits move in over the top, and underneath there's polished leather, roasted nuts and dry resinous oak. The finish runs long and spicy and dry, with cinnamon, mint and oak trailing off. If you like your bourbon bold and heavy on the oak, this is aimed squarely at you.
So, what to pay. This week it's $90 for members at Dan Murphy's. It usually sells around $94, which puts you near the middle of its own range; I've seen it as low as $85 and as high as $104. Spread across the bottle that works out to about $3.62 a standard drink, so a pour at home comes in well under a pint at the pub at $13.
1/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.
2/Side by side, usual price to this week:
3/Three of the four sit at their everyday price this week: Eagle Rare 10 at $99, 1792 Small Batch at $84, Old Virginia 12 at $79 for members. Wild Turkey 101 is $78, a little over the $73 it usually sells around, so if you are not in a hurry it tends to come back under that. The low ends of two ranges were Father's Day prices: Eagle Rare 10 at $85, 1792 Small Batch at $78. Each one here lands under a pint at the pub per standard drink — a pint is about $13, near $6.28 a drink. Like it bold and oaky? Eagle Rare 10: yes. After toasted nuts and warm baking spice, 1792: yes. Want a rich vanilla-and-oak sipper, Old Virginia 12: yes. Chasing balance and an easy mixer, Wild Turkey 101: yes.
| slot | 08-13 | 08-20 | 08-27 | 09-03 | 09-10 | 09-17 | 09-24 | 10-01 | 10-08 | 10-15 | 10-22 | 10-29 | 11-05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list / member | 103.99 observed | 103.99 m 85.00 observed | 103.99 m 85.00 observed | 103.99 m 85.00 observed | 103.99 observed | 98.99 observed | 98.99 observed | 98.99 observed | 98.99 m 90.00 observed | 98.99 m 90.00 observed | 98.99 m 90.00 observed | 98.99 m 90.00 observed | 98.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 100.91 | 98.99 | 2.53 | 98.99 | 103.99 | 5.00 | 2.5% | 0.70 | 98.99 | 62 |
| member | 93.76 | 90.00 | 7.10 | 85.00 | 103.99 | 18.99 | 7.6% | 1.97 | 98.99 | 85 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 100.91 | 6.41 | 0.54 | -2.06 | 99.5 – 102.3 |
First thing I noticed: campfire smoke curling off a glass that somehow also smells like cotton candy. Wild Turkey 101, $78 at Dan Murphy's this week, though it usually sells around $73. Cinnamon in the middle, a soft brown-sugar fade at the end. More on it in this week's piece.
Wild Turkey 101: cotton candy and campfire smoke on the nose, clove and cinnamon across the palate, muted brown sugar on the finish. Hand it to an Eagle Rare 10 drinker and they'd pay 79% of their own bottle, docking it for the strength. More in this week's piece.
Pour one after work: Wild Turkey 101 runs about $2.80 a standard drink at home, where a pint at the pub sits near $6.28. Easy sipping for the balance-and-spice crowd. More on it in this week's piece.
Wild Turkey 101 is $78 at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $73, so I'd read it as a guide. I like it poured slow: campfire smoke, cinnamon, a run of baking spice easing into muted brown sugar. More on it in this week's piece.
Ever had a bourbon swerve from nuts into spice? 1792 Small Batch opens on toasted walnuts and pecans, then smoked hatch chiles arrive with cinnamon, orange and crème brûlée, pepper back for the finish. $83 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. More in this week's piece.
Like 1792 Small Batch? Wild Turkey 101 gives a 1792 Small Batch drinker about 89% of what it does, for 88% of the price, at $73. Cinnamon, campfire smoke, easy sipping. More on 1792 Small Batch in this week's piece.
I asked around the bottles sitting closest to 1792 Small Batch, and their drinkers landed between $67 and $84 for it, each starting from what they pay for their own. At $83 for members it sits inside that spread. I've laid it all out in this week's piece on 1792 Small Batch.
A pour of 1792 Small Batch at home runs about $2.99 a standard drink. The same measure at the pub, where a pint holds around two, lands closer to $6.28. At $83 the bottle gives you about 28 standard drinks. More on it in this week's piece.
I'm in it for the toasted walnuts up front, then that odd, lovely spice that creeps in behind them. That's when I pour 1792 Small Batch. It's $83 for members at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $84. More on it 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?
Smoked hatch chiles in a bourbon. 1792 Small Batch opens on toasted walnuts, then a lovely spice arrives and stays: cinnamon, caramel, a peppery finish. $83 for members at Dan's. One for drinkers who like a little heat with the sweet. More in this week's piece.
Fond of 1792 Small Batch but keen to keep a few dollars in your pocket? Wild Turkey 101, $70, gives you about 89% of what 1792 Small Batch does for 84% of the price. Cotton candy, campfire smoke and a parade of baking spices. More on 1792 Small Batch in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of the bottles sitting closest to 1792 Small Batch what they'd pay for it, and the answers land between $67 and $87. At $83 for members, it settles right inside that band. The full story's in this week's piece.
1792 Small Batch works out at about 28 standard drinks a bottle, so a pour at home sits near $2.99, while a pint at the pub is about $6.28 a standard drink. Pour one and see how it sits; there's more in this week's piece on 1792 Small Batch.
1792 Small Batch is $83 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $86. A quiet week for it. The full read is in this week's piece.
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.
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 to pay. Wild Turkey 101 is $78 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $73, and across what we have seen it has run from $70 to $78, so this week it sits at the top of its own range rather than beyond it. Worked out per standard drink that is about $2.80, with roughly 28 standard drinks in the bottle. A pour at home lands well under a pint at the pub, which runs about $13, or $6.28 a standard drink.
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.
You can take 1792 Small Batch in two breaths: here is what it tastes like, and here is what it costs. Both are worth knowing before you reach for it.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1792 Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey 750mL | $77.47 | $86.48 | -9.01 |
| 2 | Old Virginia 12 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 700mL | $80.99 | $86.15 | -5.16 |
| 3 | Wild Turkey 101 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 700mL | $69.95 | $83.66 | -13.71 |
| 4 | Jim Beam Black Ext Age Bourbon 1L | $64.39 | $82.29 | -17.90 |
| 5 | Jim Beam Black Extra-Aged Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 700mL | $54.90 | $82.29 | -27.39 |
| 6 | Old Virginia 6 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 700mL | $52.00 | $80.84 | -28.84 |
| 7 | Maker's Mark 46 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whisky 700mL | $75.00 | $78.66 | -3.66 |
| 8 | Traveller Whiskey 700mL | $81.99 | $78.45 | +3.54 |
| 9 | Hogs 3 Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 700mL | $59.99 | $76.87 | -16.88 |
| 10 | Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey 700mL | $70.00 | $76.83 | -6.83 |