If you drink Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23, the question is simple: is there anything close to it that asks less? There is, and it comes from the same still house. Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21, $328, gives a Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 drinker about 86% of what their own bottle does.
Start with the bottle itself. Grand Cru 23 spends its years in American oak with a small number of sherry casks, then takes up to six months in French cuvée wine casks to finish. The nose is canned apricots in syrup, toasted marshmallows, apple blossom and honey. The palate is fuller: pears, vanilla, freshly sawn timber, warm white bread, caramel, cloves and milk chocolate, with toffee and instant coffee lingering at the end.
Now the price, which is where most of this turns. Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is $511 at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $559, and the figure has sat between $478 and $559. Spread across about 22 standard drinks in the bottle, that is $23.13 a pour at home, against about $6.28 a standard drink for a $13 pint at the pub. The numbers sit there side by side; where the line falls is yours to draw.
1/Love your Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 and wondering what sits closest to it? Meet Tomintoul 25, the nearest twin at Dan Murphy's. It gives a Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 drinker about 76% of what their bottle does, and costs $222 more.
2/In the glass they split. Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 leans sweet: canned apricots, toasted marshmallows, apple blossom, caramel, milk chocolate. Tomintoul 25 runs drier: peaches, ripe apples, cocoa, milky coffee, soft spices. They share apple, honey, vanilla and milk.
3/This week the Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is $511 at Dan Murphy's and the Tomintoul 25 is $733, roughly $30.86 a pour at home against $23.13. A yes for each: stay with the Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 if it's your bottle, reach for the Tomintoul 25 when you fancy a change.
| 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 | 558.99 m 478.00 observed | 558.99 m 478.00 observed | 558.99 m 478.00 observed | 558.99 m 478.00 observed | 558.99 observed | 558.99 observed | 558.99 observed | 558.99 observed | 558.99 observed | 558.99 observed | 558.99 observed | 558.99 observed | 510.99 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 555.30 | 558.99 | 13.31 | 510.99 | 558.99 | 48.00 | 2.4% | 3.69 | 510.99 | 8 |
| member | 530.38 | 558.99 | 38.62 | 478.00 | 558.99 | 80.99 | 7.3% | 10.71 | 510.99 | 38 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 555.30 | 177.23 | -3.61 | 13 | 548.1 – 562.5 |
Like Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23? For a drinker of it, Glen Moray 21 gives about 75% of what that bottle does, for 59% of the price, at $304 for members this week. Subtle oolong, ripe red fruits and Tawny Port, honey and oak over a creamy palate. Pour one; more in this week's piece.
Small one from this week's piece on Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23: hand it to a Glen Moray 15 drinker and they'd gladly pay 72% of what their own bottle costs just to have it instead, which is about the nearest answer going. The rest of it's waiting for you in the article.
I ran the numbers on a single pour: Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 comes to $23.13 a standard drink, about 22 in the $511 bottle, which sits it 300th of 310 at Dan Murphy's that way. A pint runs $6.28 a drink, so a pour at home is well over that. More in this week's piece.
Curious what Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is doing this week? It's $511 at Dan Murphy's. It usually sells around $559, so this week sits a touch under. A guide, not a rush. More on it in this week's piece. Pour one and see where it lands for you.
Like Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23? Tomintoul 21 gives you about 77% of it, for 67% of the price. This week it's $340 for members. Floral fruits, sweet barley, a long almond-and-vanilla finish. Pour one yourself. The full piece on Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is up this week.
Poured a Tomintoul 21 late. Sweet floral fruit first, then a quiet spice. Barley, boiled sweeties, a whisper of aniseed. Smooth, long finish of almond and vanilla. $340 for members at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $369. More in this week's piece.
Like Tomintoul 21? Tomintoul 16 gives a Tomintoul 21 drinker about 89% of the pour, for 39% of the price. Fragrant, firm, gum drops and a soft spice finish you'd happily sit with. $132 for members. More on Tomintoul 21 in this week's piece.
Hand a Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 drinker the Tomintoul 21 and they'd pay 83% of what their own bottle costs. Sweet barley, aniseed, a long almondy finish. Worth pouring one yourself — the rest is in this week's piece.
At the bench after dinner, I did the sums on the Tomintoul 21: $15.39 a standard drink, about 22 in the bottle. A pint at the pub runs about $6.28 a drink, so a pour at home sits well above it. 293rd of 310 at Dan Murphy's per standard drink. More in this week's piece.
What draws me to the Tomintoul 21 is how gently it carries its age, right down to that long, almondy vanilla close. This week it's $340 for members at Dan Murphy's, and it usually sells around $369, so take that as a guide, not an alarm. The full read is in this week's piece.
I nosed the Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 and found apricots in syrup, toasted marshmallows and apple blossom, then pears, vanilla, freshly sawn timber and cloves, with toffee lingering. The sawn timber stayed with me. At $559. More in this week's piece on it.
Here's the odd one: The Glenlivet 18, $200, covers about 73% of what a Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 drinker gets from their own bottle, for 36% of the price. Flowers, tinned pineapple, windfall apples. More on the Grand Cru in this week's piece.
Hand a The Glenlivet 18 drinker the Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 and they'd set it at 68% of what their own bottle costs them, the nearest of the neighbours' answers. The rest is in this week's piece.
At $25.30 a standard drink, Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is a slow pour at home: honey, pears, then a toffee and coffee finish to sit with. One for the drinker who likes to take their time with a glass. There's more on it in this week's piece. Who's it for at your place?
First thing I noticed: Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is $559 this week. That's about where it usually sells, around $559. We've seen it as low as $478. Sitting at the top end just now. Pour one if it's your style. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23? Glen Moray 21 gives its drinker about 73% of what that bottle does, for 61% of the price, at $343. Oolong and ripe red fruits, a wisp of Tawny Port, baking spice. Pour one and see. More on Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 in this week's piece.
Tomintoul 25 is the oldest of the Gentle Dram line, and it drinks that way: unhurried. Peaches and honey on the nose, then ripe apples, cocoa and milky coffee, before a drying finish of plain chocolate. It's $733, and there's more on it in this week's piece.
Half the price, and a Tomintoul 25 drinker still gets about 92% of what they love: that's a Tomintoul 21 at $369, 50% of the 25's. Sweet floral fruits giving way to spice, then a long almond-and-vanilla finish. More on the 25 in this week's piece.
Hand a Glen Moray 21 drinker the Tomintoul 25 and they'd put about $224 on it, roughly 65% of what their own bottle costs them. That's the nearest neighbour, starting from what they pay. Who's it for? Anyone after a gentle, honeyed Speyside. More in this week's piece.
Tomintoul 25 lands at $733, and with about 24 standard drinks in the bottle that works out to $30.86 a pour at home, which suits the drinker who likes a slow one after dinner. The sums, and who else it sits near, are in this week's piece.
I keep coming back to the Tomintoul 25 for its peaches-and-honey nose and that milky-coffee warmth. It's $733 at Dan Murphy's this week, right where it usually sells, around $733. A quiet after-dinner pour if you fancy one. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Tomintoul 25? A Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 at $559 gives a Tomintoul 25 drinker about 73% of what Tomintoul 25 does, for 76% of the price, all apricots in syrup and toasted marshmallows. The full story's in this week's piece.
At 25% of the Tomintoul 25 price, Tomintoul 16 — $181 — still gives a Tomintoul 25 drinker about 72% of what the 25 does: fragrant and firm, with fruit gum drops, caramel and a soft wood-spice finish. More on the Tomintoul 25 in this week's piece.
A price guide for Tomintoul 21 and the two single malts closest to it. For each one we note what it usually sells around, the range we have seen, and what a single pour costs this week. Tomintoul 21 usually sells around $369. This week it is $340 for members, the bottom of the range we have seen.
What does a 23 year old single malt usually cost, and how does it sit beside the bottles nearest it? This is a price guide for Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23: what it usually sells for, the range we've seen, and what a standard drink works out to this week. Running alongside it are the three single malts closest to it, read the same way, so you can see where each one lands before you decide.
What should we expect to pay for a Tomintoul 25, and how do its nearest bottles sit beside it? That's what this guide is for. We've put Tomintoul's oldest Gentle Dram alongside the three single malts closest to it, and set out what each usually sells around, the range we've seen, and what a standard drink costs this week.
Some whiskies are built to win over a whole room. The Glenfiddich Grand Cru 23 is built to delight the people who already love it, and it knows exactly who they are.
If Tomintoul 21 is your bottle, there's really only one question worth asking: is there anything this much like it for less? The closest answer comes from the same distillery. Tomintoul 16, $132 for members, gives a Tomintoul 21 drinker about 89% of what their own bottle does. Same house, same gentle manner, much less to pay.
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.
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.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Balvenie The Balvenie 21 Year Old Portwood Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $452.99 | $452.62 | +0.37 |
| 2 | Tomintoul 25YO Speyside Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $732.99 | $444.45 | +288.54 |
| 3 | Glen Moray 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $342.99 | $442.93 | -99.94 |
| 4 | Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $298.95 | $442.60 | -143.65 |
| 5 | Tomintoul 21 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $368.99 | $438.86 | -69.87 |
| 6 | GLEN GRANT 18 YEARS 700ML | $213.99 | $423.08 | -209.09 |
| 7 | The Balvenie Stories 21YO 'The Second Red Rose' Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $726.99 | $420.64 | +306.35 |
| 8 | Glen Moray 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $163.99 | $410.26 | -246.27 |
| 9 | The Glenlivet 18 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $184.99 | $408.82 | -223.83 |
| 10 | Glen Moray 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $94.00 | $390.37 | -296.37 |