It's Friday, four people in someone's kitchen, and nobody agreed on a whisky in advance. The bottle that comes out of the bag is The Balvenie 12 American Oak. A round later everyone's content, including the friend who keeps saying she doesn't really drink whisky.
That's the trick with this one. The Balvenie 12 American Oak lands with nearly every drinker standing near it. It sits in the top 5% of bottles for how broadly it's liked, which is a gentle way of saying it rarely meets a palate it can't win over.
1/If The Balvenie 12 American Oak is your bottle, I reckon the one that tastes closest is Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve. By the words in both reviews and by what drinkers pick, it gives you about 95% of what the Balvenie does, and costs $14 more.
2/In the glass the Balvenie leans sweet and fruity: dripping honey, navel oranges, a little caramel and vanilla. The Glenfiddich goes woodier, oak under heather and barley, floral with a citrus zest. Where they meet is honey, vanilla and oak.
3/This week at Dan Murphy's the Balvenie is $99 and the Glenfiddich is $113 for members, about $14 between them. A yes for each: stay with the Balvenie if it's your dram; reach for the Glenfiddich when you want a change. Which way would you lean?
| 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 | 140.99 observed | 140.99 observed | 140.99 observed | 140.99 observed | 99.00 observed | 99.00 observed | 99.00 observed | 99.00 observed | 99.00 observed | 99.00 observed | 99.00 observed | 99.00 observed | 99.00 observed |
| basis | mean | median | sd | min | max | range | cv | se mean | latest | own-range pctl |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 111.92 | 99.00 | 20.17 | 99.00 | 140.99 | 41.99 | 18.0% | 5.59 | 99.00 | 69 |
| member | 111.92 | 99.00 | 20.17 | 99.00 | 140.99 | 41.99 | 18.0% | 5.59 | 99.00 | 69 |
| moments | m1 mean | m2 var | m3 skew | m4 ex-kurt | 95% band of the mean |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| list | 111.92 | 406.88 | 0.95 | -1.34 | 101.0 – 122.9 |
Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve, $113 for members at Dan Murphy's. Woody yet floral, oak underpinning heather with honey, vanilla and a twist of citrus. Well balanced, a long and easy finish, the daily dram you reach for without a second thought. More on it in this week's piece.
Like Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve? The Balvenie 12 American Oak, $99, gives a Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve drinker about 94% of it, at 88% of the price. Honey and navel orange. More on Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve in this week's piece.
Hand a Glen Moray 18 drinker the Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve and they'd pay 88% of what their own bottle costs. They dock it a touch for the younger years, not the dram: oak, heather, honey. Worth a pour? The full read on Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve is in this week's piece.
A Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve poured at home works out at $4.76 a standard drink, about 24 to the bottle. A pint at the pub sits nearer $6.28 a drink, so the couch is quietly ahead. That's the price per pour; the full tasting is in this week's piece.
Rum casks leave their mark. The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask, $151 at Dan Murphy's, opens banoffee-sweet with vanilla, toffee and banana, then turns soft and silky with pineapple, papaya and mango. More on it in this week's piece. Which fruit do you catch first?
Had them both open this week. Love The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask? Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve gives you about 95% of it for 75% of the price, $113 for members. Oak, heather, a little vanilla. Which one's on your bench tonight? More in this week's piece on the Balvenie.
Pour The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask: soft and silky, vanilla and toffee sliding into pineapple and mango from the rum casks. A Glenfiddich Gran Reserva 21 drinker would put 67% of their own bottle's price on it, a younger whisky than theirs. More in this week's piece.
The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is $6.36 a standard drink, about 24 to the bottle. That's 242nd of 310 at Dan Murphy's per standard drink. A pint at the pub is about $6.28 a drink. A pour at home lands just over. More on The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask in this week's piece.
The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask is $151 at Dan Murphy's this week, a little under the $161 it usually sells around, so if those sweet-and-tropical notes are where you want to be the price sits in easy reach right now. More on it in this week's piece.
Here's the surprise: Craigellachie 13, at $111, gives a The Balvenie 14 Caribbean Cask drinker about 93% of what that bottle does, for 74% of its price. Grilled pineapple, caramel, a twist of grapefruit. Tempting before you reach for the Balvenie? 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.
I kept going back to the nose on the Glenfiddich 12 Sherry Cask Finish: orange marmalade, green apples, a little dark chocolate. The palate turns to dark cherry chocolate and peaches and cream, a sweet finish. $137 at Dan Murphy's. More in this week's piece.
The nearest stand-in for Glenfiddich 12 Sherry Cask Finish costs almost a third less. Glengoyne 12, $89 for members, gives that drinker about 98% of what it does, for 65% of its price. Fragrant, cherry and apple. More in this week's piece.
Give a Glengoyne 10 drinker the Glenfiddich 12 Sherry Cask Finish and they'd pay 86% of what their own bottle costs. Marked down mostly for not being a Highlander. More on it in this week's piece.
Glenfiddich 12 Sherry Cask Finish is $137 at Dan Murphy's this week; it usually sells around $137, and we've seen it between $125 and $137. Pour one slow of an evening and let the sherry and dark chocolate come through. More on it in this week's piece.
Like the Glenfiddich 12 Sherry Cask Finish? The Balvenie 12 American Oak gives its drinker about 95% of what that one does, for 72% of the price, at $99. Think honey, navel oranges, a whisper of oak. More on the Glenfiddich 12 Sherry Cask Finish in this week's piece.
Fond of the Glenfiddich 12 Sherry Cask Finish? The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 gives you about 94% of what it does, for 77% of the price. That's $105. Honey and almonds, then a bit of spicy sherry and nutmeg. More on the Glenfiddich 12 Sherry Cask Finish in this week's piece.
Craigellachie 13, $111. Speyside with its sleeves up: caramel and grapefruit pith on the nose, vanilla, then a rush of grilled pineapple, and an odd, lovable note of freshly washed wool jumper. More in this week's piece. What's your take on that pineapple?
Love Craigellachie 13? I'd reach for The Balvenie 12 American Oak at $99. It gives a Craigellachie 13 drinker about 90% of what that bottle does, for 89% of the price. Honeyed nose, navel oranges, lemon drops, then oak spice and a whisper of smoke. More in this week's piece.
Hand a Mortlach Wee Witchie 12 drinker a Craigellachie 13 and they'd pay 75% of what their own bottle costs them. Near enough, not quite level. Where its neighbours land is the thread running through this week's piece on the Craigellachie 13. Pour one and see where you sit.
$4.37 a pour at home: that's Craigellachie 13 at $111, about 25 standard drinks in the bottle. A pint at the pub runs about $6.28 a standard drink. If a rich, fruity Speyside is your thing, pour one and see. More in this week's piece on Craigellachie 13.
Craigellachie 13 is $111 at Dan Murphy's this week, and it usually sells around $111, so it's sitting right where you'd expect. If that grilled-pineapple Speyside has been catching your eye, this week's piece makes the case for pouring one. Give it a go.
Fond of The Balvenie 12 American Oak? Glengoyne 12 gives that drinker about 98% of the same pleasure for 90% of the price, at $89 for members — clean malt, a little cherry and apple, opening up nicely with a splash of water. More in this week's piece.
Ask the drinkers of the bottles nearest The Balvenie 12 American Oak what they'd pay for it, each starting from what they pay for their own: $74 to $154. It's $99 this week. That sits inside the range. More on it in this week's piece.
Pour one after dinner, feet up, nothing on the telly worth watching. The Balvenie 12 American Oak gives about 24 pours to the bottle, so $4.17 a standard drink. A pint at the pub is $6.28. Same glass, your own couch. Have a pour this week — there's more on it in the piece.
The Balvenie 12 American Oak pours honeyed oranges, red apples and vanilla, with oak spice and a whisper of smoke to finish. $99 at Dan Murphy's this week. It usually sells around $99, and we've seen it as high as $141. More in this week's piece.
The Balvenie 12 American Oak, $99 at Dan Murphy's. Twelve years old, 43%. Sweet, citrusy nose of honey and navel oranges; malt and red apples, then oak spice and a wisp of smoke. For a Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve drinker, 97% of what it gives, for 72% of its price.
Honey, navel oranges and red apples: aka The Balvenie 12 American Oak, $99 at Dan Murphy's this week. For a Glenfiddich 14 Bourbon Reserve drinker, that's about 97% of what the Glenfiddich gives, for 72% of the price. I keep coming back to that.
| # | candidate | price | CEARP | price − CEARP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mortlach The Wee Witchie 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 750mL | $158.66 | $96.87 | +61.79 |
| 2 | Glenfiddich 14YO Bourbon Res 700ml | $129.99 | $96.65 | +33.34 |
| 3 | Glenfiddich 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 1L | $77.69 | $96.06 | -18.37 |
| 4 | Glenfiddich 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $75.95 | $96.06 | -20.11 |
| 5 | GLENFIDDICH 12YO SHERRY CASK FINISH 700ML | $136.99 | $95.62 | +41.37 |
| 6 | Craigellachie CRAIGELLACHIE® 13 YO Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $110.99 | $92.52 | +18.47 |
| 7 | The Balvenie 14 Year Old Caribbean Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $160.99 | $92.09 | +68.90 |
| 8 | Glen Moray 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $78.99 | $91.87 | -12.88 |
| 9 | Tomintoul 16 Years Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $180.99 | $91.39 | +89.60 |
| 10 | Glen Moray 15 Year Old Single Malt Scotch Whisky 700mL | $94.00 | $90.02 | +3.98 |