If Glenfiddich 18 is your pour and you fancy spending a little less, the nearest answer wears the same name. Glenfiddich 15, at $140, gives a Glenfiddich 18 drinker about 96% of what their own bottle does. Same distillery, three fewer years, and very little left behind.
Start with the 18 itself. The nose is oak and fresh apple, with barley and cereal underneath and a sweetness of dried fruit and toffee. The palate carries that cereal note into fruit cake and Christmas pudding, with a warming cinnamon spice and a mild heat. The word most people reach for is smooth. If apple, fruit cake and cinnamon sound like your evening, this is a Speyside single malt at 18 years.
What to pay. Glenfiddich 18 is $175 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $175, and we've seen it from $170 to $180. So this week's price lands right where you'd expect it.
1/Cool summer night, steaks just going on the BBQ, and old mate wanders over with his glass. "Loads of oak and fresh apple in this, bit of barley underneath, smooth as anything," he says. "What've you poured me?" Glenfiddich 18, mate. Eighteen years old. $175 at Dan's.
2/"You on the same?" he asks, nodding at my glass. Nah, this one's the Glengoyne 21. Creamy malt all the way down, honey and a touch of cookie dough, soft citrus and apple over the top. "Keeping the good stuff for yerself, are ya?" He's not entirely wrong.
3/So to the price. The Glengoyne 21 is $361 this week, and the Glenfiddich 18 in his hand is $175. Stand them side by side and that Glenfiddich 18 gives a Glengoyne 21 drinker about 92% of what the 21 does, for 48% of what the 21 costs.
4/What a Glengoyne 21 drinker gives up with the Glenfiddich 18 is mostly three years of age and some of the sherry and dried fruit. For his fans, the Glengoyne 21 is still the one to reach for. For every other night of the week, the Glenfiddich 18 is a 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 | 179.90 m 174.00 observed | 179.90 observed | 169.90 observed | 169.90 observed | 169.90 observed | 179.90 observed | 179.90 observed | 174.90 observed | 174.90 observed | 174.90 observed | 179.80 observed | 179.80 observed | 174.90 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 176.04 | 174.90 | 4.14 | 169.90 | 179.90 | 10.00 | 2.4% | 1.15 | 174.90 | 54 |
| member | 175.58 | 174.90 | 4.01 | 169.90 | 179.90 | 10.00 | 2.3% | 1.11 | 174.90 | 62 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 176.04 | 17.18 | -0.5 | -1.33 | 173.8 – 178.3 |
Friday night, two bottles out on the bench and no one able to pick a favourite. The Glendronach 12, $110: a sherried Highland malt that's at its best when the sherry doesn't crowd it out, and this one lets the spirit through. Glenfiddich 18, $175: oak and fresh apple, barley and cereal, dried fruit and a touch of toffee, Christmas-pudding sweetness and a warm cinnamon finish, about $7.92 a pour at home. Two malts cut from close cloth. This week at Dan Murphy's the pair comes to $285; usually they're $294, and the same two are $328 at Liquorland this week. Which would you reach for first?
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.
Glengoyne 15 leans sherry: vanilla, ginger and toffee on the nose, a note of worn leather. The palate turns oily, raisins and hazelnuts over oak, then a spicy finish dusted with cocoa. $130 for members at Dan Murphy's this week. Pour one and see. More in this week's piece.
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.
Glencadam 15 and Glenfiddich 15 both sit at $140 a bottle, so Glencadam 15 costs $0 more, yet at 46% against 40% it's the cheaper drink: $5.51 a standard drink against $6.34. Climb in age and strength and the pour climbs too — Glengoyne 15 at $6.82, Glenfiddich 18 at $8.14, the first-fill sherry and marmalade of Glengoyne 18 at $11.62. A pint at the pub runs about $6.28 a standard drink, so the honeyed, floral Glencadam pours for less than that while the others pour for more. Want depth, want strength for the money, want the long sherried finish? There's a yes here for each of you.
Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 drinks like pudding: toffee, caramel, candied orange, a flash of ripe banana, all turned creamy by Cuban rum casks. At $331 it's one I keep returning to. More on it in this week's piece. Pour yourself a measure and see.
Like Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21? The Glenlivet 18 covers about 88% of it for its drinker: dried flowers, tinned pineapple, windfall apples, a note of custard tart, for 60% of the price at $200. More on Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 in this week's piece.
Hand a The Glenlivet 18 drinker Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 and they'd pay around 80% of their own bottle: near $161, set against the $200 they pay for theirs. The nearest neighbour's answer, plainly put. More on Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 in this week's piece.
Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 is $331, about 22 standard drinks, so $14.98 a pour at home. A pint at the pub works out near $6.28 a standard drink, so this sits above it. One for you if you like it creamy and sweet, all toffee and dried fruit. More in this week's piece.
I keep coming back to the Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21. Toffee and caramel on the nose, a creamy sweetness, dried fruit and a rum-cask finish. It's $331 at Dan Murphy's this week, about where it usually sells, and I've seen it from $273 to $331. More in this week's piece.
Fancy the Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21? I'd reach for the Glenfiddich 18 at $180. For a Gran Reserva 21 drinker it gives about 85% of what the 21 does, at 54% of the price. Oak, apple, warm cinnamon. More in this week's piece.
Like Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21? The Glenlivet 15 gives that drinker about 80% of what it does, for 38% of the price. $125 for members. Perfumed oak, apple and pear, a little white pepper. One for the curious. Pour one and see. More in this week's piece.
Two 21-year-olds, side by side. Glen Moray 21 costs $12 more a bottle than Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21, but at 46.3% against 40% it's the cheaper drink: $13.41 a standard drink against $14.98. They rhyme more than they differ: one on Tawny Port, summer berries and honey, the other on toffee, dried fruit and a Cuban rum cask. Across the group the pour runs from $8.14 for the Glenfiddich 18 to $27.37 for the Balvenie Stories 21. Want the Port and the strength? Glen Moray 21, $343. Want the sweeter, creamier 40%? Gran Reserva, $331.
Ever met a whisky that tastes its age? I nosed the Dalmore 21 Malt and found dark fruit, chocolate, orange peel and sherry; the palate turns to caramel and oak, the finish runs long with sherry and spice. $990, and it drinks like twenty-one years. More in this week's piece.
Like the Dalmore 21 Malt? The Dalmore 18 gives a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker about 96% of what the 21 does. American oak and oloroso, honey, orange marmalade, a long citrus finish. At $536 it comes to 54% of the 21's price. More on the Dalmore 21 Malt in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfiddich 18 drinker a Dalmore 21 Malt and they'd put up 66% of what their own bottle costs them, the markdown resting more on the name than the pour. This week's piece walks through where that lands — so which way would you lean?
A glass of Dalmore 21 Malt comes to $42.68 a standard drink at home, about 23 pours from the bottle — rich, chocolatey, long on sherry. Pour one and see; this week's piece has the full tasting of the Dalmore 21 Malt.
Dalmore 21 Malt is $990 at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $990, so this is the shape of it to keep in mind. Twenty-one years of sherry, dark fruit and chocolate, with a finish that stays. Worth a pour if it's calling you. More in this week's piece.
Fond of the Dalmore 21 Malt? The Dalmore 12 at $149 carries about 72% of what it gives a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker, for 15% of the outlay: tangerines and soft toffee on the nose, orange and spicy dark chocolate, then vanilla and prunes to close. More in this week's piece.
Craigellachie 23 sits at $780 this week, where it usually sells around $800. For a Dalmore 21 Malt drinker it gives about 69% of what that bottle does, at 79% of its price — ripe dried fruit, a little peat smoke, maple syrup. More on Dalmore 21 Malt in this week's piece.
Glengoyne 21, $361 at Dan Murphy's: a creamy malt foundation, then honey, cookie dough and soft citrus-and-apple, with dry vanilla and cinnamon running through. Clean, polished, easy to keep pouring. More on it in this week's piece.
Fond of the Glengoyne 21? The Glengoyne 18 gives a Glengoyne 21 drinker about 96% of what the 21 does, for 76% of its price, at $276. Milk chocolate, vanilla and sweeter sherry, with a long, easy finish. Pour one if the 21 has your ear. The rest is in this week's piece.
Ever wonder what Glengoyne 21 is worth to the drinkers sitting nearest it? Start each of them at what they pay for their own bottle, and the closest, a Glenfarclas 25 drinker, lands at 82% of theirs. There's more on where it all sits in this week's piece.
A creamy maltiness runs through the Glengoynes, young or old. The 21 sits at $361 for about 24 standard drinks, so a pour at home comes to $15.20. Where that leaves each kind of drinker is in this week's piece on Glengoyne 21.
Glengoyne 21 is $361 at Dan Murphy's this week, right where it usually sells, around $361. No surprises either way. That's about $15.20 a pour at home, across the 24 or so in the bottle. More on the Glengoyne 21 in this week's piece. What would you pour it for?
I keep coming back to the Glenfiddich 18 when someone asks me what sits near Glengoyne 21: at $180 it gives a Glengoyne 21 drinker about 91% of what they love, for 50% of the price. Oak, fresh apple, barley, a warming cinnamon. More on Glengoyne 21 in this week's piece.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glengoyne 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $161.99 | $168.55 | -6.56 |
| 2 | Glengoyne 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $360.99 | $163.46 | +197.53 |
| 3 | Glengoyne 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $275.99 | $159.91 | +116.08 |
| 4 | Glencadam 15YO Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $150.00 | $153.95 | -3.95 |
| 5 | Glengoyne 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $93.00 | $150.16 | -57.16 |
| 6 | Glenmorangie The Quinta Ruban 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky | $146.99 | $145.15 | +1.84 |
| 7 | Fettercairn 18YO Single Malt 700ml | $357.99 | $144.24 | +213.75 |
| 8 | Oban 14 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $135.00 | $142.88 | -7.88 |
| 9 | Glengoyne 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $98.99 | $139.30 | -40.31 |
| 10 | Edradour 10 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $111.99 | $137.59 | -25.60 |