There's a moment in every bottle shop where you've stopped shopping and started dithering. A mate rang wanting something easy for Friday, nothing clever, and you're standing in the Speyside aisle holding a bottle you keep coming back to. The Glen Moray 12 is the one you put in the basket when you don't want to think too hard, and it turns out the numbers agree with the habit.
Here's the thing worth knowing. Out of all the bottles we look at, Glen Moray 12 sits in the top 16% for how broadly it's liked. Not the most adored by a devoted few, but the one the most feet seem to fit. If you were pouring for a room that didn't all drink the same way, this is the bottle that tends to keep the room happy.
It earns that the honest way. Matured in bourbon casks, it opens sweet and welcoming on the nose: honey, icing sugar, toffee bonbons, a twist of orange peel. The palate is medium-bodied, barley sugar and soft oak with nectarine and lychee sitting underneath. Vanilla carries the finish, honey comes back for a last word, and it's gone at a medium length. Nothing shows off. That's rather the point of it.
1/You know the type. Some bottles get worshipped. Glen Moray 12 is the one your mates reach for without a word, and nobody at the table ever argues the point.
2/Here's what we found. Glen Moray 12 sits among the ten closest bottles for the drinkers of 19 others. The typical bottle does that for 9.0. Drinkers of Glen Moray 15, The Glenlivet 12 and The Glen Grant 10 would all keep it near the top of their own list.
3/Open it and it's an easy welcome: honey, icing sugar, toffee bonbons, a twist of orange peel. The palate runs barley sugar and soft oak, a little nectarine and lychee. Vanilla and more honey on the way out. Nothing asking you to work for it.
4/If you lean richer, Glen Moray 15 goes earthy and sherried, with chocolate and spicy dried fruit. If you like it light and floral, The Glenlivet 12 blossoms into lily and pineapple with a creaminess under it. Glen Moray 12 sits comfortably between the two.
| 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 | 78.99 m 71.00 observed | 78.99 observed | 78.99 observed | 78.99 observed | 78.99 observed | 78.99 observed | 78.99 observed | 78.99 observed | 78.99 m 71.00 observed | 78.99 m 71.00 observed | 78.99 m 71.00 observed | 78.99 m 71.00 observed | 78.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 78.99 | 78.99 | 0.00 | 78.99 | 78.99 | 0.00 | 0.0% | 0.00 | 78.99 | 100 |
| member | 75.92 | 78.99 | 4.05 | 71.00 | 78.99 | 7.99 | 5.3% | 1.12 | 78.99 | 100 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 78.99 | 0.00 | null | null | 79.0 – 79.0 |
Light and floral for a Speysider: honeyed vanilla, a little marshmallow and hay, then a soft dry finish. The Glen Grant 10 is $66 at Dan Murphy's. An easy, clean malt to begin with. Pour one and see for yourself. More on it in this week's piece.
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.
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.
Fancy a light one that still has something to hold onto? The Glenlivet 12, $79, leans floral — lily, orchid, a little pineapple — on a creaminess that steadies the lift. Add water for mandarin, rose petal, a sneeze of white pepper. More in this week's piece. Pour one.
Glen Moray 12 gives a The Glenlivet 12 drinker about 100% of what they're after, for 90% of the price, at $71 for members. Honey, icing sugar, a little toffee. More on The Glenlivet 12 in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of The Glenlivet 12's nearest bottles what it's worth to them and the answers run from $68 to $94, which puts $79 squarely inside their range. More on it in this week's piece — pour one and see.
What does a dram actually cost you? The Glenlivet 12 holds about 22 standard drinks a bottle, so a pour at home runs $3.56 each. A pint at the pub sits closer to $6.28 a drink. More on it in this week's piece.
I keep coming back to The Glenlivet 12. This week it's $79 at Dan Murphy's, about where it usually sells. Poured at home that's around $3.56 a standard drink, against $6.28 for one at the pub. Lovely late on, with a drop of water. More 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.
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?
The Glenlivet 12 leans light: lily, orchid, a little pineapple, bedded on a creaminess that keeps them from drifting off. A drop of water brings mandarin, rose petal, a sneeze of white pepper. $79. Pour one and see — more in this week's piece.
Honey, icing sugar, a little orange peel: Glen Moray 12 at $71 for members gives a The Glenlivet 12 drinker about 99% of what The Glenlivet 12 offers, for 90% of the price. One for anyone after that lighter, sweeter side. More on The Glenlivet 12 in this week's piece.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cragganmore 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $85.90 | $78.21 | +7.69 |
| 2 | The Glen Grant 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $80.99 | $78.12 | +2.87 |
| 3 | The Glenlivet 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $78.85 | $77.92 | +0.93 |
| 4 | Glenfiddich 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1L | $77.69 | $77.48 | +0.21 |
| 5 | Glenfiddich 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $75.95 | $77.48 | -1.53 |
| 6 | Glen Moray 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $94.00 | $77.44 | +16.56 |
| 7 | Glenlivet 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1L | $88.19 | $77.04 | +11.15 |
| 8 | The Singleton of Dufftown 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $69.00 | $77.02 | -8.02 |
| 9 | Glenfiddich 14YO Bourbon Res 700ml | $129.99 | $75.74 | +54.25 |
| 10 | The Glenlivet 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $125.00 | $74.49 | +50.51 |